We recently connected with Tricia and have shared our conversation below.

Tricia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I now make a substantial amount from my artwork, but that was not always the case. I had to learn marketing techniques and spend time promoting my work in order to move forward. I have outlined the steps I took to make this happen in my book “The Artist’s Map to Success”. There are 12 steps that an artist must take in order to be successful. If I had been taught these 12 steps when finishing art school, I would have been on the road to success much sooner.

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 painter who works in acrylic, watercolor and mixed media and resides in Reno, Nevada. I graduated from UCLA with a major in Studio Arts and also have a Masters of Science in Counseling granted from University of LaVerne.I have studied with many nationally recognized artists, John Salminen, Robert Burridge, and Mark Mehaffey among them. I am a member of the Artists’ Co-op of Reno and show in a variety of different venues from Gardnerville to Fernley Nevada. I have won multiple awards from local, regional and national shows. My work varies from representational to abstract, but leans more toward the abstract at the current time.

As a painter, I find inspiration in the world around me. I employ a personal vocabulary of marks and colors that reflects the natural world. My work varies from representational to abstract, and I am continually moving between the two styles. I tend to work in series, either with the materials I use or the exploration of imagery. Every painting is an experiment to me. Sometimes the end product is a surprise, even to me.

Besides doing my personal art, I teach others through my local community college, coach artists in attaining their goals through the internet, and have classes available online through Patreon and Youtube. I also write books on subjects ranging from Art as a Business to Social Skills for children and teens.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There was a time when I had a full time job, three children, two step children, and a disabled husband when I thought I had no time to do art. Instead, I read books on creativity trying to learn what I needed to do. I read Eric Maisel’s book, “Fearless Creating” and came upon his direction to “do art every day”. I had to figure out a way to get art back into my busy life. My solution was to set my alarm 45 minutes early and go straight to the studio and paint. After 45 minutes, I put my brush aside, showered and went to work. After a year of following this pattern, I had a one person show and sold several paintings. What I learned is that there is always a way to work art into your life if you are committed and that a small amount of time, consistently attended to, results in ultimate success.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

My year of starting to do art 45 minutes at the beginning of each day was rewarding in producing a large amount of art which I expected. What I did not expect is that starting my day doing art changed the whole trajectory of my day. Suddenly, I could handle any problems or challenges that came my way. I became more creative in dealing with nonart problems that arose. i was calmer, happier, and more centered. I attribute that change to doing art before anything else. I was doing what I wanted to do before attending to the needs of others. But, besides the selfishness of meeting my own needs first, doing the art itself centered me and balanced out the usual “left-brain” activities that filled the rest of my day. I was able to use my “right brain” in solving problems and meeting challenges that my art presented to me. I’ve learned that incorporating art into your life fills a need for wholeness that all humans aspire to.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: triciapoulosleonard
• Facebook: https:www.facebook.com/patricia.leonard.921
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@triciapoulos-leonard9277
• Other: https://facebook.com/triciastudio
  
  www.triciastudio.com