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

Courtney, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us 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?

I knew I wanted to be an artist from the time I was able to hold a pencil. My first ever art sale happened when I was only 5 years old. I had set up an “art show” in my front yard of all my coloring book pages. My only customer the entire day was my mom who bought one of those pages for 25 cents. While I only had one supporter at the time, the idea of showing my art to people excited me. Flash forward to 23 years old and I am now earning a full-time living from my artwork. I feel extremely lucky to have the job I always dreamed of, but that does not mean that it hasn’t been a struggle along the way. Because I don’t have a traditional and consistent job, it is easy to always feel as though you are falling behind or feeling burn out from working too much. Overtime however, the reward for having the dedication and passion for what you do pays off in incredible ways.

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

My journey as an artist started at a young age, but my actual art career started to take off around my last two years of college. I attended the University of Tampa studying fine art with a concentration in painting, while interning under a professional mural artist. I was gaining knowledge and experience at the same time and I was feeling prepared to take on the real world. When I graduated in 2021 I spent most of my time attending different art shows in the Tampa area and trying to convince business owner to trust me with their blank walls. I hustled everyday in order to pay my rent and create a larger portfolio for myself. As of right now, I am traveling around the country painting murals for different companies and private residences while also creating more traditional paintings inside my studio. What sets me apart from other artists is that I’m skilled in multiple mediums. I work with a lot of clients who have a specific vision for their brand and my job is to be able to make that vision come to life. Whether the client wants a street-art style spray painted mural or a crisp acrylic minimalistic style mural, I am able to create that for them.
I am still early on in my art career and know that there are bigger and better things to come, if you are interested in following along with my journey please follow my Instagram at @courtney_makes_art

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.

Being a creative and starting your own business is harder than you would think. On social media we tend to share the highlights of our job, like finishing a mural, collaborating with other artists, or going to fancy art shows. But behind closed doors, a lot of artist struggle in different ways everyday. Non-creatives usually have a traditional 9-5 job with health insurance, maternity leave, paid vacations, and a few days off every week to relax. In my personal experience as a young artist starting my own business, it’s hard to know when to clock in and clock out of your own job and set boundaries for yourself. Sometimes I will work 7 days a week for an entire month because I’m flooded with projects and need to pay my bills. This results in burnout and exhaustion to the point where I feel like my creative juice has run out. I have lost a few friends along the way who don’t understand the struggle of trying to be successful in the art industry. It’s hard to make time for friends when I’m worried about meeting a deadline or worried about paying bills for the month. At times you’re not working it feels as though you’re not working hard enough or wasting your time. Although our job looks glamorous on social media, there is so much work that goes into being an artist that people don’t see.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

While I was attending the University of Tampa, I was studying fine art and concentrating on photo realism oil painting. Throughout my entire college experience I thought that I wanted to make a career from my oil paintings. Little did I know how difficult that would be. I would go to art shows every weekend and only sell a piece once in a blue moon. As much as I loved traditional art, it felt like the craft was dying around me. I asked my professor at the time what he thought would be a better route for me career-wise and he recommended me as an assistant to a professional mural artist. At the time, murals were extremely intimidating to me and I never thought I would be able to do something to that scale. Slowly I was able to learn the ins and outs of painting murals and my entire perspective on making a career from art changed within that year. Since then I have been painting murals full-time for two years.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.courtneymakesart.com/
• Instagram: @courtney_makes_art
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Courtneymakesartofficial

Image Credits
Redflaremedia on Instagram