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

April, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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 feel like making a full-time living from your creative work is such a convoluted idea. There is no one way to make a living as an artist.

I hear a lot of creatives who grew their practice and creative income while maintaining a full-time job for a buffer period. For me that was definitely not the case.

In spring 2017, I graduated art school. Afterwards I started and and quit a handful of jobs, specifically because I had a residency in Morocco lined up 8 months after graduating, and I knew I couldn’t get a “real” job knowing I was going to leave for two months. Who would hire me if I needed time off immediately? So I painted houses for awhile.

In early 2018, quitting house painting and after going to my first residency, I came back from Morocco feeling inspired by experiencing a country where most people I met were running their own businesses. I was particularly inspired by the artists who sold their paintings on blankets on the sidewalk. If they could do it, what was my excuse?

So I went back home and started hitting Craigslist up every single day, taking any gig that was remotely art related. Eventually, over the years I got really good at making connections and asking for opportunities. It wasn’t very long before I didn’t need Craigslist anymore.

Now my full-time living is made up of many streams of income. Some of my biggest revenue streams are my online shop–which I have paintings, prints, greeting cards, and stickers available, residencies, fairs, grants, museum auctions, and shop partnerships that sell my greeting cards and stickers.

The biggest thing I’ve learned from the last five years of being my own boss is how to build a regimen and build systems in my practice. I know where every dollar goes and have graphs of all of my sources of income. I have sheets that outline which galleries I’ve sent proposals to, and when the last time I corresponded with them was. I have lists of grants and residencies that I am a candidate for, and when the applications for these go live each year. These systems are essential to building a sustainable income as an artist.

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 the first born child of an immigrant. My mother immigrated to Montana in the 1990’s after having an arranged marriage with my father. As their mixed-race child, I reflect on my upbringing by visualizing memories and shared family stories through the subtle and effective body language of hands. I am interested in capturing the seemingly-mundane moments of how culture persists and is practiced through generations in the diaspora.

–

April Werle is a Filipino American painter.

She received her BFA from the University of Montana. She currently lives and works in Missoula, Montana.

As a recipient of the Montana Arts Council ARPA Grant, Werle featured her first major solo exhibition in 2022 at the Holter Museum of Art, Mga Hunghong Sa Diwata (Whispers of Spirits).

Werle’s paintings have been exhibited frequently in the American Northwest, including the Holter Museum of Art and Missoula Art Museum. Her paintings have sold to private collectors nationwide.

Passionate about uplifting her community, Werle has been featured by many Filipino American brands, publications, and organizations such as Kuyate, The Filipino American Woman Project, Partially Pinoy, and Kapwa Magazine to name a few.

In addition to her studio practice, Werle has established, designed, and implemented several racial equity art programs such as the BIPOC Arts Advisory Council, COHESION Art Collective, and the MCPS BIPOC Student Mural Program in her local community.

She currently co-chairs the COHESION Art Collective Advisory Committee, and serves on the Pinaysphere Creative Committee based in Los Angeles.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

This year I decided to make a pivot in my studio practice.

Previously, I had made the majority of my income painting murals–which was actually how I began my career after art school.

I was a brush-and-roll muralist, and this previous year I had the realization that to get better at painting murals, I needed to learn how to spray paint.

After reviewing the exponential progress I had made last year within my studio–I had a couple museum shows in 2022 and was dialing in on my paintings–I felt like taking the time to learn how to paint murals differently wasn’t what I wanted to spend my time on.

This year has been a learning curve as I pivot my income into primarily selling out of my studio. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that my income didn’t dip after leaving behind the mural income. But I am feeling very optimistic seeing the numbers from paintings and print sales increase this year.

I am also exhibiting at The Other Art Fair LA for the first time this fall. I am so excited to go–I have always wanted to travel with my paintings instead of work clothes and ladders–and I don’t think I would have made the decision to participate if I hadn’t dropped the murals.

What I’ve learned from my pivot experience is:

If you are drawn to pivot, it means you should–even if there may be a drop in income for a period.

Being inspired is essential in a creative career, and if you’re stuck doing something that you no longer feel is serving you, your mental and physical health will eventually suffer which may result in an income loss anyway.

If you are afraid to pivot and don’t already have multiple revenue streams, for example: Patreon, online shop, galleries, commissions, fairs, etc I would suggest starting there. It will help pad the process of adjusting your main source of income.

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

My art practice rewards me in different ways.

There is a spiritual level that is really rewarding. I view each exhibition as a thesis, where I get to reflect on important memories and thought processes as a mixed-race person living in the United States.

My art practice is rewarding on a community level, it has helped me meet SO many people that have helped me feel a greater sense of belonging within my own culture.

And my art practice allows me to be my own boss, which is a blessing and a curse! Growing up low-income as a minority in a very homogenous town, being a business owner felt like something that wasn’t possible for me. But working for others, I felt like I was using all of my time helping make other people’s dreams come true and not my own.

By making a living from my art practice, I feel like I am achieving what I thought used to be impossible. Having agency to work on making my own dreams come true is extremely rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aprilwerle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprilwerle
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aprilvillaswerle
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprilwerle/