We recently connected with Linda Clayton-Behr and have shared our conversation below.

Linda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I am currently making a living from my artwork.

I always wanted to be in the Arts. First choice, teenage me would’ve said Rockstar, Actress, Artist or even a Stand Up Comedian. I just new I wanted to make people feel good. Make them Happy, or feel empowered or get them through tough times. Maybe a way to remember great times. I just knew I wanted to make people FEEL Something good.

I was actively discouraged from pursuing a career in any of the arts as most family and high school teachers were not shy about telling me that you “need to have a real job” or “the likely hood of you making a living on any of these choices is not only slim, but it’s a stupid idea.”

So I got a degree in Graphic Arts, thinking that would give me a creative fix and did theater on the side.

I felt like I was slowly suffocating or fading away. I hated being tied to a cubicle, staring at a screen, working to sell people things they didn’t really need. It was soul sucking… it was like the Dementors from Hogwarts just roamed the halls invisibly feeding on lost creatives that needed more.

Luckily I got laid off (although at the time it felt anything but lucky) and started creating paintings after resume posting/applying for jobs. With the support of someone for the very first time in my life, I starting posting and showing my work. Very soon, my painting/art sales replaced and exceeded graphic design freelance jobs and I have never looked back.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Emotion, motion, and energy is what I strive to convey in my work.

Like I said I want the viewer to feel something. I want them to recognize themselves or situations they have found themselves in on their life journey. I want to remind those that have forgotten they hold power in their life. I do this through humor or powerful images. I want the person that has visited oceans and water and feels more at home there to actually feel the movement in the waves and the power of the tides. I want anyone who has been lucky enough to watch animals play to feel that joy until it can’t be contained on the inside and we see it slowly reveal itself on their face in a bright uninhibited laugh or smile.

My favorite part about being a visual artist is seeing the reaction to my work. Watching someone connect with the piece and have so much emotion build inside there is a release of energy, be it laughter or tears, it means I have done my work well and touched another persons heart.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

The view that art is always “too expensive”. This usually comes from people that have very little history with art. People that are used to mass production and pricing at Bed Bath and Beyond or similar home stores where reproductions of art are sold at a fraction of what an individual artist can offer.

We create all the time. Owning and running your own business is hard. Owning, running and Creating your own business AND it’s products is all time consuming. I only hire assistants when I can afford to pay them at least $15/hour or commission of sales whichever turns out to be the higher number, because every humans time is valuable. Every job is valuable to a community.

Artist most of the time are not viewed as “working”, or not “really” working because you get to have fun all the time and only see us “working” at Art Fairs, or Gallery’s, The reality is I have never worked longer hours in my entire life than I do now, but I love what I do and wouldn’t change it.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I want to matter. I want to help people on their life’s journey. I want to make life better for everyone I encounter.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lindaclaytonart.com
• Instagram: @lindaclayton_art
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/lindaclaytonart
• Twitter: @lindaclaytonart