We were lucky to catch up with Stacy Kiehl recently and have shared our conversation below.

Stacy , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I’ve always ‘made stuff’ and have been a creative person I guess but maybe around 2015 I started painting and I loved it more than anything else. I had a couple small shows but always worked a part time job. Me being a full time painter really started with the Covid lock down . Obviously it was a horrible time for so many people but for me the bright side was that I was forced to work on my craft with little distractions. I always felt that I needed a job to support my painting and ‘making of things’ but actually I really needed to trust myself and take that time spent at a job and pour it all into want I was better at. Since then I have literally painted every day that I’ve been able to and have been able to pay my bills and work my way up to bigger projects.

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

I’m originally from Los Angeles and have lived in Memphis Tn since about 2009 so Memphis is definitely where I would call home. A lot of the paintings and art I make are inspired from spending a lot of time in China town and downtown LA before I moved to Memphis. I’d say it’s a healthy mix of both places . I believe I became an artist in Memphis because I had the space and time to live at a bit of a slower paced life than the pace of LA. I don’t imagine I would have had the chance to have found painting there in a small apartment with 2 jobs but I guess I won’t ever know. I’m inspired by a lot of different things. I guess I would say my most obvious inspirations would have to be vintage signs and fonts , vintage toys, children’s books , old cartoons, novelty toys, circus anything, pinball machines, neon signs , Route 66, and advertisements from the 1950’-1970’s .

I love the idea of making fun happy art that is accessible for people to have in their homes . I’ve always felt that your home is a very important place to curate and make your own. If I’m surrounded by things that make me happy then I’m in a better mood. I’ve always thought it was very simple. I guess what I find myself doing is making toys or replicas of vintage signs or a painting that might bring a memory from being younger or childhood or just something funny. A lot of people ask if I make art for kids but I don’t really have that in mind I just make what makes me happy. Im sure we are all dealing with our own version of childhood traumas to some degree and it’s ok to have things as an adult that feed your inner child and make you smile. Life gets really complicated and stressful and it’s important to remember when things used to be colorful and happy.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

Im a big fan of graphic design but in my mind it’s very different to hold art or have a tangible painting. Another thing I’ve learned in my life is that beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder and art is extremely subjective. I have only recently gotten into doing design mock ups on the computer. I’ve finally given into the fact that having digital design skills is a necessary tool for mural designs and making commissioned work for clients. That’s about as far as I’ve personally gone in the digital sense.. So I guess my view on nft’s is that , while it’s not my ‘bag’ , I definitely support and understand the appeal but it’s very far from the work I make.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Im not sure if I have one specific story but there have been a few times when it was apparent that someone didn’t like or appreciate something I had made. The most important thing to understand I think is that not everyone is going to like you or your art and that’s totally ok . It’s ok that not every single person will accept it even as art. It’s good to remember the people who Do like your work and not let negativity or judgement change your opinion of what you think about your own work.

Contact Info:

• Website: Stacykpaints.com
• Instagram: Stacyk_paints