We were lucky to catch up with Nikkey Creative recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nikkey, 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.

One of my main challenges is not having a blueprint. I came into the Art business world without a mentor or any guidance. Art school taught me the technical side of things when it came to my art. However, I had to teach myself how to market and sell art. I have spent countless hours researching and experimenting with art materials & testing out new products/vendors. I am still learning every day when it comes to my art. I have been using acrylic paint over the past 8 years. However, recently I obtained my first set of oil paints, that I am slowly learning how to use.

I consider myself an artist for the artists. Meaning, when it comes to my art practice, I am constantly teaching other artists across my social media platforms. I have hundreds of artists that follow me and are inspired by my journey. I try to help them in every way that I can because I didn’t have anyone guiding or teaching me.

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

Nikkey Creative LLC. started eight years ago in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Since childhood, I have always been the super creative one in my family. I attended The Art Institute of St. Louis, majoring in Graphic Design, and ultimately earning my Bachelor of Science degree in Fine Arts. During college, I began to paint, and one day I decided to post one of my paintings on Facebook. It went viral, which inspired me to consider selling my artwork. My goal during college was to graduate with my BFA and start a job at an advertising agency. However, things quickly took a turn and shortly after my painting went viral, I decided to become what I call an ARTrepreneur. My business took off when I began to receive orders to create new paintings, inspired by my own vivid imagination & requested commissions from customers. I had to quit my job at the time to keep up with the demand. Almost eight years later, I’m still living through my passion every day!

Black femininity/black women have been depicted as undesirable, unattractive by mainstream Eurocentric culture since the diaspora.

I am happily married to an amazing woman, Patrice-Lou, an advanced practice registered nurse, who motivates and inspires me on a daily basis to achieve my highest potential. I enjoy creating, inspiring, and touching many lives with my art.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social Media is an amazing tool! I really can’t stress that enough. Social media is a beautiful platform that will allow others who normally wouldn’t see your work to discover you. 90% of my customers, clients and supporters come from social media. I am able to be a full-time artist because of social media. Did I forget to mention that my art is now in HomeGoods, TJ, Maxx and Marshalls because of one of my social media followers. True story one of my social media followers mentioned my business name in a meeting and now my art is being sold across the country because of social media. So if you’re artist, and you’re thinking about sharing your work with the world and documenting your journey, social media is the perfect tool to do that.

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

One of the most rewarding things about being an artist, and Creative is getting to share my art with the world. It blows my mind that people actually have my art on their walls. I am able to create from my heart and soul. I am able to wake up and know that my art is changing the world my art has touched so many people that feeling alone is worth the entire journey. I know that God gave me these artistic abilities to not only heal myself, but to share with the world and that is my mission.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.nikkeycreative.com
• Instagram: Nikkey Creative
• Facebook: Nikkey Creative Art
• Youtube: Nikkey Creative
• Other: Tik Tok: Nikkeycreative