We were lucky to catch up with Natalie Hope McDonald recently and have shared our conversation below.

Natalie Hope, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you 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?

I always knew that I wanted to be an artist. I think maybe a lot of kids will tell you that, but for me it always felt different. I could spend hours and hours alone with my art supplies. My parents noticed this early on and definitely encouraged me while also pushing me to think practically. Over the years in addition to art I became interested in media and writing, ultimately studying English and becoming a professional journalist.

During this period I would go back and forth between my main work and my art. But for many years I focused exclusively on my media work, often disappointing with myself, that I had somehow given up my passion.

I knew I was missing something by not working on art. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started seriously drawing and painting again. I think perhaps after spending so much time focused on my other work, I was able to take a new approach to art, one that would ultimately lead me to focus on it full time. I also spent a lot of time taking photos of the city. It became a hobby that allowed me to reengage with my visual instincts. I know now that these long walks and picture taking inspired me to jump back into the world I missed.

Fast forward and I now work primarily as a fine artist, sh0wing and selling paintings, works on paper and upcycled multimedia work I like to create from found objects. I also paint a lot of murals.

The years I spent as a student of liberal arts, and as a professional writer, definitely prepared me for this life as a creative. I spent many years as a freelance journalist, learning the ropes about how to sustain a career independently. Many of the same skills I learned then I apply today to my work today, trying to balance the commercial aspects of art with the drive to create something meaningful. I believe the more genuine the work, the more successful it tends to be.

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’m a fine artist based in Philadelphia who has a loyal group of collectors in different parts of the world. I work with galleries and other exhibition spaces to showcase my work I’ve been included in exhibitions at the James Oliver Gallery, Noname Gallery and Brigette Mayer. I also have work in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

I was proud to be able to take my father to the PMA before he died to see my work on exhibit there. It meant so much to both of us.

While the public art shows are important to me (I just started showing at a new gallery called Vizions in Kensington) – they introduce me to new audiences, I actually sell a great deal of work through word of mouth and social media. I’ve made a lot of inroads with art collectors and galleries around the world. using both forms of communication. Social media has really provided a way to reach people independently in ways that were impossible just a few years ago. I don’t know if I’d be as successful without it.

I’m really proud of the work I create, and my ability to be multifaceted and to think about both business and creativity without losing sight of what’s important. My paintings are quite different from my murals which are quite different from my upcycled work. I love being able to tap into different visual mediums with different goals in mind. It seems to allowed me to make a living doing what I always loved most.

For example, I just completed the first round of work (murals and art installations) for a corporate project while I’m also working on two different painting series inspired by the Chateau Marmont and Hotel Chelsea. In addition, I’m creating new vessels for a gallery and working on new pieces that recycle magazine covers and album covers using illustration and graffiti. None of this work is visually alike and yet it all fits into my interests in history, fame, nostalgia and sense of place.

I’m also conceptualizing art for t-shirts and sportswear (I often paint custom sneakers).

And I’ve worked a bit with Mural Arts and the Streets Department on a few projects that have been really exciting because they are so publicly engaging.

The more work I can do in a variety of ways to reach the most people (both serious collectors and fans), the prouder I am about what I’m creating and saying through my art.

Working on murals, for example, means I often spend time with clients on how best to tell a story visually while passing muster in the corporate world. My abstract paintings, however, are deeply personally and driven by very different goals: to express a story or experience using color, texture and movement that cannot be determined by request or through a commission.

Since I spend much less time writing I have also started to write into my art. I started a new series on reclaimed wood and boxes that uses words, both original text I write and lyrics from music, to help tell stories. I suppose I’ll always be a storyteller, whether using words or images. It’s a comfortable place for me to exist.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Years ago, I had a meeting with a gallery to review my paintings for a possible exhibition.

It went horribly.

The gallery owner hated my work and thought it was disjointed, that I didn’t work in an identifiable style, that I didn’t have a real series and that I was too preoccupied with dark concepts.

It devasted me initially even though I knew he wasn’t totally off base. I was working in all sorts of sizes and I admittedly was stuck between two styles with an air of uncertainty. But don’t expect anyone from a commercial gallery to hold your hand or be nice about it. In fact, it requires a tough skin to be in this business. Thankfully years of unsolicited comments (read: hate mail) as a reporter have helped toughen mine for the better.

So I took it all in, spent a lot of time soul search and at one point I decided to start thinking smaller in the sense that I would work on small runs of works that made sense together. In dong so I began to really explore my interests in both the figurative and abstract. I knew I could have diverse types of works as long as I had works that could work together since most commercial galleries require this. Unless you opt to not making a living as an artist, it’s not easily avoidable.

Thankfully, it ended up being one of the most important moves I made creatively, ultimately using my skills as both a painter and illustrator to create art that was meaningful and visually interesting. I started thinking way out of the box and finding my voice. I’m not longer in-between styles. I am recognizable for my different styles.

And while the same gallery director might argue that my work is still too multifaceted for his taste, I don’t intend to stop exploring and experimenting. I think it only makes me better at what I do. It makes me love what I do every single day.

Best advice: Listen to the criticism, take a long at yourself and your work, don’t ever compromise and always go with your instincts. It usually works out.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I hate them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nataliehopemcdonaldfineart.com and www.nataliehopemcdonaldillustration.com
• Instagram: nataliehopemcdonald
• Facebook: nataliehopemcdonald
• Linkedin: don’t really use it
• Twitter: don’t really use it
• Other: Instagram : nataliehopemcdonald