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

Jessica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I’ve been a full-time artist and owner of my art studio since 2017. I started Free Indeed Art during my last year of college because I wanted to use my art to connect with people and help them tell their stories. After lots of trial and error, I came up with the idea to make fully customizable fine art. I created a process that I walk through with each client to design a painting or drawing around their tastes and what they love. It took me three years to build my business up to a point where it could support me full-time. I attribute that to learning how to bring people value through social media, getting really good at networking, and having a natural gift of unwavering commitment to my work. However, if I could go back to speed up the process of building a successful, full-time business, I would do three things differently.

First and most importantly, I would have hired an executive assistant so much sooner. For too many years, I was trying to save money and do everything myself. I was so intimidated by the thought of hiring someone and so worried about not being able to afford their work. But now I know having a good assistant (and learning how to be a good employer) is probably the most productive and lucrative thing you can do with your limited time when it comes to running a business.

The second thing I would do differently is be much more careful of how I spend my time. When I first started networking, I felt like I had to be involved in absolutely everything. This took so much of my time, and I learned after a while that most things you can say “yes” to are not worth spending time on. Overcommitting is a fast way to get burnt out.

Lastly, I would have created more personal art projects. In the beginning years of Free Indeed Art, I was so busy keeping up with commissions that I almost never created art just for myself. I believe this stifled my growth as an artist and my enjoyment for my craft.

Jessica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Jessica Brophy, and I am an artist/entrepreneur. I own an art studio in Billings, Montana called Free Indeed Art. I was raised in Columbus, Montana and began drawing my family’s horses when I was 11 years old. I never planned on being an artist until I created my first real pencil drawing (a front view of a horse head), and found myself frustrated at how bad it looked. From then on I was determined to perfect the anatomy of the horses I drew.

I later attended college in Los Angeles to study interior design, and greatly improved my art skills by creating room renderings for class work. It was at this time I started my business and began selling my paintings.

Today at Free Indeed Art, I and the artists I employ create fully customizable fine art. We work one on one with each of our clients to create a painting or drawing around their tastes and what they love. We make so many different kinds of art: realistic oil portraits, rainbow dog portraits, abstract corporate art, charcoal family memories, whimsical caricatures, children’s book illustrations, and more. I work in oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, charcoal, graphite pencil, and ink. It’s so fulfilling hearing each client’s story and getting to bring their personality out in an art piece.

If you want to see our work, you can go to freeindeedart.com or friend me on Facebook!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I am obsessed with beauty! I believe it’s a purpose of mine to be an official “beauty usher;” to bring things of quality and refinement to people’s lives. I do that with my art by taking a thing or a memory someone cherishes, and telling that story through a painting they hang in their home.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

One thing I see so often in my business is an undervaluing of an artist’s time and skill. An alarming amount of people expect creatives to work for free. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been contacted by people or organizations that ask me to create a public art installation, design a logo, teach a class, or donate my art, and in return, they believe simply giving me an opportunity to display my work is pay enough.

I would encourage artists themselves to be very careful about working for free or for less pay than they’re worth. I know firsthand how, especially for new artists, it can be tempting to accept every unpaid project just to get experience or exposure. In the end though, this only harms the art community by creating unfair and unsustainable expectations of our industry.

As a society, we need to be aware how much time and dedication it takes to become great at art of any kind, and we need to realize the worth that art holds. Look around you – you’re most likely benefitting from multiple creative people’s work in this very moment. We need to value professional artists the way we value any other accomplished expert.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Freeindeedart.com
• Instagram: @free.indeed.art
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/@jessica.brophy.568/