We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Rice recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sarah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?
The first time I sold a piece of artwork was maybe one of the most exciting and monumental days of my life. I had been drawing quite a bit to build a nice portfolio so people could see my work and so I could have some inventory. I had lived in Portland, Oregon for a short period of time before moving to Los Angeles. LA is where I really amped up my videos on social. Once I started to post more videos of my work on Instagram, I got a message from the assistant of a prospect that was interested in my art. At this point, I was still juggling with what to price my art at. I wanted my art to be valuable and reflect the time and effort I put into it, but I was really nervous about a higher price tag. I got in touch with the person who wanted to buy a piece of my artwork and he asked me what the price would be for a three part piece. I took a day to really think about it and to got perspective from my brother, who I trust more than anyone. We talked about what my goals were, what was holding me back, and what my gut was telling me. After talking through it all for a long time and accepting my fear with it, I decided on committing to a high price point and sticking with it through my art career. I called the client back the next day and told him the price of $26,000 without the frame, and with no questions asked he was happy to pay it! As soon as I got off that phone call I almost couldn’t believe what just happened. Before I had moved to Los Angeles I had thought that my pieces may go for a few thousand dollars or so, but after really thinking about it, talking to my brother and getting some advice from other successful business owners I realize that I need to commit to my goal right away or commit to a lower price point and stick with that. Like I said, it was one of the best days of my life because I realized my artworks worth and that the people who truly want and love my artwork are more than happy to pay what I value it at. Through the process of creating my new clients commissioned piece I took images of the progress. The feedback of how excited he was about his peace and how amazed he was by my work made me even more confident about my decision. Selling my first piece was one of the most important moments of my life and I’m so glad that I believed enough in myself to set the price point that I wanted to. Sometimes you have to jump right in!
Sarah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I initially got into the industry because I had always dreamed about having a career in art. It’s one of those things that you think about as something you want to do when you’re a kid, but usually get scared off as you grow up because of other peoples opinions or because of the uncertainty around yourself and the field. It always seemed like something that was unrealistic, especially since I was always urged to go to college and follow a safer career path. Creating art is really what I had always wanted to do, so as scary as it was, when I decided to go all in I knew it was the best choice for me. My style of artwork is modern impressionistic ocean escapes. Heavily Japanese inspired. It truly reflects my personality completely. The organization of my pen work, and the layout of my ocean scapes that I draw, reflect many other attributes in my life. It may seem cliché, but truly, I feel like my personality spills onto the paper. I grew up on the big island of Hawaii where there is so much Asian culture influence. That had such a big impact on my style of artwork! When I finally did find my style, I also decided that I would only create large pieces. I’ve always wanted to create something that people would be shocked by when seeing it. Not only by the quality of work or how beautiful it may be, but the size and the grand scale of it! When it comes to my artwork, I take it extremely seriously. The amount of hours that go into one piece is a lot more than people think. There is such detail and precision in each piece that I need to move slowly and carefully to be able to create at the standard that I set for myself.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Absolutely without a doubt the feeling I get when I lookne of my completed pieces! I am so incredibly proud of the pieces that I create, I absolutely love my style and love to look at the large scale of artwork. When I take a step back and look at the result of the hours and hours and hours of work that I put into creating something that will forever be there, It just makes me so happy! I love that. I can create something that other people enjoy which makes me so grateful to have so many people admire my artwork. It really inspired to keep creating. The closest comparison I can think of is the way a lot of people feel when they cook a really good meal for someone else! You can always tell when someone really really really likes the food that they’re eating. The amount of validation that you get when seeing how much someone enjoys what you made is hard to explain. It’s the best!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
There are a few things I had to rethink and unlearn, but there is one in particular that I had to unlearn through my art career that may be one of the most important things that someone could realize. I had to learn how to not care what other people think of my decisions. I had to unlearn insecurity in myself and unlearn the need for validation on a decision I would make through others opinions. Not only did that insecurity apply to price point, style and medium, but it applied to the choice of even going into art at all. You can be held in a mental cage by other peoples opinions of you if you let it happen. Once you can disregard opinions of others or even scarier, the fear of an opinion someone may or may not even have in the first place, it’s a new level of freedom. I still catch myself creeping back to that mindset sometimes. I’ll always be building on the skill of not being scared of others opinions, and I’m excited to hopefully one day master it!
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.hawaiirice.com
- Instagram: @hawaii.rice
