Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chelle Fazal. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Chelle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Many years ago, prior to social media, I attempted to make a full time career from selling my artwork and teaching art classes. It just wasn’t the best timing. My skill and my style really weren’t well established yet, so I had no real cohesive voice. Fast forward to about 7 or 8 years ago, and I was back into painting. Initially, I painted because I had to paint. Many creatives will understand what I mean when I say that. I had worked at the same place for 13 years and had just stepped down from my position. I really felt lost in many ways because my identity was so wrapped up in what I did there. I had to paint in order to process where I was at that point in my life and where I was going. In that difficult season, I found my creative voice and produced a large body of work. My husband and I decided to try again and we signed up for outdoor markets and festivals and really grew and learned in that process. Ultimately we ended up at the downtown Charleston City Market in South Carolina. That’s where things really began to take off for me. Between the two of us, we have managed to go full time, and the art sales are the bulk of our income. The advantage I have as an artist selling my work is that my husband is a professional photographer who, through the years, learned how to photograph artwork, which really is a skill in itself. He had also printed large format paper and canvas prints for other people for years, so by the time it was my turn, I had a ready made production system as well. We also discovered along the way that he was a much better salesman of my work than I was. I’m spoiled in that regard. With the system that we have, I create and he pretty much does everything else. I have freedom in creating and “playing” in my studio while my biggest fan photographs, prints, and sells my work.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have always been a creative person. I would find all sorts of crafting supplies at my Grandma’s house as a little girl and would make necklaces, barbie clothes out of fabric swatches, learned knitting, cross stitching, and sewing. That was really where my love for creating began. Later, in middle school and high school, I took whatever art classes were available. Hours were spent in my room drawing with pencil, colored pencils, and charcoals. One of my favorite things to do at that time was to create room designs with a Crayola designer kit I had. I would love to track one of those old kits down. And of course, as anyone around my age would remember, I had fashion plates! I never had formal training. I frankly have mixed feelings about art school. Some of my friends thrived in their art college experience while others struggled. I’ve taken a couple art classes here and there but ultimately I am self taught. Early on, my inspiration came from other artwork that I liked. The challenge would be to see if I could reproduce work in different styles. Eventually I found my own style with acrylics. I like that they are less toxic and smelly than other mediums and dry more quickly, as I’m not very patient when it comes to results. Though I currently do sell originals, most of the work we sell is reproduction. As I mentioned before, my husband photographs all of my work, so we are able to use one image and sell it over and over, which really takes the pressure off of me to constantly produce new pieces. I believe last we checked, I have over 300 images we use to make prints and canvas giclees, and that is mainly what we sell. Because I paint mainly animals and flowers, we really have a wide variety of people who purchase my work. I’ve had clients who are interior designers, expecting parents for nurseries, and people who collect based on a specific animal they love. Something my husband loves to do is ask people who come through the market what their favorite animal is. Most of the time, I have it! I also love to explore painting on other surfaces. I’ve painted furniture, jackets, handbags…I’m always looking for something new to use for my creative play. We also self published a coffee table book of the bulk of my land animals. This year I painted several wall murals of flowers, two of them in my home, and for a couple of local clients. Recently, I hand painted a series of flowers on colorful handbags and just finished the 12th painting for my 2023 calendar. I’m always looking ahead at new projects and probably have at least 5 mulling around in my brain at any given time.

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

In the early stages of my business, my husband and I were really struggling financially. His photography business was really slow at that time, and our two boys were little so it was really difficult for me to be able to justify a full time job. Anytime we would drive past a decent looking piece of furniture on the side of the road, we would pick it up. I would clean it up, paint and/or stain it, and sell it on the local online marketplace. That extra cash here and there really helped get us through our hardest season.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I can’t speak for all creatives, because we are all different. However, in my experience and that of many other creative people I’ve talked to, we can absorb a lot around us. By that I mean, we often see, feel, and experience more deeply. Because of that, I know I need more downtime, more time away from people and noise, not because I don’t like people, but it can become too much. We can often be empaths and have to set boundaries in order to not become too overwhelmed or swept up in other peoples difficulties and take them on as our own. We can often be more sensitive, but not in the sense of walking on eggshells around us. It’s more about being sensitive with our senses, and again, often need more time to process because there are so many stimuli coming in. It takes me a long time to process things as well. Like when I watch a movie, any movie, it can take hours for me to really think about and process what I just watched, from thinking about what the producers were trying to communicate to what I liked or disliked about it. Because I know I’m like this, I often will let my husband handle the people side of the business.

Contact Info:

• Website: chellefazal.com
• Instagram: @illuminateartisan
• Facebook: Chelle Fazal

Image Credits
Mahmood Fazal