We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Battistini recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lauren thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

The first time I earned money as a creative was at the ripe old age of 5. I remember distinctly selling my colored coloring book pages door to door at our small four plex apartment in New Orleans, Louisiana, where my mom and I lived. The first door I knocked on was answered by a lady who did indeed purchase my “artwork” for a dime. The first real dollars earned as a creative, though, were when I began offering personalized color analysis and wardrobe planning services to neighbors in 2007, as a mother of three very small children. Creative entrepreneurship is in my blood!

Lauren , 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 have been in the field of professional color specification in some form or fashion since late 2006, early 2007. Trained professionally by the best mentors in my field, I began offering PCA, personal color analysis, to women to help them determine the optimal clothing, makeup, jewelry and hair colors to suit their unique skin tones. From there I did on-camera work as a media expert in color, style and wardrobing.

In 2018 I pivoted professionally and became certified as an architectural color consultant, creating residential and commercial paint and surface color palettes for both residential and commercial properties. This entailed working with homeowners on new builds and remodels by selecting all colors, materials and finishes for their spaces. Commercial projects on which I consulted involved the selection of colors, materials, finishes and color allocation on such spaces as apartment complexes, medical facilities, strip centers and new restaurant builds. I have been working in architectural color consulting since then, but have decided after ten years of much thought, prayer and analysis to pursue a full-time career as an artist and illustrator.

Let’s delve in for a moment about what type of art I create, my intended audience, and why I create the pieces I create. Three years ago I began using the hashtag #ColoringMyWayAcrossTheGlobe to document and chronicle my international travels, travel photography, conversations with locals in the places I visit, language learning and interesting cultural footnotes. I began creating art from there that reflected facets of my travel. My art is colorful and exploratory with an air of escapism and adventure. Through my art, I want the viewer to feel as though he or she is transported to another part of the world even if for a moment.

My art and the Coloring My Way Across The Globe campaign are designed to inspire, encourage and teach people how to have their own colorful adventures off the beaten path whether near or far. It could be booking that trip to Greece you always wanted to take, or even visiting an Ethiopian restaurant in town to try the cuisine.

As an accompaniment to my art, I am launching the Coloring My Way Across The Globe podcast in early January 2024. This I am especially excited about, as I will chronicle and showcase the most colorful people, places and experiences discovered off the beaten path around the globe. Featuring guests such as color experts, artists, wine sommeliers, digital nomads, professional travel influencers and other fellow travelers, my podcast will take listeners along on this colorful, culturally immersive journey and hopefully inspire them as a result to live more colorfully!

I am most proud that I’ve never given up on entrepreneurship, though this has been a frustrating, long, circuitous route to arrive at my calling as an artist, illustrator and cultural podcaster. I drowned out the warnings and discouragement from my inner critic and the well-intentioned loved ones who were concerned about me taking a leap of faith into the chaotic world of entrepreneurship. I have developed laser focus on surround myself with other like-minded, bold, adventurous, business minded people.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part of being an artist, illustrator and content creator is that I am location independent. This is to say that I may work from literally anywhere in the world and still produce art and content. In fact, my international travels inform and inspire my art series. I am able to move about as I please to stay with any of my three grown children when I wish, and/or to visit friends and family all over the globe. This is a blessing and the ultimate sign of professional freedom in my opinion.

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.

Non-creatives tend to think cautiously and even fearfully about creative entrepreneurship. They are typically accustomed to the nine-to-five corporate jobs. They are part of the traditional work model of having one steady source of income and retiring one day once you’re 65 and have enough savings and retirement in the bank. This is absolutely not a criticism of non-creatives. It is, however, an explanation as to why they might find it difficult to conceptualize taking an idea or vision, working on it and seeing it through to completion, and then selling it to the public. Going from zero (a concept) to product launch is a scary proposition with no guarantee of return on investment, and this makes it difficult for non-creatives to understand why we creatives would dare do such a thing, and often with no safety net of work benefits or savings.

Non-creatives have difficulty understanding us creatives because they have a much lower tolerance for risk and much less of a need for personal freedom than we do.

Non-creatives rarely understand the internal push we feel to create or the slew of ideas in our brains at any given moment. They do not dream in the way that we do, as we dream in terms of huge possibility and best case scenarios. We see our creativity as a gift that has the power to earn almost unlimited income. We see it as something worth risking almost anything to achieve!

We creatives, however, NEED the more pragmatic, level headed, bread winning—at least at the beginning of our creative journeys, logical non-creatives. Without them, perhaps we wouldn’t be willing to take as many risks as we do

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lfbcolor.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/lfbcolor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lfb-color-consulting

Image Credits
First three photographs of me and/or my color materials: Maritere Rice, photographer www.maritererice.com All other artwork is mine of course