We were lucky to catch up with Larissa Schmock recently and have shared our conversation below.

Larissa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

It was a culmination of small events that led me to the idea of pursuing art professionally, however, there was a catalyst in 2024 that I will discuss later. The possibility that I could even pursue a career in painting crept into my consciousness in fragments. The idea began to unearth itself the day that I had a little “art show” at the office with my coworkers. It was late fall/early winter of 2023. I had just completed a 46″x 46″ painting of Lake Superior as a gift for my parents and I wanted to show it off to my coworkers. Someone brought in coffee and we made it a whole event. Everyone’s responses to the painting were overwhelmingly positive and a few commented that if I made prints, they’d buy them. The comment took me by surprise. I let that thought settle with me and it rattled around my brain for a few months afterwards.

Up until this point, I had been creating paintings and then giving them away to my friends and family. To me, this was the best part of creating art. Seeing the appreciation and/or amazement on my friend’s faces was priceless. It had never occurred to me that I could sell my art, even though people dropped comments or asked, “Have you ever thought about selling your artwork?” My response was typically “Not really, I feel like that would take the fun out of it.” Frankly, I didn’t think it was good enough to sell and I never gave it much more thought. I believe this is because I grew up in a practical family. Pursuing an artistic career was not a “practical” thing and I’d pushed that possibility out of my mind when I was very young, despite loving to draw and paint from a young age.

In pursuit of a stable, practical career that aligned with my passion for nature and the outdoors, I studied environmental engineering for a while before changing majors to geography and environmental science. I joined the Army National Guard in college so that I would not come out of college in debt. I graduated college in 2020 at the start of Covid-19. All career plans went out the window. I was on active duty for a while in response to the pandemic, all the while keeping an eye out for job opportunities. I accepted an AmeriCorps position in Michigan with Huron Pines conducting work related to water resources. In 2021, I was hired by the Michigan Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy for a job protecting water resources. “Yay! Stability! My life is complete now!” Ha!

On the side of this stable career pursuit, I was constantly creating art. Creating, giving away. Creating, giving away. I think I can say at this point, every one of my friends has a piece of my artwork. This gave me purpose. It gave me energy.

Three years after I land that great, stable, practical, well-paying office job (one that I am very grateful for), I feel drained and unfulfilled. In the back of my mind, there were constant nagging thoughts, “I feel like there is a better use of my time”, “What job can I do where I work with my hands instead of sitting at a computer?”, “I should’ve been an architect”, “Maybe I should build furniture.” These thoughts were snuffed out with counter-thoughts, “This is a great paying job, you have great benefits”, “Not many people have this sort of flexibility in their schedule”, “You’re doing great work protecting public resources, that should be enough”.

The beginning of 2024 is when my mindset shifted drastically. I was on a 2.5 week vacation in Greece over New Years to meet my boyfriend’s extended family. I had a lot of time to reflect on my life while getting a taste of a different culture. On this vacation, I brought a book. This book completely shifted my perspective on life. The book is titled “Mastery” by Robert Greene. Frankly, it was an epiphany. I realized that I had been stifling an urge to create so that I could achieve a life of “stability” and what society was telling me was good and safe. More deeply, I feared that people would not value me as an artist or take me seriously. I realized my true desire is to focus on mastering my passion. Mastering painting. Everything I’d been doing up until this point was sacrificing my creative energy for stability. I have a drive to create, a need to create. I thought, “If other people can do it, why can’t I?” I had to ask myself, “If I continue on the path that I’m currently on, am I going to regret it when I’m old?”

That answer is yes. I need to change course, I need to peel away from this notion of a safe, stable life to pursue art. It will be challenging but it will be a challenge that energizes me. So, 2024. I’ve made up my mind. I am going to pursue a career as an artist.

If I didn’t have a mortgage to pay and a significant other to consider, I would’ve jumped ship immediately and dedicated every hour of every day to art. However, I have obligations and I need the income. Because I’d never sold my art before, I had no idea what potential there was and I was unsure where to start. I decided to transition slowly, I gave myself a soft deadline of 2 years to transition to a full time artist. I still do not know if this is realistic for my circumstances, however, it’s my goal. In 2024, I joined a pop up art market that spring and let it be known to my coworkers that my artwork is available. I sold over $300 of art. I joined a local art association. I joined a couple of art exhibits where I received honorable mention and a first place award. I sold another piece of art for $650. Okay, it’s working. What now?

Now it’s 2025. I’ve joined a local artist co-op gallery, where some of my work is for sale. This year’s focus is on improving my artistic skills, creating more work, and learning more of the business side. I will also be working on exposure. I plan on entering more art fairs and exhibits to build up an audience and customer base.

So, that’s where I’m at and how it all started. I am very much in the beginning of this pursuit and I look forward to the challenges it will bring.

Larissa, 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?

I am an artist living near the shore of Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan. I primarily work in oil and acrylic paint, and pen and ink drawings.

My inspiration comes from nature. Growing up in northern Wisconsin and now living in Michigan, I’ve been surrounded by beautiful natural resources, particularly, amazing lakes, streams, and wetlands most of my life. The appreciation of these ecosystems comes through in my artwork (I hope). I’m most proud of the work I create that is able to capture the essence of beauty in nature. My favorite painting to date is my “Wetland Vegetation” painting, which is basically a very detailed view of the greenery found in a wetland. I plan experimenting with similar paintings in the future

It all started with coloring books….Who doesn’t like coloring books? I’ve had an interest in art since I was young. I loved art classes in grade school and my parents gave me lots of art supplies and “how to draw…” books. The interest grew from there and continued as a hobby throughout my life. I experimented with watercolor, acrylic, colored pencil, graphite, etc.

In college, I decided to attempt oil painting. I hated it initially, but it grew on me. Oil is the primary medium I work in now. However, I delve into acrylic when I want quicker drying times. I also love drawing, so you’ll often see a lot of pen and ink work from me as well.

What I want folks to know is this: I love creating artwork for others to enjoy. I love experimenting. I love challenges. And with that said, I love commissions. It combines all of those elements, especially when someone approaches me with an idea that I’ve not yet explored.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have an idea for a painting that you’d like fulfilled. As an emerging artist with an income stream from a job unrelated to art, my priorities are improving my artwork, getting exposure, and learning the business side of things. Because I do not yet make a living off of art alone, I can be flexible in pricing of a commission and I am willing to work with clients to find something that fits both of our needs.

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

Providing a platform for artists to show their work. For example, businesses that showcase local artists’ work on a monthly rotation, or host small local art pop-up exhibits (think coffee shops and restaurants). All it takes is some wall-space and a little planning to create mutualistic relationship between artists and small business owners. I think Marquette, Michigan does a fantastic job of this. There is a thriving creative community here.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Yes.
There are two books I’d like to highlight. One, “Mastery” by Robert Greene, as I mentioned in my first answer. Two, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey for time and self management.
Another highly valuable resource I came across was Tim Packer’s Art Academy. This is an online resource. This has helped shape my understanding of the commercial art world and he outlines a very practical approach to creating, improving, and selling your art. I highly recommend.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.larissaschmock.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larissa.schmock.art/