We recently connected with Staley Pearl and have shared our conversation below.

Staley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I started my creative career right on time! About 5 years ago in early motherhood, a creative pull was awakened within me. My mother had recently died and while cleaning up her apartment, I decided to use her art supplies. I began painting during the brief in-between moments of my day; it was like a faucet that wouldn’t turn off. I also realized at that time that full-time work outside of the home didn’t fit my life anymore. I loved my career and had worked hard to get it, but the pressures of an early working parenthood made it difficult to enjoy anything.

I was in what I called my dream job, overseeing a wellness and fitness program at a gorgeous university recreation center. I used my creativity in programmatic ways: throwing a period party educating on new menstruation products or hosting student development trainings imploring them to explore their inner visionary selves. The community, the pursuit of wellbeing, and the pay were fabulous! But I spent every meeting drawing in my notebook and every minute in my office missing my babies. My mother, an artist by trade, had recently died and I inherited all her art supplies, as well as a new perspective on the brevity of life. So, like I would have advised a student, I started working hard on my art, being disciplined with studio time and studying necessary tenants of business like marketing and accounting. I got to a point where I could switch to a part time position at the university, which I did, allowing for more studio time (and time with my babies). After a few years balancing the part time position and painting, I got to the point where I was making more money selling my art than working otherwise. I quit the position and never looked back!

I felt grateful for the stability and independence of work as an employee, but my life had changed. With a partner who had benefits and a busy family of young children, it was time to step into my calling of being an artist and mother. I wouldn’t have been ready to work as a painter before having children, partly because I cared so much about what people thought. The humility that comes with being a parent has been a transferrable skill to my creative practice, along with many other hard won skills like patience, persistence, and optimism. My creative career came right on time.

Staley, 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?

Born to an artist mother, I was surrounded by murals, metal sculptures, and eclectic experiences throughout my childhood. My work often explores joy, grief, and light through a womanist lens. I mostly paint on canvas or wood, recreating images of domestic or recreational experiences such as picking the ripest red tomato grown from seed or a body relaxing into a pool float. My paintings are intended to ignite memories of slower, pleasure-filled moments, allowing the viewer to visit these times in their mind and body. I have been commissioned for personal moments that collectors want remembered and I sell work created from my own memories and references.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Growing up with a father who was an NFL lineman, competitiveness was in my bones. Board games were intense and sports were constant, eventually leading to my spot on a Division 1 athletic team. I thrived on trying to win and beat people, and after my athletic career ended, I became a Division 1 coach to continue the same work. My painting career was taking off while I was working as a coach, and while competitiveness was a necessary and valuable asset in athletics, it didn’t help in my creative career. There is no win or lose in artistic expression and community is at the center of a thriving creative career. I had to realize untangle competitiveness from the pursuit of excellence, which has allowed a more connective and wholehearted painting journey.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I sometimes post videos of painting over “finished” paintings so that I can use the canvas for a new painting. I’ve also burned paintings that I felt were not up to my standard, prompting one person to angrily message me that they would have gladly taken it from me instead of wasting it in a fire. As a painter, I have to be my own quality control. My work must represent me well, as it may be taking up space in a person’s home, a gallery, or museum. I also hope to be getting better and better every year; my best work is ahead of me! So I will continue destroying old work (while keeping the useable parts) in an effort to put my best work into the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.staleythepearl.com/
• Instagram: @staleythepearl
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staleymccartney/

Image Credits
Bio picture and image with three paintings was taken by Samantha Josette Photography located in San Luis Obispo, CA