We were lucky to catch up with Blake Summy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Blake, thanks for joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I started my business very small, out of my house in January of 2021. I took over a section of my garage because our home office was already being used by my roomate. Making paintings can also be very messy —so being in the garage seemed like a good fit. I had been making art and posting them in my free time since college ~ 5years —so I had a couple of leeds for commissions. I saved up my money from some good investments aswell as working, so my goal with these interested people was to simply make them a product. Cutting the price from the getgo so that I had work for the next year even if it wasn’t necessarily profitable. I just wanted to paint. Everyday all the time. And over time I thought i would gradually raise my prices.

So now we are approaching January of 2023, marking 2 years since I started painting full time.

So back to the question, if i could, would I start my career sooner or later? A very interesting question, I chose this one because for me starting my full time art career was an very difficult decision. I fell in love with art after I started my bachelors degree studying environmental science in Colorado. Pursuing art at this time was something that I feared. I thought people went to college so that you could get a good job. Is being an artist a “good” job? I didnt know at the time, so I didnt make a decision. I pushed it off. I finished my degree while still painting during all my free time. I then got a great job in my field a week after graduating. Boom, exactly what college is for, right?
Well I worked there for 8 months, and I did a thought experiment, how would I feel if I worked my butt off and got promoted up over the next 5 years, and I imagined an emptiness because I would have had to sacrifice my time spent painting so that I could excel at my job.

It took a long time but i finally knew, without a doubt, I want to be an artist. Its a tough decision because you cannot ignore finiancial responsibilities, but I was finally ready to put all my eggs in that basket.

So if i had the power to go back in time, drop out of college or switch my major to art, I wouldn’t do it. I believe that as an artist I am the sum of my experiences. The more I experience the better my art will be and if I were to start my journey sooner I would have less life to go off of. However I would not start any later either because it is also a developmental skill, the more I do it the better I am, and I want to be the best me possible.

So my advice on when to start, listen to your gut. If you have any doubt… dont do it, it takes a lot of sacrifice and you need to be strong and determined. But if you know this is what you want in order to live a happy life, and you physically can, do it. Life’s great journeys require a leap of faith so take the jump.

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

I am an acrylic painter/ artist. I make commissions, murals and fine art. I am also working to be a content creator as well as selling prints and merchandise.

As a commission artist I allow people to imortalize a memory or a feeling through my artistic style. My art can last 100s of years because acrylic paint is essentially liquid plastic. Commissions are a service, and i am committed to create stunning works that will elevate the energy of the space that it resides in.

Murals are something I just started doing, but my fine art skills are very transferable to this type of creation the only difference is scale.

I average 60hrs of painting time per piece, i pour myself into each and everyone. I am very ambitious with my ideas because I love to challenge myself. This is because I believe in developing my skills so that I can be the best painter I can possibly be. And pressure makes diamonds. However the most challenging concept is not always the best. I also believe in balance. Finding the perfect concoction of challanging and familiarity is essential to honing in on a style as well as developing my abilities.

In order to be a successful artist I also need to develop a relationship with the public. In ofder to do this I will be working on my online presence by making youtube videos, twitch live streams, tiktok videos and insta gram reels. This takes a lot of time and energy. Time that i normally alot to making the paintings. So I am also working on my time management skills so that all facets of my career can be cared for. My business and my online name is blakespaint.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

My most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been charity. I donated some paintings as well as created works for a loss because it got myself out there and showed selflessness. This has made people want to have works made by me, not just because they look beautiful but because they trust me.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My business partner is my mother. Our relationship became more than just family because I showed her my dedication to art as a craft and I proved to her that I have the ability to succeed. I also admited my need for a manager because most of my time goes into creating. She helps me meet other artists as well as uses her wisdom to guide me in my decision making

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.Blakespaintart.com
• Instagram: Blakespaint
• Facebook: Blakespaint
• Twitter: Blakespaint
• Youtube: Blakespaint
• Other: Tiktok: blakespaint

Image Credits
Daniel Mannes Micayla Catanzariti