We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Laura Petka. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Laura below.
Laura, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
Keeping my creativity alive as an Abstract Artist ebbs and flows with my stages of life. There are times where the paint hits the canvas and my visions come to life seamlessly and times when the layers of paint never convey into a finished painting.
Creativity is heavily based on my surroundings. As a mom of four young kids, there are daily speed bumps that slow me down in tandem with the excitement and joy of our kids that fill me up with ideas. The more I put paint to palette, the more the creativity flows.
Ideas come from the cues of life – what connects us all, what’s connected in our own lives and the multitude of things going on at any given time. Translating thoughts of life into colors and textures on a canvas is invigorating.
With creativity comes self-doubt though. Am I good enough? Will people buy my art? Social media has a big impact on that in our world, yet it’s also a way I connect with clients and they get to know the artist behind the paintings. I find myself more creative when I stay off scrolling through social media because it leads to comparison and doubt, so I try to quickly do posts that engage and tell my story. I haven’t found a balance and think the battle will continue, but I stay conscious of it.
When my creativity is lacking, I pray for the Lord to fill my spirit and I trust He gave me this gift of creativity for a reason. I know God has a plan and will guide my hand, all I have to do is pick up the paintbrush. That’s when the ideas really flow!
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?
Painting has been a passion of mine all my life. I began selling my art 6 years ago but took 3 years off when we had twins and one with a critical illness. These last two years I have painted more than ever before and sold more works than ever before! I’m creating pieces that are captivating, exciting, bold and elevate the room. I’m putting what’s in my mind to canvas and it’s so fulfilling as an Abstract Artist.
I studied art briefly in college until I wasn’t sure I could make a living doing it, then I ended up having my dream job as the Director at a high-end art gallery in Dallas. Two kids later, it didn’t make sense for me to keep working and I wanted more time with our kids.
My husband encouraged me to start painting again and as I did, the pieces would sell to friends. A few years later, we had twins and I paused for a while. The priority had to be our son’s health and keeping our family afloat as Hayes (one of the twins) lived in hospitals. Through all those hardships, the Lord delivered and brought us a miracle with Hayes health, then I started painting again.
These last two years I’ve poured more time and energy into my paintings than ever before, regularly setting goals and using this gift of creativity that I was blessed with. I hope to continue to grow as an Artist, I hope my pieces reach those who have been searching for original art and I hope my work continues evolving to press the limits of my mind.
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 three things that I think really mattered for me were – not listening to the fear of “am I good enough”, a past knowledge and understanding of painting and knowing my market.
After leaving the gallery world, I saw a void in the market for obtainable, large-scale, original art. I wanted to create large paintings for large walls, so people didn’t need to buy prints to fill a wall. I always knew where my market was and although it took many stages of life for me to get here, it was worth the wait!
There are times you need to pause, life gets in the way of your passion or you have lost the desire. I’d encourage those folks to never let it go. Keep persevering and keep pushing yourself to come back to your passion.
I was lucky I had a past in art but it doesn’t always have to be that way. Pick up the cheapest paint at the store and just start playing. There’s always time to learn more, I still am as well!
That’s what I tell my son – we never quit learning, even I’m still learning how to be a better artist! If we all quit learning, how would we ever get better?
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
Dedicating the time to painting that I’ve always wanted to spend! This year I made a goal to make painting a top priority and say No to other things. The other daily things that don’t matter but take up time and you know what, I didn’t even miss them!
Having four young kids there are always a million things going on that can pull you in all different directions. I realized saying No to events and activities freed up so much more time for me to paint. And it has paid off. I’m creating the paintings I want and my ideas and concepts are coming more freely than ever before.
I knew I wanted to grow my business but I hadn’t yet dedicated the time I really needed in order to grow. Along with growing was a big learning curve in other areas. I needed to build a new website that was shopable, I needed to be more diligent about photographing works once they were completed and I needed to give my clients and followers a view into the artist behind the paintings. All those are very out of my comfort zone but necessary for growing.
I struggle with time management daily and still hate dedicating time to the “extras” of running a business – but I know they are necessary to get to where I want to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://laurapetkaart.com
- Instagram: https://LauraPetka.Art
- Facebook: Laura Petka
- Linkedin: Laura Petka
Image Credits
@ben_fitzgerald_media
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
