Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hailey Dukart. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hailey , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Recently I wrapped up my largest project to date, a mural commissions within a private residence. It was an absolute honor to have full creative reign on a 104 sqft living room spanning across 3 walls and the main focal point of the living room. My client approached me after following me on Instagram and finding me at the Desert Air Market where she proposed the idea of wanting a mural of my art in her home. After seeing the space and getting some ideas of what she was looking for I was really looking forward to creating a piece for her that brightened up the room. The entire project took a little over a month and approximately 75 hours total to complete. I have completed murals in the past within schools but this one was the first mural of my own art and its reignited my love for painting them. Since completing the mural I have opened my commissions to create more happy doodles for public and private viewing. I also have a public project in the works coming spring 2024!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a self taught Sonoran inspired artist settled in Tucson, Arizona. I have been artistic since I could walk and have shared my art with friends and family through the years. When the pandemic hit in 2020 I lost my job and had to find ways to make ends meet. I turned to my art and it has not let me down since. I have had the pleasure of being part of Tucson’s most popular markets, created murals, and even hosted my own market showing black businesses for Black History Month. I am inspired by the Sonoran desert that I have called home for the last 25 years and find joy in the little details of life. I like to capture the whimsy and happiness that the desert emits into stationary, bookmarks, magnets, stickers, and prints. I also have a small collection of hand painted canvas pieces that I like to work with.

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

It’s no secret how helpful social media can be for any business, but it really can be daunting to keep up with at times. I know for myself it was a big struggle at the beginning to stay consistent on social media and follow the algorithms in order to maintain exposure to a larger platform. It took me well over a year to finally get the hang of it and even now I still struggle with being consistent. My advice is first; plan out your content. It takes the brain work out with trying to come up with ideas on the spot. I like to create my content for the week in batches and then schedule them to post so I don’t have to keep up with when and what to post. Another piece of advice I would add is create reels and posts that you like to watch. Don’t force yourself to make content that you don’t even like watching yourself. When it’s something you enjoy it can make the process more fun. Lastly, take the pressure of yourself and just create things! Don’t get too hung up on it being the “perfect” post, something is better than nothing and its all practice. If you do in person markets I started offering and incentives to get more follower on instagram and with that I was able to grow my following by a lot!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

On top of being an artist I am also a full time student finishing up my senior year at Arizona State University. At one point last year I was juggling a full time job within healthcare, my art business and school which brought me to the brink of burnout. I knew I didn’t have the time or energy to fully invest in my art business the way I wanted to but I knew deep down if I did I wouldn’t regret the leap of faith I was taking in my art. Looking back now I’m so glad I took a chance on myself and my business and left my 9-5 to go full time with Lil Desert Doodles. It’s been a huge learning lesson but I’ve loved the journey and opportunities it has opened up for me including organizing my own market, mural commissions. Pivoting into this career change was filled with a lot of doubt, nerves and questions of whether I could do it or not. It’s. been one of the best things I’ve done for myself so far.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lildesertdoodles.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lildesertdoodles/

Image Credits
Gina Danza @WildGina Elle O. Studios @ElleOStudios