We were lucky to catch up with Angela Howell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Angela, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

My career as an artist has been a total surprise. I had urges to try painting for decades, but I had no artistic talent as far as I knew. I finally let myself take a few lessons in 2014 and discovered a love for abstract art. I lost myself in painting as a much-needed emotional outlet, but had no intentions to sell my work. In 2015, I followed a nagging voice to bring eight paintings to my book launch for “Finding the Gift: Daily Meditations for Mindfulness,” which was held at a coffee shop. When the owners offered to display my work, I literally asked them, “Why?” They said, “So people can see them. Maybe even buy them.” I gave lots of excuses for why I couldn’t do that, but I finally agreed. Shortly after, I accepted a commission from one of their customers for a 48×60 piece. I had never done a painting that big, but am always up for a challenge. That worked out great and several more paintings sold out of that coffee shop.

Wow, that’s amazing. And it grew from there?

Yes! In 2016, I was asked to do an author talk for an art club at a local gallery. I brought a few paintings to connect with the artists. The gallery owners approached me afterward about representation. I thought, “Do these people not understand that I don’t know how to paint?!” But I accepted. Since then, I’ve expanded representation for art and books in multiple galleries, design boutiques and other retail spaces in a few states. I still pinch myself that I am privileged and blessed to create art for a living. We have to follow our gut instincts even when they don’t make sense. Great things await when we SAY YES to life’s invitations!

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

I am married with a grown son and too many rescued cats to mention. We recently moved to 42 wooded acres in the country for off-the grid living. We have renewed appreciation for basic essentials like water and power! After painting in bedrooms and dining rooms for the last ten years, I finally have a dream studio, complete with a few gallery walls and a separate finishing room. It feels like a “real” artist lives here! I am so grateful.

My first career was in marketing and corporate sales, which helps me tremendously as an author and an artist. I am not afraid to approach people about my work, and I understand the importance of marketing and visual branding. Sales and success don’t just happen, despite my unique start in art.

My “lucky break” in art was a result of overcoming fear and working hard to write and promote my book (thanks to more internal nudges). I said, “Yes” to each baby step of creative visibility and am grateful to have enjoyed a measure of success with my endeavors.

So your sales background helps you approach your art career from a unique perspective?

Art is big business, even though I think there can be a stigma with saying that—like an artist’s mission is supposed to be holier than that and we’re not supposed to have financial ambitions. That embraced belief has created many starving artists. I reject that perspective. Creating art is a sacred spiritual endeavor and artists are chosen to serve the world through beauty and inspiration.

However, after recognizing the call and showing up for it, marketing ourselves and our art is like any other business. Owning both parts of the call makes for a successful artist.

That’s good stuff! So, you wrote a book about mindfulness, right? Do you practice mindfulness in your art?

Mindfulness is an important part of my writing, art and life. When I am present, life’s gifts can be found. When I drop into the well of creating, I am nowhere else but in that moment, consumed with listening for the next move.

Nice! Tell us a little about the art you create and your process. And do you offer commissions?

I create calm paintings because I need more calm in my life. The greatest compliment is for someone to tell me how great one of my paintings makes them feel, more so than how it looks. I want my work to enhance a space, to help hold it, not command all the attention in the room. My work isn’t about making powerful statements. I simply want to bring beauty and serenity to homes and offices and make people feel good.

I mix my own color varieties and keep a “recipe book” of every painting I create. I note the colors and tools used, inspiration, and anything else particular to a certain painting. This enables me to use a former painting as an accurate commission reference. Some artists shy away from commissions, but I love the honor and challenge of solving a client’s puzzle. They may know what size and color they want, they can give samples of other compositions they like, but the most important question to ask is how they want that painting to make people feel when they see it. I have to be able to achieve that for the painting to land right.

When I start a painting, I rarely have specific design intentions, unless it’s a commission. I feel my way through color choices and let my body choose the tools and strokes. I rotate the painting as I go and the final orientation makes itself known somewhere along the way, or sometimes not until the very end. I love the beach and often waterscapes will unintentionally show up on my canvas. Other times, a city-scape appears. I try not to judge the internal prompts, but to follow with curiosity. I love being surprised!

And you’ve started hosting retreats for women?

Recently, I have longed to paint at the beach with other women for inspiring connections. I couldn’t find a non-instructional retreat like that, so I created Paint, Paddle & Play. The first retreat in 2023 included six women plus me. The oceanfront home we shared was great, the location was a dream, but the thing that surprised us most was the sisterhood that we created—bonds for life. The retreat application process, pre-retreat virtual meet and greets, and the initial icebreaker activities helped break down our walls so we could show up as our true selves. As a transformation coach, I love to hold a safe space for women to invite them to expand in whatever way is true for them. Hosting retreats is a similarly rich experience that also happens to feed my love of the beach. The two follow up retreats for 2024 sold out quickly. More info and an invitation to join the Paint, Paddle & Play mailing list can be found on my website. I will be announcing 2025 dates soon!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Because I didn’t have an art background, much less an art degree, I had to shake off the idea that I wasn’t a real artist. This may ruffle some feathers, but from my own journey, I now believe that artists are born, not made. If someone chooses to develop their creative skills in a traditional course of learning, that path of study will likely influence their development. But formal art education (or even exhibiting talent since childhood) isn’t an absolute necessity to become the artist one was made to be. An artist already IS. What one does with their art is up to them. Education is one way to advance, but experience and “brushstroke miles” is another credible approach.

I believe we are all creatives. I create art with a brush. Someone else may dress or entertain creatively. Another may love people creatively. True to the nature of creativity itself, “art” shows up in all varieties. Many people tell me they don’t have an ounce of creativity. Not true. They were born creative, but perhaps haven’t chosen to remember or recognize their true art. I want to encourage people to stop discounting their gifts.

One of my favorite art quotes is by Howard Ikemoto:
When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college – that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared back at me, incredulous, and said, “You mean they forget?”

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I took two, six-week courses under my mentor for the first five years of my art journey. Many of her regular students painted similarly to our mentor and each other. I already felt “less than” them because I had never painted before, but what seemed to come out of my brush was different than what came out of theirs. I was embarrassed and frustrated. At first, I tried to conform and paint like everyone else. But the only way to do that was to stay in my head and that’s not where art comes from. That’s where imitation lives.

Trying to force myself to be something I’m not made me miserable and I wanted to quit after almost every lesson. I’ve had to embrace my own style and that takes a while. That takes time at the easel. I’m still learning my styles and it turns out I have several. If I were to limit myself to one of those, I would be bored. I love to paint thick texture with minimal composition, followed by a raw display of marks and movement. I have everything I need to paint like me, but not what I need to paint like “them.” One leads to fulfilling expression and the other to misery. I’m in this for the joy!

It looks like you’re finding it! So you don’t see other artists as competition?

Some artists view each other as competition and as a result, they withhold sharing their process, tricks and resources. I don’t see it that way. There are enough diverse art lovers and art buyers for us all. I can tell someone exactly what I did on a painting, and they can imitate it, but they can’t replicate me. They can’t put my heart in it. They will do their own version. None of us can do exactly what another does in exactly the way they do it. Even if we come close, we won’t all reach the same audience. Sharing what I’ve learned so far and learning from other artists fosters community, generosity and abundance. Connections are everything to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.AngelaHowell.com AND www.AngelaHowell.art
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelahowellart/?hl=en AND https://www.instagram.com/angelahowell4life/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angela.t.howell/
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PaintPaddlePlay https://www.facebook.com/groups/FindingtheGift https://www.facebook.com/angelahowellauthor/

Image Credits
Tim West Photography