We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sierra Leitner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sierra below.

Sierra, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I am very lucky that my parents supported and cultivated my creativity from a very young age, and into adulthood.
When I was very young, I used to have little freak outs, shaking my little hands around saying “I need to draw! I need to draw!”, so my parents always had a portable drawing station on hand. It was a little clipboard that had a compartment for my paper and colored pencils.
By doing this, they showed me that my art IS important, and that I should create whenever inspiration & opportunity strikes.

As I got older and started expressing interest in pursuing art in college, I was very lucky that they supported me doing this, too. If not for this support, I would never have went down the path to create the art I am creating today.

I think that people sometimes forget how important art truly is to humanity. I think that sentiment gets lost in a society so focused on money and productivity.
Art and the act of creation are tied to the deepest part of our humanity; it fuels our soul.
I am lucky that my parents understood this.

I often think of the children in this world, who hold true talent and vision. Who hold ties to the muses and to the visual fabric of our souls. I think about famous artists from human history, the likes of Michelangelo, whose talent and creation is still renowned to this day. And I think about how his work is a symbol of humanity to all of us. The artists of the renaissance and of antiquity.

I think about the children who hold this level of talent vision in this modern age, who will NEVER be able to pursue and hone their art because they are not properly supported, because this light in them is shut down.

I am grateful that my parents supported this light in me, I hope I can inspire other parents to think the same way.

Sierra, 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?

My name is Sierra Leitner, I am a 29 year old digital artist currently living in Los Angeles California.
The tagline for my work is “magical gals & their spooky pals”, I love to paint and tell stories following princesses and spirits across enchanted realms and haunted forests. All of my paintings are connected, and the world in which they take place is very real to me. I think of myself as “discovering” these stories, rather than creating them.

I love to paint these stories and these characters and these places so that I can share them with you. I think that many of you have walked these woods before, and the more of you I meet, the more I believe that to be true.

I have a Bachelor’s in Visual Arts, I began painting from a young age, and completed most of my studies in oil paints and then watercolors. But I found my true inspiration when I began painting digitally. Digital painting is like painting with light, it is truly such a magical medium that has so much potential. I think that my traditional painting training gives me a unique spin on the medium.

I think a lot of people misunderstand the digital medium, I am setting out to illuminate the magic held within it, and to show that it can be used to create fine art.

I want my work to lay bare the inherent magic within nature, and to show the beauty within sadness and loss and fear. I hope my world and my stories can help people to find beauty in these things in their own lives.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect for me, is interacting with people through my art in person.

I think in the social media age, a lot of this connection is lost. So many people reduced to just numbers on a screen.

So I am SO grateful that much of my career has been met in person, at comic cons and renaissance faires and markets.

I absolutely love sharing smiles and tears and hugs with strangers who have just seen my art for the first time, I love hearing your stories and seeing what you see within my world. And I love slowly getting to know these people, seeing them again and again, meeting in this little place of magic. Everyone who comes into my booth and sees my characters and walks through my realms makes my world more and more real, you all breathe life into it.

I can’t really describe how fulfilling that is.

I have so many memories and mementos from people that I have shared deep connections with, just through my paintings. My room is full of little gifts and trinkets from these moments. If I can continue to touch people’s lives in this way, then it will all have been worth it.

It is so rewarding to see my work affecting people and helping people, the light in your eyes is all so beautiful I hope I can keep fueling it.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My audience on social media has been built almost entirely by my “Once Upon a Haunted Forest” art-story challenge, and my in person shows.

“Once Upon a Haunted Forest” is an event that myself and two other artists run once a year, for Halloween. The challenge follows a six prompt list, with prompts such as “Bewitching Bridge” and “Spooks, Sprits, & Floral Delights.” Participants create their own characters, and then use our prompt list to follow them on a journey through a haunted forest.

It is SUCH a fun way to create together, we’ve really formed such a little cute community. I always love following everyone’s characters on their journeys, it’s a amazing how many different stories can be born from the same words. All of our minds are so beautiful and unique.

Pursuing this challenge has organically found me many followers, I think the followers are just a bonus to something greater.

The rest of my followers I have found in person, at cons and fairs.

I think my advice from all of this, would be to focus on the connections and ways of connecting that feel the most enjoyable and organic to you. It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to use social media “correctly”, and trying to almost “trick” people into following you by using the right trends and gimmicks. But trends and gimmicks don’t last, and they don’t forge true connections.

If you focus on your passion, and focus on trying to truly truly and authentically connect with people, eventually the followers will come when they see your light shining.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.moonboundstudio.art
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonbound.studio

Image Credits

Sierra Leitner, Moonbound Studio