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

Cathy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I spent several years working in the corporate world as a graphic designer, making a good salary with good benefits and security. I left that to create my own art business. It was a risk that was definitely worth it. As they say: “Do what you love, the money will come”.

Cathy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For most of my life I have either worked in the art industry or spent hours devoted to art as a hobby. I recall as a small child, I would spend hours in nature examining the extricate vein structure of leaves which lead to a devout interest in botanical art. Although the business of life distracted my pursuit of an art career, I managed to stay committed to many forms of art.

Later in life, I went back to college for a degree in graphic design and immediately found a position in the corporate world as a marketing manager/graphic designer. I also worked as an adjunct instructor teaching graphic design at a local community college. For the most part, I enjoyed it and loved how much I learned with that industry. However, after over 10 years in that field, I realized that the corporate world wasn’t for me and I missed my original hands-on art.

After leaving the corporate world, I returned to drawing and loved how it re-energized me. I returned to my botanical artwork, using pencil and pen & ink. I also discovered the Zentangle®
art method and became a CZT (Certified Zentangle® Instructor). Immediately I began teaching Zentangle classes and created an art loving community of students wanting to learn as much as I could teach. I’m fortunate to have my own art studio which my husband and I decided to build to devote to my art as well as my art classes. It was and still is a very happy place to be!

During our COVID lock down period, I discovered colored pencils. I found an online course and my passion for colored pencils was immediate. I love how the colors blend together and how intricate and detailed my art became. I immersed myself into this medium, taking as many classes as possible and reading a lot of good information. I was hooked to say the least. I incorporated my new knowledge of this medium into my list of classes and discovered how much I love teaching this to other art lovers.

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 know for sure that my journey as a creative is my true passion. However, for anyone that has a “real job”, it might be interesting to know just how many hats I need to wear for my art business.

Some days (the best days) are spent drawing in my studio. I like that hat the best.
Sometimes I need to wear my marketing hat in order to promote what I do.
I also have an ordering materials hat (which needs organization and that isn’t my virtue)
Oh…I can’t forget the shipping hat, dealing with packing and shipping rates
Then, there’s the delivery hat, driving my artwork to various galleries and shows.
I have a class planning hat which takes a good amount of time, which also includes a class planning hat
I also teach online classes, which involves another hat – dealing with the technology
And speaking of technology – I also do instructional videos…more techno hats

Lots of hats…but I wouldn’t want to do anything else.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Having an art business isn’t easy. I’ve had to learn how to surf the waves, meaning the highs and lows. Like most artists, I hope to sell my art (as well as teach art). The six million dollar question for anyone that needs to market anything is: what do people want to buy”? The answer to that is ever eluding and changing. I constantly have to change my attitude and perspective in order to stay in the game. In what little free time I have, I usually spend it trying to learn more about my particular craft and to learn more ways to advertise.

As an artist, there are many times when I feel as though my creative juices have dried and I’ll find myself worried that I’ll never have another creative idea. Then, there are the days when I’ll spend hours working on an art piece and eventually look at it and decide that it needs to go into my ‘art cemetery”. That is where resilience is vital. Knowing that I have experienced those days before and will again keeps me in the game. It will pass. It always does.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cathyboytosart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cathyboytos_art/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathy-boytos-118694126/