We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kaidy Lewis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kaidy below.

Kaidy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you 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?

I now earn a full time living from my creative work. I dropped out of art college however, after one year, because I did not have the confidence or support to know you can make it happen. At 44years of age I was contacted by an interior designer to purchase a number of my prints to hang in a commercial building. At this point my mum said, ‘I am sorry Kaidy, I really didn’t believe people could calve out a career in selling their paintings and creativity. This was 14years after I sold my first small painting. I cant remember the painting anymore, I just know there was a transformation inside me, saying ‘This can happen!’ It sold for $82. I brought myself a body warmer to celebrate. I still have the article of clothing as a reminder.

That first sale happened a little while after my husband and I decided that working as a Specialist nurse with a baby and toddler was really not helping any of us and to be honest although a little nervous of letting go of a secure career, I was happy I could even contemplate the opportunity of being able to be a stay at home mother. Yes, after leaving a great art college, and being told by my art tutors ‘that once an artist , always an artist’. I walked to the local hospital and asked about enrolling on a nursing course. I wanted security, letters after my name and to be able to pay bills. Isn’t this often the case? Turns out there is a lot of art required in health care because science does not have all the answers. I found a creative position in Chronic disease management that fulfilled me until I was a full time mum at home with a husband who worked very long hours. When I finally put the children to bed, I would climb the stairs to an attic and from 7-9pm I picked up my pastels and began to hone and express myself. Two of those paintings found their way to my family room and a visiting mum purchased it. That made me think , I can make this a career whilst being able to stay at home with my children. And I was happy. I felt like I had returned. A part of me ,not lost to being a mother or too poor to afford art college for four years. Here was a second chance.

That second chance began by painting portraits, pets and houses for not much money to friends and family. A move to Kent in the UK and a carpenter working on our house wanted a portrait of his family like I had made of my own. Another positive experience because I was not in home territory. I was in a new location. I enrolled on a satellite course for women in business from Greenwich University which taught us how to make a website. I wouldn’t say my confidence about my paintings was exceptional, all I knew was I was very driven to express and was hoping one day I could sell paintings of my own style and representation. That I would develop as an artist with an deep understanding of the process and creativity because intuitively I knew it was good for my health.. Creativity that is. The journey of becoming a professional artist is multifaceted. Alongside developing a style of painting to convey story telling and the very humbling moment of selling those large paintings to complete strangers comes the responsibility, I believe, to share this knowledge. Let me explain further. Selling original paintings is an empowering and exciting feeling that is of course enjoyed by the ego. At the same time the pursuit of painting and connecting with beauty in the process can make you feel stronger more connected, more present, more available, more here. To be a good artist requires more than simply copying, it requires persistent inward examination , leading to greater self awareness. Creativity in all forms is beneficial for society as potentially you can align with a greater more creative dynamic self, in turn improving our relationships with other people

Realizing this I began running private creativity courses for adults in community centers and historic homes. I used the book ‘The Artist Way’ by Julia Cameron as a spring board and began to gain a following of students. The courses led me to do art talks and live painting demonstrations, which really helped me to understand and articulate what I was doing when I made a painting. I am an expressive painter using the creative side of my brain.. All this teaching helped me navigate and harmonize the two sides of our brain at work.

I was now selling my semi abstract paintings at well known art fairs in the South East of Britain. There was an strong urge growing inside of me to expand creatively and I wasn’t sure what it meant. I was recruited as the Art Director for Canterbury Oast Trust, a non profit for adults with learning difficulties, in 2012. This position was an opportunity to grow a social enterprise , recruit local artists to teach and enrich the lives of adults. It was expansive. Then in 2016 our family moved to North Carolina for my husband’s work and I felt deflated because I knew how much drive was required to build a full time career in the arts but as luck would have it, the research triangle was a good place to be received. I joined the Orange County Art Guild and regularly exhibited at Frank gallery in Carrboro and the Hillsborough Gallery of Art in Hillsborough, NC. An artist friend told me of the opportunity of an residency at The Forest at Duke, affiliated to the university. It was initially sponsored for two days by a family who had witnessed their father find meaning in painting at a late age. He was a resident at TFAD. This was an opportunity to birth a beautiful art project to enrich people’s lives. I began it in a corridor off a garden. I brough I white cupboard that opens like a tardis and filled it with materials. A table, a volunteer and a lot of energy. This project, ;The Henry Roger’s Art project’ is now fully funded by the retirement community. The projects encompasses all arts, dancing, pottery, story telling, oral histories and painting in all mediums to facilitate connection, listening and raise up those with the challenging aspects of old age. I spoke of the two sides of the brain earlier in this article and here it is again. Medicine which keeps people alive for longer and art forms that enrich the quality of our lives. I am passionate about this balance. In 2023 I moved into a purpose built art studio for this project. Foe several weeks I pinched myself, not believing the space was really ours to enjoy. But it is true . It is. I am working creatively full time. I continue to paint and sell my own work, which is expressive and meaningful to me. I exhibit regularly in Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, Greensboro Art Center and have been selected to exhibit in CAM, the contemporary art museum and the Municipal Building, both in Raleigh. This year I was selected to exhibit my paintings in the Mall Galleries in London with the Society of Woman Artists.
My paintings can be purchased online at https://www.artfulhome.com/Kaidy-Lewis/9633
You can follow upcoming details about shows @kaidylewis on instagram

In hindsight I don’t think I could have sped up the process . I think the process is the very essence of living. It would have been different if I had completed a degree in Graphic Design at Chelsea collage of Art, London and for many years I did regret making that choice, but I don’t anymore, at all. I am certain I would have carved out a career in the arts. Possibly theatre or interior design and painting and maybe I would have got there quicker, but what does that matter now?

What change if any, I would like is for more people to have faith in the arts. To realize its importance in all areas of life. To give it the respect it deserves , in terms of funding in education and policy. If Art was valued more by society, structures would alter to balance both sides of the brain, raise compassion and improve our experience of being human.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Painting is a form of expression and therapy. It has served me well in my life time as a way to express my inner and outer world, release , laugh and focus. Art and therapy – the creative works I provide are a visual concoction of an improbable story. Or is it? Many of my paintings are autobiographical and lean to my experience of being a female born in 1970. I am a feminist in that I am female and being an artist provides a cathartic opportunity to say what is confusing and muddled at this time of history and our evolution. My paintings hint at what is difficult to say out loud and although our perception is unique to us , looking for our similarities is useful to create community. I want the viewer to have a conversation with the painting. The idea that the shapes, color and patterns may ignite a response in another is a truly satisfying experience for me. The purpose of my work is to make community, raise complex issues through harmonious and joyous visuals. I guess I am trying to make a better world.

My services and art work raise soft skills that have often been devalued or traditionally unpaid. Relationship building, event celebrations, self awareness understanding nuance ,listening skills and patience, space for differences to exist and building trust.

I am most proud for being selected to exhibit twice by the Society Of Woman Artists, – a platform for exceptional artists and for championing creative skills and sharing them to enhance sectors of the community.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I have hinted at this already in my replies, but I do think many non creatives may think my reply here is ‘ woolly’ , i.e, vague, confused or lacking clarity. Family members, work colleagues have looked at me cock eyed as if I am talking nonsense. It really is simply a recognition of the different sides of our brain. There is the rational and logical side of the brain which is useful and our society is mostly arranged by it. This creative side of the brain has been de valued as less than. See my story about switching careers for safety. Creativity has so much to offer humanity in terms of health and compassion and potentially peace.

My mission has been a call to balance the two attributes by raising awareness of expression and creativity for the individuals health . Personally I have and still use painting to resolve issues linked with CPTSD but also just day to day decision making and self soothing. On a community level balancing out our logical and intuitive attributes will have far reaching positive effects for us, globally.

But I realize that many do not understand the intuitive or creative aspects of ourselves because we are not taught them. So essentially that is what I am trying to do.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is a returning customer who for whatever reason really resonates and appreciates my style of painting. There are a few who have several.
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative project director is seeing people become alive through art , right in front of my eyes! I get to witness that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.artfulhome.com
• Instagram: @kaidylewis
• Other: https://forestduke.org/Artist in Residence – Blog

Image Credits

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron