We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alma Roberts a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alma, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

I began painting late in life and with no formal training. I painted feverishly every single day with great joy and passion for the work I was creating. It was all new. I was in the dark about mixing colors, surfaces to paint on, mediums to use to create texture, everything was coming from a very rudimentary place. I would scoop up leaves and dirt from my front yard and mix it in with the paint until I saw a YouTube about mediums that created the very textures I wanted for my paintings. Every painting I completed had it’s own story and brought me great joy, and relief and release. I painted and stored every painting in my closets. I bought racks to keep them on. Never, not once was there the thought of exhibiting and actually selling any of them. I certainly knew that that was what artists did but I was not even at a point where I considered myself and ARTIST. I was painting to document my thoughts, to make my opinions clear for myself, to respond to the mandate that I was given “to pick up a paint brush and paint”, nothing else. So when two of my dearest friends approached me about exhibiting my work, I became hysterical. These works were private pieces and parts of my heart, soul, psyche, mind. I was not about to put them on display besides, I did not consider myself an artist at that point. I could never use that word to describe myself until very recently. I did allow my friends to convince me to exhibit my paintings in a very comfortable setting (Nancy By SNAC) with the guidance and support of Kevin Brown and my Muse and dear friend Lydia Woods who had actually bought me my very first paints, brushes, canvases, and a easel that I still use. The exhibit was well attended. Folks were captivated by the story of how I began to paint and a few bought pieces as well. I felt a mix of joy and vulnerability but I gained comfort in the thought that my works would also bring joy and comfort to others so much so that they would spend money. So of these same feels continue now even as I have sold hundreds of painting for hundreds and thousands of dollars. I always hold my breath when someone expresses an interest in a painting- torn about sending another one of my “babies” off into the world. I will always remember the first paintings I sold and feels I had.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a second generation abstract expressionist artist who began painting at the age of 62. “I paint my way through life” with vividly colored paintings filled with symbolism, opinions, impressions, but also hope. I used to be a literary artist and expressed my passions and opinions through poetry and prose. I have evolved in my artist expressions in the 13 years I have been painting in the palette and medium I use. I am always pressing forward to learn new techniques on new and different surfaces. I am featured in solo and group exhibits across the region. I have a mix-media work in the permanent collection at the James E. Lewis Museum of Art at Morgan State University, and I am a recent grant recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council. I serve on the Board of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, and I am a Commissioner on the Baltimore Public Art Commission. I formed a LLC. (Alma Roberts, LLC) and have assembled a team of professional to assist me in advancing my role as an Artrepreneur: Legal Counsel, Accountant, Business Development Consultant, Social Media and PR Professional, and Art Curation and Merchandizing organization. I developed numerous streams of revenue from my art (sales of original works, creation of Limited Edition Prints, imprinting my art on merchandise, and having my art featured on global marketing platforms like Artful Homes. I am also copyrighting and cataloging my work for posterity as a pathway for wealth creation. I am co-creator of the Directors and Collectors Art Salon that brings artists together with arts organizations and art collectors in a salon forum. What sets me apart is my blend of real life experiences, my role as an elder carving a pathway for those coming behind me, all mixed having had a 49 year career as a health care executive and having never painted, never dreamed of being an artist before the age of 62. I am most proud that I have brought the same passion and dogged determination to my work as an artist with increasingly positive results. But I am most happy with the fact that I have carved out another way to make my family proud. That is very important to me.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Document my journey and the lessons learned for those that follow. Refine my artistry and paint, paint, paint.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The joy of bringing shapes, colors, and mediums together to create solid compositions that bring me and others great joy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.almaroberts.com
• Instagram: @almarobertsart
• Facebook: almarobertsart
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/alma-roberts-mph-lfache-4508a59b
• Twitter: @almarobertsart