Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maria. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Maria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

I give a lot of credit to my parents. My dad is a business owner and I have always witnessed that entrepreneurial spirit in him. I have learned the resilience, sacrifice and hardships of being your own boss all through observing my dad since I was a child. His attitude towards life is to work hard doing the things you love and things will work out. I remember any time I had a problem as a child or even today as a grown adult, my dad always puts things in such perspective where they’re not as bad as they seem – and that makes my outlook on life more positive. My mom on the other hand is a very creative person with this passionate fire in her. She loves life and always pushed me and my brother to getting an education as she says it opens doors. We were always signed up for private lessons learning different languages.

When I was younger, I was rebelling my mom and saying I want to follow my own path like my dad did. I thought I only had one choice, but now as an adult I see truth to both sides and I have my own business, and have a higher education. I am grateful to having grown up in an environment where freedom and education were valued and success in life is measured by things other than monetary value.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always enjoyed drawing and I got into painting at the age of 17 when I moved to the US from Bulgaria. Like many young artists, I was very impatient and just wanted to dive right into what I want to create. Through the years, my skillset has evolved, but I have found my passion – painting nature, birds and wildlife in oils.
My main focus right now is birds, as I love to go birdwatching.

My artwork is for people who stop to notice life around them – whether it be the Robin nesting in their backyard or the hummingbirds that come visit their flowers – any person that appreciates nature on a deeper level will connect with my oil paintings.
In my opinion what sets me apart from other creatives is how much I value connecting with people – I treat everyone like they are my friend. I make artwork not just for myself but for everyone else; I get inspired when I talk to fellow birders and nature lovers and I am passionate about conservation. I am most proud of the fact that I continue to do what I do and I believe in it besides the hardships. One of my favorite quotes is from a song by called “Delivery” by Jimmy Eat World; it goes like “Don’t worry where we end up, cause ending up’s not real. The life we build we never stop creating”. In that I find meaning that goes beyond the traditional success vs failure that our culture has adopted. As artists and people we constantly evolve, change and our work follows us.

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

I think in this day and age society already does a good job supporting living artists, however I believe that art is still perceived as a luxury or something non-essential, when in fact, art is what drives us. Literature, music, books, theater and anything else that’s perceived as a peculiar career choice is what society lacks in value. We have fallen into a world full of consumerism, technology and a vortex of working too hard just to get by. I think the first step for society to take in order to support the creative ecosystem is to acknowledge they’re in the vortex – and go out and look at art. Even artists experience this as business owners or independent contractors – we are too immersed into checking off every box in our never-ending to do lists.

We all need to experience art on a regular basis and get immersed into the mindful world of creativity. To put it more simply read more books, go to a theater more often, find local artists instead of purchasing art from big-box chain stores; just get curious!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

This will be a unique take, but here it is. As an artist, I like to do a variety of things to diversify my income – fine art shows, craft shows, online sales, digital marketing etc. The first or second year I was dipping my toes in the water trying out outdoor fairs, I signed up to do a craft show at a very popular local park/garden. As I was driving to the show, the weather was terrible; it was raining, windy and I had no backup plans. After hauling my tent, weights and everything else to my assigned spot, I started setting up. After putting my tent together, the weather didn’t seem like it was getting better; in fact it looked worse. I was worried my weights wouldn’t hold down my tent enough. I remember standing under my unstable tent, staring at the pavement as the heavy rain was pouring down. I kept spiraling and thinking “nobody will come to this show and all of this effort would be for nothing” I cried. I called my dad and asked him what I should do and you know what he said? “Screw it and leave; who cares!”
And I did. I lost my deposit, but I was relieved, because I knew that i wasn’t going to make any money from it. I learned that sometimes you need to objectively weigh the pros and cons and just call it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mariaananieva.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maria.ananievaart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariaananievaart
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-ananieva-0774b9190

Image Credits

Chris Hodge (B&W Photo)