We were lucky to catch up with Tiffany Wilson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tiffany, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

In 2017, I attended my very first art show called Pancake and Booze in Washington, DC. I was more than nervous because I wasn’t really sure what to really expect. At the time my only medium was markers and I was asking art peers for advice on what to do/what not to do at an art show. So its the day of the show and I brought my things with me to my job to do set up during my lunch break. I didn’t know how to price my work either because I only had a small fan base but I didn’t want to undersell myself either where I didn’t make a profit. During the set up, immediately I became overwhelmed because I was admiring the other artist work and it made my work feel miniscule since they had large paintings/sculptures and my work was small/medium sizes. Fast forward to the evening when the doors are about to open up for the event and I was placed between two local famous artist (which I’m cool with til this day) and I caught a panic attack. I ran to the bathroom to vomit and there was a young lady there who helped me get myself together and I told her I was having second thoughts because I didn’t think no one will like my work especially being next to two famous artist. She gave me some encouragement and let me know that I toke a big step by putting myself out there and if anything to just have fun and focus on networking and meeting other artist. So I did and actually being next to two other famous artist worked out in my favor because they brought a lot of foot traffic our way and I sold my first print to my barber who showed up. It was such a relief. My sister even bought some prints from me too. I even got a compliment from Shawn Perkins (one of the famous artist I was nearby) that he loved my Daria/Jane piece and was impressed it was done in markers. From then on I sold a few more prints and even one of my original drawings was sold so it was such a great turn out. Funny thing, I still get panic attacks when I do any art events.

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

I am a self taught artist. I began drawing cartoons from the local newspapers since the 3rd grade and gravitated towards drawing more of the 80s/90s cartoons that I grew up watching on TV using markers as my choice of medium on illustration boards. I started teaching myself how to paint in 2018 being influenced by many pop artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Litchenstein and Keith Haring. I use acrylic paints on canvas and watercolor paper. What sets my apart from others is the nostalgic appeal to my followers from the color choices I use, to the characters I pick and the boldness of my linework. I’m mostly proud of the growth within my craft over the years. I’m looking to learn different painting techniques that will be beneficial with my style. I want my fans to know that practice makes perfect and always be open to being a student.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Being able to bring smiles on people’s faces from your work. It’s a reliever, breath of fresh air to know you’re creating a moment for that person whether they’re an artist or not. It gives me that extra drive to keep going.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I wouldn’t say it’s not just apart of my journey but I believe this goes for anyone that’s an artist may be able to relate to this. Non-creatives need to know and understand that we take our work seriously, we are still human that eat/live/breathe just like non-creatives. We will have moments that we will feel like “oh I could have done that better, why didn’t I add/remove such”. It’s almost in our DNA to be our own worst critic, even though non-creatives may feel that what we have created is immaculate, just know we as creatives are always judging our own work and raising questions about what we can/could have done to really make it better to satisfy our own pleasure. So please don’t take an offense if we may not feel the same way about a piece as you do. It’s not us being cocky about it, we will always feel appreciative when someone compliments our work, we just know that we’re always trying to level up with the next piece we create.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tiffyinks.com
• Instagram: Tiffyinks
• Twitter: TiffyInks
• Other: Tiktok- TiffyInks