How paint, passion, and persistence turned into my full-time dream.
I've been creating art for as long as I can remember. As a teenager, I would use my babysitting money not on clothes or outings--but on sketchbooks, canvases, brushes, and paint. I'd stay up late painting portraits of the children I babysat, gifting them to their parents as a heartfelt thank-you. I also found myself painting scenery, team mascots, and spiritual artwork. Even back then, I wasn't just painting--I was trying to spread joy.
In 2006, at 19 years old, I spent a year nannying in Park City, Utah. I would walk into local galleries and ask what it would take to get my work on their walls. No one said yes, and though I did get one piece into a boutique, it never sold. Still, I kept painting. I kept asking questions. I bought art books, watched YouTube tutorials, and kept learning and practicing.
In 2007, while attending college, I began painting seasonal art—mostly Santas and nativities—for my mom’s friends and their extended circles. Around the same time, I launched a game-day dress business called Fan Frocks, where I enjoyed sewing dresses for girls using team t-shirts. I continued making dresses throughout nursing school and during my first few years as a nurse, but after a difficult partnership, I knew it was time to close that chapter and begin a new one. I got married, moved to New York, and in 2014 everything changed and we welcomed our first baby.
After I had my first child, I stepped away from my nursing career and found myself picking up the paintbrush again. I painted pieces for my daughter's nursery, for baby gifts, and for friends again.
By 2016, we were back in Arkansas. I continued painting the same Christmas art for families each year. It was meaningful, but repetitive and I began to wonder: Could I find a way to make this sustainable and enjoyable? I began dreaming of turning my originals into prints.
In 2018, we welcomed our third child, and my husband, Matt, took a job in Tulsa, OK. While settling into our new home, I continued painting custom portraits for families and also started experimenting with watercolor abstracts and animals. During that time, I met an older gentleman who began digitizing and printing my artwork. He shared a few helpful tips, and after lots of research, trial, and error, I learned how to digitize my own work using a professional scanner and Photoshop to prepare it for prints. I was starting to see the foundation of a real business take shape—even though, at the time, I was still focused on printing the seasonal holiday pieces I had been painting year after year.
In 2019, I built my first website (side note: the logo I created was pretty terrible! ha!). I researched manufacturers, figured out packaging and shipping, and opened up the virtual doors to my art shop. I began printing my Santas, Nativities, and Last Suppers. I also donated several of these new canvas prints to various charities and organizations, hoping to spread a little joy through my art and to help with marketing.
In early 2020, Matt lost his job due to COVID. It was a season of fear and faith, but also clarity. My new art business became a blessing. With people spending more time at home, many were looking to make their spaces more joyful and inspiring. We eventually moved back to Arkansas, where Matt started his own practice--and I poured everything I had into our growing family and art business.
Today, I work as a full-time artist. It's wild to write that. What began as a childhood joy, has grown into a full-time career that supports my family and fills my heart with so much happiness. My prints are now carried in hundreds of stores across the U.S. I have never stopped creating and I have never stopped believing that art is meant to be shared.
My mission has always been to share the joy that art has given me. Every time someone gifts a piece of mine or hangs it in their home, I feel like that joy is passed along again. Thank you for your continued love and support! -Chelsea