We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aiyla Paulin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Aiyla, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Practice! Practice! Practice! Truly, practice as an artist is essential. When I was younger I had a natural talent for most things, anything creative came very easily to me. Natural talent only brings a person so far. It began with a simple pet portrait using a technique I had learned in a college class. If you took a look at my first portrait compared to the one I finished last night, you wouldn’t believe the same artist made them. Each time I booked a new commission I got better and better. Each stroke of paint or pencil becomes more confident and doubt in my abilities begins to fade.

Even years later, each time I paint something new, I am astounded with how far I’ve come from the one before. The real key to growth though is consistency. It is one thing to practice your craft and to be able to hone your skillset, it’s another thing if you lose what you have gained by failing to be consistent. There was a point in time I took a lengthy break from art; when I came back to it, while of course I didn’t lose everything I’ve learned up to that point, my technique was rusty and the momentum I gained from regular practice took time to reinstate.

The most important skill I’ve had to develop and maintain is discipline. As an artist, no one is making you create art, you have to self-motivate. Having discipline is essential not only as a creative but as a business owner. Once I found a rhythm with pushing myself to stay productive and focused, the easier it became to operate effectively.

The biggest obstacle in art (and life for that matter) is self-doubt. Not to be too dramatic, but self-doubt is the killer of dreams. It halts you before you even begin. If you don’t believe you have a chance of success then why would you try in the first place? Many times throughout my artistic career I have battled with this concept, even now I constantly question, is this right? However, I’m lucky enough to be one of those people who may be riddled with uncertainty but continues to try regardless of the outcome.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a renaissance woman. If I can create something beautiful with my hands, I will. Throughout my artistic journey I have explored so many different mediums and styles. I believe as an artist, you are ever evolving. My path began with digital pet portraits; this was my first foray into becoming a business owner. The beginning was messy and took a ton of “figure it out”. Eventually I found my groove and some success locally. While growing my portrait business, I found myself missing traditional art. I began painting small pet portrait ornaments and slowly that product grew successfully. While I adore creating pet portraits, I felt that I was missing out on showing people a real sense of who I am.

Currently, my focus is charcoal and gold leaf art. I’m finally getting to tell a story directly from my soul. A story of peculiar animals and beautiful women, art that is somewhat uncomfortable while maintaining its sense of “pretty”. I get to showcase my love of the vintage aesthetic with a touch of surrealism. This expression of my creativity is taking me farther than I expected it to. My strange sense of whimsy and humor paired with a slight tone of macabre is resonating with people. I’m starting to receive opportunities to do pop up shows and display my art in local businesses. I am delighted to have local business owners take notice of the value my art brings and it shows me that I am heading in the right direction.

Was this easy? Absolutely not. This took years of developing a skillset to get close to a level where I felt comfortable creating a business around it. It took so much trial and error through multiple attempts at running an art business, understanding what works and what doesn’t. While I would never call them failures, I had plenty of learning opportunities and hard lessons.

The most important thing I’ve learned throughout this experience is that through perseverance you will prevail. Each perceived failure is a moment where you can pivot and become better. Rather than viewing setbacks as the end, I see them as steps toward eventual success. I genuinely believe things happen for a reason.

I’ve found the ability to trust in that thought has pushed me to keep going, when all I wanted to do was give up. I didn’t give up because I trusted that every challenge had a purpose, even if I couldn’t see it at the time. Believing that things happen for a reason gave me the strength to push through, knowing there was something to gain from each experience.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In order to support artists and other creatives societally, we have to think about it from two ends. The consumer of art as well as other artists and creatives.

As a consumer, the more we can purchase locally and authentically, the better space we create for people making a living through art. As controversial as it is, AI has become very invasive in this space. I would never condemn anyone purchasing art created by AI, however, over time, it does start to take away from people hand crafting their product. We need to be mindful and careful of how we purchase products because it would be a shame to end up one day in a place where no one can make a living on hand crafted items.

On the other side, as artists, we need to support other artists. I find it disappointing to see artist gatekeep success because they believe someone else’s success means their disadvantage when it truly doesn’t. I’ve had the privilege to work with and speak to many artists who have been essential to my journey and growth. I’ve been blessed to have so many insightful conversations and experiences that have transformed things from how I run my business to literal techniques.

Are we all in competition? I suppose it really depends on how you look at it. I couldn’t imagine a world in which I withheld my experience in hopes of “putting my competition at a disadvantage”. If we want to create a better space for creative people, it starts with the people creating that space.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I foresee my career taking so many twists and turns, developing into something I never could have imagined at this point. All I’ve ever wanted to do is create beautiful things and share them with the world. I’ve always known I wanted to be a creative, since the time I was little I was sewing clothes for the dogs or filming reality TV shows in my backyard with that giant camcorder. Over the last few years, I’ve started taking that path seriously. It began with a pet portrait for a friend and has evolved from my own art pop ups and festivals to mural assistance. Ideally, I can grow my skillset both as an artist and business owner to the point where I can do so consistently and with contentment.

I want to create art that fills my soul, without the expectation of having to conform to what’s popular. I have found so many young artists are discouraged from even beginning their journey because of the pressure to create in a certain way or aesthetic and they’ll never be good enough. I know I’ve certainly struggled with this. It’s critical that I maintain what made me fall in love with producing art in the first place; being unabashedly and wholeheartedly myself. Designing art that is humorous and weird and slightly uncomfortable but always beautiful.

I digress; I know that my career will be ever changing and will continue until someday it doesn’t. The most important goal I hope to achieve by that point is to find a way to help animals through my art. I consider myself so lucky to be one of those people who knows for a fact what gives them purpose. For me, it has always been animals. I grew up extremely fortunate to be surrounded by them. I was taught from the time I was very small that animals bring a certain magic into our lives that cannot be matched. We’ve fostered dogs and nursed injured birds, if there was ever a mission I believed in, its to be able to assist the animals that deserve the love and care that I give to my own sweet babies every day.

When I began my professional artistic journey, I was creating custom pet portraits. Each time I made a commission, I would donate some percentage of my proceeds to shelters and charities dedicated to the benefit of underprivileged animals. As good as that felt, I always wanted to do more. The bigger picture for me is to find a way to bridge my two loves, animals and art. I want to find myself in a position to make a difference in a way I wouldn’t even know is possible now.

The most rewarding aspect of what I do is that I get to leave the world a little more beautiful than how I found it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.artbyaiyla.com
• Instagram: @art.by.aiyla
• Other: TikTok: @art.by.aiyla