We were lucky to catch up with Brittnee Sylvester recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brittnee thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I think in any path you choose in life and being successful in that life, is to love what you do first and foremost. Also, to stay motivated and determined to be successful. I personally think that it is easy to dream and to want to be successful in your life. But your dreams are nothing without action. Then even with action, it takes a lot of hard work, not just once, but over and over again. There will be 100 “no’s” before your first “yes”, then after that first “yes” there will be another 100 “no’s”. The “no’s” are what stop people from becoming successful. People don’t like the hard work, the hours, and the negativity surrounding success, and ultimately, they lose sight of the dream. That is where loving what you do is so important. You can like something, and even love something, but if you don’t love it with your whole being, heart and soul, you will eventually fail because the one thing that is inevitable, is failure. When you can’t see past failure to keep trying, you give up. But when you love something with everything you have and you believe in what you’re doing, and yourself, the failures will just be seen as another bump in the road that you will not let slow you down.

So ultimately, your love and passion coupled with hard work and perseverance is going to be what makes you successful in your life and in your careers.

Brittnee, 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?

I am a professional mixed media, oil artist living on the outskirts of Seattle, Wa. I am a wife, and a mom to 4 kids, and one crazy german shepherd. I grew up in California, but have called the PNW my home for the last 15 years. I have always been creative as a child. I loved to color and practice drawing something until I got it to near perfection in my little eyes. I found anyway to let my creativity flow, including crocheting hats and purses, cutting up my cloths and re-sewing them, to ceramics and finally painting. Growing up art wasn’t an acceptable career path, so I ultimately succumbed to corporate America, got married, had kids and lived a “normal” life.

I had a major life altering traumatic event happen in early 2019. I became depressed and lost myself. While going through that hard time, I heard an inner voice that said “Brittnee just paint”. That day I dug out my old paint brushes, went and bought a bunch of paint, and started painting again. I haven’t stopped painting since. I’ve always known this is that I wanted to do with my life, but never thought it was obtainable, and accepted as a “real career”. But painting healed me, and I realized the more I painted that this isn’t just what I have wanted to do with my life, but that it is what I am supposed to do with my life. I believe art has the power to heal everyone in this world, not just artists. Visual art is so powerful, I would even go as far as saying the most powerful and universal form of art there is. You can look at a painting and instantly feel a connection to it, like that painting was meant just for you. Art speaks to every person. What I see in a painting, and the story it tells to me will be completely different than the person standing next to me, or even myself in the future. You don’t have to speak the same language as the person next to you for you both to understand it. There are no barriers in art, and that is why it is so powerful and so healing, because it can touch every corner of the world without barriers.

I paint abstract art as well as abstract-realism art. But no matter the subject I am painting, I paint each piece from my heart. I often get asked “what is your favorite piece of art you have created” and I honestly hate that question! Because as I just mentioned, I paint from my heart. Every piece I paint, whether on canvas, paper, a locket, a jacket or a mural, whether an abstract or imagery, I am painting it from my heart. Each piece I paint will always have my heart living within it, so when I get asked that question it’s like asking me which kid is my favorite…its an impossible question! I believe that art like all of us is imperfect, and I love incorporating that into my work. I love making things looks unfinished or messy because I want my art to resonate with the viewer. We all have scars and traumas and when you can embrace those scars and traumas you will be a million times more beautiful than you are now, and you can see that within my work.

I offer original paintings, both large and small, on paper, canvas, plexiglass, wood, and even denim jackets. All at different price points. I want not just the elite, rich and famous to collect art, I want every single person to collect art and become an art collector. Art is for everyone and the idea that you can only be an art collector if you collect from a select group of artists at a certain price point, is just beyond me. So I really try to offer something for every one out there who connects with not just my art but myself as well. I will often go out of my way to offer payment plans that are specific to the collector just to make sure that the painting they have connected with, gets to stay with them. I also offer commissions and do murals for larger businesses. I absolutely love working with the collector and/or client. I spend a lot of time getting to know them, about their life, and their vision. I love going back and forth with ideas, making sure their vision comes through with my voice. In my business, related to commissions and murals, for me, it is really just connecting with that person and building a relationship with them to not just paint them a pretty picture, but to paint them something that will speak to their soul.

My ultimate goal in my art career, is all about connectivity with others, and pulling out those emotions that make you feel vulnerable. I once was at an event, and had a complete stranger talk to me about one of my paintings, and while we were discussing it, the painting brought her to tears. I was overwhelmed with so many emotions, but joy being the dominating emotion. I painted something, from nothing, and I had the power to touch someone so emotionally deeply and have them thank me for doing so. That feeling is more than I could ever ask for. I strive to paint something that connects strangers from every walk of life, and bring them together. I paint from my heart and hope to have that painting speak to you on a level deeper than the surface. If I can do that with every painting, my career as an artist will be fulfilled beyond words.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I can think of a lot of stories that relate to my resilience, I am after all a small business owner, but we don’t have all day to go through each, so I am going to start at the beginning, and how I started my business.

After quitting my job in corporate America, and focused on building my family, I found myself a stay-at-home mom. I would still consider myself to be a SAHM, just that I added entrepreneur and business owner to my title. With my husband being the sole income provider, my resources and capital were not abundant. When I first approached my husband and told him my dream, he was all for it and completely supportive. We were both, however; completely clueless on how to start and run a successful business. Not to mention with four little mouths to feed, we did not have the extra money to outsource and delegate the business and legal side of things.

Being an artist, I like to live in my right brain, you know the fun side of your brain. The left brain, although I’m very book smart, is not something I enjoy. I do not enjoy numbers, and laws, and anything that is structural. Not super great when you’re trying to start and run a business. I could have given up, but I really didn’t see how I could give up on my dream a second time around. So instead of giving up on my dream and doing something I love for a second time, I spent weeks researching, calling tax offices, the department of revenue, and talking to business owners I know. There were many sleepless nights, many tears, many frustrations, and so so so many headaches. All I wanted to do was paint. But I was determined. I learned how to apply for a business license, what type of license I needed, what my obligations were, and so so much more. I was left brain burnt out, but I pushed through and I built my business the legal way. Looking back, I value those late nights, the headaches, tears, and frustrations because it showed me that if you really want something, you won’t let anything get in your way. It showed me that no matter the obstacles, even if I don’t understand it, I am capable of finding my own way through hard work and determination.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

I took a huge risk on my very first mural. Until that point in my career, I had painted really large canvases before, but nothing to this scale. I wanted to offer murals to potential clients, and market that murals are something I provide to the public and communities around me. But I had never painted a mural before, and without examples to show your work, it is hard to close those deals.

My best friends husband is really into cars, and he reached out to me letting me know this car shop he goes to was looking for someone to do a mural but wasn’t sure on the price point they were wanting it done at, he thought it was low cost to free. Oh, and a quickly diminishing deadline for it to be finished. Now no one likes to offer their services for free, but I figured the least I could do was reach out to them, see what they were looking for and determine if it was something I really wanted to invest my time and money into. After talking to them and making a few sources that we both put ideas into, we came up with something we all loved, but I wasn’t sure if I could really pull it off, not to mention the chunk of money it was going to cost me to actually do this mural with little or no return. But remember, I wanted to offer murals, and although this would be pretty much a pro bono mural, it had the potential for exposure for years to come, and to provide work in the future. So, after a lot or internal and external debates, I decided to take the job.

I had 6 days to get a 35ft. long by 12ft. high wall, with a complex painting completed. They were having an open house because this high end car shop just recently relocated so they really wanted to have the mural done before it was to take place. I brought in my mother in law to drop off/pick up my kids from school and to watch my littlest one while I worked. And holy cheese and rice, that was a LOT of work. I’m pretty short, standing a whole 5foot 1inch tall. I was up and down ladders for six days, and I’m terrified of heights to top it off. My body hurt, and it hurt more and more with each passing day that I was there. I was actively painting this mural while they were working, another thing I hate-people seeing a painting unfinished. There are always ugly stages in your paintings, no matter how small or big. It’s unavoidable. I told everyone in that shop countless times not to judge it until I told them it was time to judge it, I’m pretty sure they all though I was crazy and had a good laugh at my expense at times, I know I did!

There were times that I didn’t think I was good enough to do this mural, or that they would hate it and I would let them down. There were times I didn’t think I would meet their deadline and it wouldn’t be finished by the time their open house came. There were times I questioned why I was doing this for free and spending so much time and money on paint, gas, and supplies. There were times I missed my kids, and that they missed me. Everything at one point felt it was all stacked against me. I worked really hard, not only painting, but overcoming my self doubts and realizing my self worth during that mural, and I learned a lot. When i was finally finished, I was elated. I pushed myself to the max to meet their deadline, and I was packing up literally 2 hours before their open house. They all loved it, and I was beyond proud of what I accomplished.

Now for the hard part, sit back and wait to see if it gets me anymore work…and guess what you guys….it did!!! I got another mural shortly after. And to top it off, I was able to provide examples of my mural work within my portfolio. I landed more murals and jobs off of just this one pro bono mural that I honestly wasn’t sure was worth the risk. I have a motto I use for myself and my business, and that motto is, I don’t say no to opportunities. There will always be “no’s”. You will never be good enough for everyone, and not everyone will connect with you and your art or your business, but if you don’t open up the opportunities within your control, your “yes’s” won’t come as quickly. Sometimes you need to take a calculated risk and see where it leads your business and your life. Had I said this mural wasn’t a risk I was willing to take, I would not be where I am today. The risk was worth it, and it paid off in the end.

Contact Info:

• Website: Brittneesylvester.com
• Instagram: @brittneesylvester
• Facebook: @brittneesylvester
• Other: Email- [email protected]

Image Credits
Brittnee sylvester owns all rights to photos