We caught up with the brilliant and insightful IVY BAILIE a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
IVY, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
Oh how I wish I had started my creative career SOONER!
I could be more exact by saying that I didn’t realize that I could have a “career” as an artist. I am not formally educated or trained as an artist. Creating and drawing and painting are activities that I have enjoyed since childhood, but they had always been just that, activities to be done in spare time or when I wanted to give a handmade gift. Here’s the timeline. I audited one course in college called “Painting For Pleasure” in which the students were required to spend a bit of time in each of the mediums of oil painting, acrylic painting and watercolor painting, and then choose one of those mediums to complete the semester. I chose watercolor painting. And then, after college, I didn’t have (or take) time to continue with painting. I hadn’t been an Art major, so I had no idea that I could possibly have a career in art. Move forward a few years, busy with five children, I was a “stay-at-home” mom and supplemented the family income with providing daycare and, during the nap times, did crafting involving some painting and sewing of items to sell at craft sales. When the kids were all at an age for school, I was done with the daycare scene and went to work in the retail world in inventory management. Still no thought that I could have a career as an artist! I did, however, pick up my watercolor brushes and paper again and my oil paints and canvases. An activity to be enjoyed in the evenings or weekends. I took a few workshops in painting and was quite pleased with the resulting paintings, a few in oils and a few in watercolors. Surprise! I kept up with painting in my spare time…practice, practice. Read books about techniques and supplies. This was in the “old days”… before YouTube! Ancient, right?! As I progressed with my skills, I decorated our home with my paintings, sold a few paintings and then gained some commissions. It was very encouraging to know that others liked my art! I was asked to teach a class in oil painting! And following that first successful class, I taught others, in oils and watercolors and basket making. A nice boost to my pocket money, but I didn’t even think about quitting my day job for a career in art. As time went on, I was becoming more active in the arts. Participating in juried shows (and winning awards), hanging one-woman shows in the local gallery, teaching more classes and participating in juried art festivals was taking more time. Then, another step towards the thought that I maybe have a career in the field of art… my dad, who was an avid woodworker and custom framer, wasn’t able to continue his framing business because of health reasons. I had been helping him as his health was failing and I definitely needed framing for my watercolor paintings. Why am I not doing this as a part-time job? And it became a part-time job, along with increasing the painting demands.
You can probably guess the rest of the story. After working some 27 years at a job I truly loved, for a great boss and with great co-workers, I began to have the feeling that I would really like to get up in the morning and go to my studio to paint instead of going to work in town. After all, I realized that I had an art career in painting, teaching and custom framing! I did some testing to determine that it was financially sound to stop my retail career and a lot of consulting with my husband.
Back to the question… Do I wish I had begun my creative career sooner? Yes, of course! But I must say, there is not anything that I regret in my past experiences of finally getting to my career as an artist, a teacher and as a custom framer. There’s definitely a lot to be appreciated in having a regular paycheck that is not always there in a career as an artist! I now have an art career and business as Watermark Enterprises. I feature fine art paintings, classes and workshops in watercolor, oil and acrylic painting and basket making. Watermark Enterprises Custom Framing provides quality framing services with the best materials available.The doors to an art career opened slowly over the years, but I am here Now!
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 have always been a creative. A maker, a draw-er, a painter. As a stay-at-home mom and day care provider of pre-school children, my creating was done during nap times and I often sold my crafts and paintings at local craft fairs. Earning a name as an artist at these events I began to recieve commissions for paintings and requests for classes. When the kids entered school, I was also done with day care and I went to work in the hardware retail world. The painting and teaching of classes was done in the evenings and on weekends. After working in the retail world for 25+ years, I began to have thoughts of how nice it would be to just be able to go to the studio and paint instead of heading to town to work all day. The more often that thought happened, the more I realized that I needed to see how possible it would be to embrace making it the reality! And so I did. I put in the date of my retirement from my day job and went forward. Now,I do go to the studio every day and paint or prepare for teaching a class. My goal is having great displays of paintings at art festivals. Another great reward of embracing my art career is teaching. I offer classes in watercolors, oils and acrylics and basket making. I am able to teach small groups in my studio and larger groups on my studio patio in summer. It’s a joy to teach others my favorite activities. I have taught students as young as 4 years old and as old as 102 years old! Everyone loves taking home a project that has turned out well.
During the last few years of working in town, I also helped my dad with his picture framing customers. When he could no longer live at home, I opened my own custom framing studio. As a watercolor artist, good framing is a necessity! As a custom framer, I provide hundreds of choices in color of mats, types of mouldings as well as using only the best materials available and with competitive pricing and quick turn around in getting the finished framed piece back to its owner.
What am I most proud of? What do I want potential clients/students to know about me? I guess I’m proud that I took the risk of becoming self-empoyed in the art field. It’s a wonderful way to live, doing what I love doing! I love creating, I thoroughly enjoy exposing others to different painting mediums and techniques in the classes I teach and I enjoy enhancing and protecting the art and other treasures of my clients as I help them choose appropriate mats and frames. And, if I say so myself, I’m good at what I do!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the feeling of accomplishment when a painting “comes together”. It passes from the stage of me thinking ” what on earth has happened… this is just too ugly….. this is NOT what I wanted to see or paint”, to the stage of YES! This is the best one ever! I think with watercolor, this happens very frequently. It’s also very rewarding when the viewers see and grasp the ideas I’m trying to share in my paintings.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal through out my creative journey is to be present, to be aware. To notice small details such as how a color changes with shadow or light or with a twist of the breeze on a petal. How many shades of blue in one sky or on the surface of a pond? One tree, one leaf, has many kinds of green. My goals are to keep noticing, keep learning and to create paintings that cause others to see beyond the bland and to search for the nuances that make our world a beautiful place to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.watermakenterprisesart.com
- Instagram: IvyBailie/Watermark Enterprises
- Facebook: Ivy Bailie Watermark Enterprises
- Linkedin: Ivy Bailie