We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elizabeth Robbins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Becoming a professional artist is probably one of the most risk taking business there is. My older brother wanted to be an artist but my Father told him that he couldn’t make a living at it so he became a lawyer instead. I think most people have the idea that artists don’t make any money. I’m one that defies those odds. In my circle of art friends it’s more common to make money than not but it does take a lot of hard work, self determination, and a thick skin which is something most creatives don’t have. As a professional artist, you do not get employee health benefits or a 401K. In fact my older brother once asked me what I was doing for my retirement. I told him I plan on doing exactly what I’m doing now. Painting! Artist never retire, they die with their paint brush in hand. But what you do get is the freedom to travel to beautiful places and paint, meet other creatives that share in your same vision and glean from their experience. You get to create works of art that has energy and that brings joy and healing to others that appreciate original art work. As hard as I work, I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have always been creative and an entrepreneur. At the age of 10 I would pick and dry flowers with my Grandmothers and then make shadow boxes and sell them around the neighborhood. My family is full of talent. My mother was a professional singer and my father was a very successful business man. I got lucky and inherited both talent and the drive to make a business work. In college I had taken some drawing classes just for fun. I never thought I would have a career in art. In fact, I was raised with the believe that I would marry, have children, and my husband would provide the income but that’s not what life dealt me. I actually started in the Decorative Art field. At the age of 24 I began teaching acrylic painting at my local art supply store. It wasn’t until I started studying oils with a Master Decorative Artist, Mary Jo Leisure that I realized what I wanted to do. She has been one of my biggest influencers in my art. She taught me design and color harmony. As time went on, I began to design and produce my own “pattern packets” in the decorative art field. Designs on mirrors, trays etc. Flowers were always incorporated into my designs. Later, I had 6 decorative art books published under Elizabeth Hayes. I found myself divorced in 1999 with 3 kids and had to figure out how to make more money. I started a faux finishing and wall mural business at the exact time that murals and faux finishing were so popular. This kept me very busy and provided me with enough income to support my children. I married the love of my life and soul mate Jim Pruitt in 2004. This allowed me to stop painting murals and focus on my art at the easel. I was lucky that the first gallery I approached in 2004 picked me up and sold 2 of my paintings within a week. I felt like I was on top of the world. Then just one year later the gallery decided to go into more contemporary art and dropped me out of the blue and I felt like the earth had just crashed down around me. It took me really looking inwards and trying to decide how to lift myself back up. The answer was just to paint more and get better. It wasn’t long before I was picked up by a few more galleries and my work was selling very well.
As life so often does, it thew me another curve ball. My husband died in 2007. I was in a financial nightmare. then 2008 hit. We all know what that was like. I had to figure out AGAIN, how to make enough money to support myself and my children. Times were very tough. To be honest, I don’t know how I managed to survive the next few years. God was watching over me and I’m grateful for the people who helped me along the way to becoming a successful artist.
In 2013 I finally was able to buy a home in Ogden Utah next to another artist, Shanna Kunz. God was putting me right where I needed to be to bloom again. I grow all the flowers in my paintings. I have transformed my backyard into a Garden of Eden with over 100 roses day lilies, peonies, fruit trees and so much more. In 2016 I built a studio in my backyard that is 600 sq feet. It was always my dream to have a studio where I could just walk outside, cut my flowers and bring them in to paint.
In 2014, Shanna and I opened up Bella Muse Gallery. It was a place where we could both paint together, be inspired and bring other artists work to Ogden and educated people on the value of original art. In 2015 I started Bella Muse Productions. I filmed, edited and produced instructional painting videos for 15 other artists. It was a very successful business.
In 2017 I conducted my first online art course. It was a 6 month program for oil painters that wanted to become a better artists. I had over 200 students in that first course. I was still filming other artists and producing their videos as well.
In 2019 it was time to focus on just what Shanna and I could bring to the table. We started Inspired to Paint. An online art course for oil painters. We launched it just as covid was hitting. Each moth we would film full length videos on Still Life, Landscape and Portrait painting as well as concept lessons, art history, group critiques, product reviews and more. It has been very successful and profitable. We have loved sharing our knowledge and watching other artists find success.
Currently I am represented by 8 different galleries across the country. I have won many major awards including Best in Show at National Art Shows and have been featured in many art magazines including Art of the West where I made the cover for the JanFeb issue of 2023.
What I am most proud of is surviving some of life hardest trials. I am proud of the fact that I have started 3 business and have been successful at all of them. I’m proud and humbled at the same time that I can create works of beauty that people want in their homes. I’ve received many letters from collectors telling me what my art work has done for them. It has brought them healing and joy. What could be better than that. When there is so much ugliness in the world, beautiful art is what can connect us.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal is to just keep creating beautiful works of art. I have been fortunate that the galleries that represent me and my following have faith in me and appreciate original art. I always laugh and say that I work about 100 hours a week so I don’t have to go get a 40 hour a week job. There is so much freedom in being your own boss but at the same time, there are a lot of challenges as well.
Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
I do not believe in NFT. I actually think that it’s a scam. I want my original art to stay original. Even if NFT’s are not a scam, I want to be the one owning them so having someone want to buy my art as NFT it not something I will do. We as creatives must take charge of our own destiny and own the intellectual rights to our work. 
Contact Info:
- Website: http://elizabethrobbinsart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethrobbinsart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabethrobbinsart
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ElizabethRobbins
Image Credits
Elizabeth Robbins