We recently connected with Debbie Arambula and have shared our conversation below.
Debbie , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been 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? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
Yes, I have made a full time living for 29 years. Ok well this is a loaded question as you can imagine all the adventures I have had over the past 29 years. :)
Every experience and every connection along the way has helped fuel my passion to create art that uplifts and brings more love to life to daily to my collectors. I am always looking at how to improve my art business and my efforts to expand my reach to more people across the world.
My purpose started at the age of 4 but I did not realize it fully until the age of 35 when I gradually worked myself out of my very successful house cleaning business to become a full-time artist.
Today I am considered a Contemporary Master and have painted and sold well over 10,000 paintings.
I have participated in over 2500 juried art shows across the county, and I have owned my own gallery in Silicon Valley for over 13 years.
Some Stats: “Throughout her illustrious career, Debbie has been extensively featured in the media, with interviews on major networks including NBC and ABC affiliates in major West Coast cities, KRON TV, and Fox 5 in Las Vegas, among others. Her work has also been showcased in prestigious publications such as Romantic Homes Magazine, SF Chronicle, LA Times, and San Jose Mercury News.
Driven by a mission to inspire the world through art that inspires joy and compassion, Debbie Arambula’s paintings celebrate love, kindness, and the resilience of the human spirit. With each brushstroke, she invites viewers to embrace the transformative power of art and to celebrate the boundless potential of the heart of the human spirit.”
I believe one of the most important elements as an artist is to surround yourself with like-minded people. There are times in your art career when criticism can break you and when you have a core group of friends that you know will support you, this can make all the difference in the world. I have taken many classes over the years that have helped me and given me the tools to be successful in learning about communication, sales, marketing and most importantly the anti-social personality. I feel beyond lucky to have spent the time and energy to learn and use these skills to move forward in my art career and life. These classes are priceless to me, and I know for a fact it is why I am still creating and selling at a higher level than most.
Selling and marketing your art takes more than courage, it takes time, energy and skill. And even though I have sold over 3 million dollars of my art I am constantly learning how to improve as an artist, Women Entrepreneur and how to grow my art business to a whole new level.
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.
Raised by entrepreneur loving parents, I was taught at a young age that family is everything, working hard and smart leads you to a path of success, that you can do anything you that you set your heart and mind to, and deeds speak louder than words.
So, I treat my collectors like family, I work hard and smart, I always lead with my heart’s desire, and I am constantly learning how to make my business run better.
Known as “The Heart Artist” I have painted 1000’s of Heart Paintings in oil, acrylic and mixed media. I also have an extensive body of work ranging in subjects such as paintings of oceans, landscapes, flowers, butterflies, musicals, goddesses and more.
How did I realize my dream at the age of 4: At the ripe old age of 4 Debbie realized her life-long dream of inspiring people’s happiness while winning 1st Place in a Baby Beauty contest, at the Montgomery Theater in San Jose, California in 1964
“I remember standing on the stage in a crowed auditorium in my polka-dot dress, nervously smiling looking out at the audience as they clapped and smiled enthusiastically. Although I didn’t understand exactly what was going on, I had just won first place in the baby beauty contest. I just remember standing there in wonderment of how incredible it was that I could inspire so many people to smile all at the same time! This experienced tapped on my life’s purpose of inspiring happiness in people and I had total certainty that this was exactly what I wanted to do with my life.”
From the moment she could stand, Debbie began to see the world thru dance and music. Through her mother’s devoted love and determination, Debbie started a dance/performance career at the age of three. Driven by pure love, her mother instilled an unshakable confidence that Debbie could be and do anything in life. This positive attitude has assisted Debbie in accomplishing what most artist only dream about.
I was destined to become a painter from an early age, my grandmother Dorothy was always encouraging me to paint, but I was always frustrated about the outcome. I had all these emotions and feelings inside and although I could express them through dance performances, I lacked the skill to express myself through art. I tried many times, but it just wasn’t my thing, so I stuck to dancing. I have performed over 200 times in my life, jazz, tap, Hawaiian, modern, Caribbean and Tahitian. Dance performances for county fairs and old folks’ homes fulfilled my purpose of creating joy for others and spreading love.
As a young girl my dad introduced me to the jazz masters, standards and a great selection of music. I remember sitting on his lap while he played piano and sometimes at family gatherings my grandfather and uncles along with my dad would play music. My appreciation of music, painting and dance fed my passion for the arts.
Growing up in an entrepreneur family in the appliance business I learned a lot about the basics of running a business. I used to watch my dad in admiration make his own cut and paste news advertisements for his Appliance Store.
Naturally as a young mother I started my own house cleaning business. I did this for 15 years full time cleaning over 5000 homes.
One of my best friends, Pomm is professional artist, and she was always encouraging me to come and paint a mural with her. I laughed and sad no!
In 1995 I went on an International Artist Convention cruise and had a huge realization that I had always been an artist. This convention changed my life forever and decided to give painting another try. I sold my first painting to one of my house cleaning customers in 1995 for $264.00. I earned more that day than cleaning three homes. This was the beginning of a new life for me and my family.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
A few years ago, I lost my business partner, my husband of 38 years. I was devastated to say the least. I had been with him since I was 16 years old. In 2019 I inherited all the work of my entire art business and had to manage it all. I had to learn how to drive a 31-foot Motorhome with a 16-foot trailer, this is just one of the 100’s of tasks I had to take over. Realize we were doing about 30 art shows and events a year traveling the country in an RV to spread love through art. This transitional period/ pivot is an entire story filled with challenges that would make most give up!
Then Covid hit and there were no art shows in the world, and I was alone with no partner. But I figured out a way to do LIVE Art shows and surprisingly I made it happen.
I have hit 1000’s of challenges along the way and many pivots, what has saved me is all the classes I have taken along the way that have given me stability in a world that don’t look at artist like we do and my “Jump off the Cliff” attitude which is the courage to move forward even if you don’t really know where the road will take you.
I have been in a pivot ever since! Constantly rearranging how I have run my business for 29 years into a simpler, more focused and on purpose game.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
YES, FOR SURE I am in this for the long haul and will never retire, this is my life, my story, my legacy!
One of the challenges that I continually bump my head against is that my art is constantly compared to famous men painters I mean at every art show I get compared to Peter Max, Jim Dyne, Britto to name a few. Yes, it is a complement but why is that throughout history men make it to the top of the food chain and very few women? I use this to fuel my passion and presents even more.
Now do not get me wrong! I am not about the playing men against women it is just something I observe, and it is a bit frustrating! My frustration is not that it happens, but how to impact on the world at a whole new level not for fame or money but rather the sheer fact that I have 1,000’s of testimonials about what my art does for collectors worldwide and when you make an impact like this you either take responsibility for it or you don’t. And that is one of my secrets. I am constantly challenging myself to be a better artist, a better person, a better business owner, so that I impact more lives and inspire more kindness, love, respect.
My goal is to expand my reach even more to uplift the culture through large scale public art projects and events that flow toward expansion and a bigger impact. The lion share of my income has been made through art shows nationwide and the relationships I continue to nurture with 1000’s of collectors I have met along the way have sustained my art business; I want to expand my reach!
And this goal is not FOR money or FAME although that will happen, it is truly to expand my message and impact on the lives of people on a global scale, and this is my next game, my next project. I am not sure how to do this yet, but I continue to jump off the cliff and was recently featured in one of the most prestigious museums in Florida. Yes, in 2022 I moved to Florida! I drove my 31foot motorhome and am creating a life here.
The world needs artists! We are the dreamers of dreams; we are not a computer that can spit out an image that is perfect. We are the human spirit that continues to rise above the noise to bring hope, beauty and life energy that enhances the daily lives of those that purchase our art or in the case of public art that experience it!
I guess you could say I am somewhat of a rebel and a gypsy forging my way into the unknown constantly with my sleeves rolled up, my heart in the right place and my dream as big as the sky. I am Debbie Arambula, The Heart Artist and I hope this inspires you to keep moving forward in your art endeavors!
There are numerous secrets behind my success; this is merely a snapshot of how I’ve thrived as a full-time artist for 29 years.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.debbiearambula.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theheartartist/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theheartartist/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiearambula/
- Twitter: https://x.com/theheartartist
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DebbieArambula
- Other: Blog: https://theheartartist.wordpress.com/
Image Credits
Debbie Arambula The Heart Artist Inc all Art Works