We were lucky to catch up with Paula Brett recently and have shared our conversation below.
Paula , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Everyone was looking at it.
The painting was big and beautiful and alive.
As I stood there with my baby strapped to my chest, a woman next to me in the middle of this huge, important art fair said, “It’s so good.”
“Yes”. I nodded. “I love it.”
We both wandered away from it looking at other pieces when she asked if I was an artist.
“Yes, I am.” “Oh, do you have a card?” I fumbled and reached under the baby carrier to pull one out of my diaper bag. “ Here you go.”
We ended up back in front of the big painting and she got closer to me and asked me a question.
“Could you paint this?”
Hmm… . What is going on here?
“Yeah, probably,” I say smugly.
“No, I mean, like exactly?”
I leaned in and looked at the price. $30K.
“Yes, I could.”
“How much?”
“15K”.
“Great. Let me review your website with my husband and we’ll get back to you soon.”
This. Is. How. It. Started.
WHAT THE F*CK AM I DOING????
Oh my god, my heart was racing and it even is now as I type this.
There was a lot of back and forth, and then she even asked me to rush to another booth to see if I could do something totally different. I agreed AGAIN!
Who even AM I?
Oh my god, I’m an art wh*re now. A total forger. I cannot believe I’m about to do this.
My friend was with me and was kind of amazed I was doing it too, but nothing was really stopping me. I was on fire with the energy of the fair and that I was being asked to do art and get paid.
That crazy energy stayed in me through both commissions which I completed totally in secret, and flawlessly.
After the thrill was over and I was paid, I was lost and felt G-R-O-S-S.
I KNEW I had to create my OWN work! I HAD TO!
I racked my brain so hard for original ideas as I pushed my child’s stroller on long, hot summer walks.
I would go to my studio and do work that still wasn’t really me- looking for something kind of clever and interesting enough to be worthy of show.
Then, one day, IT HAPPENED. I dumped out the candy from the boxes I was using to make a pop art look-alike art, and started to PLAY.
This turned into a series- one totally aligned with my values- that reflected my joy and delight and MY VOICE.
This series got me 4 galleries, over 20k in sales, on 3 TV spots, in Vanity Fair magazine, commissions galore and a grant to expand the work.
THE FIRE of DESIRE to create MY OWN work to counteract the icky, shameful feeling of zero integrity was the freakin’ catalyst to move me to success.
And this, my friends, is how I got my foot in the door of the art world.
Am I proud? No and Yes. I’m proud that I don’t feel shame anymore and that I can share this as a part of my journey.
Now I make what I want with my TRUE VOICE all the time! I no longer feel like I need to do anything other than be ME to be accepted with my art.
And THIS is the GOLD at the end of the rainbow.
Paula , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Paula Brett is a local visual artist, intuitive painting teacher and creatives’ coach. As both an artist and teacher, Paula’s muse is the authentic voice – for herself, her students, and the art. Following her intuition and its expression is a practice she strives to embody and teach.
“I inherited the ‘art gene’ from my father, who was also an artist. It wasn’t until college when I switched majors avoiding any more physics classes that I actually considered myself an artist.”
With a degree in Art Education from UGA and then a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia College Chicago, Paula taught for 15+ years in colleges, high schools, elementary schools as well as museums in several cities including: Atlanta, Chicago, Moscow, Budapest, and New York City.
Today, Paula focuses her energy on making her own work and teaching in her Roswell studio. Her paintings are colorful, gestural abstracts that evoke wonder and delight.
“I’m really motivated and inspired by the process of making a painting itself. The actual act of simply making a mark on paper or canvas is something primal and wonderful each time it happens. Colors blending, brushes moving, and watching a composition come together is absolutely thrilling to me.
I want my paintings to transport you into worlds that are a delightful mix of the beautiful world we see and the worlds we can only imagine. Each painting is like a totally different environment. Some are all about big shapes, twisting brushstrokes and and vivid colors, and in another you’re in a world of layered luminescent light that feels like you just opened a door to a magical realm- like a an abstracted version of aura beams bursting from some beautiful cosmic light source. Honestly, I just follow the brush.”
Her work can be found at Robert Kent Gallery in Marietta, Jules Place in Boston, Elisa Contemporary in New York City, and John Mable in Sarasota.
Paula also facilitates expressive arts classes, she calls Paint Medicine. These are not your traditional art classes though, she isn’t teaching you how to paint at all. Instead, she encourages you to follow your own intuitive voice through the medium of paint. It’s one of her greatest passions- to lead others back to their creative hearts, no skills necessary.
“When you paint intuitively, you open yourself to your true creative path. It’s a place to nurture your inner artist, the real one, who just loves self-expression. This practice is about believing in yourself and starting to trust that your voice is important and actually needed. You get centered, get clarity, allow yourself to paint for no one but you.
Paint Medicine is a class for artists and non-artists alike in a supportive group setting, with a facilitator to help move you past stuck places. It’s not art therapy, but very therapeutic and for anyone who wants to dive into the beautiful world of their untamed heart and spirit.
Lastly, Paula is a coach and mentor for artists seeking help finding their authentic voice and sharing it with the world professionally.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I want to lead a PAINT REBELLION. One where people get – in their bones- that they are creative. Naturally. And that they can pick up a brush, tune in to what they are feeling, choose a color and paint that sh*t. Full stop.
What I notice is that WE HAVE BEEN CONDITIONED to believe that we are not creative or artistic or what-the-f-ever. So, we don’t naturally use this PAINT MEDICINE on the regular to heal ourselves.
We think we need permission from someone else. We think we need to do it “right”. We think only someone else who has had years of study has the right to put color on paper, but not us.
Let me tell you from someone who has two degrees, countless trainings and over 15 years of formal teaching, that this notion is utter BS.
When you deny your inner creative, when you deny yourself doing whatever you want to do to express yourself- you are letting the freaking system (aka the patriarchy) win.
And that, my friends, is defeat.
GET UP AND DANCE- SING- THROW PAINT-WRITE A POEM or a POST (even for one freaking minute!)
This is how we reclaim our humanity- our joy! And bonus, it’s a natural anti-depressant.
People, I love you. I see you. Life can suck big time. I know.
And it’s ok that it sucks sometimes. And guess what? This is when you go grab a paintbrush and paint that sucky life shit out.
It’s there for you. For all of us.
Please. Reclaim your own natural skeptic. Try it for yourself. Yes, the inner critic (aka the social conditioning) will come in and tell you that you suck. DO NOT LET IT WIN.
Let’s all join this Creative Rebellion and let our natural self-expression flow again- for this is the way we can change the world.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Building a social media presence is actually a skill and a practice that can be taught. There are TON of people out there teaching this, and I am one of them. My social media strategy involves using storytelling. Being able to tell your stories, day after day, and showing up authentically is how people get to know you. When people get to know you, they will choose whether or not they want to follow you- and you don’t necessarily want everyone to follow you! Authentic storytelling can feel vulnerable on social media, and this is where a lot of people get stuck. I actually offer coaching to help people move past these internal blocks that come up so that they can start having success with their platforms and reach their ideal collectors.
Contact Info:
- Website: paulambrett.com
- Instagram: abstract_artist_brett
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulaBrettArt
- Other: [email protected]
Image Credits
Beri Irving Photography