Conversations with Olivia Trim

Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Trim

Hi Olivia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have always been surrounded by artistic and creative people. My entire extended family is involved in a creative pursuit to some degree (whether it’s their job or hobby.) My immediate family are also creatives and always encouraged me to pursue any creative passion I had. My mom is a professional photographer. My sister is an incredible sewist who runs her own small business and is such a talented ceramicist, and painter. And my dad is a very talented musician who plays with all sorts of bands in Chicago. I have these super clear memories growing up and being so encouraged to draw, paint, explore and experiment however I wanted. When I got to high school I was determined to take at least 1 art class/semester which led me to taking other art classes outside of school. Part of me wanted to become an artist right then and there, but another part of me was terrified at the thought of what that meant — the work it would take, the immense amount of potential for failure, the possibility of living the “struggling artist” stereotype, just to name a few things. In high school I became involved in various outdoor pursuits that led me to the world of rock climbing, backpacking, skiing, and outdoor education. Creative pursuits were put more on the back burner and my attention was turned elsewhere. When I went away for college I brought all of my painting supplies and had a few opportunities to flex my creative passions. I did some live paintings at some campus events, I held craft nights, but nothing like I was doing in high school. During my final year at university I decided to that I wanted to use painting to fulfill my final thesis requirements, so I put together a solo gallery show. After college I went straight into working in outdoor education, but I would be painting in the background. The COVID-19 pandemic hit and I (along with many others) lost my job. I moved in with some friends in Portland and started to focus on painting again. It was so healing to paint that I turned my whole focus onto painting. A little while later I ended up moving to Durango where I again got distracted by other pursuits, but still painting was in the background the whole time. Finally I decided to start to take my business seriously and I started selling at various art markets. Slowly but surely I’ve been able to make my business a bit bigger, do a few more things and turn it into more than just a side hobby. I have so many goals for where I want to take my business, and what I still want to do with my life. But for now, I’m really enjoying the process!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t believe there’s ever really a smooth road when you are working on a creative pursuit. I think the biggest obstacles I’ve dealt with so far are feeling like an imposter. I so often deal with not feeling like I’m good enough to call myself an artist, or to be able to stand next to the other artists in Durango and sell my work along with theirs. There are days when I’m at markets that I barely scrape enough money to cover the administrative fees and other times when the cash is flowing in. It’s such a rollercoaster that often leaves me feeling lost and confused about what I need to be doing better or where my focus should be.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a watercolor artist who specializes in landscape paintings, and animal portraiture but I like to say that I mostly specialize in curiosity. The media that I work with are watercolor and acrylic paint and ink, however, I like to play with different canvases, found objects, and other recycled materials to reduce as much waste as I can in my production process. I work in miniature (1-2″x3-4″) size canvases but I also love working on large scale paintings (3-5’x5-6′) and murals. I work with both watercolor and acrylic paints but generally treat them the same when I work with them — essentially I use them almost as a happy middle point between the two media. I am an artist who loves to break rules, especially the ones that I accidentally create in my own head. Rules are wonderful for teaching us ways that we can rely on the materials and techniques that we use most often, but they are also wonderful because they offer us so much room to grow and experiment with.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Risk-taking is inevitable with any sort of creative pursuit, but especially when you turn your passion into a business. Art is such a vulnerable act, which in my experience, involves a lot of risk-taking itself. Being able to put yourself out there and allow yourself to exist in a world where people generally have strong opinions about art in general is a risk. To be able to share your work and know that more often than not, it’ll be rejected, is a risk. But risk is not always a bad thing. Being able to take risks in my art has taught me resilience, the ability to separate my identity from my art, to be able to be more free when I create and share work that feels more passionate and fun and visually engaging. Risk is terrifying but it’s also inevitable, so I try to jump in feet first when I am able.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.moonbeam-art.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonbeam_art.design
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoonbeamArtAndDesign