We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cindy Baron a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cindy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Yes I have been able to earn a good living selling my paintings. I started selling early thru a few galleries but outdoor park shows were a big contributor and a great way to grow and learn the business. Starting out early with outdoor art festivals also gave you discipline to work on a body of work during the year to sell mostly when spring and summer approached.

I did these art festivals for about a dozen years and also added a few galleries that represented me too. In my early years, I also worked in a tool and dye company and would do my art in the evenings. It was also a time when I was raising two sons and my spouses career led to moving from state to state. Being able to produce art became harder but I was still able to devote time to my craft.

When you are your own entrepreneur, it take discipline and passion to make it happen. I won’t sugar coat the process, some years were lean, especially when you move a family or there are health issues, but it never derailed me for what I knew I wanted to do.

As far as speeding up the process, not sure how to answer that. My journey was unique. I grew so much with the ups and downs in the art world and those lessons are invaluable. Say it was all easy, would you want it as much if so. My art matured thru the years that I am able to pass it on to students in my workshops. I teach a handful of workshops each year, not sure I would of had the confidence in my early years to relay my craft the way I do now.

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 knew as a young girl I was going to be an artist. It really chose me. I had a teacher in high school that was instrumental in my art education and I think he was the catalyst for me to begin my professional trek.

I am a self taught painter in oil, watercolor, charcoal and have some of the top galleries representing me across the country. Through the years my peers have voted me to master level status in:

Oil Painters of America Master
Plein Air Painters of America
American Watercolor Society Signature
American Impressionist Society Signature
Laguna Plein Air Painters Signature

I also am a plein air enthusiast traveling to areas to paint, mountains, canyons and ocean scenes. I also teach workshops to inspiring artists at museums, art organizations and schools.

This all began early by entering shows and meeting artist around the world. Friendships are made and trips were planned and proved to be the best education when you want to grow as an artist. As the knowledge and years added up, I have been able to now judge these shows that I once entered. When you are self employed you learn discipline, you need to be your own champion and invest in yourself. I stay engaged with traveling the world, visiting museums and being open to new ideas.

My paintings reflect my travel experience. My clients know that I have been there to paint and gather information that I take to the studio to create. Plein Air, meaning on site painting is vital to growth as an artist. You need the experience on site, as photos will leave out a lot of information. You commit to memory the feeling of the atmosphere, what moved you with the scene and all the references you gathered from your years in the field.

There are many things to be proud of, but none more then raising my sons. I’m proud of family, friends and having a talent to create the beauty that we get to live in. When I paint I hope I take the viewer on a path through my paintings as if they were there themselves.

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

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Resilience comes in many forms. I dreamed of being an artist since I was a little girl. Creating was always something that was in me. As a young artist I loved it all. Sewing, drawing, painting and even helped build a home. It was a natural path and a family that was as equally into all things made with the hands. It took many years to learn how to make a living as an artist. Having a full time job that help buy art supplies and pay the bills. Getting married and raising two pro athletes. A lot of sacrifices especially on my shoulders came with the responsibility of raising and moving a family. Being an artist was always in me and I still produced and made strides to professionalism, no matter how small the steps were. As a professional, you have galleries that need fresh work on time; you have commissions that need to be approved and workshops to plan across the country. As you grow the demand also increases, so you need to keep a tight calendar and visit it daily. Not only did I have a family to take care of, I also had major health issues that surprised us all. I was born with a heart defect and just as my career was blossoming, I was told I needed surgery. Shows were already planned across the country and I needed to cancel to do the surgery and 6 months of rehab. Then came the end of my marriage then a couple of years ago, cancer. All of this was in a 10-year span, unexpected and a test of how strong and resilient one can learn to be. Through all of this, I leaned on the easel. I had worked so hard to become an accomplished artist and needed to meet some deadlines. As hard as all of this was, I really learned how important art is to the human mind, to healing and to you. I still needed to paint. I still needed to create. I spoke of passion and goals earlier; my passion never waned, just needed to take a different path. I found that painting in all its form transported me to a better place from all that was happening. As a professional and someone that needs to paint, I also needed to make a living. The goals are still there and the passion never waned.

Another test of resiliency is what we are going through right now, the pandemic and the economy. Art is a luxury and when the economy is slow it leads to fewer sales. I have been fortunate to have collectors and commissions to keep me busy and workshops scheduled. If you are just starting out, it is helpful to have a support system, family, friends and other artist to talk to. This all will pass when the economy settles and once again the galleries and shows will pick up again too.

Resiliency is learned thru all the obstacles in pursuing your dream. For me, my health issues only made me stronger. Raising pro athletes made me passionate and wiser. My steps to where I am now may have been slowed some, but the journey a valuable lesson to pass on. You have to be your best supporter; you have to really want it. Going thru my health issues gave me strength that I didn’t realize I had. I found painting was a dose of medicine that helped me the most thru those times. That’s where the passion comes into play. The best athlete won’t be great if they don’t have passion. Being able to pick yourself up when times are tough is something learned. With each set back, my career was accelerating, painting thru those times made me stronger. Art really does heal the soul.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There are so many rewards of being an artist. One is teaching. I do a handful of workshops each year. Workshops are hard because you want each student to leave with a sense of accomplishment, growth and a smile on their face. Being able to share what has taken you a lifetime to learn is invaluable. Recently I had some college students in a class, they were so eager to learn about landscape painting, that they actually gave me a gift. I received such joy from sharing my journey of art, giving them helpful tips and tools of the trade, that they left with a renewed excitement to follow their dream. It will be exciting to see how they blossom as they embark on their life as an artist.

Another accomplishment that has come from the years of painting is, my work is now in museums and many notable collections. I have to pinch myself sometimes knowing this. I work hard to keep galleries and collectors happy; a lot of hours are spent at the easel. A lot of hours are spent on growing in my knowledge of my craft. Artists are unique in that they need to be creative and never become stagnant. For me, I am always looking for the next thing or item that sparks a painting in my head.

Contact Info:

• Website: cindybaron.com
• Instagram: cindybaronart
• Facebook: Cindy Baron
• Youtube: Cindy Baron
• Other: Painting videos on youtube. Look up Cindy Baron artist