Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Rowan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sarah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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?
For the past NINETEEN years, I have been a full-time artist, and I’ll be honest…the first SIXTEEN years were nothing to celebrate financially. Granted, I was getting another degree a couple of those years, then having babies in a new country away from family support. Baby steps literally and figuratively filled my life. I grew in my skill, confidence, and a bit of direction of where I wanted to direct my art career.
Day One: October 2004, I painted LIVE in front of my first audience as a speed painter. I didn’t have any training in this particular form of entertainment and suddenly found myself in front of 4,000 people! The adrenaline rush was insane and I loved it! But then I wasted ridiculous amounts of money on archival limited edition prints of my work to sell, and had only been out of university for a year. I was 24, with very little business smarts and in hindsight invested in products that I don’t think were the wisest path. At 25, I moved from the US to Sydney, Australia and brought my dreams of becoming a professional artist with me.
But I learned from it, and this is where I was savvy. Realising my lack of business and marketing skills and rather than blindly hoping to learn as I went, I sought out every free business course my city provided and asked questions to anyone willing to share their entrepreneurial wisdom with me. I dabbled in a bit of everything finding my groove. Group art shows, solo shows, live at cafes and pubs for free, etc. Slow, long, hard baby steps. At the age of 30, my body was crippled with pain and I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and it just added another hurdle to overcome to pursue my dreams.
In 2012, I began to paint for corporate events, weddings, concerts, and more. Unfortunately, I was simultaneously struggling with my mental, emotional, and physical health due to ongoing conversion therapy which impacted my art as well. But I loved my work so much that I pushed through the personal dramas and experienced some remarkable milestones.
Some of my favorite moments were when I toured Europe, painting scenes of Australia for a tourism company. Painting 10 works in 30 minutes during a classical performance, painting LIVE at the Sydney Opera House and Parliament, and this year, touring Australia for a global company.
A few years ago, I took my business to the next level and began to turn over a six-figure income (even during Covid!). This coincided with learning to love myself for who I am, leaving conversion therapy and my husband of 12 years. Instantly my business shifted. I was on national television, soon followed by a painting that auctioned for 50K for charity. I also added professional speaking to my skill set and became the only female in Australia who speed paints and speaks professionally at the same time.
Sarah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I don’t know what you daydreamed about as a kid, but I would lay in bed at night as a twelve-year-old and dream of inspiring large crowds of people from all over the world. I thought my passion for sports meant that I would become a famous athlete in order to speak to all these people, so I trained and trained and ended up with a full scholarship to university to play basketball for Converse University in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
In 2003, I graduated with a BFA in Studio Art, but had zero clue how to make a living as an artist. So I became a waitress alongside all my classmates until I realized I would rather starve to death painting than do anything outside of what made me feel alive and full of purpose. Before starting my business within a year of graduating, I asked myself a question I think everyone should ask before becoming an entrepreneur. What is my point of difference?
What sets me apart from other artists is my absolute love of public speaking, and painting LIVE in front of an audience…most artists could think of nothing worse. LOL. After nearly two decades of growing my brand, I have had the honor of speaking to over 20K people and bringing my gift to the world.
We live in a world full of uncertainty, fear, and disconnection. My heart as a speaker and artist is to help inspire the reconnection of people to themselves, their communities, and nature. Schools and governments have colonized our minds, leaving us feeling incapable of walking in the freedom our curious and creative nature brings. With this as the focus and heartbeat of my work, I have found that I connect with my corporate clients on a very deep, beautiful, and vulnerable level. I am proud that I could really care less if someone is impressed by my work…as long as they leave feeling inspired, connected, loved, and whole.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Pivot. A word I think we all cringe hearing post covid. It’s up there with “moist” and “colonoscopy”. As a live speed painter I pivoted with the world during covid and found myself performing to my clients on Zoom calls. Nothing quite like standing before clients like Adobe while situated in my living room, barefoot and hoping my dog wouldn’t bark at the postman. But I know my work requires regular pivoting, and I think if we tapped into curios flexibility, we would find that every career these days must be held like a handful of potato chips. Not too loosely or we will drop them, and not too firmly or we will crush them.
Last week I was performing in front of 200 people and realized much to my dismay that I had not packed the one style of paintbrush that I needed to create the image that I had in mind during my 40-minute keynote presentation that included a painting. This frustrating epiphany came about 30 minutes into the keynote as I found myself so engaged with the audience that the stress of a painting not coming together as I had intended was just setting in with only 10 minutes remaining. Knowing the audience worked in difficult scenarios of corporate and government sectors, I took the opportunity to show them how I pivot in real-time. They loved it. The vulnerability, the casual way I approached a situation that would leave a lot of people freaking out. I laughed, shrugged, and told them point blank that my painting was turning out shit because I had changed art bags at the last minute and so I was going to create an abstract masterpiece in the time remaining. All the while, continuing with the keynote slide deck with one hand on a clicker, and rolling up my sleeves to spread large drops of paint. My message was captured just as well (if not better) in the abstract motions as it would of if I had been able to complete the image I began.
Too often we hold onto our “potato chips” with a death grip because we have invested money, time, and energy into our plans and cannot imagine pivoting…until its too late and we have crushed our chips and have to start over! Dory says it so well, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”
Being quick to recognize the need to pivot before things turn far more pear shaped is a gift. Releasing the need for control and just moving direction as variables shift in all directions is a powerful powerful gift.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I aim to not live with any regrets as I know that my dark seasons have only made my bright seasons brighter and full of more wisdom and passion. However, gosh…I wish I had realized the power WITHIN me was far greater than any Google search, podcast, book or seminar. Too often we seek external confirmation and make a pro/con list before every decision. The older I get, the more I am listening to my gut. I was raised not to trust it, to always have mentors, and so on. Wisdom from others is sensational, but not at the price of losing all faith and trust in our own inner knowing.
In my unique niche of professional speaking + speed painting, there aren’t many mentors to be found. I watch a few globally through socials, but it’s not like a profession with thousands of coaches and books. It has taught me that sometimes when carving out a unique path, you have to write the how-to book yourself as it doesn’t even exist yet. Each year I am taking bigger risks and loving the journey of it all. I trust myself to get back up if it doesn’t work…and that my friend is all you need. Just get back up…
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artistsarahrowan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artistsarahrowan
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistSarahRowan/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artistsarahrowan/
- Twitter: @sarahrowanart
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/artistsarahrowan
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com.au/artistsarahrowan/ TikTok – @artistsarahrowan FOR EVERY NEW FOLLOWER ON INSTAGRAM I GIVE $1 to CHARITY!
Image Credits
Jake Holly, Brett Atkins