Meet Trailblazer Gabie Gates

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabie Gates.

Gabie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Painting, drawing, and sculpting have been my passion since I was a little girl. Creating things with my own hands gives me a feeling of self-love and confidence that I think we should all get from something we can do. It brings me joy when people want my creations for their own! I will never forget when I sold my first piece. I couldn’t believe someone – other than my family – wanted to have my artwork to be displayed in her daughter’s room! I was thrilled and thankful and overwhelmed. I realized a door had been opened to me to bring happiness to people through my art.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
 Art for me can be both rewarding and frustrating. I have always been very hard on myself when it comes to perfectionism in my art, even though I know nothing is perfect. I can get so critical of my work that I sometimes don’t finish a piece for a year or more because it’s not looking how I want it to. I also sing and am the same in this sense as well. I will record a song over and over for hours until it’s acceptable to me. Recently, I have begun to listen to others around me and am starting to not be so hard on myself. I’m beginning to see that what I can do is good enough and at times to even feel like I’ve done something great. Having support from friends and family has boosted my confidence in my art and in every aspect in life. I believe that surrounding yourself with supportive people will help you go a long way. If you feel like you don’t have a support system in your life, don’t be afraid to make new friends in the art community and lift one another up! Stepping out of your comfort zone can help you build confidence in your art and in life!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about GabiesGoodies – what should we know?
GabiesGoodies is my art business, my Etsy store and my Instagram. I’m always working on new art, so watch for new posts! I draw with colored and graphite pencil and bring a small sketch pad with me everywhere I go in case I get inspired. I also love to paint with watercolor because it gives movement to the painting and blends beautifully in unusual ways. When I am working on a piece, I focus on achieving realism as much as possible and am a bit of a perfectionist. Something that sets me apart from other artists is I also do nail art as my day job at Salon Joa in Denver. I have been doing nail art since I was 13 years old and I love it! It gives me a chance to show off my artwork, just on tiny canvases. I am my own toughest critic but am proud of both my nail artwork and my regular art.

Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
My grandma would babysit me when I was little and she loved to do art. We would go downstairs to her art room and put on Bob Ross videos and paint together. She taught me different brush strokes and also how much fun crafting could be. She had a lot of art supplies and would let me use anything that I wanted to have creative freedom. My mom saw how much I loved doing art and let me take over her office in our house for my own art room. I was so excited to have my own space to create anything I wanted. My mom has always been so supportive of my art, nail art and singing. Every art show I do she offers to help set up and comes to my song recordings. If I didn’t have her support over the years, I’m not sure I would be where I am now. My family is so amazing and supportive of me and I can’t thank them enough.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.etsy.com/shop/GabiesGoodies
• Email: gabiegates1@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabiegirlllll/

Image Credit:
Taylor Hoover

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