Meet Erika Stearly

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erika Stearly a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Erika, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

There’s an idea that if you are starting out in a creative field, you should aim for 100 rejections a year. The thought is that one cannot be rejected that many times without putting in the effort to pursue to that many opportunities. And surely, some opportunity will work out for you.

I endeavored to do this for 2 or 3 years – I applied for artist residencies, grants, exhibitions, and academic jobs. I was always about a dozen or so short of 100. I fell out of the habit because eventually I found people who said yes to me. I began creating opportunities on my own to keep myself occupied, and eventually I found myself integrated with the community I wanted to belong to.

I still feel unsure of myself sometimes, I feel impatient that things aren’t happening as quickly as I want them too. I can be envious of the accomplishments of other people, though I don’t believe their success comes at my expense. But I no longer doubt whether or not I am supposed to be here.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I make a living selling paintings to strangers on the internet.

My paintings depict domestic spaces, and I like painting these settings because there’s an opportunity to paint geometric shapes, organic shapes, and pattern, which I still find engaging. There is a lot of versatility within the framework of domestic spaces; recently, I’ve been using the domestic space as a vehicle to paint landscapes. I’ve been prominently featuring patios, sun porches, and big bay windows as a way to paint the outside.

I paint with a combination of watercolor and acrylic paint. I use watercolor pencils and sticks as well as the watercolors in pans like you remember from elementary school. I use acrylic paint markers and also apply acrylic paint with brushes. I go back and forth, layering both types of paint as I go. It is an unusual way of working. Some techniques are only available during the beginning stages, when the surface is still clean and smooth, while other techniques are only available towards the end of the painting process, when layers have been built up.

I only release new paintings during the months of December, April, and August. Folks on my email list get a preview of new paintings before they are debuted to the public. I’ve kept this schedule since 2018, and the structure has helped me maintain and grow my business during the pandemic and the early days of motherhood.

I am represented by a handful of galleries across the United States and Canada. I prioritize working with galleries who are able to help me achieve things I cannot on my own – like travel around the world for events, loan work to movie studios, or participate in gallery-only arts festivals.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

-Cultivate the ability and patience to do the same thing over and over and over again. Gaining mastery and getting bored is a great way to invite an “aha” moment to come your way.

-Consider working for a small business in a different industry from your own. I got a small business education from working for an independent bookstore. I’ve watched them make deliberate choices to grow their business, but since they are in a different industry than my own, I was able to more objectively evaluate what parts of their business model would work for me, and which parts would not.

-Master one thing at a time. I release new paintings every day for the months of December, April, and August, and the first time I did this, I was focused on completing that many of paintings. The next time, I focused on completing the paintings and uploading them to my website on a deadline. Then I completed the paintings, uploaded them, and integrated an email marketing campaign. There are many components involved in running my own business, but I didn’t put pressure on myself to have everything figured out before I got started – I focused on developing skills one at a time,

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

A mentor of mine once told me that owning a bookstore has challenged him to use every skill set he’s ever developed and forced him to constantly acquire more. I’ve never forgotten that.

I make the paintings, and over the years I’ve gotten good at that, but I run a small business that specializes in selling paintings by Erika Stearly. As a small business owner, I sign the contracts, manage the budget, pack and ship the orders, update the website, implement my marketing plan.

Some weeks are 50/50, studio time and business time. Some weeks are 90/10; others are 10/90.

I am the only person who can make my paintings – I can outsource everything except that. But I believe that investing the time and energy into figuring out the business aspect of my studio practice has been invaluable in building a sustainable business because I have an understanding of how all components fit together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.erikastearly.com
• Instagram: @erika_stearly

Image Credits

Photo credit: Erika Stearly