We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Payton Hurley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Payton below.
Payton, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
My artistic journey began when I lived in Los Angeles back in 2017. I was really pursuing music but I was receiving more energy in visual art as I stepped into a new part of myself. I began creating art using the women’s figure and soon after, moved to New Orleans where my style only further developed, eventually taking on a life of its own through a series I now call “The Blooming Bodies.”
The series began as a sort of series of love letters to the parts of myself that I felt at odds with. Most of us create versions of ourselves to survive certain childhood environments and situations we are forced to endure growing up, and to our own detriment we internalize them. Once these are buried beneath insecurity and fear, we have trouble accessing those parts of who we are. I thought if I began to address the repressed parts of myself they might become more accessible and lead to small breakthroughs. So along my journey I tried to create a more tangible embodiment of specific feelings through art and the tangles of doubt and fear that kept me from breaking through to them.
My mind is often in chaos, and nature has always been the one thing that grounds me, so naturally that became an important symbolism in my work. The women I draw are woven with various plants, vines, flowers and elements
of nature. These elements represent the need to face pieces of our being that we fear and open our minds to the lessons they are trying to teach us. Only then can we continue to bloom fully and embody our truest selves. We can let these ‘stained pieces of self’ control us or turn them into our own power. There is something to learn from the places of feeling stuck or lost. The important part is that we choose to face it with a brave and bold heart. I like to think of living boldly as encouraging ourselves to be exactly as we are at each state in our journey. Allowing growth towards the version of ourselves that exists in our most powerful and peaceful state of mind. Realizing this for myself helped me find purpose in spreading this message to as many people as possible.
The Blooming Bodies descriptions began to morph into messages to people around me who I noticed were struggling or who inspired me with their strength and resilience, so I started creating the meanings behind my work in a way that anyone struggling with that same emotion would be able to resonate with those words and imagery. To capture minds that were burdened with self hatred, insecurity, imposter syndrome, lack of self worth, and encourage them to step back and see a version of themselves they may not have recognized before. To remind them of the power in simply being themselves.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a freelance women and LGBTQIA empowerment artist and singer/songwriter. I have moved back and forth between these two passions
my entire life trying to find a balance that works for my creative flow. Both avenues of creation are extremely driven by my emotions. My art is created to softly awaken others to their full potential and inspire people to find the versions of themselves that exist in their most peaceful state of mind. My music is more of a personal story and is always the outlet I find myself returning to in my lowest moments. This coming year I am really excited about bringing these two elements of creation together while I work on recording some of my originals and designing artwork for an eventual album. I have been working towards authentically combining these passions for about 13 years and it is such an exciting moment in my life to be so close to being able to do so.
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?
I did not have much formal training in either of the passions I ended up pursuing, I did receive an art degree that was most helpful in showing me what I did not want which ultimately led me to what I did. I just went with the flow of my journey and what called to me at the time.
I lived in LA for a short period of time and I did learn a lot about the kind of creator I wanted to be. I realized that I wanted to define a strong sense of self before I broke out into the world and shared who I was. I wanted to know how
to come back to myself and ground within so in the moments of doubt and burn out I knew where home was. This helped me grow and change in a healthy way that felt most genuine to me. This grounding practice ended up being the most meaningful tool along my journey because being a successful creative human means something different to everybody, and that pressure and expectation is real. I spent years chasing an idea of what I thought I wanted based on how others defined success only to realize that I was chasing a version of life that wasn’t right for me.
So I would say just make sure you are only answering to your personal journey while you grow, change, and create. Honor who you are and what you want to add to this world, not who others want you to be and what they might want from you.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am definitely open to collaborations, my dream is to own a beach side studio where I can run art classes, open mic nights, concerts, dance classes, yoga, meditations, eco-printing and handmade papermaking workshops. Basically a place to bring together all of my passions and a supportive local community of creatives. I want to be able to support local women and LGBTQIA artists and musicians and have them come together to create even more beauty.
I am moving to St. Petersburg Florida this coming April so I would love to connect some of the local creatives there, but am always open to talking about long distance collaborations and have done so with a few local women owned companies around the U.S.
I also run eco-printing and papermaking workshops and am always looking to bring these offerings to local schools, organizations and events. If you are interested in offering any of these workshops in your space, collaborating through music, art, or coming together to put on local creative events in St. Petersburg I would love to hear from you! You can message me through the channels below, thank you!
Instagram @PaytonHurleyArt
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (Text Only Please) 772-497-4110
Contact Info:
- Website: PaytonHurleyArt.com
- Instagram: @PaytonHurleyArt
