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

Hi Andrea, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Since I was a kid, I always loved painting, it was my favorite hobby. And for some reason I kept it like that for a while, “just a hobby”, but as time went by and through word of mouth I started to get commissioned paintings for offices, apartment buildings, houses, etc. Here is when I knew that my hobby could become a job as well. Later on, I started my own brand of clothing and merchandise with my artwork, creating a way that everyone could wear art, besides of having it hanging on the walls.
And then, we pivoted the business to create “Paint&Wine”, a company that offers painting classes in a relaxed environment, and we also sells painting kits, so everyone could experience being an artist for a day!

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 background and context?

I’m Andrea Bogarin, from Tijuana/San Diego border. I am an accountant, with Masters in Global Management, pathway in Family Business. I have my own accounting firm, my art business, where I create custom-made paintings for clients, and my painting company “Paint & Wine” where I offer painting classes in a relaxed environment for beginners, and we sell painting kits so everyone could experience being an artist! I am very proud and lucky that I can work in my professional career but also to transform my hobby into an actual job. I think my clients know that I have this duality where creativity and professionalism is perfectly combined into the work I do.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to be able to communicate without words, to be able to show and make the viewer feel certain emotions and feelings that words cannot describe. I always ask my clients what do they want me to express in a particular painting, sometimes it is peace, calm, and some others times it has been sadness and melancholy, and I have to be able to paint that! Which can be a little bit challenging sometimes, and I have to get in the zone to be able to empathize with the client. It makes me very happy to see my clients satisfied with the result! And as for the “Paint & Wine” business, I always get to see how someone who has never painted before, telling me that they will not be able to do it, or they feel a little nervous, but when I am teaching, I always try to encourage them that anyone can do it, to teach them in a way that could be easier for them, and at the end, It is very rewarding to see them finish their painting with a big smile, and that they were able to do it, sometimes they get happy tears, and so do I!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

OMG, this is a good one! I think there are a couple of lessons that I had to unlearn. First, the fact that “you have to choose only one career path”, I learned it doesn’t have to be that way, I discovered that you can do many things as you like, since, financially speaking, it is always better to have several income streams! Also, it is also fun to be an accountant and an artist at the same time, I love to switch from one activity to another throughout the day, which also helps me to be more dynamic, flexible and creative in all my activities! Second, I had to unlearn the fact that “you can’t make a living from your hobby”, for some reason I used to believe this was true, that’s why in the first place I decided to study a career in accounting and management (don’t take me wrong, I love this career too). But as time went by, I learned that if you are really passionate about what you do, you can always make a living from that, you just have to be a little witty sometimes, but it is always possible!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.paintandwine.mx
• Instagram: @paintandwine_ & @abogarin.
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bogarinandrea/

Image Credits
@carminstudios @ivannabanalesphoto