We were lucky to catch up with Kate Taylor recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kate, thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

My journey to full-time artist is not a direct path. But I am a driver and, once I decided to do something, I am all in. I try and be pragmatic about my chances of success and then build a plan to get to where I want to be. In every business, you need to have a strategy so that you can make the best decisions to get to your end goal. I also believe every artists should have a revenue goal. Without that, it is hard to know if you have been successful.

I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts but decided to get some business experience first. I worked in financial services and technology industries and then opened my own marketing firm with a business partner in 1991. We had 10 employees and specialized in Executive level Engagements – primarily in conferences and highly personalized events. We won many Worldwide Best Practices’ awards from Microsoft for delivering results – increased revenue, stronger relationships and higher future sales.

In 2009, I went back to the arts as an abstract painter. At this time, I was still running my marketing firm as well as painting. This gave me time to better understand the industry and the market. For many years, I basically worked 2 full-time jobs – one as a marketer and 1 as a painter. By this time, I had quite substantial business knowledge and realized that I needed to apply myself to the business of art as well as the studio practice; I also needed to build my community so I joined the Artists’ Network in Toronto. I quickly realized that many artists (certainly not all) did not have business experience and were not equipped to sell their work – thereby leaving them financially vulnerable. Within a year, I was Chair of the Artists’ Network and was committed to helping artists with the business of art. We had monthly education sessions that covered topics such as ‘how to get into galleries’, ‘how to do a strong submission’, ‘selling online’, pricing your work’ and many others – driven by the Members’ needs.

I benefited as well – volunteering my time to the community increased my profile and opened up new avenues for me – more people in the industry knew me and I was able to leverage the relationships and their knowledge – where to get the best panels, what shows work for them, how to pack my art for shipping etc. I also knew that if I was by myself at an art show, there was always someone to help me put up my tent or help me hang a heavy piece. We are blessed in Toronto to have a very supportive artist community and that was the difference between surviving and thriving. My mantra is “A Rising Tide Floats all Boats”…. help where you can, give to your community and it will come back to you.

By 2012, I was losing art opportunities because my marketing company was still a priority; this is not what I wanted. I bought my business partner out and got rid of all my staff and all clients except for my major client. This gave me the time to hone my painting skills and build my art business while having the revenue from my marketing business to fund some of the art activities.

I think it is critical to invest in your business. I am a risk taker so maybe it is easier for me but I think you have to try new art shows, explore new revenue streams even if you think you are not ready. You will likely NEVER feel ready! I had only been painting abstract for a few years when I decided to submit to the major art fair in my city. Most were established artists and I certainly was not even totally comfortable calling myself an artist yet. I was waitlisted and phoned them saying if there was a cancellation, I was ready to step in – even if it was only a few days prior to the show. That is exactly what happened. I was excited and freaked out at the same time but…. called my community who helped me figure out what to do and I have been doing this fair for almost 15 years now. It was a huge stepping stone and led to gallery representation and other invitations.

Although I wish I had started earlier, I also feel that I was able to grow my business exponentially due to the experience I had in running my own business. I applied many of the same practices to my art business, introducing a Zero Risk Commission Policy and researching my ideal customer.

My tips:
– Be brave. Even if you are not sure what you re doing….you are smart and can likely figure it out
– Say YES. If someone offers you a show or an opportunity, say yes and do your best.
– Volunteer – give to your community – you will get back more than you gave
– Leverage your Community – a rising tide floats all boats – help others and they will help you when you need it
– Step in – if you want to do a studio tour and no one is making it happen – do it yourself. Be the change!

Kate, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an abstract artist born in England, and now works from my studios in Toronto and at the cottage in Northern Ontario. I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Western University and was taught painting by the internationally-renowned artist, Paterson Ewen.

My art is a joyful interpretation of nature. Inspiration comes at the cottage with its evocative soundtrack of loons, water and wind. The very distinct feelings of grounded calm and dynamic movement that happens in the natural world resonates with me…positive & negative, energy & calm, push & pull. I create with those seemingly opposing energies always in my mind’s eye.

My creative process begins with Baltic Birch panels. I love the way the wood grain ripples and travels like water tributaries. Getting acquainted with and revealing the wood through the sanding, varnishing and meditative layering of fluid acrylic is like treading an unknown path. I work only with a palette knife, mixing my colours on the knife so that each ‘flick’ is multicolored and beautiful.

I think and look deeply at the weight and placement of these ’flicks’, creating a focus that is off centre, inviting pieces to be experienced from different angles and orientation, creating space for joy and introspection.

At the heart of it, I am a process painter – I love the act of creating almost more than the final piece; maybe that is why I have never had a problem in letting my babies fly to new homes. I originally specialized in photography, but it took me a while to find ‘my thing’. I love the act of having to commit – and with the invention of digital photography and the ability to do everything on the computer, I became less interested. My current process is panting on the raw wood so, once I put a colour down, I cannot remove it – I like that level of commitment.

Many artists don’t, but I love doing commissions! I really enjoy working with clients to make sure they get that perfect piece for their home. I want them to really connect with the piece and hopefully continue to find new things to see in it for the next 50 years. I want my work to be a part of people’s lives and, in fact, many clients have become friends over the years. For this reason, I offer a Zero Risk Commission Policy….I will work with a client to create a piece and, if they don’t totally LOVE it, they don’t have to take it, no deposit. This allows me to do the painting they way it needs to be done but also makes sure the piece really talks to the client. About 40% of my work is commissions and I know that people love being a part of the creative process…I love that personal connection.

Ultimately, my work is about joy and I try and only paint within I am feeling joyful. I think this comes out on the work. I do love meeting new people and they often connect with me, feeling the positive energy. I think this is a key to my success as an artist.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish that more universities and colleges provided a mandatory ‘entrepreneur’ course for students in the arts. I think it is a travesty that the concepts of ‘not selling out to the man’ is still embraced by many fine arts program. This does students and future artists a huge disservice. I feel that if I had had more of an understanding of how to actually be an artist who can make enough money to have a mortgage and enjoy regular vacations, i would have started earlier and had a higher chance of being successful vs having to build own busine knowledge. There seems to be so much guilt associated with selling your art that it makes it hard to seriously consider this as a career.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I am a life long learner and am always looking for new ways to challenge myself. This might be a new technique, learning how to cross the border to participate in art fairs or helping others enjoy creativity.

CREATIVE ADVENTURES:
To that end, with a business partner, we started a business called “Creative Adventures”. We deliver creativity retreats for non-artists. This came about because we heard of so many people who lamented that they were not creative; I believe that everyone is creative, they just need to learn to enjoy the experience and trust the process vs getting caught up with the end result. We were not interested in teaching others how to paint like us, but rather to tap into that same love of creating they had as kids. We offer sessions on hand painted silk scarves, stained glass, abstract painting, making paper and encaustic painting.

We have 2 dates set in France (June and October 2024) for a week-long retreat in France. We will be staying in a 15th century chateau and enjoying the act of creating.

SISTER+SISTER:
I was interested in doing interactive installations and so, in collaboration with my sister, artist Helen Utsal, we created the Butterfly Effect – an installation consisting of handmade paper. We conceived of the concept at an artist residency i France earlier this year and were able to realize the full vision a few weeks ago – we just launched our first full-scale installation at Art San Diego and won the Director’s Award.

TALKING TO ARTISTS:
Created during the Pandemic, I launched Talking to Artists – casual conversations about the real life of being a visual artist – through Instagram. I shared over 100 interviews from artists from around the world and have a number of them available via Spotify and Apple. Unfortunately my Instagram account got hacked so I lost a number if the interviews but i am looking to resurrect these weekly chats.

Contact Info:

• Website: katetaylorstudio.com
• Instagram: @KateTaylorArtist
• Facebook: KateTaylorFineArt
• Linkedin: KateTaylorArt
• Youtube: KateTaylorArt
• Other: Spotify Podcast – Talking to Artists