Meet Kristin Pavlick

We recently connected with Kristin Pavlick and have shared our conversation below.

Kristin, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

I developed confidence over time. Each new project, with each new client, each vision you chase down and execute I earn one feather. Over time you continue to put the feathers in your hat, you can’t help but gain confidence. For me confidence comes from growth. Working on new projects, with new clients that excite you, and feeling like I almost can’t do— it drives me to execute. A commission makes me work, because there is no way I will let my client down. If I say I will do something, I figure out a way to make it happen. After it’s all said and done, I made someone happy AND I added a new process to skill set.

A recent project that comes to mind is the pawn shop. My idea was to force a prospective onto a building that gives the viewer a 3 dimensional experience. Complete with a continuous image that wrapped the building in a narrative, making the building become bigger than its own imprint. I had a client that is amazing — he lets me come up with my own imagery. In this case, I wanted to wrap a snake around the entire building! I had to convince the city, the client, and his partners to let me do this. So I worked on a digital mockup (for probably over a month) working with model snakes, photography, and digitally painted this intricate plan. There was a bit of an education process, if I could paint the ground, I can create an illusion of a third dimension. After I got all of my ‘yes’s’! It took me more than double of the time I projected. Scheduling restraints, unexpected architectural elements that needed to be blended into the design, extreme heat, rain, all slowed me down. But it would not stop me. I knew all of this would be temporary, but if I could pull this off I would be able to transform an entire building into a work of art. With all of the support of the community, the owner, my husband I was able to pull it off, painted the entire thing on my own. It has become a great source of confidence, sure there were days that I felt I was in over my head, but I just kept on going— and once you are on the other side of these challenges you have no choice but to feel a sense of confidence.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Born outside of Philadelphia, Kristin Pavlick has been a life-long artist, using visual culture to question the impact on our decision-making process. Pavlick sees our visual culture as an intentional veil that separates us from the truth— encouraging us to act upon a deeply reinforced value system imposed by society. Kristin challenges you to look through the playful imagery to question just how much of our immediate needs act against our collective needs.

Pavlick earned a B.S. in Art Education from Penn State University in 2005. Before relocating to South Florida in 2008, she worked as an art educator in several Pennsylvania schools, as well as the managing art sales consultant for a major cruise line. An impromptu trip to the Salvador Dali museum in early 2010 inspired her to change her life and dedicate her career to painting full-time.

Pavlick has since done work for Don King Productions, Italian Vogue Editor Rushka Bergman, and her pieces can be found in the permanent collection of the Coral Springs Museum of Art, public art for the City of Delray Beach and the City of Boca Raton, the corporate collections for Double Tree Hilton (Bloomfield, MI), Loews Hotel (St. Louis, MO), Tree Top, Inc. (Selah, WA), 26 Degrees (Pompano Beach, FL), P.I.T. Fitness (Boca Raton, FL) as well as being featured by the Cornell Museum of Art (Delray Beach, FL), JF Gallery (West Palm Beach, FL), Electrica Gallery (Miami, FL), Cultural Council (Lake Worth, FL), Gallery 104 (New York, NY), The Gallery Lounge (Boca Raton, FL) and in South Florida’s vibrant culture—where her work stand tall in several local venues and private collections, including Art Critic Bruce Helander, and Boca Raton’s first large scale outdoor mural located at Diamonds by Raymond Lee: 2801 N. Federal Hwy | Boca Raton

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The first thing that I promised myself was I would have an art practice that was sustainable, being able to take care of myself was very important. I quickly learned it was important to everyone else too! I could tell everyone’s first question was ‘how do I make money’, whether they had the guts to ask was another topic.

I also knew that making art had never been a money making endeavor. Creating paintings to sell felt… not authentic, selling out, etc.– however you want to put it. The sheer thought of making art to sell made my creative well immediately shallow. Yep, you’re reading this right; exactly what I wanted to do was exactly what I did not want to do. I was making a ton of headway. I am joking here, but knowing where my intrinsic motivations were have proven to be invaluable.

Nobody could look at me from the outside and say this is what you ‘should do’, this will make you successful. In fact, nobody can ever tell you that exactly, how can they? These intrinsic motivations are going to be the only thing that gets you through the obstacles you will undoubtedly face. In using them to make my early on decisions, I tapped into a reservoir of curiosity, perseverance, and overtime I created a self reliance. Sprinkle in a dash of relentlessness, and everyone else better get out of your way!

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

The people you surround yourself with can make you or break you, right? It is up to you to find the people in your life that see your gift and encourage you to share it with the world. The family I was given handed me my first paint brush. My husband is the one that tells me everyday that I need to have the paint brush in my hand. He tells me ‘it’s like your air’.
He has watched me work day in and day out for 15 years. He watched me take over the entire first floor of our home, paint over wood floors, drip resin everywhere, stack up spray cans in our garage, only says ‘just keep going’. He knows when I need to keep working on an idea, when something is complete. Tells me to take a break, tells me to keep going. He is the one who cheers me on relentlessly even when I am standing in my own way. And he always says out loud: ‘nobody knows how hard you work’.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://kristinpavlick.com
• Instagram: @kristinpavlick