Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Renee Peterson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Renee, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

It is still hard for me to believe I am a full time artist. We live in a world that makes this career sound like some mythical fantasy world. And now that I have been fully employed by my art for almost 3 years I can say it is sometimes indeed that world and sometimes it is most definitely not. Becoming a full time muralist has given me so much freedom. Sure I don’t always paint the designs I want but I get paid to color on the walls! How freaking cool is that? If you are reading this and think you have to wait for the right circumstances to align for you to peruse your passion then you’ll be waiting at that bus stop for a bus that will never come. I started my business during the hardest year of my life. Within less than a year I became a 1st time mom, my father passed away, I lost my job of 7 years, and my marriage fell apart. What a perfect time to start a career as a full time artist!
Unlike most muralists, when starting out I got paid for my 1st mural. Not a lot but that isn’t the point, I had to build a portfolio. I was asking everyone I knew if I could paint their walls. Most of my friends were willing to help. Even if it’s a wall in their basement or garage I painted it. Then painted over it again. In hindsight I should have also used that time to create content for social media. Say it with me now “Everything is content!”. That is something I wish I would have learned early on.
But the ball started rolling… slooowly rolling, but rolling. I have a background in sales so that helped me greatly when researching “my customer “. One of the 1st things I did when building a brand was reverse engineering my job. What I mean by that was I stepped into the shoes of someone who wanted a mural painted. How would they find me? What would they want to see? What part of the process should be explained? What should I leave out that isn’t relevant? So I created profiles on the 1st few websites that came up when I searched “mural artist near me”. Then I made a website. There are some great website options out there now that are pretty user friendly. Lastly then I hit up social media. (If you are reading this you should follow me). Shameless I know, but that business.
Every project I get is an opportunity to learn and gain experience. When I started almost 3 years ago I didn’t turn down a single job. I did everything that came my way; business logos, schools, window painting, baby nursery, and so much more. At first I wasn’t sure if this was the right path. I felt like I needed to have a style and a niche, but doing all of these different jobs helped me realize what I liked to do, what I really did not like, and what I didn’t want to do again (unless it paid double). When I started out I was a single mom with a single income so I didn’t have the luxury of picking and choosing projects I was passionate about. I am still a single mom with a single income but now I can be a little more choosy. With experience comes confidence.
The last bit I will share about having a full time is creative career is that you won’t feel creative all the time, and that’s ok. You don’t have to give a piece of your soul to every project. Some of them are just a job. But don’t let the rut pull you down. If you power through I promise it will come back. I had a wonderful art teacher in 7th grade explain something called the artistic U. When you start a project you are at the top of the U. Full of excitement and energy! Then you move into the bottom of the U. What am I doing? Will this even work out? I should quit. This is when a lot of people don’t trust themselves and give up. Don’t give up! Ride out the bottom of the U. Then you will start to come up the U. When you are done you can look back and see the process worked and you got through it. I think this can be applied to all thing’s creative. It’s helped me immensely.

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.

Hello and thank you to all reading this! My name is Renee. I’m a full time artist based in Northern GA. I specialize in murals and large art pieces. I started my business almost 3 years ago when life gave me little a whole lot of lemons. This business is my way of making lemonade out of my situation. I have a very vibrant 3 and a half year old who is my whole world. She is the reason I do all of this and why I became a full time artist. When I started this career I had just became a single mom and was struggling to make ends meet. I wanted to spend as much time with my daughter as possible and pay the bills. Pretty much the goal of all parents. I choose to utilize my artistic skills and turn them into a business.
I knew it would be a struggle and it was. Great things usually are. I found ways to adapt. Drawing drafts for clients while my daughter napped, driving my kiddo around in the car so I could take clients calls, and working on my website at the library puppet time. There was a lot of early mornings and late nights but it was working. Now I’ve reached the point where steady work is coming in and I can take a week or 2 off in between projects. While I may not make as much as some mural artists the time I have with my daughter is priceless.
In the last few years I’ve done so many different projects. I rarely turn down a project. Everything is experience. The area’s where I shine are botanical illustrative art, bold neo-traditional line art, and 3d layered illustrations. The areas I’m still gaining experience are lettering, illustrative typography, and realistic scenery. Im excited to explore more 3d elements when it comes to murals. I love sculpting and I hope to add elements that create movement to murals. I look forward to pushing the boundaries of traditional art.
I love showing the process of creating murals. Clients and social media followers seems to like it as well. Timelapse’s seem to be the favorite among TikTok and instagram followers. I also e the mockup process. A good mockup is vital for a mural artist. A mockup is when I digitally put the mural concept onto the proposed wall for the client to see the final product. I pride myself on providing a finished project that matches the mockup. Clients like consistency. And I like consistent work.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In this day there are many ways to support artists and creatives. One thing I do is I try and buy 1 large piece of art every year. If more people did that it would make such a huge difference. Don’t try to think about where it will go in your house. Art isn’t meant to fit into a space. It’s purpose is to move you, to evoke emotion, and to in some way let you escape from reality. Buy the art and if you want it to flow in your home use it as the focal point to decorate around. Another way at to help an artist is social media support. It’s ok if you don’t have enough money at the time to buy art but if you shared on social media it could reach someone who can. I recommend when you go to a craft fair or see an artist you like on social media take the time to learn their handle and if they have other social media accounts. Like their content, create a story and tag them, create a post and tag them, and lastly follow them. Social media is a blessing and a curse for artists. The demand of content does does not match the creative process. We are expecting to churn out art to appease the machine but it just doesn’t happen like that. Any help that comes from supports is so so valuable.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

The biggest resource I wish I utilized earlier was other artists. I followed a lot of them on social media but never reached out. I had this story in my head that we were competition. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. I started out by reaching out to an artist somewhat near me. I legitimately had a question on how they did an “effect” on a mural they painted. They were so kind and showed me how they learned the method, showed me how to do it, and they had questions for me. It was great! So I reached out to more. Eventually I made it into this wonderful network of about 20 muralists from all over the world. We share ideas, help each other with pitches, mock-ups, and some have even got to meet up and collaborate. Some of the artists in the group are new and some have been doing this for 20+ years. Everyone has something to offer and this group has been a priceless asset for my career.

Contact Info:

• Website: Peachiequeenart.com
• Instagram: @peachie_queen_art
• Facebook: @peachiequeenart
• Other: TikTok @peachiequeenart

Image Credits
All of the photos I took myself. Renee Peterson. The child in the photo of the daycare mural is my child.