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

Courtney, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

Before I became a full time artist, I owned a stationery and design company that catered specifically to weddings. It was 2009- not the ideal time to start a business, much less a creative one, but I had a vision and was determined to see it through.

Unlike other stationery companies, each invitation I created was designed exclusively for my clients as well as individually hand painted. So basically each invitation I created was a custom piece of art that was gifted by the couple to their guest that just so happened to also invite them to a wedding.

Soon after launching my company, I took a small ad out on a lifestyle blog (again, this was 2009- the heyday of blogging) and just a few days later I had my first signed client contract with a (phenomenal) couple living in Australia.

I remember being so excited, but also a little nervous seeing that this was not just my first “real” client, but my first international one as well (which meant I had to learn a lot about international shipping, taxes, etc. and I had to do it relatively quickly.)

It was challenging, but incredibly rewarding. I learned just how much I loved working with clients, how much I enjoyed the commission process, and most importantly- how to make sure you pick the correct clients. The type of clients that trust you and your talents and allow you the freedom to create something truly spectacular. Those feelings and lessons served me well then and continue to serve me now as an artist.

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

My name is Courtney Khail (pronounced “kale”) and I am an Athens, Georgia based artist known for my bold abstracted floral paintings which feature vibrant pools of pigment and gestural line work.

Originally from Augusta, Georgia, I studied visual arts at Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School for eight years before going on to receive my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Scientific Illustration from The University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art.

A storyteller at heart, I utilize flowers, color, gestural line work, and personal anecdotes to share my feelings on influence, religion, and womanhood. My art is a celebration of the unique blend of Southern charm and feminist empowerment, using the symbolism of flowers to create paintings that are both visually striking and emotionally resonant.

My work has been featured in various publications and websites including The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Food Network, GoodGrit Magazine, and CommonCreativATL. In 2017 my first solo exhibition opened at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, and in 2018 the Georgia Council for the Arts commissioned me to create a custom painting for then First Lady of Georgia, Sandra Deal. My artwork can be found in collections across the United States as well as exclusive collections for various companies and hotels including the Rosewood Baha Mar Resort in Nassau, the Whole Foods headquarters in Austin, and the Hotel del Coronado, in San Diego.

In addition to commissioned work and murals (both for individuals and companies,) I normally release somewhere between two to four painting collections a year on my site. (Make sure to sign up for my newsletter if you want first dibs!)

Those wanting to see and learn more can view available work on my website, www.courtneykhail.com, or follow me on Instagram to see the latest behind the scenes sneak peeks. And of course, if you have any questions or would like to discuss a possible commission, I’m just an email away!

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2015, my husband and I moved back to Atlanta from Denver, Colorado. By that time I had owned my stationery and invitation company for over six years. I had clients all across the world, West Elm was carrying my stationery, and it seemed like the next logical step was expansion.

The only problem was- I didn’t love it the same way anymore. And as anyone who has ever run a business can tell you, you can’t keep going for long if your heart isn’t in it. So I decided to take the time around our move to reevaluate what I wanted/how I wanted to proceed. After committing six years to a single goal you might think this would have been a decision I fretted over. Instead, I knew my answer before I even finished asking myself the question “what next?”

I wanted to return full time to art.

So that is exactly what I did.

I fulfilled the orders I’d already committed to and then slowly stopped accepting new ones, all while building a website, setting up my studio, ordering new business cards, etc. It was a busy few months, but by that fall I was officially a full time artist.

It’s funny because I’d always worried that changing course would feel like failure, but it was actually the exact opposite. Once I committed to what I really wanted to do, I recognized that each step/challenge/experience along the way had served to prepare me for success in my final goal.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

If it’s alright I’m going to broaden that question to “what do I think non-creatives struggle to understand about creative businesses” because more often than not, when I’m speaking with a non-creative about what my job is, they have absolutely no clue what it entails.

And that’s understandable! Our education system does a great job of explaining what careers like lawyer, doctor, teacher, etc. look like, but when it comes to being an artist we were given much fuzzier descriptions of what that actually looked like career-wise. (A lot of that is probably due to the fact that there is no “one right way” to be an artist.)

To grossly oversimplify it and put it into “corporate” terms, artists must simultaneously manage both research & development and sales for their enterprise. We come up with an idea, research the best ways to make that idea come to life, develop said idea (onto canvas, paper, film, clay, etc.) and then proceed to sell that developed idea to our clients and/or galleries.

No two days look the exact same (some days I paint, other days are office days where I have to focus on things like PR, taxes, or ordering supplies,) I’m always working (because my brain never shuts off and inspiration can be found everywhere,) and I am constantly working on finding the balance being being vulnerable enough to create something true and meaningful, with being strong enough to present it to the public.

It can be a tough career, but it is so rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.courtneykhail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/courtneykhail
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CourtneyKhailWatercolors/
• Other: https://www.threads.net/@courtneykhail

Image Credits
Color photo of Courtney Khail by Angie Webb Creative
Black and white photo of Courtney Khail working by Elle Golden Photography
All artwork photos copyright of courtneykhail, llc