We recently connected with Autumn Cyr and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Autumn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I am a full-time visual artist and musician. Though I’ve been working on developing and improving my skills as an artist consistently for around 10 years now, I decided to leave my steady position as a griddle cook at the Baker in beautiful downtown New Bedford in early 2021 to pursue art full-time. This was a massive risk. I was diving head first into the unknown. I knew I wanted art to be my career of choice, I knew I only wanted to create, but I felt grossly underprepared. The pandemic invited solitude, the commissions were coming in, but my mental health would be neglected and I wasn’t creating for myself, I was only creating to pay bills. This led to a lot of stress, monthly burnouts, and a regression to complete introversion. At the end of 2021 my best friends started a band. They needed a vocalist, and so I joined and we became StarBath. Adjusting to the commitment of being in a band and still working as a visual artist was a lot to take on. At times the workload was too much. Commissions were coming in and, though I was able to pay the bills, rest seemed absolutely out of the question. I struggled with the idea of giving up, there were times that I really wanted to. Life continued on and there was no time to stop. This was the risk I had taken, I knew that I would have to work hard to pull through, I knew it wouldn’t be easy and failure was absolutely out of the question. Through the triumphs and the struggles and with the support from friends, family and fellow creatives over the past two years, I have learned so much. I am learning more every day and strive to continue creating and only get better at it. I am blessed to be able to do this, and though it is challenging, the risk has been well worth it. Amazing things are happening because I took this risk, and though there have been many hard times too, I wouldn’t trade this for anything.

Autumn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Autumn Liv Cyr. I am a New Bedford visual artist and musician. I have always had a love for the humanities and being creative and knew what I wanted most out of my life. In 2014 I graduated from the Visual Design Program at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School and though I strongly desired to attend college and further my education, it, unfortunately, would not be possible for me. Following high school, I would work various part time and full time jobs while taking on commissions and busking on the sidewalks of downtown to help sustain myself. I have been attending the school of life and extending my abilities on my own for nearly a decade now and through perseverance and hard work, I have learned a great deal and have become a pretty versatile creative as a result.

As a visual artist I specialize in acrylic painting, watercolor, pen and ink, pastels and pencils and have, more recently, built up confidence in my abilities as a graphic designer. I often work with real estate agents to create closing day gifts in the form of home illustrations. I have had the honor of painting and illustrating many pet portraits and portraits of loved ones. I am always excited to paint window murals, and have a few interior and exterior murals under my belt as well. The evoked emotion that my work brings to others means so much to me. Since I’ve been in a band, I’ve connected with many incredible acts and people. I find that I have exciting opportunities designing logos, album artworks and merchandise for my own band as well as other musicians. These graphic design projects extend to local businesses, brands, artists and anyone looking to have designs made for their project! I also offer original artwork and fine art prints, often in the form of musician’s portraits, surrealism or still life.

I have built an extensive portfolio and care very deeply about the work that I do. I am incredibly honored to be a part of the New Bedford creative community and am constantly seeking for ways to improve. I love new challenges and am happy and honored to help with any of your creative, design or fine art needs.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I’m not sure if it is resilience or just a desperate need to survive, but 2022 was a year full of some of the most challenging life circumstances I’ve ever had to face. I’m going to be honest here, I’m not sure how I made it through. January 1st of last year I tested positive for Covid-19 and it hit me pretty hard, the shortness of breath and the body pain, not to mention the awful smell and taste, took me out for weeks. At the end of January last year a very dear friend, a brother, of ours suddenly and tragically, passed away. For a while it broke me. Even today, I get messed up about it. The world doesn’t stop for grief. The bills don’t stop because your depressed. My best friends and I had to keep going, but now it was for his sake, too. The overabundance of loss in the past few years is heavy, there’s so much of it, it’s everywhere and I can’t help but feel so deeply for those who are going through it. Still, I kept making art and music anyway, only now it was really to survive, desperately hoping to get through it and desperately trying to cope. I worked hard, maybe too much, in hopes to ease the pain and in hopes to stay afloat, but I was struggling. In the summer of last year I was beginning to get back on track, but my boyfriend and I would be involved in a car accident. We were hit by a driver who was under the influence, speeding and who ran a stop sign. Our car flipped. Thank goodness we were relatively okay, but I suffered a concussion that would rattle me for months. The pain, the health issues, and the severe toll on my mental health was unlike anything I had experienced before. I was unable to create. I was unable to do much of anything without my head screaming. The financial and physical toll that this period would take on me was unlike anything I had experienced before it. I lost opportunities, I felt horrible and I was just barely scraping by. There’s a StarBath song about it, on Spotify or wherever you listen to music, Mental Images, that was one of my only outlets following this event, music and art. The world doesn’t stop when you’re going through it, wrung out and struggling. Honestly it was one of the lowest points in my adult life. Still, I pressed on and came back to create even harder. Many of these struggles carried over into this year, but I’m still here, I’m still making art and I’m still doing my best to overcome and do better. For me, failure is not an option, there is always a way through it even on the worst of days.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I am a strong advocate for changing the dialogue around creatives and how they are treated. I don’t believe in the “starving artist” argument and the disbelief in the importance of creativity in society. Even though I’ve experienced first hand, being overlooked and disrespected as an artist and as a professional, I don’t believe it has to be that way and I take responsibility for my part in why those projects fell through. I have since learned from my mistakes. Artists work hard. Artists are human. Paintings, for me, can take anywhere between 20 and 90, if not more, hours of time. When you ask an artist to create something for you, you are asking for their time, experience, skillset and specialized knowledge. When you ask an artist to create for you, you are asking for something wholly original and special. When you ask an artist to create for you, please be mindful of their availability, time and workflow. Many artists tackle multiple projects at one time, myself included. Like any profession, years are put into their work and developing their practice. Artists are involved in every square inch of the economy from entertainment to business branding and are essential to economic growth. Throughout history artists have been respected and in most countries art is respected, so why in America are the values so different? When did the sentiment around artists change? It is a very lucrative and extensive profession and should be respected as such. I believe changing the language and breaking things down helps greatly to understand why artists are so imperative. Research the type of art you are looking to have done, the style you are looking for, ask questions and be kind! The artist of your choosing is most likely happy to answer and have an open dialogue with you about cost, process and previous experiences. It is a great opportunity, also to learn from, connect and engage with your arts community. It is a great opportunity as well to build life-long and meaningful relationships. If you have the ability, you should support locally as much as possible, as much of that support will be returned locally. I believe in community over competition. For example, if you know me as an artist, but my style isn’t quite what you are looking for, I can refer you to quite a few other artists, who’s styles and expertise may be a better fit for your needs! Lastly, being kind and understanding goes a long way. Life happens and we’re all going through it. Supporting an artist can be as simple as interacting with and sharing their social media posts, talking about their work, referring your friends and family to them or purchasing their originals. Can you imagine a life without art or music? I find it hard to visualize, myself. The world would be duller without it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autumnlivcyrart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autumnlivs
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/autumnlivcyrart
• Other: https://www.fiverr.com/autumnlivcyrart

Image Credits
Photos of Artworks by Autumn Liv Cyr Paintings, Illustrations, Graphic Artworks by Autumn Liv Cyr