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

Krystal, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

In 2016, I was working as a Curriculum Development Specialist. I designed art programs and projects for students in schools that did not have art classes. I loved my job, but sadly all of the staff started being pulled in other directions, and the work we were hired for, was no longer getting done. I did what was asked of us for several weeks but quickly felt depressed from it. I thought I was holding myself together but apparently my boyfriend could tell I was not happy.

One night, he looked at me and said “Hun, you’re not happy with work, I can tell. If you were to quick tomorrow, what would you want to do?” Without hesitation, I said “I want to continue painting live for musicians, I want to concentrate on getting my art out there, I want to continue teaching art classes, and I want to open my own art studio.” He said, “Then do it.” I remember smirking and letting out a little chuckle, as if to say “I wish”. He said “You have money saved up, Leave the job that is making you miserable, and try doing your art on you own. Try it for a year, then see if you made money or lost money. If it’s not working, then you go find a job, but why not try?”

So, I tried. It’s been almost 6 and a half years now, that I have been running my own business without a “paycheck” job. Although with anything in life, there are obstacles and learning curves, but I am still able to stay afloat financially, and I am so much happier. A bit of advice for artists that are in a similar situation; take the risk, it’s scary but what if the outcome is incredible?

Krystal, 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 Krystal Dyer and I am an artist. I know that sounds bold, but that’s what I am. I have done art since I was very young, my Mom used to joke that I could use a pencil properly before I could hold a fork. I grew up in South Jersey, and in 2nd grade, my parents recognized that I had some talent and they put me into private art classes outside of the little art education that my school offered. I learned various mediums and techniques in a one on one setting, that I would not have learned in school. I went onto High School, and continued learning more mediums. It was a no brainer that I was going to apply to art college but I had no idea which direction I wanted to focus on.

I applied to several art college for different art majors, and decide that wherever I got accepted, is what my art focus would be. I graduated The Art Institute of Philadelphia for Media Arts and Animation. I went on to land an internship at Nickelodeon in NYC which turned into full time work for a bit. I also worked at Lockheed Martin and Think Up / GeeWiz Toy Design Company. Around 2008/2009 there was a huge writers strike that affected so many professionals in the creative world, I was one of them.

Through no fault of my own, I kept finding myself getting temporarily laid off due to the huge writers strike. I started working at a bar to make ends meet and took on as many freelance art jobs as I could. After a few life situations, my Dad said to me “Babe, there is nothing holding you here in NJ, why not try California, you’ve always wanted to go and it sounds like you have better job opportunities there.”

I lined up a bunch of job interviews, flew out, and landed 2 of the jobs. One in Los Angeles and one in San Diego. Long story short, I chose the job in San Diego and made the move less than 2 weeks after getting hired. Within a week of being in town, the job fell through because the video game I was hired to animate for, flopped during testing, so they had to let go of 300 animators, and sadly I was one of them. I felt stuck, I felt like I failed, I was terrified and stressed.

I called my Dad in a panic and he said “It’s night time, there is nothing you can do right now, go find a bar with some live music, grab a beer and just relax. You’ll get a good night sleep and figure it out tomorrow but you are not moving back to New Jersey.” I did what my Dad suggested, and that night I grabbed a beer at a bar with a live band, and was doodling on a napkin. The lead singer of that band, came over to me during the break and said my hand and head was moving to the beat of their music. He said “you should come paint live for us, were here every Thursday”

I had no idea what that meant, he explained that I would bring an easel, canvas, paints, brushes, and just come on stage and paint while they played. Desperate to make this California dream work, I tried it, and ended up selling my painting. I continued to paint live with them every week, eventually getting hired at that bar to promote bands. I was asked to start painting live at their Open Mic Night and then was quickly was promoted to server and a couple of years later I was booking the bands.

I never stopped painting live. I went on to work at a few different bars/venues, I was teaching art classes in school districts and went onto creating art programs for schools that did not offer art classes to students. But, I never stopped painting live. I create live on stage, in the moment, with the music. Being a live artist has helped me network and grow as an artist and entertainer. I am known for my bright colored scenery art and silly cartoon characters that I make up on the spot.

I now offer hand painted hats, shoes, custom paintings for home decor, hand painted magnets, and much more. I still occasionally teach group classes, I still do graphic design, but mostly you can find me painting live on stage, set up selling my art for sale at an event or working on custom orders.

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

I want to open an art studio. I want to not only showcase my own art work, but I want to bring in other local artists to give them a platform to show their creations. I want to have a space to teach art classes, host art receptions with acoustic performances, and a gift shop filled with local art. I have a big goal that might take some time and money to reach but every show I do, every person I meet, every piece of art I sell, is getting me closer to making my vision a reality.

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

We live in a digital world. That being said, it’s so much easier to support artists now compared to 30+ years ago. One great way to support artists is to obviously buy their artwork, proudly display it in your home or office and tell people who created it. Sometimes, we find ourselves in a financial bind (life happens), and you may want to support an artist but you simply can’t spend any money right now, that’s ok. Take the time to find out their social media, follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Etsy, whatever platforms they use. You’ll get updated on new creations, and maybe one day down the line you can afford something.

Social media is an incredible tool for networking and promoting. We as a society spend too much time looking at screens, I am guilty of it too. Think about when you do glance at Instagram, for example, and the posts you see as you scroll by. If you see artwork you like, you can share it, tag the artist, and show others their skill. Something little like that, could go a long way for the artist. By you sharing their art, they can potentially gain new fans and followers, maybe even get a custom order.

Another way you can support artists is if you are a business owner, maybe you own a restaurant, or cafe, or doctor’s office, you could allow artists to hang their art in your establishment for no fee. Let them have a small card under each piece that has a price and contact. You get art on your walls, they can showcase and potentially sell there artwork. Don’t take a percentage of their sale, let the artist keep 100%, be that amazing business owner who truly supports local artists and doesn’t take a cut.

Contact Info:

• Website: KrystalDyer.com (website remodel coming soon!)
• Instagram: @Krystal_Dyer_The_Artist
• Facebook: Facebook.com/KrystalDyerTheArtist

Image Credits
Some photographs were taken by: @momentary.time @aaronthomasmedia @photobeardsd