Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Terrilynn Dubreuil. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Terrilynn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Who would ever think that a global pandemic would force one into taking a huge risk? Not me! But I am actually thankful in many ways to such a bizarre situation and how it changed my life.

I’d retired from teaching high school and was working as a part-time wine guide, painting on the side, when Covid shut down everything. Stuck in the house I thought “what can I do now?” For ages I’d dreamed about creating a YouTube channel to teach art and reach new creatives. So I jumped in .. I took the risk. Starting with just my smart phone and laptop as my production studio. I researched, practiced, and bought various equipment to see what would work the best. Bit by bit my videos started improving.

Soon I received an email from an art acquaintance who noticed that I “knew technology” just because I was producing YouTube videos! (Well, I was slowly learning, but I was no expert.) They asked me to help start an online group of teaching artists so together we could all figure out how to continue teaching .. but now virtually .. via Zoom. The group grew quickly as word got out. Some of the artists knew more about technology than others, some just wanted to keep it as simple as possible to get a presentation done.

Within a few months the group morphed into an international group of teachers. Four years later, we still support each other in so many ways. We still meet monthly and we find topics that are pertinent to today’s artists and creative teachers. For me, the greatest thing is being a solid part of this influential group and meeting excellent pastel artists from around the world. We’re connected. We are mutually supportive. I have acquired so many teaching opportunities, locally and worldwide, though these great friends.

Who would have thought that taking a chance to create a couple simple videos would change my life so much?

Terrilynn, 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?

Travel and art share a life-enriching and creative partnership in my life. I have a passion for traveling to explore new places throughout the world and for creating original art with a focus on pastel painting because, for me, it is the most versatile of painting approaches. I also use watercolor, photography, and other tmedia. Color, light, and texture convey a balance between impressionism and realism. I aim to infuse my work with emotion which causes my artwork to touch others.

Augmenting a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, I studied Master level courses and pursued opportunities to expand personal knowledge and creative resources. I have been teaching various media and techniques for thirty years, including many Pastel Societies, the Asheville Art Museum, Artefacto International Online School, and other studios. I’m a founding member of the International Pastel Teacher’s group: PATIO.

Teaching is a joy. I love sharing with others how to improve their artwork, to try a new medium, or a new approach. To see them acquire knowledge and experience and to grow in their self-expression is exciting to me. And I learn from them. The synergy in a class or workshop is fascinating. It flows around us as we all share a creative practice.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Since I was young and took my first trip to Ecuador, South America, I have been fascinated with world travel. That, combined with my love of art and teaching has been calling me toward traveling to teach and paint. Hence my moniker “TravelingArtista”.

A goal, for a long time, is to have growing artists hire me to come to them and teach them where they are. I’ve been a teacher most of my life and, let me tell you, it is not easy for a retired teacher to live off their meager Social Security. I have learned to travel in frugal ways, but it would be nice to be able to enjoy it a bit more. And I keep practicing my 3 languages so I’m ready when called.

I love meeting new people in different cultures, to explore exciting areas and get to know how people there live day to day. This interchange of ideas and infusion of discovery sparks a great creative spirit within me. I’ve been up and down the west coast of South America, across a good part of the eastern to mid United States, and I’ve had a few skipping excursion throughout Europe, often staying for a couple months at a time. There are so many more places to visit and see! And in which to paint.

Yes, the pandemic slowed down travel, then family situations to boot, but I’ve retained my focus on a mission to experience more travel and art. Living this creative life to its fullest.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Resilience is vital in life. I have run into many speed bumps throughout my career .. speed bumps that I’ve watched bounce others artists off their career path. They stop. They give up. I made a resolution at the beginning to just do something – anything – in art always. If a situation threatens to flip me off the road, I’ll get back up as soon as possible and continue on.

For instance, early in my marriage I was painting large oil paintings and gaining a good amount of success. But then my husband would come down with a headache any time I started painting. So I had to step off that oil painting train and step onto another medium train .. just to keep creating. My next focus became watercolor. This worked well until little children would play in my paints and mix them together or the cats would walk across an open palette and dabble paw prints throughout the house. I discovered that the best medium for a busy household was soft pastel. I’d pick up a stick or two, paint, and then when an emergency or other interruption happened, I’d just set the stick back down and close the cover.

From then, for years, I worked in pastel, but only with hard NuPastels and semi-hard Rembrandt pastels on MiTeints paper .. which is basically a drawing paper. I’m surprised I could get some decent paintings at all. Then .. a miracle! I joined my first pastel society and someone introduced me to sanded surfaces and super soft pastels. There has been no turning back from there. I’ve experimented, I’ve explored, I’ve investigated.

This versatile medium just makes me so happy when I’m creating. The adventure just keeps going!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.travelingartista.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelingartista_art/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrilynnDubreuil.TravelingArtista/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TravelingArtista/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=JaE3meMRdrBZwg7op1UovA

Image Credits
Photographers: Terrilynn Dubreuil Polly Castor