Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Moran.
Hi Caroline, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I always thought I liked the idea of working professionally as an artist, but I have never been attracted to the financial risk it would take to depend on the kind of art that I make as a full time career and having the lifestyle I want. Having had experience making art for others professionally, such as working on movie sets, painting Mardi Gras floats, creating murals for restaurants, creating hand drawn menus for coffee shops in old style calligraphy, I have learned that often in the professional art world, I don’t get to choose what I make. I have guidelines to follow at best, or exact visions to produce, at worst. And then comes the deadlines that keep me working late into the night and early into the morning. So, I learned two very important things recently, which is to say that I don’t want to make art just because I think people want to buy it. I feel that art entirely motivated by a monetary gain steals my artistic authenticity. Secondly, I create my best work from a place of inner peace, which I was unable to maintain while working professionally as an artist. These are the reasons I searched outside of my expertise to create a steady and reliable stream of revenue for myself. I recently switched jobs from a caregiver for elderly people to now working as a ramp agent for Southwest Airlines. I think now, finally, I have found a job that will bring lasting peace for me, and I am getting to a point where I can slow down enough to create my best work yet.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think I had to learn myself and exactly what my limits are. I know confidently what I am willing to do to get a job done. It has not been easy, though. Thinking back to my time in school and all the projects I had constantly, and then transitioning from that setting to a switch of a money-focused mindset to support myself while finding myself in a job market that has an ever declining need for artists was disenchanting enough, so I found a way to carve out this path for myself, which satisfies life’s demand for money and my soul’s demand to make art. It is only with that balance of the two that I have finally reached an equilibrium on my own, but I had to learn what I need to feel secure, happy, and thriving.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an artist. I recently put a painting into a show, the 4th venue this piece has shown at, and it will be up until the end of October at Good Practice in Denver, which I am so happy to have my work in. This business is so cool as a creative space that is black female independently owned and was a fantastic fit for my work. I am pleased to announce I will be attending a Lord of the Rings themed party there near the end of September where I will get to network and tell people about my painting. As for events, I have that as well as many travel plans I am looking forward to. As a perk of my career working for an airline, I get to fly for free, which has already had a substantial impact on inspiring my work. As of late, I have been creating commissioned portraits for friends, and I am in the process of collaborating with another friend on an album cover. My cross-hatched ink portrait styles have been winning people over lately, which is fun because for the first time in a long time, I am creating what I want to, I get the luxury of time when I am off from my day job to create whatever I want, the luxury of money to buy the best supplies, and then in turn, now I can charge more for a higher quality product. I am excited because this is only the beginning. I am starting over in many ways, but this is the beginning of exactly the life that I want for myself and potentially my own future family as well, which I am also in a healthy headspace to consider now.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Quantity over quality beats stagnancy every time. There are many times that I am at work and have 2+ hours of free time between workings flights and performing all necessary job duties, so I will sit down and start sketching. This of course generates a lot of interest from my coworkers, but it’s not why I do it. I keep up my sketching skills to stay fresh, get ideas flowing, try out different styles, and just generally have a great time while I am at my day job. Then, when I have accumulated so many sketches, I buy frames for them and set them up in local coffee shops in Denver and the surrounding areas or I ship them off to hospitals around the world through the amazing organization called Art2Hearts, which specializes in matching artists with hospitals globally for the purpose of brightening the sterile hospital spaces and promoting healing through art in an otherwise depressing environment.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Cmoran_art
