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

Mikey, 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?

Becoming a full-time artist and educator has been a long journey of determination and dreaming. I decided to become a professional artist when I was 17, and have been working toward that goal for the last 20 years. I studied art in college, then continued to create art and music every day while I earned a living in various ways: teaching full-time, working in art museums, doing various part-time jobs, etc. It wasn’t until being laid off by a corporate art gallery that I realized I was capable and willing to take the colossal gamble to make my life work as an independent full-time artist, with teaching through my own art studio as a point of emphasis. For me, devoting myself to a creative existence is essential to valuing my life.

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?

I am an artist and art educator in Encinitas, CA. I create conceptual paintings that blend aesthetics of impressionism, surrealism and pop art with playful, introspective and thoughtful symbolism. My art often makes people think deeply and laugh out loud.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Especially as an art educator, I see the immense positive impact I have on people who I teach very often. This is truly inspirational to me.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I took a leap/gamble by investing in an art studio space to share with another artist in order to see if I may be able to make my art studio/art school idea work in my community. Things were going in the right direction, but I was suddenly asked to leave the studio because the landlord had not approved any kind of shared-studio or sub-lease kind of arrangement. I was devastated and discouraged, but a friend of mine stopped by the studio and began laughing out loud when I told him what was happening. I was so confused at his reaction because I was distracted by my self-loathing and sadness, but he said, “Mikey, this is the best thing that’s ever happened to you! You’re gonna get a new, better studio and you’re gonna be successful wherever that is! Do you want to be a victim? This is actually great!” He was right. In the next few days, I found a new, much better studio in an area that welcomed me with open arms. That forced pivot turned out to be a really good thing even though it felt devastating at first.

Contact Info:

• Website: MikeyKettinger.com
• Instagram: @MikeyImaginary
• Facebook: Mikey Kettinger
• Youtube: @MikeyKettinger

Image Credits
Flo Li