Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelly O’Neal. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kelly, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

well, yes, but i’ve been self-employed for the better part of my 60 years. each day is a replay of that “if i knew then” addage. on day one, i should have hired a consultant to run my business or at least asked them into my fold to help learn the ropes. creatives
like me live up to the reputation of poor business people to a certain point and then when we tire of just making ends meet, the serious side rises. knowing the actual packaged cost of doing a wholesale show would have saved me a lot of headaches. in other
words, it’s not just the rent. it’s the lights, the walls, the shipping, the drayage, and the cost of the goods sold.

Kelly, 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’m from the tiny (at the time, pop 700) North Texas town of Anna. The school was so small there were no artistic courses, only the “three R’s” and football. so it’s a small miracle that I studied fine arts at the University of North Texas and graduated with
a BFA in 1985. Since then i’ve been fortunate to have a small business format in the Dallas area. my first retail store “Legacy Trading Co.” was based in the Quadrangle and then the West Village. That store caused my interior design business to burst wide
open and as a side hustle the wholesale manufacturing arm, “Design Legacy” was born. Both avenues were good launching grounds for my artwork but really the work has blossomed thanks to my Interior Design industry supporters. my work has sold worldwide as far
as Dubai but the real fun has been seeing it on various film sets. in my humble opinion the best of which were the sets of “Big Little Lies”. Nicole Kidman “pleasures herself” in front of one of my large format works. i’m largely an abstract painter but i
do some figurative works as well. i’m currently ass-deep in a series of famous figure portraits in my own vibrant style. i’ve also been converting some of my work to fabric and wall coverings. that bit is under the Design Legacy arm and enjoying some major
success as well. with our recently launched website, i expect to see a lot of growth this year. i’m different from so many fine artists in that i really focus on the design industry but also manage to side step the gallery scene through the wholesale industry.
i always say i’m the most famous artist you never heard of as i sell about 3000 original works annually without a single gallery presence.

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

For me it’s the simple reward of dumping my creativity into different avenues daily. i turned 60 this year and i think my biggest fear is that i will not be able to see all of my ideas materialize. i literally lie awake wishing i could just paint 24/7. my original
hashtag is #onethingcreativeeveryday and i try to live by that. even when i don’t feel like it, i force myself to jump to a new medium or project daily. aside from the financial returns i really enjoy all of the creatives i get to work with. my design industry
commissions keep me experimenting and growing with frequent new challenges, but in the end the “most rewarding” aspect is of course answering to no one. my 60 years have been 100% on my own terms and while that may have costs me some cash, it’s wholly worth it.

Have you ever had to pivot?

i’ve survived two recessions, counting the pandemic as the second. my entire model was based on the wholesale tradeshow circuit which was essentially shut down for over a year. imagine going from safely $multi-million business to practically zero in a matter of weeks? that’s literally what happened. but since we were shut down physically, i brought a folding table into my home and worked on small works. if you know my work, you will know it’s nothing, if not big and bold but via a series of online sales featuring the small pieces, we managed to stay afloat. formats such as instagram and facebook were integral but of course we have a nice roster of existing clients who thankfully rose to the occasion in support. i sold about 500 small works and a lot of archival signed prints in a few months. my companies operate with a very small and tight staff. they too came to the rescue but i must give kudos to my long-term partner, Rene’, for his ability to fenagle the “ppp” program. the combination listed here not only helped the business survive, but has taught me so many new avenues for sales growth. and ps: the folding table is still a working “studio” at home.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.koneal.com
• Instagram: @officialkellyoneal and @design_legacy
• Facebook: Design Legacy by Kelly O’Neal