We were lucky to catch up with Maggie Macdonald recently and have shared our conversation below.

Maggie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

As with most things in life, uncertainty is scary. Uncertainty in a career, however, seems to present itself as a whole other level of “Scary”. The most amazing thing my parents did for the, really the biggest gift they could’ve ever given, was that they never transferred their concerns about the uncertainty of a future in the arts to me. they never complained or doubted my dream. they never offered alternative paths, never once have they said something like “Maybe you should consider a real job”. My parents gave me the gift of belief, Of faith in my abilities, and of the audacity to aim for a loft goal. They have celebrated, attended, labored, encouraged, and deliberated the process with me. they have lifted me up, and held my hand and pushed me. This experience and career as an artist is taxing on the emotions. My mother in particular has championed me in all the ways one could hope. ever the optimist; ever the encourager. They taught me how to work hard and be hands on and then then sent me into an ever-changing world with the confidence and tenacity to “go for it”.

Maggie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Maggie, an abstract expressionist painter living and working in the upstate of South Carolina. I began painting at the age of 5 with my grandmother in the basement of her California home. Creativity, in all its many avenues was the treasure we shared on the days I spent at her home after school. Ever since those early days I have seen myself as an artist and creative individual. Began selling work in high school and after getting my bachelors in fine arts I was able to dedicate myself full time to the path. There was a long time while I was in school that felt really challenging, because I had already begun traveling and selling my work as a student. More often than not school felt like a roadblock, something that was in the way. I was working really hard to get a head start on my goal to be a professional painter and was spread very thin. Now I have a bit more control over my schedule. I paint almost every day; that’s the goal at least. I sell my work through galleries in the upstate and through my studio. I stretch my own canvas, build my own frames, write original poetry to accompany each piece and overall have a generally fabulous time. My work is mostly about processing the human experience and all the emotion that come with being a fully present human woman; my hope is that they become a roadmap for myself to look back on.

I think everyone knows inherently what they think, what they desire, what they want to say, and what they want for dinner. Life swirls past and opinions influence you, sometimes it’s easier to just “ go along” than to say your piece. Sometimes I think to myself, “When was the last time I was honest for a whole day?” – not even with anything of importance, rather with the simple things, mundane, commonplace, little things. I often wonder when I started lying so much about things? – Where do you want to eat? How are you? For me the poetic inclusions with each piece are a righteous celebration in honesty. Spill. Spill. Spill. SPILL! The honesty of an emotion can often feel so intimidating and tender and private. It’s liberating to share and it’s fascinating to watch people connect or respond. Maybe it’s a bit sappy, perhaps a bit drama forward, but as long as we’re being honest, it’s healing. It’s an outlet for Internal Affairs and sorting thoughts. It transfers feelings away from the heart and into my hands and changes my perspective on hurt, pain or even joy. All the while, these writings are saving a roadmap from past experiences as a keepsake for future trials, and serve as a reminder that honesty is life giving and that creativity is healing. with each collection of abstract paintings comes a collection of words born from an overcrowded iphone notes app bursting with assumptions and notions on the emotion of my daily convictions.

In these works I hope others find understanding, comfort, humor or maybe if we’re lucky a combination of all three.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The idea that you need to pic a signature style and stick with it…

Absolutely not true and adopting this mindset can become quite damaging for a young artist. I had an advisor tell me (a woman working at a museum who wasn’t even an artist herself) that I needed to find a style and then stick to it. this notion or idea had me bogged down and unsure of myself for many many years. I spent a lot of hours trying to force myself to “Just pick something” and stick with it. The reality is cultivating a style takes time. It takes growth, It takes years. It will come. Give it tie. Give it space. Let your brain breathe. with any lucky, and with a bit of perseverance your “style” will find you . I Like to think of it more as a creative etiquette, lets see the path not crowded with rules but rather stylistic guidelines that can also be broken.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

This is a crazy one. So I recently got picked up by the Grand Bohemian gallery in Greenville, South Carolina. The amount of response and interest in my work has skyrocketed. This connection literally come about through me talking to a curator at the desk of the gallery one day and has turned into one of the most meaningful and valuable connections of my career. I think the “Lesson” or main point of this is that finding a place where your work is surrounded by professionals who believe in you and who want to work on behalf of your artwork is an INVALUABLE asset. Finding people to get behind and believe in your art is not as illusive as you might. And the more people you have on your team, and the more places you have your work showing the more time you have to do the creative part that you want to be doing anyways.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Maggiemacdonaldart.com
• Instagram: @maggssmac.art