Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Evelyn Neal. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Evelyn, thanks for joining us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?
When It comes to my craziest story I would have to say waking up to A celebrity shouting me out on their social media platform. Waking up to Ice Cube himself reposting my artwork was everything. Then I had Lauren London herself repost a drawing of Nipsey Hussle I did as well. That moment sparked motivation and determination within me. It gave me a spark that a regular person like myself can be noticed by a celebrity.
Evelyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
As a 22 year old African American female living in a world where my skin color already puts me in a category of failure and fear, being an Artist saved my life. I have endured racism, depression, physical and sexual abuse that have all left a mark either on my mind or on my skin telling my story of a survivor. Art itself shaped and molded my peace and all of my surroundings of beauty within the world. Each Line work in a newly fresh page of my sketch book is expressed by the pain of many triumphs. I’ve allowed my art and my work to advocate for myself but speak through me. Art has allowed me to adapt and connect with children and families that have endured the same trauma I went through. Working with families and children through art has allowed me to witness the growth of them reclaiming their power back. Art is a saving grace in my life and I believe I can help in a lot of peoples lives, whether it’s through painting, sculpting, or drawing. Art is the key to those survivors. I have used my art to give back to those who have recently lost a family member or even a pet or anything or anybody.
My work is all done with ink pen and drawing paper, nothing expensive, nothing major. Me, myself, and my thoughts. It takes me usually a day tops to do a portrait from start to finish. The moment i start I can’t stop or take breaks, I’m in that mindset to keep going and to focus and achieve every emotion and line work within that image.
Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?
I had my first attack on my who I was as an artist. A fellow artist who is well known in Kansas City Missouri, used her platform to downgrade me and attack me verbally and created a narrative that wasn’t true. I never experienced so much hate, and threats in my life. The attack itself changed me for the better but I endured so much depression, anxiety, stress and self-doubt afterwards. i had a community of people who supported me but then turned around and began to attack me. I stopped drawing for a while because i was scared of the negative comments and the remarks I would continue to receive. Remember art saved my life and i felt like she had taken the one thing that saved me that helped me cope with all the pain that i was battling. I’m currently to this day still going through therapy and trying to take my time working my way back up because I want to continue to share my story and my journey. I won’t be silenced.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The best source for me to grow my clients is interacting at community events, school events, posting on social media, etc, being involved within my community has allowed my work to be shown, and speak for itself through pop up events, or any given occasions. Show casing yourself and really being involved with your community can benefit you a lot and it certainly has for me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fits.evelynneal%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0wul8FsaxMCx2UUZh9e2Dlqhq5K68LXZs35q_zuMcjdhKGLbuztJDhEg0&h=AT3NNlBpNR_iddmUKsJGTFw3wKEfVphVdMlFK43onbiDmPvu4epDN3JwispV3EKsT1_v8ADY1-GjvdA9_qQ-C3-Cm-EGHy0jQ6LLwyn1DVASbH4V3LfHFm00MDpSxskzNtoaUw
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Evelynforever101/