Nine years ago, I left my full-time job as a Speech-Language Pathologist. I got a new boss who was out to make everyone's life hell (what is wrong with some people?!), so myself, as well as many other coworkers, all quit. 

With nothing else lined up, I decided to tap back into my creative side and start painting, which I had set aside for many years, as a hobby. I quickly realized how much I had missed painting and began applying to art galleries, festivals, contests, etc, and everything took off fast. I was even asked to paint live at Pitbull's New Years Eve concert just 2 years later! You can watch how that came about in this video:



But, there were many "fails" along the way. I put that in quotation marks because although I was disappointed (and still get disappointed) when I didn't get into art festivals, or win a contest, I try not to see it as a negative, and instead, let those instances push me moving forward. After all, my first attempt at selling artwork was at a farmer's market, surrounded by fruits and veggies (see pic below). I sold nothing (wrong audience, oops!), but if I had let that discourage me, I wouldn't have had so many doors open for me throughout the years.



Thank YOU for following along, whether you are new to knowing me, or have been along for my journey these last 9 years. It means more than you know to have your support!! I still have lots I want to accomplish and will continue working towards all my artistic goals.

XO,
Courtney