We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angela Grey . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angela below.

Angela , appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I have recently closed off my painting commissions to gift myself personal project time for painting. It is currently my outlet as I work through my tattoo apprenticeship and I’m glad I gave myself the opportunity to paint for myself again. The current project I’m in the midst of is an oil painting series of captured reference images. The shoot concept incorporates post-it notes listing off painful things others have said that have stuck with us (parties who participated in the shoot) over time. There was also a positive version of this featuring things others have said to us that are healthy and comforting.
The purpose of this project conceptually was to work through necessary healing to be able to move on and let go. It was an effort to work through the pain we carry and end things on a good note, taking in the good and releasing the bad.
It was a very raw experience and the
Individuals who participated were the perfect people to be so open and vulnerable with a concept (thank you EBFX Photography and Rachael Lynn for assisting in bringing this to life)
From these references I’m creating observational paintings based off the final images selected to create a mean full body of work I hope to eventually show at a proper gallery to showcase this healing experience and hopefully help others feel less alone in what they are going through in life.
As someone who’s mental health has heavily played in how their life has developed, I wanted to create a body of work that could help others but also myself. I think the humanness of all of us have something simple yet so powerful to connect together with one another.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Angela is a full-time freelance artist currently working in the Chicago suburbs with her BFA in painting specializing in oil paint. Her passion and career has grown beyond 2D painting and expands into makeup artistry such as body painting and airbrushed makeup as well as modeling. She is also currently a tattoo apprentice in the Aurora area. Her interest in the arts has be present since she was a young child and has never stopped progressing for as long as she can remember. Her art has always been a huge part of coping with every day life and turned into what she would rather do than anything else in the world. Creating is one of the most beautiful gifts of being alive and she intends to do so as much as she can throughout her life.
Angela hopes to blend beauty with her love for horror, contrast, intricacy and detail, as well as emotional influence in her work. Combining all these elements has allowed her to convey a large range of styles constantly evolving over the years. She hopes to continue to help make her clients happy, create unique and memorable artwork, as well as enjoy each project to the fullest and let her creativity thrive.
Angela is looking forward to the growth that humbling experiences 2023 has brought her way to help her continue to improve her technical skills as well as fall in love with each creation process from start to finish.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Being an artist has many pros and cons but the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the fulfillment of seeing your own progress develop before your eyes and having the awareness to observe each decision you make visually formulate a final product/communicating a thought or idea. There is something about art that functions very much like a language all of its own. It is my favorite way to communicate and to work through my thought process and emotions. It’s raw and real and definite no matter what is going on in your life. And it is always there to turn to with infinite opportunities to bring to life. Being an artist is rewarding because of the sense of pure freedom that can come with creating.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Like I mentioned before there are pros and cons to being a creative as a career choice. There’s a lot of common misconceptions about what goes into making this wheel spin as not just a hobby, but also a job that pays the bills. The biggest misconception is about money. Personally, I have had people assume I make a lot more than I actually do. I don’t think people take into account all the taxes and fees that can add up in this line of work. They can see a price point, acknowledge it isn’t in their budget, and assume all that price point is 100% pocketed by the artist. When in reality there’s payment platform fees, card fees, online shop fees to list items, supplies costs that pile up fast, and many other risk taking decisions to invest in the type of direction one would like to move their art into.
Throughout this year I’ve been investing in upgrading to an LLC and this plus licensing, insurance, and more in a lot of upfront costs. It’s been a lot of hard work and long hours to make this upgrade happen and people don’t really see that on a short Facebook post update. They don’t see the hours of dedication.
Not seeing the hours of dedication also plays into product completion. I’ve been lucky to have very understanding and patient friends and clientele throughout my career but I do see other artists frequently find themselves racing the clock to finish creations custom for others. Though time management is a huge factor in making this work for a job, art does take time to make and the people who understand this the most seem to be most appreciative of the art. Time management comes with turnover and a fast paced feeling of needing to constantly create and share your work. Social media has increased this underlying anxiety and creatives can find themselves unable to “keep up” but to anyone reading this feeling this way please know your pace is still valid no matter what the internet is doing or saying. Your work deserves the time and attention to get the outcome you know is your best. It’s ok to slow down – this has been my largest lesson of the year as I’ve been going back to the basics to learn a new creative skill/craft (tattooing).
Sometimes it can seem like an artist is just living their best life painting at home with little responsibility. It sure can look like that at a glance and in a lot of ways there’s still truth to that. I think a lot of jobs can’t be viewed in a black and white context – this devalues any job and the work that gets poured into it. The pros always look so appealing but the cons can be a downward spiral if someone isn’t prepared.
For example, there’s are slow seasons and slow points in the year. To stay afloat, it’s important to have a proper savings or budgeting plan for what a creative makes during a creative boom/sales. Staying inspired consistently can create a lot of turmoil and burn out for creatives as well. This can mentally become a draining process if there’s no inspiration paired with motivation. Motivation alone is a huge factor as a lot of creatives in a freelance full-time situation are their own bosses and rely heavily on themselves alone to stimulate new work and opportunities for themselves. You are your own biggest advocate and spokesperson as an artist. You represent your work ethic, attitude, reliability, and honor. Artists have to give themselves grace as they learn and change while also asserting their boundaries. Boundaries are so important in creative lines of work because of how much is assumed by others about how much work goes into creative jobs.
The amount of times I’ve had conversations with people who don’t realize art is everywhere around them and builds the world they live in -everything from the graphic tee they are wearing to the architecture of buildings – shows how important is is to have your boundaries to protect your craft and your worth. Even when you are considered “successful”, creatives still fight for their worth. It’s part of speaking up for yourself that is important to have in any career. It’s takes a lot of passion, knowing the self, and constantly picking the self to put your art out there like that and believe in your vision.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.greyengelartwork.bigcartel.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/greyengelartwork1
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/GreyEngelArtwork
• Other: www.patreon.com/GreyEngelArtwork www.instagram.com/angelagreytattoos

Image Credits
Last two images feature three more entrepreneurs I’d like to shout out: Hannah Hex (model/content creator)- https://www.tiktok.com/@hannahhex13?_t=8ev173wtWBy&_r=1 Rachael Lynn (small business owner/body piercer) – https://instagram.com/skynn.studio?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Last 2 photos taken by – Eric Berson EBFX Photography https://instagram.com/ebfx_photography?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==