We recently connected with Ariel Hosanny and have shared our conversation below.

Ariel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I was born and raised in Toronto, and I have watched it become fast-paced and very business oriented. I had a very active and outdoorsy childhood and enjoyed art in school. Out of high school, it was perceived that you would go to college and/or university to study a topic and then become that title through employment. I did end up going to George Brown for Graphic Design – mind you, I did not grow up using a computer, let alone a Mac – and I was doing poorly. With high percentages in drawing class and production class and failing grades in everything that involved digital creation, I spoke to my dean and decided to leave the course after one semester. This was the first risk I took as a teenager. It pushed me to panic and worry not knowing what to do next.

A year later, working a part time retail job, I decided to pursue a career as a Make-Up Artist. I did an intensive hands-on six month course with a private collage and worked in the field for 3 years freelancing. Income wise, it wasn’t the best and the applications were not as inspiring anymore. I felt more lost than I ever had, after making the decision to leave behind Make-Up Artistry and just get a regular 9 to 5 job – ‘be an adult’ -all while, I was doing face painting gigs on the weekends. Face Painting became my creative outlet, my second income and just a side hustle for about 5 years of holding down full time work.

In the years of the pandemic, my world came to a standstill; no more face painting and sent home from my full-time job. I was stir crazy with all the free time and anxiety of instability. With this new found time, I began painting again, drawing again and creating things for me. It was so invigorating and I had a sense of guilt in my gut for not doing something “productive” in the eyes of others. These paintings I created are of dreams I’ve had; I remember my dreams since I was a child and I still have vivid dreams about twice a week. I started to write them down and do a little sketch of the images that stood out the most. I then created paintings of them. Over this period of time, I also began meditation and with this came more visuals. I decided I will start painting those too.

My full time job called me back to work, I was happy and sad at the same time. I went back to work and was terribly unhappy. At the end of 2021 I took a huge risk – I quit my full time job to pursue art as a career. My boyfriend saw my mental health decline and was tired of watching me not be myself anymore, he saw how creating art made me feel so he pushed me to do it. I was shaking with fear the next day, waking up with no income and no idea how to be a career artist. My face painting jobs slowly started to come back. I had to make money though. I then started painting bags, clothing, doing watercolours of nature and fan art, selling at markets, I got a shift a week at Curry’s Art Supplies downtown Toronto, this helped me learn about art, meet many full-time artists and was so extremely encouraging.

The one thing I was doing to make money with my art was pet portraits, I could definitely say I painted over 80 pet portraits in 2022 and that supported me as face painting jobs started to come back. At vendor events, I started seeing the same vendors and customers and someone said to me “Oh, yes I remember you, your the pet portrait artist!” I think that statement triggered something in my brain that said I am way more than that.

Then, the other risky thing I did that started to change me as a person. In November of 2022, I participated in an art show, that I have done before, but this time I brought my dream and meditation paintings to show. This was by far the scariest thing I did up to this point. I felt naked and vulnerable. People were staring at my art, pointing, looking scared, worried, happy, excited, intrigued and asked questions. I did not expect the wonderful comments and response. I sold prints and even had inquires to purchase my dream paintings. They are so personal, I didn’t even consider selling them. The response was overwhelming, I cried with joy that night. Some new light was glowing inside of me.

In February 2023 I took a risk I never thought I would take. I participated in Art Battle Toronto – a 20 minute painting competition where the audience votes for a winner. I always thought of art as subjective and having a “battle” was silly. But, inspired by fellow artists, I applied to participate. I spent the week before the event, pushing through 20 minute paintings thinking “What would people like?” It was very frustrating. The morning of Art Battle, I had 3 more ideas in my head and they were just things I like to paint; very sci-fi, dreamy and strange. I decided to just paint my ideas and enjoy the experience of letting people see my work even if they don’t like it, I became comfortable with just being me. A lesson I learned was, always be true to yourself. After being chosen to be in the final round and watching people vote and bid on my weird art I felt a boost of happiness and unbearable urges to cry in front of everyone. I did my second 20 minute painting and I won the whole event! It was the most surreal moment of my life. Since that day, my risks have shown me that I can be an artist, people like my art and that this could actually happen.

From then on, face painting amped up, I offer paint parties, live painting for events, bottle painting for luxury brands, commissions for conceptual and visionary art became a thing and I am just learning to balance it all now.

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 professional artist. I am self-taught and have experience in many fields of art. I have been creating my entire life and only decided to pursue a full-time career 3 years ago. I am a face and body painter, a paint night host, a live painter, muralist, create commissioned pieces, miniature art works and apparel painting. I work with Dior, and VIBE Arts as an artist. My personal work is based off of my imagination, my love for nature, my dreams and visions.

I have 16 years of experience as a face painter, I offer face painting for children and adults, body painting and UV glow paint applications. At private events, I allow people to choose whatever they would like painted on them, instead of limiting them to a list. Face painting was one of the first creative services I pursued professionally and it always brings me joy.

I host paint nights for private events, corporate functions and children. The art I teach are always original, one of a kind pieces that I tailor to the client and type of event. I supply everything needed to produce a unique painting and learn new skills.

Live painting is something I truly enjoy. I have live painted for private events, birthday parties, DJ debuts and competitions. I can either freestyle something unique or stick to a theme. It is a great addition to many events.

Murals are customized by the client and created specifically for the space. I have painted for daycares, kids rooms, restaurants, chalk murals and window paintings. My murals range from character pieces to landscapes and my own original art.

Commissioned paintings are wide ranging from fan art to pet portraits. I have created concept art for Dungeons and Dragons players, turned kids into their favorite characters and painted many cat, dog and even hamster portraits. When painting apparel, I work with leather, denim and cotton using specialized fabric paints with custom designs. I paint miniature figurines for board games such as Warhammer and Kingdom Death. I have also been commissioned to do “intuitive portraits” of people using meditation and my mind’s eye.

I work with Dior as a bottle painter; customizing clients’ purchases with names and floral designs in person at their various retailers. I also work with VIBE Arts as a lead artist in acrylic and watercolour instructing for children and adults.

My collection of art is based off of my imagination, my dreams and my visions. I have remembered my dreams since I was a child, and i still dream vividly often. I use these images as an outlet and have found my own style by incorporating them into my creative process.

Being an artist my whole life and not being comfortable showing it to the world until recently is something I had to find the courage for. . As I transitioned into a fulltime artist, I made sure to make use of the lessons I learned from my years of retail and customer service experience. I continue t0 grow, learn and discover new ways to make every service and product I offer something special for my client. I pour myself into my work, no matter how big or small the job may be.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I knew that pursuing art as a career is a viable path. As a child and young adult, no one ever told me that I could be an artist – as in make money and pay bills as an artist. I did have many people around me, family, friends, teachers and even strangers tell me that I need to pursue art, but I do wish I had someone, when I was younger, giving me that boost of confidence to see what others saw in my work. I would have benefited from a mentor or being in more art programs outside of school. I also think that if art programming gave more artists a chance no matter what age group, there may have been an earlier start for me in my career.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding thing about being an artist, is also one of the most strangest things about being an artist to me. That is, having others view my art. The ideas, conversations and stories that come up when others see my work is so fascinating and brings new light to what the imagery could mean. Because most of my paintings are surreal, from my dreams and visions, I don’t have true explanations all the time. I find even in face painting applications, the unexpected ideas that come from the person I am painting and the unknown aspect of the result is also very interesting. Once that child sees themselves in the mirror or the adult sees the freestyled design they trusted me with – the reactions are priceless and provide me with all the motivation I need to keep going.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dreampaint.ca
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreampaintart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dreampaintt
• Other: https://youtu.be/IGu4eAr3gps?si=j4gHGj7jQ30_ZGn6

  https://www.youtube.com/live/vtIlWSgk0ss?si=apj5hru7QdExQLJ1

Image Credits

Tristan Viney
Grizzly Visualz
Vanessa Paxton