We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eric Welch a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Eric , so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
Risk is something that I see as a necessity to push myself to another level. Since I was little I was always wild and outgoing. It wasn’t until I was 19 that I took the biggest risk in my life. It wasn’t the smartest move to make, but it did take me all over the world. Opening my eyes to an entirely different way of living from what I knew in Kentucky. I started selling weed at 19 and learned that I was good at my job, and this job could move me to LA where I wanted to follow my passions of art. To be fair selling weed did take me to LA but it also cost me my freedom for a while. As I have got older I still take risk very willingly but now they are less extreme.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My story… that may take a minute. Here are the cliff notes instead. I am an artist/entrepreneur who has seen a lot of life and what it has to offer. For the most part I’ve been involved with cannabis and art as far back as I can remember. From the moment I started selling cannabis at 19 years old full time, then moving to LA to attend New York Film Academy and paying for it all through cannabis. Producing/co-writing/acting in a theatre production called “Circus Circus” with The New York CIty Fringe Festival, based on my adventures in the correctional system for a non-violent cannabis crime.
Cannabis and art have been a part of who I am, which has led me to where I am now. I am painting and consistently pushing myself as an artist. Telling stories without words and combining that with my cannabis/hemp based brand Drop of Sunshine. The Drop of Sunshine is a cannabis/hemp brand that connects art at every corner. From the branding to the mission we push. We believe that we are all artists in this world no matter who you are or what you do for a living, you are uniquely creative just by being you.
Having the brand Drop of Sunshine and my retail business Greener Things in Charlottesville Virginia, I have been able to keep cannabis in my life as a means of income along with combining my art. As I’ve gotten older and pushed myself as a creative I have found my works in galleries from LA, Austin, NY, San Antonio, and beyond. I find myself growing everyday and to me that’s what matters.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I believe that one of the best skills I have developed in my life is the ability to adapt. I have always been able adapt and thrive. As far as skills within my field of work I have learned a tremendous amount about art history and the artists who were before me, and who are living doing incredible things. Learning more about the history of art gives you a greater understanding of the why behind what you do and who has done similar things.
I try to learn something new everyday, whether that’s from reading books or hands on. I like to observe other individuals who I believe are top of what they do, not mimic but be inspired to push myself to that next level. Whether it be developing pitch decks, profit and loss statements, or a new series of paintings that’s different from what’s around. I want to push myself to grow and change the perspectives of what is creative storytelling.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
I like to read. Before having my daughter, who is 10 months old right now, I used to have coffee with a book outside in the quiet of the morning everyday. I do still read but not as much. One of the most impactful things I have read didn’t come from a book perse it came from a poem. It is an old poem, but it has some incredible nuggets that can be taken and utilized in today’s times. The poem is called “IF” by Rudyard Kipling.
It’s funny, you would think I would have went down this rabbit hole of learning about Kipling since the poem has stuck with me for 15 years, but I didn’t. I sometimes find myself content on liking something for what it is in the moment that I found it… anyways that poem is one that will always stick with me and finding just one nugget out of this poem is almost impossible. It is a story about life and character. I recommend everyone reading it.
Contact Info:
- Website: thedropofsunshine.com theartistawan.com
- Instagram: artistawan thedropofsunshine
- Facebook: thedropofsunshine
- Linkedin: Eric Welch
- Yelp: thedropofsunshine
Image Credits
paintings photographed by Ansen Seale mural photo taken by Roman Lane graphic design done by Drop of Sunshine
