We were lucky to catch up with Kari Bell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kari thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Like most people, no one expects to become an overnight sensation in their field even when your skill level is well developed. We want to be recognized but the desire is hopefully tempered by reality. Personally, I never had any illusion that I would be rich and/or famous because of my art. Art is my choice of a second career after almost 30 years as a University professor. I knew that learning art would be essentially like learning the languages I speak, that is starting with the basics and building little by little, grasping more and more complicated concepts, practicing constantly and knowing there is no end to learning.

I was educated in the US, Spain and France so I have a plethora of cultural exposure and images from so many opportunities and experiences that now, as an artist, are often incorporated into my work. As a student in Europe money was always short and so I learned which museums were free on what days and I spent much of my free time surrounded by art. Paralleling my acquisition of languages, the arts were my passion. I observed, I read extensively, asked questions, collected that mental portfolio of images but I never attempted to create anything.

Fast forward to the end of my teaching career, I was home basking in the sweet rush of retirement: no classes, no meetings, no deadlines. Aaaaahhhh. My best friend neighbor called to suggest we take an introductory painting class together….since I was free! Too funny! I said ‘hah, not a chance. I don’t know anything about painting.” Two weeks later, contemplating a still life of yellow lemons and a royal blue cloth and an array of paints in front of me, I found the most incredible peace. My paintings absolutely sucked but the peacefulness of being in my own thoughts and creating was incomparable.

From there it became a labor of love to take a class to learn basic color theory, to copy other artists’ work in an effort to
understand techniques, to watch you tube videos, read books, paint (sic) with other artists, go to shows and look, really look at art. But I also had to learn how and where to buy supplies, what worked for oil paints, which solvents were safer than others, how to clean up a mess, among many other mundane things. And it was, in fact, like learning a language; one thing building on the next until I got it and could move on to another level. I took a few workshops…that was hard to give myself permission to do because I was certain I knew nothing and would a) humiliate myself and b) have the instructor tell me not to bother!

Building knowledge one slow step at a time, using it over and over until it got ‘easier”, trusting what I had learned, maybe even trusting the instructor to be honest with me….it all came down to confidence. That took time, lots of time. I can’t tell you how often the sense of failure and mediocrity overwhelmed me, tempting me to give up. But, I didn’t. I love painting and I continue to do everything I can to make me a better, more innovative, more expressive artist

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

I’m a New Mexico painter who uses oil and cold wax and sometimes just oils, to create abstract work that reflects my understanding of the land, environment and multiplicity of cultures here in New Mexico and the Southwest. My website www.karibellart.com is a fairly complete look at both my work and pertinent details about my life.

As a business, I would honestly say that I work at it some but I don’t much like the business end of being an artist. It is, obviously, something we must do to promote our work and sell but, frankly, I prefer to paint! Still, there is a warm joy attached to the moment one of my works goes to someone’s home or business. The buyer is happy. I’’m thrilled and my efforts are validated. I have notebooks in which I keep lists of websites to consult for shows, to vet brokers and agents, to determine if a gallery is accepting submissions. I spend numerous hours a week searching for opportunities, writing to people, as well as submitting to shows and galleries. It’s work. For the budding artist, some basic business knowledge is helpful.

This business of art is a balance of time, money, effort and outcome. Do I sign up for a big art expo with a big cost that only lasts three days and is advertised as the doorway to major buyers and profits? Risky business. Local shows don’t require shipping but the clientele may not parallel my work. Out of state shows require shipping with the possibility of damages and therefore loss of work and may not sell anyway. Galleries are an option but take 40-50% of your price mostly for hanging your work in their showroom. I would feel better about galleries if I had an agent that worked for me and with me to find opportunities to show and sell my work. I have never done Art Fairs. I love to travel but am totally disinclined to load up my “stuff” every week-end, install a tent, hang out all day, uninstall and drive home. Too old for that!

So, in terms of business, it is a very narrow pathway for the artist without a stunning reputation. Find a niche and produce! I have friends who are very successful because they have a niche and they don’t step outside of it. I appreciate their work and am maybe a bit jealous of their success but I could not paint essentially the same thing everyday. It is, to me, the antithesis of creativity. Like many artists, I am always on the lookout for opportunity and connections.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As Elton John sings “I’M STILL STANDING”. Women my age, septuagenarians, are for the most part resilient…crazy great resilient. Everything we wanted to do as young women was met with resistance from ‘the system’’, men, laws, and customs. The words ring in my ears from my own parents: ‘get a degree in education. You’ll always have something to fall back on!’ Women don’t do this, women don’t do that, women don’t wear pants, women don’t travel alone or in groups of women, women can’t have a credit card without daddy’s signature, women can’t get a mortgage or get credit, women don’t get PhDs, women don’t, women don’t, women don’t. Women my age grew up with those attitudes and those barriers. I sincerely believe I am where I am today because of the women’s movement, the civil rights movement, hippies, Vietnam, rock and roll, television and now the internet. In my youth, the world began to shift and I wanted to be right there, in the middle of that evolution. I knew and know what I want, usually how to get it and please don’t stand in my way. I travelled to Europe at age 22, alone, to advance my language skills and get my education. I got a PhD in Spanish from a French University (excellent and free, btw). I worked in multiple institutions in Academia for 30 years, wrote a book, adopted and raised an amazing son, built academic programs, built a house, have travelled extensively…..life is good, my art practice is satisfying and thriving. As with many women, we created what we wanted because resilience was the path to our dreams.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I think most folks in the arts have websites, Instagram accounts, Facebook accounts and a multiplicity of other social media options. My first and my best Instagram account was hacked by some foreign entity (I can tell by the phone number) who had the cojones to write me a what’s app telling me he was my hacker and I could have it back for $50. I was really so upset because I had put in a lot of time and effort to post intriguing photos of my work and engaging captions. In one instant, it was gone. After grieving that loss for a day and not knowing how to try to get it back, I went to Best Buy….keep this in your files…Best Buy Geek Squad knows what they’re doing. They fixed it so the hacker couldn’t use my contacts to hack others but I lost that account. I started another page and weird things started happening so, once burned, I dumped that one. Now I have @kbartsnm which is safe so far and also not as robust as my first account.

All this to say, social media used to be fun, a great way to keep up with friends, see pics of family and pets, post art etc. And then it wasn’t and isn’t fun. Now, it can be career threatening maybe even life threatening. Artists get bombarded with insulting, silly and repetitive requests. Our work is stolen and reproduced via AI. Anybody can be stalked, harassed and overwhelmed with unwanted junk. So, for me at least, social media is less valuable due to the risks. I use it but with caution. Like many, I don’t respond to unknown phone numbers, unsolicited ads, trolls and spam. It’s labor to stay unencumbered by folks who seemingly have no life. I paint…it’s my passion. I want to share it. I want you to appreciate it, maybe buy it. Social media is just not what it once was.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.karibellart.com
• Instagram: @kbartsnm

Image Credits

Photos by Sandra Pierce and Kari Bell