Why I Walked Away From My Art Business and How I Regained My Passion

Have you ever had to depart with something you’re passionate about?

No matter what you did to make things work it seemed as though nothing could turn the tides. And before you knew it, you felt the ship sinking deeper with each passing month. Your dream seemed farther away than closer to you.

This happened to me a handful of time in my life, and you’re not alone. Everyone that has ever known any success experienced some tough times.

Art and painting is that thing that inspires me, that thing that makes me excited to get up daily to work and take on a new project.

In January 2015 I walked away from my art business and the break up was heartbreaking.

WHAT SPARKED THIS SEPARATION

In 2010 I began painting to get through a period of loss in my life.

They included separation/ divorce, financial loss, and depression. In the years prior I was financially stable and had great credit. But being honest with myself, some poor decisions on my end led to this hardship.

By 2012 things weren’t getting much better.

I added up my debt and calculated how long it would take me to recover financially. After doing the numbers it was best to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy and start over fresh.

In May of 2013, I did just that.

I put every debt in there—including my mortgage.  When I purchased my home I had a 30 year mortgage and I just couldn’t see myself paying a 40 year modified payment just to keep my home.

At times painting and my relationship with God and family were the things that helped me forget about everything.

It was my escape and I had to move to the next chapter.

I HAD TO MOVE ON

I moved into a new place on January 3^rd, 2014 after endless and stressful searching during the busy holiday season.

This timeframe made it worse because this proved to be the worst time to get in touch with landlords or to view homes.

In this three bedroom rental, I used two bedrooms for my business (an office and art studio). It even had an enclosed screened porch for me to do extra special finishes on the art.

This was great right? Wrong!

This place made for a horrendous and unforgettable living experience.

The word miserable is an understatement.

In the thirteen months I lived there (yes thirteen months) I had to fight tooth and nail to stay motivated as I also ran an online Christian blog and built an art business.

I didn’t get a good night sleep during this time.

During that entire lease, I slept in my bedroom for only three nights because I could hear the male neighbor snoring so loud through the walls. In general, his entire family was loud, and seemed to never leave the home.

The upstairs neighbors were loud too, when they walked though their home it sounded as if the floors would cave. I also heard the upstairs neighbors to their left and their right too. Ughhhh!

You could hear everyone and smell everything through the walls.

So why didn’t I move and break the lease?

WHY I STAYED AND DIDN’T BREAK MY LEASE

Art betrayed—at least I thought!

My year started off with a bang.

I took on some nice size projects and began aggressively looking for a new place to reside. But that’s when it happened. The harder I worked to build my business and look for a new home; I began to sell less and less art.

By September, I had zero sales, phone calls, or emails—the well went 100% dry!

My family lives in another state and I had to get money from my dad, mom, and sister to pay rent. I also used the new credit cards I got (post-bankruptcy) and had to put two months of rent on them.

It was quite depressing and lonely.

Finally I moved out at the end of January 2015 and placed the contents of my home/business in a storage unit.

I didn’t have a place to live and I had to recover again financially.

I moved in with a friend, for a little over two months, and worked a job for $10 per hour. Shortly after that job I got another one that paid slightly better.

During the time I lived with my friend I still could not find the right place to move my business too, so eventually I moved into the same apartment complex I lived in for four and a half years before purchasing my home.

The quiet and peace I felt in this one-bedroom unit was priceless.

I finally had a resting place to get my thoughts together.

I STILL GAVE CREATING ART THE SIDE EYE

After processing what I had gone through the prior five years, I wanted to rebuild the art but I was too drained. I was hurt and tired of fighting for something nobody wanted.

I wanted to just live my life until I figured out what would be next. I did know that I’d eventually start back painting because I missed and loved it, but I was wounded.

Eventually, I pulled all of my things out of storage around May 2016. Then out of the blue my twenty-year-old nephew came to Atlanta and needed someplace to stay.

So where did he stay? You guessed it; he stayed with me in my one-bedroom 765 square feet apartment.

This was tough as it caused another delay with me trying to get back into my winning mindset. I also was dating my ex-husband and trying to heal from our past.

I was struggling to find out where I’d end up next.

After pulling my art supplies out of storage it would be another five or so months before I’d get into the real flow of painting again.

THROUGH FASTING I FINALLY I GOT MY MOJO BACK 

In September 2016, I completed a no food spiritual fast (water, coconut water, chamomile tea and organic apple juice).

This gave me the ability to really hear from God and clear out all the emotional confusion. During this time I got new inspiration and assurance that it was time to start back.

I listened to a lot of great sermons, motivational speakers, and read my Bible a lot.

I gained wisdom, learned new improvements I would never have thought about, and found new business ideas and concepts.

During that fast I knew I had to completely rebrand my business.

I changed my name to Cure For Bare Walls with the state, created a logo and began construction on a new website. It was a lot of work but it was the spark that kept me working many hours when I came home from my day job.

I came out of that fast with so much determination, belief in myself, and my business (something that was lacking after being knocked down many times over prior).

I invested in education, new equipment, leased an office, and created a new plan.

My Experiences Made Me Stronger and More Determined

I’ve gone through a lot to share my art with the world.

My expression has always meant a lot but through this hiatus and rebuild I learned so much.

I do not regret taking time away. I had to get to the point of being the best version of me so I can be prepared for what’s ahead.

Not only do I know who I am as an artist now, I know how to explain my work, and what CFBW represents.

The things I learned from putting the business back together again are priceless.

More than anything I want you to know what you are getting when you support my craft. There are many artists that you can support and buy from, but I really want you to know what I stand for on a deeper level.

When you own one of my pieces or offer it as a gift there should be an emotional bond. My art should speak to your soul and your story.

As always thank you for reading and please comment below and share your story with how you pushed through to fight for your dream.