We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sue Dolamore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sue, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
My life has had many phases and in each one, there was purpose. Purpose travels with me and shifts and changes,in sometimes unforeseen ways. Almost as soon as I graduated from University with an education degree, my primary purpose of teaching in a public school changed to motherhood when I unexpectedly became pregnant. With the many changes that have come along in my 60+ years, I usually didn’t completely understand where life was leading me. But lead me it did and I know that I was on the right course by a gut feeling and a recognition in my heart.
My path to becoming a professional artist was not always top of mind. It had been an aspiration in my youth but I put it aside for other priorities for quite a while. But then I got to a point, when I again considered art as a meaningful pursuit for me. I knew that I had a lot to learn.
The curriculum was not mapped out in a neat package. It was gradually offered. Right place, right time, prompted, compelled, trusting, relaxing, allowing effortlessness, working through frustrations, saying yes, and sometimes saying no. By making choices that felt aligned with my intentions; that made sense practically, logically, emotionally and spiritually, I found my way.
I don’t think my “purpose finding” is done. As I age, I see new perspectives, frontiers and points of view that might enliven a new action, message, or offering. I still yearn to do more. I sense potential in the many years to come to offer more of myself, to expand and broaden by impact.
I set my intention to do good work and let go of fear, and follow my heart and see where life takes me next.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
When I was a little girl, I imagined myself as an artist, painting beautiful pictures. I sketched things from nature and ideas in my head. Later, my artworks became more expressive, sometimes incorporating symbology into my doodling. I found that visual expression could help me explore both my inner and outer world. I didn’t started painting regularly until I was 54. With no formal art training, I set out to become a professional artist. I took a painting class in a local community education setting and committed to regular practice. I joined a plein air painting group in order to learn from other professionals. Within months, I assumed responsibility for coordinating all weekly group activities. That helped me build a local network. I was juried into a cooperative art gallery where I learned to present my work, promote my art and run a gallery, eventually becoming president. I opened my own studio, to which I invite visitors at least 3 days a week. There, I learned to talk to people about my work, set up systems for tracking sales, inventory, and other business essentials.
Through those years of learning about art and business, my work has also evolved. In the last several years, I’ve been working with more spontaneity. Using bold lines and harmonious colors, I’ve loosened up. Starting with a vague idea of what I wanted to paint, I allowed the energy of the moment to guide my process. The work is unique, playful, exuberant.
With an inner drive to share and serve, teaching is another long held desire of mine. I enjoy opportunities to articulate the exciting things that I have discovered. To add more value to the pleasures of teaching, I realize how much it enhances my artistic process. I learn as I teach. All of these endeavors: painting, teaching, and learning, play off of each other and I just keep getting better, all while feeling good about my purpose.
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?
It wasn’t in the study of art where the most impact was made..it was in my spiritual and mystical life. It was learning to trust my inner voice in a big way, unwaveringly, and sometimes to do things that seemed weird, unconventional, even a waste of time …maybe…but then, those things together would lead to something innovative, different, unanticipated and exciting. Trust in the inner voice leads to confidence in the work and in the world. It enhances everything and makes the work more effortless. It is easier to be curious, disciplined, and open. I feel supported in every area of my business and life, from what to paint, to how to market my work, and even to how to streamline the business for greater efficiency. Maintaining that clear channel of guidance is key to my success.
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?
This is not just about being an artist, it is about being a fulfilled human being. The answer is to cultivate YOUR inner connection. Take time for introspection, meditation, and visioning. Open up, allow yourself to be vulnerable, to make mistakes, to look less than perfect. Exercise appreciation, learn to ask for support, to speak your truth, to establish boundaries where needed, to be generous, to be true to your word, to notice and note the positive, to get into flow, to trust effortlessness. This is life, we are all creative, we are all on the journey and the world around us is a reflection. See it, use it. Open up to it. Be grateful.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
In general, I think discerning distraction from meaningful input is a challenge. We are inundated with advice, trending algorithms, and other flashy ways to be our best. It can take some introspection to discern the most effective information from the plethora. In particular, marketing has been a challenge. Many of the current channels feel shallow. I am working towards a new paradigm that focuses on building meaningful connections. I sense a new potential that responds to the challenges to visual artists, such as AI, corporate control of social and other media, and continuing changes to the brick and mortar world of arts districts and galleries. I see us forging new paths for sharing our skills and expression. In the end, I want my work to end up where it will have a positive impact with people who are resonant…who are meant to cross my path, to be in grace mutually with me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.suedolamore.com
- Instagram: @suedolamore
- Facebook: Sue Dolamore Art
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sue-dolamore-art-studio-asheville
- Other: https://www.riverartsdistrict.com/artist/sue-dolamore/
