We were lucky to catch up with Gianna Perani recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Gianna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative career when I was just a kid in elementary school. I was always the quiet kid in school and enjoyed quietly working alone for hours. I was interested in anything creative. Instead of soccer camp, I went to art camp and I was totally happy with that! I even have a book from the first grade that says “when I grow up I am going to be an artist!”

Gianna, 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?

After I started pursuing my degree in Journalism from The University of Georgia, I started to miss the quiet creative moment I always enjoyed during my childhood. I started to do small things on the side, some photography, a few portrait commissions and anything creative that people needed help with.

I will never forget when I got a second job bartending for a wedding venue and told my boss (on a complete whim) that I had a goal of painting weddings one day. Within a week, my boss called me and told me she had a friend getting married that wanted a painting. I can not explain how nervous I was before my first live wedding painting that year, but as soon as I got all my supplies laid out – everything fell into place. It was a super magical day and I knew that I had to keep this momentum going!

Now, I have been able to paint weddings on beaches, farms, lakes and cities. It allows me to travel, be creative and get a much needed break from teaching high school! Once I started painting weddings, my commissions started to add up to and it’s been an incredible learning experience to say the least.

I think what sets me apart from other artists is that I tell people I can do or paint anything. I refuse to limit myself so that I can continue to learn and be a student of the beauty that is life. I love to try new ideas and mediums because it helps me grow. I think this also helps me remain passionate about the arts as well. Now, I get the opportunity to sell original works, abstract pieces, impressionist landscapes and so many more of my favourite things! I would have never imagined I would be able to sell original works of art to people.

I am most proud of myself for taking risks, stepping out of my comfort zone and asking questions. So many things I enjoy about my life today stem from a risk I took. I never stop getting nervous before dropping off a commission and the imposter syndrome surely lives in all of us, but it’s about knowing how to overcome those feelings and presenting yourself in the way you want people to view you.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Although I don’t have a huge following on social media as many artists do today – I take pride in how I have organically grown my account with genuine people interested in my art work. There are many ways to build your credibility as an artist and I don’t think having thousands of fake followers translates to sales.

When I first started my account, I wondered if I should be trying to aggressively grow my followers. After a little research, I realised that I would rather have genuine feedback from people truly interested in my artwork than tons of comments from bots. The joys of living in the age of our ever-evolving internet.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I was once offered an incredible opportunity to paint a large mural for a local home in the area. I was already at a point where I was working on multiple commissions at once, but got excited about adding another creative project to my resume! It ended up being one giant lesson for me as a young entrepreneur and artist.

I was given about a week deadline to complete the nearly 400 square foot mural featuring personalised designs and Savannah gems. I created designs that reflected where the family attended school, inside jokes, venues, personal cars and all sorts of sentimental symbolism.

I had not created a contract for this project and that would be where the lesson begins. I worked 8-10+ hours a day to meet the completion deadline. Upon finishing the project, I was lied to and left unpaid. After a few days of being left unpaid, I contacted the client again and was told she was sick. The next day, I showed up at the house to confront her and she was throwing a party around the mural I had just created. It was not a good feeling. I was so beyond disappointed that someone could do that to local artist and definitely shed some tears that week.

I learned you can’t always trust people and ALWAYS make a contract. Nonetheless, I feel proud for overcoming such an evil act, confronting the client and completing the project despite not being paid. That being said, I am a big fan of contracts now!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.giannaperaniart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giannaperaniart/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/giannaperaniart/
• Other: [email protected] for commissions and inquires

Image Credits
All owned by me.