We recently connected with Mary Hubley and have shared our conversation below.

Mary, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

As a young artist, I got hungry. I was living on ramen, just barely making rent, and couldn’t afford to heat my home. I had tried to make it on my own as a freelance artist, do shows, and get into galleries, but the income just wasn’t enough. I had no choice but to get out of my beloved art studio and find a living wage. Thus, I found myself working for several Fortune 500 companies writing and illustrating books. The corporate life was financially rewarding, but it sucked the life out of me. I kept going into the office every day because I couldn’t figure out how to make a living as an artist on my own. Meanwhile, I took regular freelance illustration jobs on the side, hoping someday they would help me to break free from corporate.
Finally after many years, I was downsized from my corporate job. I was overjoyed. It was time to make that big change.
The risk? A $0 salary again. I would be jumping ship to the unknown. It was scary, but was the best move I ever made. I stayed downsized. I never looked back.
I took everything I learned from my corporate experience to make my own art business work. I had learned how to create marketable art, work with teams, market, and be successful. I kept my freelance jobs for a while as I transitioned to eventually spending full time in the art studio. I no longer do commercial work. Today I paint full time and show my work in gorgeous galleries and in national shows. The risk to go out on my own was worth it – I’m oil painting full time, making a nice living, and loving every second of my freedom.

Mary, 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 am an oil painter, working in a contemporary impressionist style. I love painting coastal landscapes, old boats and beach trucks, and the marsh life that surrounds me on my Florida island. While my subjects are realistic, my work is really about capturing vibrations and energy, giving textural and gritty aspects to a subject. The art studio is where I feel most at home, although I start paintings with plein air studies out in the field. Authenticity is important in my work, so I paint what is true to me – the feel of the breeze across my skin and the sound of seagulls in the distance as I paint. Each piece is a genuine experience, true and bold and living. My world is imperfect and beautiful, so my paintings often have scratches, smears, and spatters of paint to convey my textured reality.
I have been showing my oil paintings for the past 20 years in prominent art galleries and international art shows. Honors include awards with the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society (NOAPS) and Richeson75 International, and inclusion in NOAPS, the American Impressionist Society and Boldbrush art shows.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

To not have to be driven by a formal job. I create my own work, whatever I want, whenever I want. If I want a break, I take it. I have always been self-directed, and this is the perfect life for me. Of course, I’m aware of my market, create works that I know my galleries can sell, and can pivot to address different markets at times. But the work is all about what satisfies me, and that is immensely rewarding.

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.

Well, hey there – why the heck would you give up 6 figures to do… what? Paint. Yea, it’s curious. I had been in the corporate world for years, was good at it, but was so unhappy wearing a suit. I wanted to live my art rather than simply make a living. I need to feel the wind in my hair and exist in the great outdoors rather than be jailed in a corner office. The big surprise is that now I am secure enough so that I’ve never looked back. I’ve broken out of my cage and can fly free. Best decision I ever made.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.maryhubley.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryhubley/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maryhubleystudio