Life & Work with Tori Price

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tori Price. 

Hi Tori, 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 backstories with our readers?
Although I have been an artist my whole life, I began painting on canvas in 2014 while I was managing a children’s art studio (that also had bunnies, chickens, ducks, turtles, hamsters, and guinea pigs) in Atlanta, GA. After a class I taught one day, I played with the leftover paints and got completely lost in the meditative process of painting, playing with color, and creating art without a plan. Not long after that, I discovered that this process was called intuitive painting when I found a book on it one day walking through Michael’s. I dove in and passionately practiced intuitive painting as much as I could. 

After painting samples for the children’s art classes I was teaching and making paintings as gifts for my friends and family, I began to see how well-received my art was. With encouragement from my personal network, I launched my art business in early 2016 and began to sell my work. I immersed myself in the art scene in Atlanta, joined several art communities, led art fundraisers, taught intuitive painting workshops paired with meditation, participated in public art projects, showed up to sell my work at countless markets, shows, and festivals, and had many solo showings throughout the city.

My work has evolved a lot over the years. I began with painting work that was more geared toward children, then moved toward colorful nature scenes, abstracts, and inspirational words and phrases that were born from my intuition. Over time, I slowly began to hone in on the spiritual nature of my work and created paintings in intentional, cohesive collections with big ideas that meant a lot to me. I wanted to share more than just my art – I wanted to share my viewpoints on the world with others. 

The first collection I painted is called “Spiral” (completed in 2018), where I focused on the interconnectedness of our world and beyond through the mystery of spirals showing up in our own fingerprints and hair whorls, in animals, in hurricanes, in galaxies, and more. I’ve since created conceptual abstract collections based on ideas of resisting capitalism and hustle culture and finding your worth within, along with trusting your intuition and your unique path in this life. Although I love painting many subjects, my favorite thing to paint these days is animals!

I had always painted animals here and there, but I didn’t really focus in on this subject matter until 2019 when I created my “WILD” collection that showed in a German cultural center in Midtown, Atlanta. Creating that series of wild animals on large canvases ignited something special in me, and I’ve since created two more animal collections and painted many pet portraits and animal paintings for private clients. 

I have lived in Denver since the beginning of 2020 (right before the pandemic) and am slowly but surely building my art community and client base here. I am proud to have painted a couple of murals in Englewood on the outside of Rhythm Art Yoga Studio – a large mural based on one of my abstract collections (now painted over), and a big, colorful fish on another wall that is still there. 

I would like to continue painting private and public murals in Denver, and I have big plans to create, share, and show more works of animal art in Colorado, along with sharing the spiritual wisdom that each animal represents. I’m wildly inspired by the energetic wisdom and magic that pulses through our natural world and have much to explore on that topic! 

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?
No, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road! Being an artist, entrepreneur, or business owner isn’t easy in the first place, and the pandemic obviously affected my business and creativity in a big way. 

My biggest struggle over the past 6 years has been running my business in a way that is sustainable for me. Part of improving that has been learning more about business and implementing new strategies, and part of it has been healing my relationship with my business. 

When I first started out in 2016, hustle culture was very much alive and was endlessly celebrated. The story that was fed to us was: “Work hard, work endless hours, forget sleep and your social life, and focus on your business first and foremost (Oh, and work hard at your full-time job too). If you hustle hard and have enough passion to fuel you, you will be successful and will reach your wildest dreams.” While seasons of hustle can definitely get you places, running at this pace as the norm is unhealthy, unsustainable, and doesn’t actually guarantee success. 

Hustle culture encourages business owners to take on opportunities to work for free when just starting out in their business, but when does working for free stop? Working for free is very prevalent in the arts scene. New artists take on “opportunities” left and right to work in exchange for exposure. Exposure also doesn’t guarantee success, and it definitely doesn’t pay the bills. On top of that, artists are spending money in pricey supplies and gas, we’re providing our genius ideas and spending our precious energy and time toward someone or something that doesn’t actually value us or our work and is using us for their benefit. Many of these exploitative situations target emerging artists that are hopeful about their new venture and don’t yet have the awareness or confidence to stand up for fair pay. 

I definitely fell into the hustle trap and fell into burnout quickly. At one point, I was working 5 jobs at once to keep up with paying my bills and was gripping onto hope and passion to get me through the struggle of working endless hours. I’ve since had to unravel my identity from my business and heal my relationship with work and even my relationship with creativity. 

This culture of exploiting artists is shifting a little, but there is still much more work to be done for professional artists to get paid just like any other profession. Artists who make art for a living need to be viewed and valued as working professionals, and just because our work seems fun and effortless (It actually can takes a lot of effort!) doesn’t mean that shouldn’t get paid for it. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I create paintings and murals inspired by the energetic wisdom of nature. I believe in the interconnectedness and magic of our world and Universe; the mystery and beauty of nature is at the core of my work. From microorganisms to plants to animals to humans, we are all connected through the energy of life. I want to remind people that we are not separate from nature – we ARE nature. 

Much of the art I create is of animals, and I love working with and capturing their energetic essence when I paint. Many people have told me that the animals I paint look alive and that they can feel their energy pop off of the canvas, which is the biggest compliment! 

I offer custom pet portraits and animal paintings, allowing people to display one-of-a-kind creations in their space that represent their special connection to that animal and remind them of the unique beauty and wisdom of animals on a whole. 

What’s next?
In the next few months, I’ll be offering something new in my business – animal spirit card readings! I love giving others a chance to learn about and connect with the energetics of nature while weaving in my intuitive guidance and knowledge from years of studying animal wisdom, spirituality, and healing. I’m looking forward to sharing these special 1:1 card readings to give people the guidance and inspiration they need in their lives during times of transition, confusion, fear, doubt, and uncertainty. 

Aside from this, I’m hoping to build more art community in Denver, share my art in more public settings, and work on more large-scale projects, either on canvas or through painting murals. I love the feeling of painting big and getting immersed in creating something larger than myself. 

Contact Info:

• Email: lunaleigharts@gmail.com
• Website: www.lunaleigharts.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/lunaleigharts
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/lunaleigharts