We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashley Purdin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashley below.

Hi Ashley, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Ashley’s love for all things horses and art started in her childhood. She was always fascinated by the look, movement and power of the horse. In her early teens she began to hone her skills as an artist and horsewoman.

As her career as a horse trainer and clinician began to take off, Ashley’s art took a back seat. It wasn’t until summer of 2020 when Ashley went through a severe depressive episode that her art resurfaced.

That summer, she received a diagnosis of Bipolar I (Manic Depressive Disorder). As part of her therapeutic activities, she chose to dive back into her art.

Her bold color choices along with the soulful expressions in each of her subjects, juxtaposes the light and darkness that Ashley has experienced in her own life.

It is her desire that her works bring joy to first herself and then to others. Her works are shared throughout private collectors as well as on social media.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi, I’m Ashley Purdin. I have been an artist my whole life. My parents always knew they could keep me endlessly entertained with some paper and crayons when I was little. But I also had an entrepreneurial spirit – which I come by honestly – both of my parents ran their own businesses and careers. They instilled into me a strong work ethic, a lack of fear of the word “no” and the ability to have a vision for what I wanted. As I grew up, crayons turned into markers, which turned into watercolors, which turned into pastels, which turned into acrylics. All this eventually added up to mixed media.

Art was always an escape for me. Something I did for myself and my family. I never really considered it as a career path until I was in my late 20’s.

I was homeschooled in my early childhood and then joined a small Waldorf school around middle school age. Art was incorporated into every aspect of learning at the Waldorf school. No one ever asked the question if I was a talented artist or not it was just part of the program and everyone had the opportunity to experience art together as a class. It’s how we learned, processed and retained information. To this day I still process information, emotions, problems, opportunities etc. through art.

When I was fifteen I started at Johnson County Community College. The goal was for me to build my gen-ed hours and to later transfer to a four year school. While at JCCC, I took a couple of art classes on a whim and found myself pouring hours into my projects. It just felt natural to be doing art. I loved the programs. I loved the assignments. I loved making.

But I had a second love. And at the time, an even stronger love and that was the love for horses. It began early. Just as early as my fascination with all things colors, presence, movement and beauty. Well, I guess I just described art and horses in the same sentence. Horses filled a void in my life that I didn’t even know was there. They gave me freedom and expression, passion and perseverance, just like my art. Neither one of them made a lot of sense financially as career paths. But the horse thing took off in a way that couldn’t be denied, overlooked or ignored. And it took of around the age of sixteen. I love solving problems for people. And what’s a good business model without a problem to solve? So I took on the hard cases. The ones the other trainers didn’t want. I helped the horses that needed me most.

I realize the horse business would be a separate interview, but it’s important to know that I am nearly 20 years into the business and I have been blessed with fabulous clients, mentors, and friends who have encouraged me, supported me and cried with me though various seasons of my life and business.

I officially started my business the summer I turned 17 and art took a back burner as I ran by business and worked to achieve my degree in Business Administration at MNU in Olathe.

I can’t talk about my art without talking about my journey with my mental health. The two go hand-in-hand. In 2009 my world was shattered one of my best friends lost his life to mental illness. His name was Jesse. He asked me to name a horse after him, which I did. I didn’t really know what do do with the grief and the tragedy of it all. But there it was looming over me like a black cloud. By complete coincidence this is the year my own battle with mental illness began. It was the beginning of the highs and lows, paranoia, hallucinations characteristic of Bipolar 1 disorder. I went ten years undiagnosed and probably would not be here today if it wasn’t for my family and friends that created a solid support system for me to find my feet again. I can’t talk about my support system without talking about my wonderfully supportive husband who was there for all of the mania and depression and phobias that ran my life for ten years.

I tell you all of this to bring you back to my art. In 2020 when I was officially diagnosed with Bipolar, I was told that I needed to take some time off work (the horse training career). This was extremely upsetting to me as I had found myself completely wrapped up in my career as an identity and a source of self-worth. So with nothing else to fill the void, I turned back to my art. I believe I was a bit manic at the time and bold colors and large canvases stood out to me. Nothing seemed impossible and I began to paint. It was effortless. Every movement and brush stroke felt like healing. And instead of pouring my identity in a toxic way into another career, I found my self expression, a new pace in life and a self-assurance that I had not previously known.

Selling my work came as a complete afterthought. Instead of solving a problem for my clients, I was solving for myself. Solving for wellness, confidence and a future.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media has been everything for Ashley Purdin Art. I have built both my horse training business and my art business solely from word-of-mouth and social media just amplifies that!

Art is easy to post on social media. But my creativity does come in phases and seasons. I’m currently in a down season so I haven’t posted as much because my ability to create isn’t what it can be. I know artists that have pushed themselves through these seasons and create great art consistently throughout the year. I could probably work on that as well, however, since art is more of a side-hustle for me, I choose to embrace the slower times and pour my focus into other areas of my life, like family and friends. The creative spark will return and when it does I’ll be ready!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being able to reach people through my art. Art is something that draws people together. And it brings out a certain joy and deep feeling for people that may not be able to express those emotions in the form of art, themselves. I once had a lady come up to me and comment on the internal struggle between joy and pain that my artwork portrayed. She had never met me before, nor heard my story, so I found that fascinating that someone could pick up of that from simply viewing my art.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ashleypurdinart.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1194designs

Image Credits

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