Creating a career as an artist is not easy. It's not a job that you just wake up one morning and decide to pursue. It takes work. Hard work. The funniest thing about it is that you paint about 10% of the time -- the rest is all dedicated to building and maintaining a solid network of amazing people, creating a crumble proof foundation and running your business.

If I didn't have the support and know-how of the many amazing people I have in my life, I wouldn't be where I am today. Without their belief in me from Day One, their ability to see beyond my talent -- to see my willingness to work hard -- I would be too scared to put my work out there for all to see.

Being grateful for those who have helped me along the way is the most valuable lesson I have learned on this journey thus far. That is why I have started this project, #facesbehindthework -- because without them, I would be lost.

Barbara Nowak, owner and curator of Horizon Fine Art Gallery in Jackson Hole, WY, was the reason my art career became a reality. When I first met her at 18 years old, I was a doe-eyed high schooler dead set on going to art school and becoming a full time artist. With an art teacher on my side, I was sure I had it all figured out. I approached her with my 30x36 hand held portfolio and pulled out my school projects -- various watercolors and acrylics of wildlife, some landscape and figure paintings I had done and a few self portraits. I remember her face -- not impressed. But her words were kind, "come back when you have some work framed or on some gallery wrap canvas."

Instead, I convinced her to hire me for the summer. I came back to work every summer for about 4 years when I would return from college. I was 21 when I put about 4 paintings (on that gallery wrapped canvas she had requested) on the wall, and they sold within a month! All of them! I remember getting the voicemail when I was traveling down in Costa Rica. After hanging up the phone I took my journal, walked down to the beach and wrote that all I wanted was to become a full time artist -- and that now it seemed within reach. Over the years I worked my way through obstacles to make it work. And lordy, lordy, lordy were there obstacles. If I ever write my book, I will share those obstacles.

Aside from my work, Barbara's gallery has been and is home to some of the big names around Jackson Hole, the country and even the world. She is always the first to know about them because she has an eye for art. I remember working for her and hearing her clients talk about how her gallery was so well curated. Eclectic but not mismatched. Contemporary but traditional. Western but coastal. She has it all -- and very tasteful. She also throws a good party -- and art connoisseurs love a good party -- who doesn't?

"So early in my life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise." Malcom X

Ahhhhh... finally, it's done! Nothing beats that feeling of accomplishment -- of looking back and being able to see the late nights, hours on your hands and knees, and excruciating back aches all coming to a close. If you've driven down Broadway in Jackson Hole recently, you may have noticed a new addition to the Orvis building -- 50 feet of nearly fluorescent colored trout. In my oh-so-typical fashion of making waves, with bright colors and bold lines, my 50 feet, or five fish spanning ten feet each, were installed this past Tuesday on the South side of the Orvis building.

Back Story

This past Spring, I was working on a  mural project with Jackson Hole Public Art and Friends of Pathways at Summit High School when Carrie Geraci, the director of Public Art, sent me an email proposing that I apply for the Orvis commission. About 5 artists were asked to apply with a proposal of what they would install on the exterior South facing wall of the building. Over the next few weeks I drew up a proposal using previous paintings that I manipulated in Photoshop and sketched out on a drawing board and my proposal was chosen.

The Process

Once my proposal was selected, the work began. I now had to figure out how to create this monster of a piece! What kind of metal was I going to use? How was I going to get the metal cut into the shapes I needed? Jackson Hole Public Art was a huge help in guiding me on this journey and I'm grateful for all of the people that helped me along the way.

The first step was manipulating the design. I must have changed it about three or four times in Photoshop and we finally settled on the five trout swimming to the water. The cutouts were taken from two different original paintings of mine, Waterway and Cutty, that sold a few years back.

The second was driving out to Rexburg, ID to meet with Premier Powdercoating to discuss my options for metal, feeling the different metals and deciding how much detail I wanted when the metal was laser cut. These guys were awesome, I'm really looking forward to working with them again in the future.

From there, once the fish were approved and cut, I had to travel with five ten feet fish strapped in the back of my pickup truck over Teton Pass -- that was fun... and scary... and I soooo wish I had a photo of that, but I was just really happy to get those suckers out of the truck and into the two car garage that I laid them out in to paint over the next month.

Then came the painting. I had to first prime them. Then I painted them. Then came the multiple layers of sculptor's UV, chemical and weather protectant. Then the Z-Bars to hang them. AND ALL THE COFFEE for the late nights -- let's not forget the coffee.

Now that they're installed, I'm speechless. They look incredible! I'm grateful for the entire team. It really does take a village, as cheesy as it sounds!

"We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

One of the hardest parts about being an artist or creative is finding yourself in a slump. No matter what you put down on canvas, or even into words, you question or even throw a can of paint over. As if artists didn't question themselves enough, during this time we are even harder on ourselves wondering if we should give up the paintbrush (or pen) and move onto something much less heart wrenching. It's a struggle you guys!

When I was about 8 years old, I convinced my parents to get me a horse. I mean, I was in LOVE with horses. It's what I thought about all day everyday. I drew them, I painted them, I used to think about them before bed in hopes that I would dream about them all night long. Literally! Then, somehow, with some act of God (and years of persuasion) I landed Trado, the white Arabian.

(Pictured: Circus Point my Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred who came after Trado and on the right Trado the White Arabian)

Now, unbeknownst to me and my family, Trado, was a very naughty horse. But because we weren't really horse people we didn't know any better. The first day I rode him he just took off running full speed. Instead of trying to pull on the reigns, or maybe, you know, try to stop him, I just bailed immediately and fell to the ground. Luckily, unscathed. 

Weeks went by without any real tragedies, until the Memorial Day parade that Trado and I were to ride in. As you can imagine, there was a lot going on that day. Crowds, loud noises and commotion. What do you think my little white Arabian did? He took off with me in tow. This time, I held on a little longer, but I dropped the reigns. I still flat out gave up and let him take control of me. He ran and ran and ran until we almost ran into a road full of speeding cars. I was able to grab the reigns and pull him to a stop just in time. It was an act of God and it was a moment I'll never forget for the rest of my life.

After that, my parents knew it was time to sell Trado to a more experienced rider and I don't blame them now. But at the time, I had developed a love for him despite his wanting to run me into oncoming traffic. ;)

The point is, I learned that you can easily bail or give up on hard times or you can literally ride them out. Giving up can get you hurt. If I hadn't landed safely when purposely falling off of Trado the first time he took off, I could have been seriously injured. A broken bone, a dislocated shoulder or even worse, a head injury... but I took the chance because I was scared. I think about bailing almost every day in my career because I'm scared. We all go through it and we all go through blocks. Being scared and being willing to give up so readily is not the answer. It's learning to fight to hold on through that fear that keeps us going.