My journey as an artist: from hobby to business
Art has always been a part of my life. As a retired Army official, my dad painted a lot in his spare time, and as a child, I remember that being inspiring to me – I wanted to be able to draw well and paint things like he did. I took that love of art into secondary school with me, and although (on an academic level) I didn’t go any further than that, it has been something that has brought me joy ever since.
My career so far has been an interesting one, to be honest. I didn’t go down the traditional university route… instead, I studied at a drama school for 3 years after obtaining a scholarship back in 2014. Luckily I managed to successfully sign with a theatre agent before graduating, and then I did the done thing – I moved to London to start auditioning. My side hustle/s at the time involved working at the Lyceum Theatre in Covent Garden and some freelance assisting at a theatre, film and TV agency. As you can probably imagine, it was a turbulent career path (not for the faint-hearted) with no guarantee of when your next gig will be – and at times that can be stressful, demoralising and frustrating. Throughout this period of my life, I continued to tap into my artsy side – it brought me a sense of calm when things felt tough.
In 2020 (while placed on furlough from my theatre job) I decided to pick up my paintbrush again. After a few scrappy Instagram posts sharing my process, some close friends began making requests. It was a nice way to pass the time and make some extra money, and it quickly started to grow. That summer, I ended up doing over 100 pieces of art for family, friends, friends of friends, and total strangers! I made SO many errors back then, but I’m very grateful for that experience.
Later that year I managed to get a new full-time job within the events industry, and my career path took a new and exciting turn. A fresh start, so to speak. I ended up having to drop the art stuff because I no longer had the time.
Fast forward to the beginning of 2024. Things in my life had changed astronomically (for the better). After discussing my future with my boss (and telling him I had a dream of working for myself one day) he actually encouraged me to pursue setting up my own business and was in full support of it.
Aaaaand here we are! Just me, my trusty iPad, and a big dream.
I’m so excited to see where this little journey takes me. I’m rekindling my love for running a small business (albeit in the early stages), and I’m learning so much along the way. If my dad could see me now, I know he’d be proud of me for giving this a real shot.
If you want to join me on this journey, you should definitely follow my Instagram for up-to-date and behind-the-scenes content.
See you there!
Shiv x
