We were lucky to catch up with Alise Loebelsohn recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alise, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I grew up in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn with very nurturing parents. My father was a New York City police officer and my mother loved art and worked for decades as a fashion illustrator. My mother encouraged my twin sister and me from the time we could walk to do art. And we both have made our living in art. I graduated from Pratt  Institute where I worked for a professor who had the idea that public institutions could be made more beautiful with color and art. We painted large colorful patterns and murals throughout hospitals and other public spaces. I knew that I wanted to paint large and this would be my focus.

For many years, I worked as a decorative painter, doing everything from gilding and murals to billboards. Computers rendered billboard art obsolete, so I started my own business painting murals and finishes in NYC. It has been a wonderful profession and all the while I learned many amazing techniques that I stored somewhere in my memory and which I’ve made use of in my current fine art career.

As time passed, I felt the need to do my own art and around 2010 I began to paint for myself. I found myself using all the techniques I had learned over my decades as a decorative painter. It was the melding of that work with my own creative impulses that became the main source for my new artistic vision. My work reflects the visible world and I continue to grow in my quest to achieve my own voice through art.

I now make a living selling my own work as well as taking on projects for private and commercial clients. For years, I may have broken even on the fine art but have persevered and begun selling more widely. It’s still a labor of love but getting more lucrative as time goes by.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve always been somebody who likes to get up and work at something. From the beginning, I balanced practicality with passion. That’s helped me make art a viable career. After art school, I knew that I needed a profession where I could make money but one that let me still create. In the process, I spent a year doing restoration in the White House. I painted outdoor murals, climbed high over Times Square to create billboards, worked at Grand Central Station restoring the ceiling. It was hard work but I loved it.

All the while, I was learning about color, pattern, scale, materials and more. In 2010, I was making a sample for a private client when I started to paint trees over the board. That was the year I knew that I had to work on my own paintings. I used the plaster finish as a base and sanded through so that the painting looked like a fresco. Since that day, I have not stopped painting. 

What I learned from running my own business has helped in how I approach my own artwork. My paintings have evolved and become richer with patterns and textures. I put myself out there and my work is now printed on scarves and other items. I show in art fairs and galleries and my following has grown. My success has come gradually but my love for art has grown to where it is the heart of my life. 

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I feel very lucky to be doing something I have always loved. Art buoys and raises society as a whole and I’ve evolved and grown as the individual creating the art. My personal journey exists in the greater context of listening to the voice within and being sensitive to a higher power. For me it is real, physical and proven again and again that you must trust that voice and follow it where it may lead. It is rewarding to have shows and sell work but I think as an artist (and I can only speak for myself) it is more that art is integral to who I am and my purpose on this earth. I like to receive the positive reinforcement but it’s not what drives me. I did stop painting my own work for about 15 years and during that time something felt off, something was missing. I was working and raising kids and did not have the energy to also paint. I’m so glad I started again. I think it is important to persevere and see where the work goes. Sometimes I don’t even consciously know why I paint a certain image or logo. I feel there is much we don’t know about ourselves and art — like dreams — can open one up to their subconscious world.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I do believe that we exist within the framework of the larger whole. There are events that mold society and as an artist we must be sensitive to the vibrations of the material world. I do believe that for artists to thrive, there must be some kind of system to help artists pursue their craft. If there were funds to help artists, I think society would greatly benefit. People need art and this includes music, dance, theatre. Often it is unattainable for people. I wish that art was more available to people who don’t seek it out.

As an artist I feel there are two distinct aspects to making art. The first is working in the studio and creating work. The second is learning how to receive exposure through marketing and endurance. While I will not stop my art career, I do sometimes wonder how it would have turned out for me if I were more savvy in the larger ecosystem. I would like a larger audience and I do feel that people are hungry for art and beauty. It is always a work in progress to push forward and make goals. I will be spending this year doing more research and outreach. It has been a great ride and there is so much more to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aliseloebelsohn.com
• Instagram: @alise-loebelsohn
• Facebook: @Alise Mona Loebelsohn
• Linkedin: @Alise Mona Loebelsohn
• Other: Saatchi Art- Alise Loebelsohn Singulart-Alise Loebelsohn I canvas- Alise Loebelsohn Artrepeneur-Alise Loebelsohn