We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Darcie Olley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Darcie, thanks for joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
Being an illustrator truly makes me happy. Having worked in a number of different jobs before, and alongside what I do now, I can attest to this. Don’t get me wrong, there are so many benefits to being in full time employment, (secure income and paid holidays, obviously!). Plus lots of people thrive in a busy, fast-paced work environment with lots of hustle and bustle, but being quite introverted myself, I’m happy in my own company. Any other job I’ve worked in, I’ve always suffered from some sort of anxiety, sometimes in small and manageable amounts, sometimes it’s forced me to quit. Being self-employed has given a sense of feeling like I’m in control of how things run and I’m able to have an influence on my own life, which feels very freeing. When times have been tough and orders and commissions have been few and far between, it’s been easy to romanticise going back to a steady job, to not have to worry about how I’m going to pay bills and taxes. However I’ve always come to the conclusion that I have two options: 1. Go back to what I know and be comfortable, but maybe not as fulfilled, or 2. Work twice as hard on what I love and work on making my dreams my reality. For now, I’m giving number 2 a go!
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 describe myself as an illustrator, as I mainly just draw things! Whether my drawings are applied onto cards, prints, clothing, books, stationary or homeware, they always start off simply as pencil sketches on paper. I then use a mixture of paint, ink, pen and photoshop to play around with them, and bring them to life. A bulk of my business is selling cards and prints online, as well as taking on portrait commissions now and then. Over the past couple of years I’ve began to develop my illustrative style more, with the hopes of working on some bigger projects and possibly finding an Agency to join.
My aim is to spread joy and positivity through my illustrations and I’m inspired by lots of things, but particularly the beauty and wonder of all things animals and nature. I work from home in the South East of the UK, alongside my partner who is also an artist.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
When people choose to shop directly with artists, creatives and other small businesses first, before resorting to the big guys (amazon etc), it really makes a world of difference! If you’re receiving a gift or a card from someone, to me, it also feels so lovely to know that person really thought about you and your personality when shopping. It’s also so easy to support people via social media now too, even if you’re not in the position to spend money with and artist who’s work you admire, shares, likes, comments and follows also mean the world to us too!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Being able to see ideas that started out as sketches, come to life on beautiful products never gets old, it’s such a buzz! Another really rewarding aspect of what I do is the few times I’ve had messages from people letting me know that I’ve inspired them to start creating themselves. That’s always wonderful to hear. Although I’m still just discovering lots of things myself, I’m always happy to offer my advice to anyone just getting started. I feel so happy to be doing what I love, that I want everyone to have the opportunity to do what they love too.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.darcieolley.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/darcieolley