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

Alright, Tabitha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I think I’ve always known that I wanted to be an artist. All children start out making art, I was just one of the kids that never stopped. When I was applying to college I wasn’t sure what I should major in since I was trying to find a practical art related career. I was lucky to have a supportive mother who told me that I could go to school for fine arts and explore other majors when I got there. I eventually discovered my passion for teaching which has allowed me to continue to make art while also sharing the creative process with my students.

Tabitha, 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?

My name is Tabitha Whitley I am an artist my medium of choice is oil paint but I am also a draftsman and printmaker. I was born and raised in Brooklyn New York. My studio practice is based in the neighborhood of Bushwick which is where I grew up. Art making has always been a part of my life I started taking art classes from a young age in the city and have studied art since high school. I have a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in painting from the Fashion Institute of Technology and a Masters of Fine Arts in Painting from the New York Academy of Art. Since graduation my focus has been on building my studio practice, showing my work as well as pursuing a career in teaching. I wouldn’t be where I am today without all of the instructors, I’ve had throughout my art education and it’s a privilege now to be able to share that knowledge with the next generation of artists. I’ve lived in New York City my entire life and growing up in a concrete jungle like this one gave me a longing to connect more with the natural world. I am a figurative oil painter and some of the themes I explore in my work are around my African American heritage. In many ways the foliage in my work stands as a metaphor for me connecting with my ancestral roots. I use my art as a means to draw those connections to the traditions that I as an African American woman share with my lost African ancestors. I have a love of color, pattern, and texture so in a lot of my work you’ll see I use a lot of vibrant colors and they serve as another means of storytelling as well as the narratives within my work. My art has been shown in galleries and art institutions around the United States notably Sotheby’s auction house as well as the Springfield Museum of Art. My work has also been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal and the guardian.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I first started sharing images of my work on Instagram. I saw many of my artist peers not only showing but selling their work directly to collectors from the social media platform and wanted the opportunity to build an audience for my art as well. I struggled to gain traction on Instagram but in 2020 I joined TikTok and found that I was able to build an audience a lot quicker there. Instead of just showing images of my work I was creating process videos that showed how I make my art and I was sharing a bit more about myself as an artist making short videos about things that inspire me and tools that I like to use. By opening myself up more I found that my audience was able to connect more with me and my work. By linking my website to my TikTok page I found that I was also able to sell work directly to collectors I also use my platform to promote the art classes that I teach such as “Painting People of Color,” a course I teach through the New York Academy of Art. I think if artists want to build an audience on social media it’s important that you not only share your work but share a little bit about who you are as an artist. That doesn’t mean that you need to bring people into your private life but audiences can connect more with your art when they understand a bit more about why you made it. It’s also important though to remember that content creation can be draining, it does take time to film your creative process and sometimes that can make it take longer to finish a project than it would if you were just working. If you make content creation your top priority it can take away from your studio practice so it’s important to find that balance while trying to grow your audience online.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I’d known early on how important volunteering is when it comes to gaining work experience. I first started volunteering by painting murals in children’s schools through the New York cares nonprofit organization. I wanted to gain some experience working with children initially because I want to teach but jumped at the opportunity to use my painting skills to give back. The mural painting led me to getting some paid work painting murals for a company after I finished my volunteering. After that experience I realized that if I wanted to grow as an artist and businessperson then volunteer work could help me get my foot in the door. I spent many years volunteering with my Graduate School the New York Academy of Art and eventually became President of my school’s Alumni Association. I also got to serve as a Trustee on the school’s Board. During that time, I got to see how arts nonprofits work, how to build a budget, how to create a project plan and how to lead a team. I was also able to jury an art competition and see from the inside what that process looks like. That experience gave me more confidence when it came time for me to apply for art opportunities. Not to mention all the network connections I made during that time. My advice to anyone who is looking to make a career change would be to try to find a means to volunteer in some way within that field. It can be difficult to work for free while also working a full-time job but if you’re looking to make a segway in your career I’ve found that the best way to get more is to start by giving back.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tabithawhitley.com/
• Instagram: tabitha_whitley_art
• Youtube: @tabithawhitley3269
• Other: tiktok tabithawhitley_art

Image Credits
The “personal photo” was taken by: Ricky Rhodes