We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gail Titus a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Gail, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

It has always been a challenge for me to make my living as an artist, I think particularly because I think that I have skill sets that would allow me to be successful in other professions. That being said, doors seem to have opened for me in the world of art and I continue to walk through those doors. I read an article written by someone once who said that if you choose to be an artist, you have no choice because it is too hard of a profession to choose otherwise. That resonated with me and still does. Now having created art professionally for decades, I find that to be true. I’ve long sense let that go and have grown to accept that this is what I am met to do. I do love my job, even though there are many challenges and sometime doubts. That just goes with the territory.

Gail, 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?

I began as a ceramic artist, creating large scale wall sculptures that I sold through galleries. That evolved into doing large scale installation work where I sometimes collaborated with architects, designers and other artists. After doing that work for a couple of decades, I felt like I had reached some professional goals and had accomplished what I had set out to do in ceramics. My work in clay became more experimental with time and I was drawn to glaze, sculpture and textures that were abstract. It became a natural evolution to switch from exploration on clay to exploring textures on canvas so I switched to painting. Now my work is doing abstract paintings, predominately large scale. I use a variety of tools and techniques to develop surfaces on my paintings. Recently, I have incorporated fabrics on the surface, both purchased and handmade by me. I love exploring, creating using a variety of techniques to see what results that I can get. I am always surprised by what appears and that inspires me to keep going.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability to connect, through my artwork, with the viewer. Being an abstract painter, I never know what a viewer is responding to. Is it the color, the composition, the form? Is there an emotion that they get or feel from the work? Collectors purchase my work through galleries so I don’t have a personal connection with them but I am always delighted and moved that a collector will be attracted enough to my work that they want to live with it in their personal space. It is such a compliment.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

The best thing to do is get a great website. Collectors want to be able to access your inventory and know how to contact you. Don’t skimp. It is your best advertisement. I resisted instagram for a long time but eventually was convinced that it was a necessary component to selling work. On instagram, just keep posting, your completed work, your process and any upcoming shows that you have. Follow artists that you find inspiring, see what others are doing and learn from what you see.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gailtitus.com
• Instagram: gailtitusart