We were lucky to catch up with Eileen Seitz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Eileen , thanks for joining 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?

My artistic life began when I was 8 years old. At 13 years old, I won a first place award for an oil painting in a New York City street art festival. At 16 years old I sold my first oil painting to an interior design couple in Manhattan N.Y. The oil painting was of 2 gardners planting daffodils on a rainy spring day. They wore yellow rain slickers with matching hats planting yellow daffodils. I saw the painting unfolding in my minds eye and came home and painted it.

Eileen , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I Love COLOR. I love details, I love movement, I love Spirit. Drawing and Painting are ways I breathe LOVE in and out. This is what I came here to share, bringing my artwork to others on paper and canvas.

I was born and raised in New York City on the island of Manhattan. “A concrete jungle”, a lady in Key West, Fl. once said to me.
My Godly gifts showed up when I was 8 years old and I embraced them whole heartedly.

My 4th grade teacher told my mom “Your daughter knows composition”. My mother heard my teacher as she intuitively understood color and music. She saw that I was able to sit quietly for hours and gave me all kinds of art materials to work with at home.

I was a very introverted child and I would channel my deep feelings onto paper and canvas. I was different in many ways as I understood spirit., the voice within. When I was 12 years old my mom sent me to Saturday morning art class in Manhattan where I learned the basics. Drawing, perspective, proportions, shading and composition. At 13 years old, I created an oil painting called “Red Barn” ( the painting that won me the 1st place award in the NYC street art festival). I skipped 8th grade and entered high school a year earlier than my peers. In 10th grade I started to take Saturday morning art classes at Pratt Institute. During high school I also took a trip the US Virgin Islands and was completely amazed at the beauty I saw. When it was time to apply to colleges I applied to Pratt Instute where I was accepted for the coming years

After two years studying Fine Art at Pratt Institute I took a year sabbatical and went to live on St. Thomas USVI and then I moved to Rincon, Puerto Rico. The tropical light and soft breezes, colors of the flowers, plants, landscapes, fruits, ocean waters hooked me immediately and forever. I returned to at Pratt Institue to learn and study silkscreen, etching, engraving all printmaking, even wrote my first childrens book, set the type and bound the book . One day in graphics class I was drawing kabuki dancers and had a vision of me living in an upstairs apartment eating fruit. At the end of that year 1972, I left for the adventures of my life and never went back to NYC’s cold and dripping subways and grey concrete jungle for the green jungle I knew was out there.

Since 1968 I began my travels and life learnings in and out of the USA. St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Key West, Mexico, hitch hiked 3 months through ALL of Central America, Panama, Colombia, Eleuthera, Nassau, Harbor Island, St. Marten, Jamaica, Tortola, Josh Van Dyke, Kauai, Maui, Hawaii, St. Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Anguilla, Barbados, Trinidad, Tobago, Bastimentos- Panama, Bocas del Torre- Panama, Portugal, Spain, England, Brussels, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Alaska, Tavenui-Fiji, Bega-Fiji, Sicily, Corfu, Montenegro, Dubrovnik, Easter Island, French Polynesia, Fakarava, Bora Bora, Moorea, Tahiti, Raiatea, Rangiora, Nuka Hiva, and Canada.

In 1981, I moved to Coconut Grove, FL because of the tropical trees. From here I could easily get on an airplane and go anywhere in the world.

In 1982 I began to self-publish my watercolors and oil paintings as art cards, posters, s/prints, s/n limited editions, miniprints, hand tufted wool rugs, washable floor mats, jigsaw puzzles and now printed fabrics to share it with the entire world.

For the past 60 years, my paintings have been purchased and commissioned, received dozens of Awards, viewed on television and movies in theatres, printed as art festival posters and purchased for national and international hotels, resorts, hospitals, doctors’ office, cruise ships, banks, restaurants, college offices, college libraries, airports, buildings and painted sculptures.
My intention has always been for my artwork to be on the walls of private and public places where the masses can freely enjoy them. My mission in this lifetime is to be a messenger for THE SPIRIT of GOD, Creator through my artwork on paper, canvas, fabrics, connecting the viewer to GODS LOVE within him/herself thus knowing their own inner joy, feeling peace, clarity, and harmony.

In 2010 I was commissinoned to paint (3) three 8feet x 11feet x 14feet tall standing Black aluminum coated Information booths in town. When I was asked to paint them, I envisioned them as little West Indian houses but because they were on the sidewalk I could not plant a garden around them so I painted the plants , flowers, orchids, in hang baskets and planters with butterflies on all four sides. It really became more 3-dimensional. After completing the painting on the the 1st yellow/orange kiosk, I was off teaching art on cruise ships, then returning home I was asked to paint the 2nd kiosk light periwinklewith aqua , then off on another cruise ship and then returning painted the id the 3rd kioskwasabi green / with light periwinkle. All the color combinations came to me from SPIRIT.

From 2010 -2014 I was asked to be the “Artist in Residence on Cruise Ships”. I traveled on several different RCCL ships, Holland America Ships and then Oceania Ships. I went sometimes for 5-7 days and other times 7 weeks around Europe, 12 days around the Hawaiian Islands crossed Pacific ocean to Vancouver Island, and then 5 weeks from Chile to American Samoa. I was teaching the guests on the ships how to see, draw and paint with watercolors. The trip from Chile to American Samoa I had 2 classes a day. Many talented guests learned that they had artistic talents. It was a great expansion for them and for me in many ways.

My strong points are my love and joy, dedication, inspiration, dicipline, that I am prolific in painting and creating. My organizational abilites and forsight and to see how things can come together. I am always guided to work with reliable people and companies who will work with me on my projects. I was given a message from my older brother when I sixteen. “Always work with people who are professional. They will treat you with respect and do what you need in a professional manner”

Quality and accuracy are very important to me. I will give my best and wont accept any result if it does not meet my approval. The paints, paper, canvas, color proofs for my prints, framing, matboards, colors of wool for my wool rugs etc. is a complete package and I need to love the outcome to be happy. If I am happy I know the work will find its home.

My clients often send me emails and letters thanking me for their final artwork. They always mention how much peace and joy they feel looking and living with my artwork and tell me “keep painting for the world”. One client friend wrote to me “I want to live in that painting. I can just envision myself there.”
“I’ve always looked at that funky beach house that hangs on our bedroom wall and wanted to build it.” He called me and asked me if he could. Or course I said “Yes” So in 2004 I received a set of blueprints showing site plan with the main house and guest cottage. “Sophias Rest” was built.
Talking about “Life imitates Art” https://eileenseitz.com/life-imitates-art/

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Definitely a mission.

We are made FROM Love, Beauty, Light by Creator. Therefore we are Love, Beauty, Light living in a physical body.
We all have intuitive abilites that speaks to us. The soft “little voice” from your innerself. Its always there. Many people hear it but often ignore it. If we PAY ATTENTION and FOLLOW its instructions your life will make so much sense without tensions.
I started hearing mine when I was about 6 years old. Now I am 73 years old and it is stronger than ever.

My mission in this lifetime is to bring THE SPIRIT of GOD, Creator through my work onto paper and canvas. To connect the viewer to their own individuality, inner joy, peace, clarity and harmony. “I LOVE THE COLORS” people tell when they see my works and how the paintings make them feel.
This is what I share through my travels onto paper and canvas. Seeing my artwork in movies, hotels, and working with designers is what I share with the world. Yesterday on my walk, I stopped to talk to a fellow who said he once went to visit his mom in a small town far away from here and they went looking for some lunch and proceeded to go to the bottom floor of a building where they found a whole series of my artworks on the walls of the restaurant. It makes me smile.

My intention has always been for my artwork to be on the walls of private and public places where the masses can enjoy them. Where they can walk by them and feel the healing energies of my color combinatons and the compositions of tropical natural settings.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Up to the time I was 30 years old, I only painted and sold “one of a kind” works of art. Drawings, watercolors, oil paintings any and all of these mediums.
Around 1979 when I moved back to Coconut Grove, from the Costa Rica.
I was at a farmers market every Saturday morning and set up a display, of small drawings with watercolor. I had to figure out how to make money in the USA.
I was selling them for $4.00 each. I had people lined up to buy them. I noticed that people looking at what their friend bought and asked me if I had any more just like that? I said “no I only make one painting for one person.” Wham!!! Spirit screamed at me “NO that is not what you have to do.” Spirit, said me “You must make reproductions, Its time to get out there”.

Not too long after my Dad had passed away, my mom had given me some money that he left for us kids. I was at the bank depositing “his” gift into my bank account and I realized it was “his birthday” and this money was what I needed to start my artcard business. Life is so interesting that way, when you need something Spirit always comes through. Now I could share my artwork with the world through my hand mounted artcards. To back up this, I was getting some photos developed at a photomagic. A friend walked in and saw me looking at the photographs of my new paintings I just completed. He liked one particular photo and asked me “how much”. I replied “you want to buy the photograph?” He said ” Yes I like that painting”. I replied $1.00
and so my Artcard Company began.

So I say LET GO OF YOUR EGO, and ASK YOUR SELF “who are you creating for?” I create from God, For God and the peoples of the world are the receipients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://eileenseitz.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eileenseitzart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eileenseitz
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-seitz-1248732a2

Image Credits

Eileen Seitz