Today we’d like to introduce you to Hillary Butler.
Hi Hillary, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I knew from a young age that I wanted to be in the creative field – I always self-identified as an artist. I did all the art I could do in high school and took lots of lessons. I started in college as an art major, got burned out, and ended up with an English and Art History degree! I taught English for a semester out of college and realized it was not for me. I got a job as an admin assistant at a tech firm (zzzzzzzz) and went back to school to get an associate’s in graphic design.
I thought I wanted to do stationery and needed computer skills to turn art into cards. I tried to find work as a designer, but the little 2008 recession thing kind of put a kink in my plans. No one was hiring! The little quick layover as an admin turned into 5 years at the tech firm and I did marketing, design, admin, & conference coordinating for them. I wore a lot of hats and kept at this very safe but boring job until I broke down and quit to pursue my art career with absolutely no idea how to do it! I was terrified, but excited to get my real career started.
I just hit the ground running from day 1. I started a blog and met with every artist who would talk to me and ask them how they made it. I started a website and started promoting it on social media. It took a long time to build traction. I would say about 2 years before I felt like I was getting steady work. I also hit a wall at about 2 years where I didn’t like what I was painting and I had a huge meltdown because work was slow and I thought I was done. I went to therapy and did a lot of soul-searching and realized that I was still playing it safe. I was painting crap because I thought it was what people wanted.
It wasn’t what people wanted because they weren’t buying it! I realized then that I had nothing to lose and started painting what I wanted to paint and to my surprise, people responded to it! At that point, I pitched a few blogs, got picked up by a few of them, and showed up at a local festival and I started to see steady growth. Instagram arose about this time and that was a fabulous way for a lot of us artists to grow our audiences. I kept seeing my business and my reach grow and I’ve continued to grow in my practice and have had some really fun opportunities come my way!
I’m honored to have worked on ABC’s hit show, Nashville, and have had the opportunity to show at Agora Gallery in New York. Several hit blogs have featured some HB work. Among these are Better Homes and Gardens, Domino, & Design Love Fest.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not always. I’ve had to figure this career out as I went – I made it all up along the way. I’ve tried to view each marketing and connecting with collector endeavor as an experiment and kept what worked and tossed out what didn’t. Every few years, the landscape around how I can move art changes and I have to be flexible to move with the times.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work in the semi-abstract world. In some of my pieces, I simply explore color & composition and in others, I explore subject matter – always infusing both genres with lots of bold color palettes!
I often hear that my color combinations are unique and draw collectors into the art. I’m most proud that 12 years into this career I am still going strong with collectors all over the US and a few across the pond!
What do you think about happiness?
Getting to wake up and get paid to have this career that is flexible around my family’s schedule makes me so incredibly happy and grateful.
There is truly nothing better than walking into my studio with my coffee, smelling all the paint, turning on my podcasts, and diving into work. It’s beyond rewarding.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hillarybutler.com
- Instagram: @hillarybutlerfineart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hillary.Butler.Fine.Art
Image Credits
The Kenneys Photography
