We were lucky to catch up with Alyssa Dunlap recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alyssa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My parents were tireless in cultivating and supporting my love of the arts. My mom would take me to hobby lobby every weekend and we’d peruse the aisles to find a new craft to do that week. By age 10 I already knew how to make a dress, quilt, paint, basic woodworking, mosaic, clay and so much more. I had such a hunger to create and they made space for all of it whether that meant ruining the nice kitchen table or taking over the entire basement with my projects. I specifically remember two times my dad came in CLUTCH in college helping me with art projects. One was a chair that I had to make for Art History. It had to be perfectly put together to the most accurate measurements possible. He stayed up with me until 3am the day it was due and he had to be at work at 6am. Another time I couldn’t figure out what to gather as objects to paint for a still-life in drawing class and he gathered together a bunch of his fly fishing materials for me that he thought had interesting colors/textures. That drawing won an award at school and is now framed and hangs in his office. They showed my siblings and I the world through hours spent hiking in the mountains, boating the lakes in Colorado and road trips to other states to see family. This exploration of the natural world and the creatures in it always fueled my creative mind and continues to be my main source of inspiration.
Alyssa, 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?
My name is Alyssa Marie. I born and raised in Littleton, Colorado and moved to St. Pete Florida in 2017. I have been into art all my life. I was one of those anomaly children who entered the earth knowing what I was here to do. I had a pull toward the ocean years before I had ever visited one in person and was naturally artistic from a very young age.
My excitement for art class each day was probably what got me through all my years of school. When it came time to pick a major, I wanted to chose painting but was too overwhelmed by the general “starving artist” stigma to commit to that. So I went on to pursue my BFA in Graphic Design at Metropolitan State University in Denver.
About two years out of school I was working in big beautiful corporate offices with headphones in my ears and staring at a computer screen all day making great money and watching my savings account grow but I knew with absolute conviction this was not the path for me.
Although I loved school and graphic design (so much that I considered going back for my Masters just to stay in school), sitting at a desk did not fit my outgoing, electric personality. I needed to express myself in a different way. As the stars would align, the opportunity came for me to move because my landlord would be selling the condo I was living in. I picked a spot on a map and that spot was St. Pete, Florida. I knew this move would be my opportunity to reinvent myself and dive head first into what my first love always was – fine art.
So I arrived with enough money to sustain me for a few months and worked my butt off trying to be as great as I could be. I painted like crazy, started setting up art booths at local vendor shows, joined every local Facebook group and got to know people in this new town. My passion was on fire surrounded by the ocean, palm trees and all the nautical elements my 5 year old self would daydream about during cold Colorado winters. My paintings were selling one by one and the turning point happened when a woman purchased a pelican painting I made in addition to commissioning a painting of her dogs. I delivered both paintings and she asked if i’d paint a mural on a wall in her back yard. I’ve never been one to turn down a challenge so of course I said yes, terrified of how I’d paint something so large, but buzzing with excitement at this new opportunity. I completed that mural, posted it in a large public facebook group page and the rest is history. Murals are never something I saw happening for myself and now I have them in Colorado, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, The Bahamas and of course Florida.
Now in addition to the murals I have painted across the country, I facilitate color-by-number community murals for members of the public to paint.
I guess you could say I fell into it because I kept following my passion. In those first years, there was literally nothing fueling me but that. Very little logic (sorry mom and dad) and enough enthusiasm to terrify anyone who cared about my well being. But I just chased my dream really hard and this is where it’s put me.
I provide mural services painting large scale scenes on interior and exterior walls of residential and commercial properties. I am also an oil painter and sell my original oil paintings in addition to prints and other styles of reproduction like card packs and calendars.
The problem I solve for my clients is transforming a wall into another dimension whether that’s by adding an oil painting that calls to them to invest in or adding a mural to their space.
I’d like to think what sets me apart from others is my deep commitment to only paint what I love. Although it took years to get to this place, I believe it is what sets any artist apart. Because as artists, we are creating from a place of emotion. And if that is inauthentic, the art will show that. So to be truly enamored with your subject matter every time, yields breathtaking results.
I am most proud of the ways I have incorporated the community into my art projects. To watch hundreds of people – some who have never held a paint brush, others who used to love to paint and haven’t in years come together to create a giant mural in their city is one of the most beautiful things to witness. The joy, the comrade, the childish fun that everyone has because they’re painting on a wall… it’s just the best ever and I can’t believe how easy it was for me to structure such a massive undertaking. And I’m about to do my 5th community mural this Fall!
What I’d like potential clients/followers/fans to know – People who don’t know me already or don’t follow me on social don’t realize that I photograph all the wildlife that I paint for my oil paintings. These moments with the animals are just as much an expression of my heart as the final painting itself. For example, I wanted to get some amazing photos of white pelicans one year to paint. The largest flock of them was on a sandbar near Shell Key which is only accessible via vessel. So I would take my paddle-board (camera in dry bag in tow) and paddle about a mile out from Fort De Soto to the sand bar. The first couple nights I did this the birds all flew away. It was so frustrating. But as the days continued, the flock got used to me and less skittish. It was like I could see them making eye contact with me and recognizing my safety. And about day 5, they didn’t move. I was able to sit on my board and get the most breathtaking shots of these birds. I have since created many paintings from the shots I got that day.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
The number one thing I’ve noticed non-creatives have a hard time understanding is that in order to create great art, I must be in a place of emotional stability to do so. Sometimes it feels to me like artists are the easiest to read through their work since it is an extension of what they’re feeling mentally and emotionally. Some artists freeze and can’t create in a space of sadness, depression, anxiety or confusion. Others create masterpieces from this space. Either way, it is such an incredible reminder to take care of yourself emotionally.
The topic of self love and care has never been so strong. My mental health plays a HUGE role in the execution of my consistency. I feel like back when I used to work for a corporate firm, I could show up, give 40 or 50% that day and go home and still get paid the same check at the end of the month. Working for myself, especially in a field that is purely driven off my creative juices, I have to keep myself in check more than ever. Which I appreciate because it’s in my face all the time. I don’t have the opportunity to be mediocre, and I love that. Being an entrepreneur is difficult as it is. Being a full time artist entrepreneur takes so much introspection and constant, incessant work to take the action necessary to keep my mental and emotional health strong.
I feel like artists get a bad rep for being lazy and unreliable. I have seen and heard this many times over my years as an artist. I don’t think they’re lazy or unreliable. I think they’re just SO fueled by emotion that it can be extremely difficult to pair that with the tools necessary to also be a sound business person. But I think prioritizing mental and emotional health above all makes it much easier to manage client loads, execution of work etc. We are the ones giving little pieces of our hearts to the world at all times, that can get exhausting, but is so necessary to the overall emotional wealth of the world.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Just be yourself!! Share YOUR unique method of creating and be unapologetic about it. It can get REALLY overwhelming to feel like you have to follow what others are doing who have big followings and that gets daunting and wont get you anywhere, trust me. Just share great moments of your authentic process and be ruthless about it. Be social and active. Get in the group pages you actually care about. Authenticity always wins so don’t do anything that you’re doing “because you feel like you have to” – make sure every comment, group join, post and share is from your heart and your audience will find you in no time. Don’t join apps that don’t speak to you. I’m only on Facebook and Insta – those have worked great for me. I don’t have the energy to be on anything else. Only do the social media platforms that excite you and are easy. And take breaks. When you feel you’re a bit too married to it, step away for a while. As someone who has spent an unbelievable amount of hours using social media to help grow my business, I cannot speak more clearly on the importance of stepping away and remembering that there is a world out there outside of your phone screen :)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alyssamariegallery.com/
- Instagram: @alyssa.marie.of.the.sea
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alyssamdunlap9/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssa-dunlap-02634b95
Image Credits
Khumar Guardiola