We recently connected with Maranda Fowler and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Maranda, thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Funding your life from income provided by your passion is the dream, right? It’s rewarding, and SO complicated.  First, all the dreamy encouragement flooded me in the tiny tot days. The career flash cards are doctors, astronauts, construction workers, writers-and it’s always attainable with hard work.
I truly believed it, too.
So, I chose:
Painting, drawing, observing, translating, color. It’s decided, I will be an artist.
My earliest memories include drawing, and I never quit.
Every drop of praise went directly into this channel, that I could do absolutely anything I chose to.
But, I learned, the seeds they planted were never expected to grow with me.

“Well, yeah, you do beautiful work, but it’s not really a career.”
“To be an artist, you have to marry money.”
“You’ll need someone to support you.”
“Cool, but how are you going to pay your bills?”
That’s all it took for me to step back.
Let’s poorly attempt college for a sensible career in accounting instead.
Didn’t work.
Let’s try psychology.
Woops.
The sketchbooks are filling up. What do I do with these? More importantly, do I buy more paper when I run out, or are these declining pages a timer, winding me down in preparation for the “real” world?
How will I survive on this? How? That was the only question I sat with. How? As creatives, it is an appropriate question. I let it shut me down for a couple years. But now I get to ask. “How?”

Small town commissions began.
The first few payments from crafty projects were exciting. Then I’m saying yes to projects that sort of drained my soul and limited my creativity and expression.  I was hunting for the demand so I could validate my self-given title as an artist. I lost a lot of traction at this point, because if you aren’t creating YOUR art, why commit to it?
But I kept grinding, and sharing, so people would know I was an option.
If you push through that- you create, you expand, you learn, you grow. You keep your head above those ravenous waters, you will harvest the juiciest fruit you’ve ever tasted.
After a year or two, I gained enough local clout to paint a few pieces I enjoyed and price them for sale.
I kept that traction and it gave my life a little more flavor and purpose, helped me trudge through my 9-5.
And then…motherhood.
I had my first son, and all creative encouragement came to an aggressive stop.
I was told I didn’t need to spend my time on the art hustle when I had a baby to mother; a secure job and motherhood was all I was allowed.
This was when I put on my shit kickers and tiara.
I do not accept encouragement UNTIL adulthood.  Even better, I decided not to need encouragement. I knew a creative life was possible, and I had to prove it to my son now.  You can do anything you set your mind to, and I chose to lead by example.
My first step was into tattooing.  The obstacles emerged around every corner, and I climbed, jumped, kicked and cried my way through them.
I became a tattoo artist.
I opened an art studio.
I paint.
I didn’t marry money. No one is supplementing incoming to let me paint or tattoo. I’m the breadwinner for a beautiful family of 5.
How am I going to make a living as an artist?
Well, I don’t let anyone tell me what I’m capable of. I’m driven by persistent passion, because that isn’t to be ignored.
When the burn out starts to set, I consider my alternatives, and choose this path again.
My efforts, persistence, and passion are “how” I make it as an artist.

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?

Based in Kentucky with my husband and three sons, I’m a tattooer and painter. Art has been my main constant.
My curiosity, escape from trauma, meditation, discipline, my excitement. I love that it’s such a huge part of my identity.
I’m not necessarily a “trained” artist, but I love the technical skills and righ-brained elements of art. My main hunt is usually tackling volume, color matching, and light.
Stepping into tattooing after 20+ years of painting was my most challenging creative transition. Being centered around color, light and volume, I was never focused on line work. Tattooing is, traditionally, dependant on line work.
The loosey goosey dancing of brushes and pencils threw another hurdle in the tattoo pursuit. There’s no room for indecisiveness or dancing around until the stroke is what you’re aiming for. Every move during a tattoo has to be firm, steady, and final.
A painting can start without a plan and find it’s way through the process, but tattooing requires a plan, and each plan is unique to it’s canvas. Oh, the canvas-they aren’t flat, they’re squishy, bloody, bouncy, breathing, and they sneeze.
Painting helped me become the tattooer I am, and tattooing has helped me become a more efficient painter.

After painting my whole life, I’ve become comfortable with my identity as an artist. Loving my paintings is easy for me, because the process is the real joy.
Tattooing, for me, brings a hefty dose of imposter syndrome. I started tattooing in 2021, after a 2 year apprenticeship. I love it. The challenges, the puzzles. Every tattoo is unique, because every client is different. Every one’s skin has a different texture to work with, a different tone to consider for my palette.
My clients come to me with trust and enthusiasm. We work together to piece together the designs just right. The execution taps into the vulnerability of both my client and myself. First, I now have an audience during my process. I paint alone, usually pantless and free. But someone is observing, watching me solve puzzles and chase a goal, while my guards are down and I’m in my art brain.
Second, tattoos take a long time, and clients can’t be anywhere but right there with me. I have a peaceful, safe place (and I’m the least intimidating person on the planet), and as they sit, they share.
But with this trust and permanence, the level of stress and performance anxiety sky rocket. This isn’t a canvas that can be moved around on the gallery wall. Nothing can be done about buyer’s remorse. Most of my tattoos are now in my style and palette, and clients come in knowing what my art looks like. But it’s still so scary!
I find ways to shove the insecurity aside, I love tattooing too much. And painting is more interesting now, with this learned confidence in process.
A nice little mom bonus as a tattooer: my kids ask for tattoos all the time.
My 4 year old, who struggles to sit still for more than 30 seconds, asked for some tattoos one day. Kid sat like a rock for a full sharpie chest and back piece.
There’s no turning back now. I’ll have 3 little tatter tots to train.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s rewarding to wake up every day and know I reached a goal. Believing in yourself and pursuing a passion is taken too lightly. It is a true accomplishment to wade through doubts and tangible struggles to live a creative life. A decent chunk of people don’t see how it contributes to society or community, it doesn’t matter to them.
It took me too long to value and respect myself. So when the thought “What does it matter?” tries to start rolling around in my mind, I remember my empathy towards others.
If it matters to you, it matters.
Painting, tattooing, and providing a transparent space for others is rewarding, because I’d like to think a handful of people are watching and saying “If she can chase her dreams, I can chase mine”.
I’m not just painting and tattooing. I’m demonstrating confidence, self advocacy, self improvement, kindness THROUGH a creative life.
What would we do without color and charcoal and brush strokes? Who’s going to create your art for you? How are we going to be inspired by your vision if we never get to see it?

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Handmade markets and artist pop-ups are, well, popping up everywhere. These should be the go-to for retail therapy, hunting for your gifts, decorating your home. Even if your budget is tight, every sticker purchase helps keep a creative going. Showing your support on social media helps others find and support artists. Share the post, send the page.
Don’t print your family photo on a canvas at the supermarket, find an artist who captures personality and the twinkle in your eyes.
Shop mindfully, and support people.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @marandafowlertattoo
• Other: IG: @thepaintedladyartstudio