Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Acevedo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sarah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?
Being a creative person is part of my identity and something I couldn’t live without. Before I became a freelance illustrator I worked as a visual designer at a 9-5 creative studio. At this job, I learned many lessons that led me to where I am today.
The first thing that I learned was to follow my intuition and pursue the work I really wanted to do. I spent several years forcing myself to be practical and I followed a path that I wasn’t passionate about. The moment I defined what I really wanted, I was on my way to living more authentically.
The second thing I learned was to believe in myself and what I wanted. When I made the leap from designer to illustrator I knew that I was making a move in the right direction but I had to do it with all the confidence I could find in myself. From the moment I put in my two weeks’ notice till the day I walked out that door, I had to fight through self-doubt and the unsolicited opinions of those around me.
The last thing I learned is that you can change your mind! The creative journey doesn’t have to be a linear path, sometimes we have to pivot and THAT’S OK!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m an illustrator and lettering artist with a hand-drawn storybook style and a warm and cozy color palette. I celebrate the beauty in our natural world with food and plant-inspired drawings that bring joy and inspire growth. I use digital and analog methods to create my work with minimal color schemes and imperfect textures to shape a down-to-earth personality. My specialties include illustration and lettering for packaging, branding, murals, and stationery.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Growing as a creative person is about developing your voice and using it in your work to connect with others. When I have the opportunity to create something that can inspire someone, help them to grow, change their perspective OR support their experience, I feel like I’m living my life’s purpose.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
There are two things I believe non-creatives struggle to understand about my journey:
The first thing is, being creative is a life-long passion and not a means to an end. There is no retirement date for me to stop making because it’s who I am and how I enjoy living my life. As I get older, I’ll of course plan for my health and financial freedom but that doesn’t mean that I’ll stop enjoying what I love doing too.
The second thing is, that being an independent artist is a serious life pursuit. It is anything but sitting on a desk and drawing all day. On top of finding a creative voice and developing my craft, I also have to develop business relationships, manage our own projects, send out our own invoices, submit our own taxes, find new projects, and market our work. Being a self-sustaining artist isn’t a cop-out or an excuse to work from home, it’s a hard but worthwhile endeavor.
Contact Info:
- Website: wildvinecreative.com
- Instagram: @wildvinecreative
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-acevedo/
Image Credits
Madisson Staires