Planning & Getting New Commissions (from Grace Manning)

Today I want to introduce one of my new favorite watercolor artists, Grace Manning. A friend of mine shared her work with me through Instagram and I've since fallen in love with her watercolor work. I reached out to see if she'd be open to sharing her creative advice on the blog and she said YES! Without further ado... here's Grace!

"Hello fellow creative, I am so honored that you're reading this. I hope that something I've experienced can help you in your own creative journey! "

Where are you from and what's your background? How old were you when you realized you were creative?

"So, a little background on me is that I was born and raised in Nashville, TN and am thus thoroughly tired of country music. I am almost two years into a wonderful marriage to my best friend, Cody. We now live in the Chattanooga area.

Like most creatives, I have always been the "artistic kid." I doodled through most classes and was always the one who decorated the hallways on homecoming weeks. It wasn't until my junior year of High School that I really gained any confidence in my artistic abilities."

What situation made you realize you were creative?

"My junior year English teacher entered me into an acrylic still-life painting competition without asking me beforehand.

The school was entering into the state-wide Beta competition (an honor society club for High School students) and needed someone to represent us in each subject area, including art.

Long story short, I had no idea what acrylic still life painting was a week before the contest.

I spent that week practicing and ended up placing. I was shocked and incredibly encouraged."

What obstacles have you encountered in your art business and what helped you overcome them?

"Ha, it would be harder to think of an obstacle that I haven't encountered. Honestly though, I didn't intentionally set out this year to "start an art business."

I was a master's student, studying Marriage and Family Therapy, and when quarantine hit, I started painting during all of my zoom classes.

When the semester ended, I decided to take a break from school and actually started to get my real estate license, studying from 6am to 11am most days and painting in the afternoon.