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

Kree , appreciate you joining us today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

I earned my first dollar as a creative at the Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative “Visions in Black” Exhibition. It was my first time having my work in an exhibition through an organization outside of school, interacting with potential buyers, and eventually selling my first piece. Being in such a new environment was very dazing, but being able to sell my first piece really cemented my progression as an artist in my eyes. Another aspect of this experience that will stay with me was bringing my buyer to tears with my exhibition piece. I would’ve never expected to bring out such emotion in someone, but it was amazing to know that someone truly appreciated my attention to detail.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve always had my heart set on being an artist from an early age but being a student at Ringling College really cemented my potential in being an Illustrator full time. Being an artist as a young black queer person is very rare since people like myself don’t have the luxury to pursue a career, so I take my opportunities very seriously. Currently I do illustration commissions like promotional posters and portraits but I hope to soon specialize in children’s books or advertisement illustration. When it comes to my pieces I believe what sets me apart is my attention to detail and ability to capture emotion, movement, and diversity in the characters that I draw, while keeping it fun and cartoony. Although I believe being a creative is very serious work, I love adding comedic aspects to my illustrations since that’s a part of my personality. I really enjoy creating expressive characters and having viewers be able to see themselves in my pieces. I’m most proud of my perseverance, growth, and the community I’ve built surrounding my work within the last 2 years. The work I used to make before college is almost unrecognizable to me, but I take that in stride because I feel it’s a sign of immense growth.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One lesson I had to unlearn quickly is to not lower your prices for your work and to know your worth. There will always be someone willing to pay your prices even if it isn’t immediate. It’s intimidating to be firm in your prices because you know how much effort and time your work takes and potentially losing a customer is daunting but at the end of the day it’s better to wait for someone willing to come along than to be underpaid for your accomplishments. When I was put in this position of receiving a commission from a decently sized organization and listing my prices, I didn’t realize until after the commission was completed how much I undervalued myself. It was extremely embarrassing being blindsided and taken advantage of because I was an emerging illustrator. It’s a better sign for clients to be hesitant about your prices than accepting them right away. Although I will grow from this experience, it definitely could’ve been avoided for myself and a lot of artists in this situation by not being intimidated in knowing your worth.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Something I would appreciate non-creatives to understand is that this line of work is a lot more straining that it looks on the outside. Many see drawing or being a creative in general as unserious or even impractical as a career, but taking something you love to do and monetizing is extremely risky because that enjoyment can quickly deteriorate and you’re left missing a part of yourself. Making a steady income with art is very hard to come by and by proxy, my artists begin to tie their self worth to how much they make from their work rather than how they feel making it. Even I fall victim to these ideas and it’s a long process to break out of them. Although these struggles are mostly internal, they are still very real dilemmas. Pushing myself through burnout or going through a rough patch with commission sales are disheartening because as a creative you don’t really get “breaks” or miss work, your career begins to blend with your hobby and seeps into your personal projects. Sometimes creating as a career can feel like slowly drifting from a childhood friend. It won’t always be a steady incline of growth, it’s a mixture of highs and lows and people who are outside of this field aren’t always able to see it that way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://getkreeative.weebly.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kreeeative/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kreeative/

Image Credits
Jesse Clark