We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stefanie Toungate a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Stefanie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I truly believe you never stop learning when it comes to being an artist. There is however a starting point where you realize that the gift from within starts to shine through & that kicks off a creative journey. I learned from a very young age to be free with what I was drawing. Given little projects in grade school and through illustration journals I began to follow what felt natural and express my love for vibrant colors. Learning how to paint like I do now has been a process of trial and error and pure experimentation of what works and what doesn’t. I have also studied photography to learn more on lighting, shadows, and color prisms and how to incorporate those things into my artwork.
Knowing what I know now, I could have taken some classes or hired a mentor to guide me through some techniques and processes. It comes slower sometime through being self taught. Skills that I have found to be most essential are patience, being open minded, consistency, authenticity, and not getting caught up in comparison, perfection, or opinions.
I’d have to say the only obstacle that stands in the way of learning more is when I get in my own way and overthink things or jump ahead of the skills I listed above that are attributes. Remember to always have fun with it & that there is always more to learn no matter how skilled you are at your craft.
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.
My name is Stefanie Toungate and I am a professional Houston based artist that has been in the industry for over 10 plus years. I honed into my passion for creating at a very young age and have been persistent in growing my skills ever since. I turned my passion into a business when I lived in Austin, Tx & my friends started asking me to paint them vibrant abstracts for their homes. It was amazing to put my touch on pieces that brought others so much joy, and I knew then I wanted to continue to see where it led. Acrylics & spray paint are my main mediums & over the last decade my skillset has expanded to painting pop/realistic wild & domestic animals, landscapes, holiday themed icons & objects, and also murals & textured abstracts. My business really took a leap when I gifted a custom pet portrait to my mom of our family pup “Rudy” and it spread through word of mouth & by social media. I have since painted hundreds of pet portraits which I like to dub as “pawtraits” and have them all over the country and even some internationally. I currently paint them year round in many sizes and offer a wide variety of colored backgrounds, and also paint them not only on canvas, and wood blocks, but now on whiskey bottles as well. I call them my “whiskey paws” collector bottles and they make wonderful gifts for all occasions. The pawtraits have introduced me to so many opportunities and meeting new people and I love knowing how special they are to each individual that receives one. As I do love making the pawtraits, I’m also really into making the larger pieces. Being able to work on a large scale with full autonomy is so fulfilling. Currently I’m working on a big series that I began in 2024 called my “WILD THINGZ” series. All of these pieces are a combo of abstract/pop/realism that depict some of my favorites in the wild animal kingdom. Each piece incorporates the colors of the animal along with designs throughout the piece that ties into the animals food items, habitat, etc. This series will be on public display and available for purchase at MKT Bar located in Phoenicia Specialty Foods off of Austin St. in Downtown Houston, beginning mid March thru June of 2025. In the past I have done several shows here in Houston, however I’m very excited to have my first solo exhibit and looking forward to sharing these works that I’m so passionate about. My love for animals and nature was a driving force of inspiration to create these. Lisa Frank was also an inspiration and still is one of my favorite artists. Growing up I always knew my art would radiate hot pink (my favorite color), bright neons, and an array of brilliant colors that pop, spark personality, and radiate good energy! As my services mainly center around custom paintings, I’m also starting to share one of my other loves, photography, in which I capture nature and sunrises/sunsets. To me photography is such an intimate way to share your perspective of life with others. Also understanding how light hits an object is fascinating to me.
I’m most proud of myself for not ever giving up and continuing to trust the process, lean into my purpose, and believe in myself. As fulfilling as being a creative is, it can certainly have its ups and downs of doubts, criticism, lulls, judgement, etc. so remaining true to the craft and myself has been a daily practice for a long time. I aim for the success of the long game and don’t get too caught up in the emotions of short wins & losses. Focusing more on the process rather than the end result helps me stay in the present. I am also constantly inspired by & love to network with and root for other creatives and individuals who are trying to get better at their skill. So much beautiful talent out here in the world! I look forward to sharing my new projects coming up in 2025, & will be doing more series. Hoping also to do more shows with new works, and possibly painting a mural or two. Possibilities are endless as long as you keep going! Thank you all for following along on this journey with me, the love and support I have been shown has my cup overflowing with gratitude.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I have a list of several books that have impacted my journey and that I tend to lean back on at any given time. My favorite is The Artist’s Way:A Spiritual Path to a Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron. It’s also a workbook for you to discover more about yourself and journey and how to connect on a higher plane. I absolutely love that one, and it helped me truly get out of my head and into my heart.
Some others that I highly recommend are:
Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
Shift Happns by Robert Holden
Success Intelligence by Robert Holden
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson
All of these have impacted me along my artistic journey.
I also love listening to Matt Gottesman’s podcast “The Niche is You” daily. Highly recommend him to every creative and entrepreneur out there. He’s a must have on the list!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Being an artist has endless rewarding aspects, but one that I hold high on the list is knowing that whatever I create with my hands will last forever for someone to enjoy. To know that you’re able to tap into the deepest most personal part of your soul and create a magical piece of work that can bring another person joy, inspiration, or stir up some type of emotion, thought, or conversation lets me know I served my purpose. I always pray over every canvas prior to beginning, asking God to use me as a vessel & use my hands to create what he sees fit, to guide me through it. The spiritual process rewards the soul,
Being a creative is a gift I’ll forever be grateful for.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Artworkbysteft.com
- Instagram: @artist_stef_t
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/15ep7HzH5C/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Other: Tik Tok
https://www.tiktok.com/@artist_stef_t?_t=ZT-8tpxfaweMwg&_r=1
