We recently connected with Vanessa Roettger and have shared our conversation below.

Vanessa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I think art has always been something I wanted to do since I was a young kid. When I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said I wanted to be an artist. Art was all I’ve ever enjoyed doing. I sketched and created as much as I could while I was in school. Unfortunately, after graduating high school in 2011, I took a massive break from creating.

It wasn’t until the summer of 2019 that I finally picked up a brush again. It was just for fun and just for me. I started with watercolors and began posting my work on Instagram. Eventually, I moved on from watercolor to acrylic. Then, moving on from acrylic, I picked up oils for the first time in my life. At some point, I decided to make my art for sale online. I sold my first painting in the summer of 2021.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Vanessa, I am 31 years old and I currently live in a suburb of Austin, TX. When I got back into art in 2019, it was my way of coping with depression and anxiety. Back then, I was constantly watching videos of other artists painting and creating on YouTube. It relaxed me to watch them put colors on paper and make beautiful things out of it. It re-sparked something and made me want to make art again. I remember going online and ordering some watercolor paints. I’ve been making art consistently ever since.

I put the majority of my paintings up on my Etsy shop. I sell mostly acrylic and oil paintings and I also offer prints of certain pieces. I enjoy painting cats, both wild and domestic. I like painting plants, and still life. I enjoy painting food a lot and bottles and glassware. I like painting with a lot of color and painting things that look shiny. I flip-flop around with my art. I like it all and I want to paint it all.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

What’s most rewarding as an artist is seeing what pieces end up selling. I like imagining the people who are receiving my art. I wonder if they are cherishing or gifting it to someone they care about. Did they like the colors or was it the subject of the painting that pulled them in? Are they hanging it up with other paintings or is it the sole focus of the wall? Knowing that something I made with my hands has piqued the interest of someone I’ve never met is a beautiful feeling. I don’t know what happens to my paintings after boxing them up and shipping them out, but my mind always tries to fill in the blanks.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

This is my favorite way to battle art block and I wish not only that I knew it sooner, but I also wish I would utilize it more often. I collect art books of various artists (I like Van Gogh and Matisse). I will flip to a page with a painting I like, grab some scrap paper and some paint or markers, and copy it. It’s a fun exercise and it helps me to stop overthinking and just paint. You can learn so much from doing this and it can help inspire you to do something different and new with your own art.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vanessaroettger.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paintbyvanessa
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaintbyVanessaR