We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mel Middleton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Mel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I think many creatives start with the same story, that the spark was there from an early age. It’s no different for me. I was always drawing, arranging spaces, creating imaginary rooms in the forest, solving puzzles, photographing. Art was always my favorite subject in school, but so was math. So when the discussions about what career do you want to pursue started, being an artist was not really an option for me. It was a nice “hobby” I was told, but what do you really want to do to earn a living. My parents divorced my freshman year in high school and my mother adamantly instilled in me to never rely on anyone else for support. That I needed to have a profession that could support me and my family. So, I thought the most logical career would be architecture. And that’s what I did. I put my dreams of being an artist aside and dove head first in my new “calling”. I worked really hard to earn 2 degrees, and gain my licensure. The latter part after marriage and having children. It took me ten years after my last degree to become licensed. And I love being an architect.

In college, part of our curriculum was studio art. We could chose anything that they offered and I took all of it. Photography, drawing, ceramics and painting. As much as they would allow me to take. And I continued to create in my spare time “quietly”. I did it for me. I never shared that I painted with anyone other than my family and a select few close friends. The plan had always been that when I retired I would pursue art full time. Without the pressure of having to support a family. I do need to point out that I have been truly blessed with the most loving and supportive husband and have not had the struggles that my mother feared could happen to me. So grateful. But I am independent and I love her so much for instilling that in me.

A few years ago, I starting having a really strong urge to quit architecture and pursue art full time. I still wasn’t sharing with anyone that I was painting, but I knew that the more I painted the better i became and the happier it made me feel. But it was really difficult for me to just quit the career that I worked so hard for. But I wasn’t happy and something needed to change. I sought every podcast, article, book, bible verse desperately looking for a sign that I wasn’t crazy. I wanted to hear other artist’s stories and their paths to becoming a full time artist. And finally the answer became so incredibly clear, I was seeking validation from some unknown source that it was ok. That I deserved to pursue this pull inside me, and that it was necessary for me to have travelled the path that i did. That it was in fact all meant to happen in this exact way. And then the most wonderful thing happened. I was asked to reduce my full time position to a part time position (thank you Covid). And I thought, brilliant! I don’t have to quit, I can just work my schedule to do both. So I did. And I got better, and I began to love it more and eventually I got the courage to quit all together and pursue art full time. And I LOVE IT. Although, I’m kinda still doing architecture, but now I’m the boss and I decide how much work I will take on and who I will work with. And I’m realizing that it’s ok to do both and love both.

I know that was a very long answer to a pretty straightforward question. But it took me 26 years to realize that I can be an artist and have another professional career.

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

I think I went a bit overboard in the last question which answers a good bit of the first portion of this question. Started out as an architect and then about 3 years ago began pursuing art more deliberately. I am an oil painter. I use my background in architecture to influence many of my subjects but ultimately I am drawn to the emotional attachment a painting can bring to the viewer. Reminding them of a place, a person or a moment that is special to them. I love hearing the connections and stories that one of my paintings evokes in someone. My subjects are architectural, landscapes and floral still lifes and my style is slightly impressionistic with an abstract quality.

I’m proud of the fact that I can use my background in architecture to influence how I handle a composition in a painting. Recently I completed a commission of a childhood home that unfortunately had fallen in to disrepair. It was easy for me to recreate what had once stood in a very stately manner, as my client remembered, despite overgrown landscaping and boarded up windows. She now has a beautiful representation of the memories of a place that she spent her entire growing up years. And I love that i can do that for someone.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I love finding books, podcasts, etc that can help me be a better person, creative, business owner, etc.

Here are some that have really resonated with me.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
Book by Susan Cain (I’m an introvert that can ocassionally be extroverted)

You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
Book by Jen Sincero

Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life
Book by James Victore

Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career
Book by Herminia Ibarra

Fishing for Elephants: Insights and Exercises to Inspire Authentic Creativity
Book by Larry Moore

Launch by Jeff Walker

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

Encourage young people to pursue a creative path. Every industry can benefit from a creative thinker. Our entire environment has been influenced by art. Architecture, Landscape, branding, advertising, media.

Remove the stigma of “starving artists”. There are so many ways to make a good living as an artist: original works, reproductions, licensing, wholesale, education. I see many artists that are thriving and certainly not starving.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.melmiddleton.com
• Instagram: @melmiddletonart
• Facebook: @melmiddletonart

Image Credits
Images by the artist (Mel Middleton)