Chris Krupinski: 0:00

I paint every single day, I am 100% sure that the only way you are going to get better is to put the time in. So the more time you put in, you it will slowly, it will slowly change and hopefully go to the better and and so anything that you you want to improve yourself or get better, you've got to put in the time.

Laura Arango Baier: 0:29

Welcome to the bold brush show where we believe that fortune favors the bold brush. My name is Laura Rangel Baier, and I'm your host. For those of you who are new to the podcast, we are a podcast that covers art marketing techniques and all sorts of business tips specifically to help artists learn to better sell their work. We interview artists at all stages of their careers, as well as others who are in careers tied to the art world, in order to hear their advice and insights. On today's episode, we sat down with Chris krupinski, a watercolor artist and graphic designer who has been creating art throughout her life, transitioning from oils to watercolors when her children were young, she emphasizes the importance of daily practice discipline and staying true to one's artistic vision, believing that time and consistent effort are key to artistic growth, Chris approaches her paintings methodically, focusing on intricate details, dramatic lighting and purposeful color choices, which she attributes to her background in graphic design. She diversifies her income by maintaining a graphic design business while pursuing fine art and markets her work through national competitions, social media and word of mouth recommendations. Her artistic philosophy centers on being fully immersed in her work, doing everything to the best of her ability and avoiding the trap of imitating other styles. Finally, Chris reminds us sign up to her newsletter to stay updated with her gorgeous new work and fantastic advice. Welcome Chris to the BoldBrush show. How are you today?

Chris Krupinski: 1:53

I am good,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:57

and I'm so excited to have you, because when I saw your watercolors, I was blown away. It is so meticulous, so vivid. I really love the way that you capture light, which I think with watercolor, especially, that can be the biggest challenge. So I am so excited to pick your brain about your process and everything. So yeah, so, thank you for being here.

Chris Krupinski: 2:23

Yeah. I mean, I'm glad I'm here. I'd be happier if I was painting. But this is, this is, yeah, this

Laura Arango Baier: 2:29

is second best. Second best is talking about painting. Um, but, yeah. But before we dive into your gorgeous work, do you mind telling us a bit about who you are and what you

Chris Krupinski: 2:40

do? Ah, obviously, I'm an artist, and I've been an artist all of my life. I can't even I can't remember a time when I've not drawn or painted or crafted or just created. I mean, even when my kids were in high school, I was, I was the chair of the decorating committee for the all night grad party. And of course, I didn't do something small. I had to do it big and grand. So it's so creativity has always been a part of my life, and now and I also have a graphic design business. So that's also art related. So again, everything in my life is art. I couldn't imagine doing something else. I couldn't imagine not being an artist. And I do. Thank God every day that I am.

Laura Arango Baier: 3:38

Yeah, it's, it's such a wonderful career, especially when it you know, when you reach that point where you can actually make a living from it and you're doing exactly what you want to do, every day, I feel like every person I've spoken to who has this career gets up in the morning really happy to keep going. You know, Oh,

Chris Krupinski: 3:58

absolutely, you know, I have, I have in my life, I've worked at different places where it's just, it's a nine to five to to just survive, you know, because you have to make money. But then, when I started my own graphic design business, I I never looked at it as being a chore or nine to five. I loved what I was doing. When I paint, I could just paint non stop. I do have to stop to eat. I have to stop to do other things, but, but just the joy of creating is just it's overwhelming. And people I don't, people that aren't creative. I don't they're just not going to understand that.

Laura Arango Baier: 4:45

Yeah, totally, totally. It's um, yeah. It's one of those things where it's almost hard to go to sleep as well, because you don't want to stop

Chris Krupinski: 4:55

Um, well, when I'm trying to go to sleep at night, I'm planning my next. Painting in my head, and I'm trying to think, Okay, where am I going to go? What am I going to do with this? Because as I'm finishing one painting, my head's all already moved forward to the next one, but I don't start the next one until I've I've thought about it and thought about it and thought about I am not one of those spontaneous artists. I'm not and and I'm I don't knock that. I mean, I I admire those that are the ones that can just take a sheet of paper and just start painting, you know, spontaneously, with no previous thought, and then allow the painting to take them wherever it's going, but I am totally the opposite. It has to be thought out in my head. Even when I was in college, I did that if we, you know, when we had an assignment, I could never start it until it was firmly implanted in my mind. And I That's my personality. And I think every artist's personality shows to their art and how they approach it.

Laura Arango Baier: 6:07

Yeah, yeah. And actually, you mentioned a couple of things there that I think are interesting, which is, you know, how there are some of us, and I feel like it's, you know, there's, like, maybe two schools of approach when it comes to painting, and there's the planner kind of, like you, I'm also a planner. I need to have a vision like, I need to have the image very clear. And then there are people who, like you said, are very spontaneous, and they like, kind of fix it up as they go, or they continue reworking it on the canvas directly. And both of those processes are, of course, like they have the pros and cons, and they have their ways of being, but I like that you mentioned that it feels much more attached to the person's personality and how they like to approach things. Well And

Chris Krupinski: 6:49

earlier I have people or other early, early on in my career, people would see my work or other artists like jurors, and they'd say, Oh, this artist needs to loosen up. And so I listened, and I tried, and other people said, Oh yeah, I really like it. Really like it, and I didn't, I didn't like it. I didn't like the process, it, it just, it just wasn't me. And that's when I came to the conclusion our art is a mirror of ourselves and who we are and how we think. And I don't know that it's, I don't know that it's good to tell an artist, oh, you need to do this. You need to change because you're asking to them to change who they are. So now, when somebody says to me, Chris, you need to loosen up, I said, No, no, you need to tighten up. So,

Laura Arango Baier: 7:52

oh, I love that. I love that. And it's true. You know, there's like, yes, there are some characteristics that are nice, but it's so important, like you said, to be firm in yourself as well, to an extent, because or else you're going to get, you know, pushed in every which way, especially, you know, by other people who are maybe, you know, like they don't have your best intentions at heart, right? Because they're just thinking like, oh well, this is what's popular, or this is what looks good,

Chris Krupinski: 8:20

exactly. So. So I just think it's it's important to be true to yourself

Laura Arango Baier: 8:26

totally, absolutely. And also, I wanted to ask you a bit more about your process, because I remember that you mentioned to me that you actually started out with oils, and then you went over to watercolors. So I'm really curious to hear about why you ended up picking watercolors, and how that process has changed over time for you?

Chris Krupinski: 8:47

Well, when I went to school, watercolor wasn't offered as an option, it was drawing and oils and whatever. So of course, I followed the trail and ended up I used to do a lot of pen and ink because it's very detailed, and I painted in oils. And then I had kids, and so the idea of having the chemicals around and having such permanent color, all I could picture was paint everywhere. And, you know, fingerprints and paint and and whatever. And painting in oils is not so easy to just clean it up and put it away. So I tried to, I thought, Okay, where can I go with this? Because I, I mean, it's necessary for me to paint, so I had to have something to do, and pen and ink was the same thing, because ink is permanent. I know, because we had a white dog once that got into my India ink. So I needless to say, we ended up with a black dog. But I. So I thought, Okay, let me try watercolor, because, you know, it was out there. So I remember, I remember starting to paint in watercolor and fooling around with it. And I actually started a landscape in watercolor. And my father in law was an artist. He did watercolor, pastel. He did he did all media. Well, they came to visit us one weekend, and I took my mother in law and the kids out, and my father in law didn't want to go. I came back and my painting was finished. He said, Well, I just thought I'd show you what you were doing wrong and how to do this. And I said, Well, you couldn't. You could have done it on another piece of paper. But believe it or not, that was a huge help to me, you know, because he did explain what he did. I don't know if they had to paint my painting, but, but he he did show me what he did and and so I just continued. I continued along that path and and I continued to explore. But at the time, I did not like the soft, wishy washy colors that were in watercolor at the time, because everyone just paint. I mean, it was just there was no color. And I've always been a colorist. I love, love, love, love color. And so I thought I doubt that the watercolor police are going to come after me if I start using more color. So that's when I started glazing a lot in watercolor. And I started, I mean, in my watercolors today, like the fruit that I paint, most of them have 12 to 13 glazes of color, you know, to build because, for various reasons, I like that. You know, watercolor is so translucent that all the previous layers shine through. So once you're finished, you get a you get a look that you can't get with any other medium. And so now no oils for me, no pen and ink for me, just watercolor,

Laura Arango Baier: 12:17

yeah, and I can totally see that in your work. I love what you just mentioned, you know, all of those layers, because they have this beautiful, vibratory translucency, right where it just they feel alive. And then, of course, the meticulousness of the drawing, I just adds that extra layer of, oh, this is mind blowing. It's so beautiful. And of course, the protection of those lights, because I love a lot of your paintings have this gorgeous side light coming in, or this dramatic light that just washes one side, but then the other side is just so rich. And I think that's what makes it so fun to look at with your paintings.

Chris Krupinski: 12:59

So when I first started doing still lifes, I would like them head on like I would, I would, I loved early evening light, and so I would go out and I would photograph them, and the lighting was nice, but shadows were behind everything. Or, you know, because the light was hitting things directly. And I don't know exactly what had happened, but I started fooling around with lighting. Well, I stopped taking photographs outside. I Because, you know, if it rained and you felt like photographing, it just couldn't happen. Or, you know, with the place that you photographed in, if the if the leaves started coming out and casting shadows all over, that wasn't working. So I started using a photo lamp so I can even photograph at midnight, if I want to. But now I photograph in a very dark area, and I use this photo lamp, and never, ever, ever do I light from head on anymore. It's either side lighting or back lighting, because then it creates these beautiful shadows in the foreground, and and then the artist is presented with the challenge of doing something with these shadows. Because, you know, when those shadows were just behind the objects, you could get away with just a little bit of gray or something, but when they're in the foreground, they demand color, and they demand attention much more so. And so when I paint, I need to have constant challenges, so that does create a challenge. So now lighting has become extremely important in my work, and you know, it isn't my. My work's not about apples and oranges. It's about elements and the composition, and using using lighting in a different way has such a high impact on that composition, because now all of those shadows that are in the foreground become an important part of your composition. So that's where I am now,

Laura Arango Baier: 15:27

yeah, yeah. And again, it's, I feel like it's, it's funny, because usually with watercolor, right? There's a lot of watercolor that I've seen, it's very bright, it's very light. And I love that, because you emphasize the shadows so much it creates this moodiness, but it's very jewel like it's not like a depressing moodiness. It's more like a coziness that happens with all of these colors. And I really love that. And I wanted to ask you also, because since you do have your graphic design practice, do you find that there are elements of graphic design that you naturally like to implement in your artwork, or are they just very separate? Oh

Chris Krupinski: 16:06

no, they're, they're, they're very, very intertwined. Graphic Design, everything you do, has to have a reason. You can't just say, you know, if a client says to me, Well, why did you use that color? I can't just say, oh, because I liked it. That is not an acceptable reason. There has to be a reason. So it's not just color. With everything you've used, you have to have a reason. So I think that's carried over into my painting, because everything I do has a reason. You know, it's it's, for instance, when we, when I was talking about shadows before in the foreground, I will never use Kodak's color palette ever. I use my I use my photos as reference only, and I develop my own color. So in these shadows, if I, if I relied on Kodak, my shadows would be great. But I don't. I think, Okay, what am I going to use? What? What palette am I going to use in these shadows? And I pay attention to, I pay attention to color. Overall, throughout all of the shadows. So if I use a violet, you're going to see it everywhere in the shadows, and then also temperature from from warm to cools as it moves away. But all of it has a reason in my head, all of it, and I think, I think that's so important that you think about this and you have a reason for what you do, just not arbitrarily throw things down. And I think because of that, it, it just, in the end, creates a better a better painting, because it it causes you to really look at what you're doing and understand what you're doing. In fact, one time, I was doing a step by step, and what I did is, after a step, I would stop, and I would look, and I would sit down and write all my thoughts down, not just what I did, why I did it, you know, why did I put this here, and why was it important to me, and why did I use this color, and blah, blah, blah, and, you know, so that just reiterates how much time I spend Thinking about what I do. But anyway, so this is so yes, graphic, graphic design definitely has a play in my fine art.

Laura Arango Baier: 18:48

Yeah. And I would also say, you know, like you said, you know, there's color composition, but also the the visual composition is very it's so beautifully designed everything in your paintings, you can look over here, there's there's something interesting, but the eye likes to wander around, and there's always something to look at, which I think makes your work so so fun to just observe for an extended period of time, which is great. And then also, do you find that you've had any recent aha moments when it comes to painting your work?

Chris Krupinski: 19:24

No, oh gosh, I paint every single day. Back when I decided it was going to be important to me to to be a professional artist, I made a commitment to myself, and this is when I still had kids at home, I made a commitment to myself that I would paint at the minimum of two hours a day, no matter what. So Christmas Eve would find me wrapping gifts and then pull. My paints up for two hours because I I am 100% sure that the only way you are going to get better is to put the time in. And I so no, aha. Moment happens. It's like watching your kids grow. Never once did I ever say, Aha, they grew two inches because you don't see that unless you look back, and it just grows slowly and it progresses to where you're going. And I so no, but when I do look back, I do see tremendous changes, you know, and growth and and whatever. And I just attribute that to time being put in. And so the more time you put in, you it will slowly, it will slowly change and hopefully go to the better.

Laura Arango Baier: 21:05

Yeah, and that's an excellent point, yeah, especially if you know you're working on it every single day. And I love a comparison to watching your kids grow up, because it is true before you know it. You know when you look back, that's when you realize, oh my gosh, yes, there was that and, and that's also I like that you emphasize the importance of that daily practice, because it truly does make a difference. It's better to do a little bit of daily practice than one big practice, like once a week or once a month.

Chris Krupinski: 21:37

You know you can clap classes and workshops, I think are important, but they're not going to make you better unless you apply it, unless you work at it. You know, major league baseball player doesn't just go to a clinic and say, Hey, I'm good. They work at it all the time and and so anything that you you want to improve yourself or get better, you've got to put in the time

Laura Arango Baier: 22:07

totally and and on that note, too, how you know, when you started painting, and you started creating these paintings, you know, one of those things that a lot of especially younger Artists, one of these questions younger artists have is how they develop their artistic voice, which is a very funny question in the sense that you know, obviously, it's one of those things that you don't quite look for. It kind of finds you. But how has it been for you to uncover instead of discover your artistic voice,

Chris Krupinski: 22:47

time you again. I just think it's, it's the number one thing. If you paint all the time and you work all the time, you will grow within yourself, and you will just you will discover yourself, and you will continue to change. I think, I think I am lucky that the internet was not a big thing when I was younger, because there was no Facebook, there there was no Instagram. And so whenever I painted, I had to just use my head and use my vision and see, oh, that inspires me. I want to paint it. This inspires me. I want to paint it. I think sometimes people can fall into the trap today to see a lot of work online that they really like, and then they tend to copy it, or they tend to imitate what they see, rather than just do what you want to do and be who you are. Because I sometimes in the past, I'd been motivated by light hitting off of a leaf, and I'm thinking, Oh, my God, that's all the only thing I could see, and I want to paint it. And now I think sometimes we see something so much that we like online, that somebody else has done that we say, oh, I want to paint like that, and I want to imitate that. So I think we have to close that off and and just allow our own motivations. If that makes any sense,

Laura Arango Baier: 24:30

yeah, it makes perfect sense. And I totally agree there is a double edged sword quality to the internet. Of course, it's wonderful to have access to beautiful paintings that are inspiring the absolutely, yeah, but then there's a limit, right? There comes a point where you just become oversaturated and it's hard to discern your own voice or your own, I guess, your own inspiration, when it is surrounded by all of these beautiful things that it's like going to the candy store, where it's like, oh. Absolutely that one, without realizing that maybe mixing that chocolate flavor with that other flavor with that other flavor isn't the best combination.

Chris Krupinski: 25:11

I have found myself seeing images online, you know, other artwork of landscapes, even. And I'll save them thinking, Oh, maybe I'll try something like that someday. But then after a while, I think, no, no, that's somebody else's. You know, then I will, I will delete it. But I find it's an easy trap to fall into,

Laura Arango Baier: 25:40

totally, totally. And, I mean, one of the things that I've heard that I think is kind of useful is limiting, right your your say, your influences, quote, unquote, obviously, paying close attention to yourself. But also, if you're a fan of one or two or three painters, I feel like three is the maximum. Two would probably be okay. Um, just so you're not, you know, finding yourself trapped in, like, that cycle of like, Oh, I like that over there, and I like that over there, and I like that over there, and suddenly you're doing all these three different things that have little to nothing to do with what you would actually be doing, kind of like you said, like, that's someone else's landscape. I'm probably never going to do that. And that's okay.

Chris Krupinski: 26:20

Yes, it is. But if you, if you try to do too much, then you find yourself not going in your own direction. You're just all over the place. And I don't know when that happens if you can really, be really satisfied with what you're doing, because again, it gets comes back to you need to find your own voice,

Laura Arango Baier: 26:43

totally, totally and actually, you just reminded me too, because you know there's like this when you're working every day, right as an artist, or even if you have your foot in two different careers like you that are very, very close to it. Anyway, it also becomes a little bit harder to, you know, be focused on your own work. So obviously, you see all these other pieces and they're gorgeous, and there's almost like a feeling of burnout, also, in terms of, like, all of the stimulus that's coming in because of the internet and all of these amazing paintings that suddenly are like, Whoa, how have you handled burnout?

Chris Krupinski: 27:33

So way back when, and it's this is even before I started doing still lifes. Now I had just started doing still lives, but I used to do a whole lot of sell, a whole lot of work to eat and park restaurants. They'd buy 25 paintings a year, and they would commission me to do whenever they were opening a new restaurant in an area. They would commission. They would send me photos and commission me do paintings that they would hang in their restaurants. They didn't hang them to sell. They just used them as decor. Sales were nice then, but boy, did I have I have demand on me. I had to keep these and so I found myself painting so much and not painting what I necessarily wanted to do. You know, commissions are just a totally different animal. You know, because I think when you're painting something that inspires you, I don't know if, if you ever reach burnout, it's painting because you have to. And I think that, I think that causes a burnout. I think if it's if it's, uh, following your motivation, I don't know that you can burn out. I don't know you. Because I know now I'm I never feel that burnout. But back then i i I would get up, and I think when you think to yourself, Oh, I could paint or Oh no, the bathroom needs cleaned, and you choose the bathroom, you know something is wrong with your art. And so I think it's when you follow your heart, I don't know that burnout happens.

Laura Arango Baier: 29:18

Yeah, that's a really good point, because when you're really enjoying something and it really fulfills you, it almost gives you more energy, kind of like how, you know, you wake up in the morning, it's like, that's first thing I want to do, the last thing you think of before you go to sleep. You know, it's that makes, that's an excellent point. And I think, if anything, that would be a very good marker of someone who maybe is too influenced, maybe by other paintings or other things that aren't necessarily their inner voice. Because if it's that easy to get pulled away and also that easy, quote, unquote, to get burned out by it, then that's yeah, I would also say it's also big. Marker. I'm not following your authentic, you know, path.

Chris Krupinski: 30:04

I find that sometimes when I start a painting and start getting into it, and I had interest in doing this painting to begin with, but maybe, maybe I wasn't inspired as much as I should be, and as I'm painting it, I find my interest just draining and and it's becoming a chore now, and I'm finding, oh, you know what it leaves my it leaves my drawing table, and I put it away, because maybe someday my interest will be sparked again. But I find that I always have to have an excitement in me about work. So when I'm I'm working on one now that I'm excited, I'm excited to see where it's going. And, you know, after, after every day of painting and I put it aside, I, you know, it's I can't wait to get back to it tomorrow, because I still have all of that enthusiasm, and I think you have to listen to that too, because if you start getting bored with it or whatever, walk away.

Laura Arango Baier: 31:13

If you've been enjoying the podcast. And also want to be able to ask our guests live questions, then you might want to join our monthly BoldBrush live webinars where our guest artists discuss marketing tips, share inspiring stories and answer your burning questions in real time, whether you're a seasoned painter or just starting your creative journey, this is your chance to connect, learn and spark new ideas, and whether you're stuck on a canvas or building your creative business, this is where breakthroughs happen. Don't miss out. Ignite your passion and transform your art practice by joining us. Our next BoldBrush Live Webinar is coming up on June 19, with our special guest, John Lasseter, you can find the sign up link in the show notes at BoldBrush, we inspire artists to inspire the world, because creating art creates magic, and the world is currently in desperate need of magic. BoldBrush provides artists with free art, marketing, creativity and business ideas and information. This show is an example. We also offer written resources, articles and a free monthly art contest open to all visual artists. We believe that fortune favors the bold brush, and if you believe that too, sign up completely free@boldbrushshow.com that's B, O, L, d, b, r, U, S, H show.com. The BoldBrush Show is sponsored by Faso. Now, more than ever, it's crucial to have a website when you're an artist, especially if you want to be a professional in your career. Thankfully, with our special link, faso.com, forward slash podcast, you can make that come true and also get over 50% off your first year on your artist website. Yes, that's basically the price of 12 lattes in one year, which I think is a really great deal, considering that you get sleek and beautiful website templates that are also mobile friendly, e commerce, print on demand in certain countries, as well as access to our marketing center that has our brand new art marketing calendar. And the art marketing calendar is something that you won't get with our competitor. The art marketing calendar gives you day by day, step by step, guides on what you should be doing today right now, in order to get your artwork out there and seen by the right eyes so that you can make more sales this year. So if you want to change your life and actually meet your sales goal this year, then start now by going to our special link, faso.com, forward slash podcast. That's F, A, S, o.com, forward slash podcast, yeah. And you know what that brings up, another really interesting thing, which is, if you're bored, how will the viewer feel when they see it too, because I feel like subconsciously, the way we feel about our work seeps into the work itself. You know, if it's not hitting the spot for you, and sure, there are some points of painting that might get quote unquote boring, but there's still, like, this feeling of like you step back and you still think, ah, but it's amazing. And I want to just keep going, even though this section right here is a little boring, right now, that's a big difference from like, Oh, this is I don't want to do this. I don't want to see this painting anymore, exactly. And you know what? There's like I feel like for some artists, and I've gone through this, there's a feeling of shame that comes attached to not finish a painting or to have to set it aside. But I think it's so silly. It's like, well, that's okay to to abandon a painting. You know, you have to finish,

Chris Krupinski: 34:30

necessarily abandoning it. It's where your head is while you're doing it. Maybe a year from now, you'll look at it and say, hey, you know what I could do that? You know, you can be in a totally different frame of mind when you look at it, and then you get inspired all over again. And as far as what you mentioned before, you know, I do a lot of quilts, and some of those quilts have small patterns in them. And. Repetitive patterns, yes, so those are boring. I can sit and just mindlessly paint that area, but it's not that does not make the painting less motivating to me. That's an area that has to be finished, but as part of the overall it's still stimulating for me. You know, there are some other paintings that aren't working for me, and it's not even doing that meticulous little thing. It's just the overall painting isn't, just isn't exciting me anymore. And that's okay, that's that's fine. Go on to something that does excite you Exactly, yeah, that's why I'm not excited about commissions, because there, to me, commissions are painting out of somebody else's head.

Laura Arango Baier: 35:52

Yeah, yeah. And of course, you you have a commitment to your vision as well, which we were discussing a bit before, and how you know once you have that vision and you know where it's going to go once another person or another person's vision tries to come in, it's really hard to let go, especially when you're you know, a very passionate individual who just believes so deeply in their vision, because it's You know, something that you have worked on before, and have known intuitively, like every time I've had this gorgeous vision, it has, you know, created a beautiful image, and I'm going to trust that forever I understand it. I mean, not. I feel the commissions aren't for everybody. It takes a very specific type of person.

Chris Krupinski: 36:38

And then there are commissions, and then there are commissions. There are commissions where you're basically given an outline of exactly what you need to do. And then other commissions are, well, I kind of would like something like this, so you do it, and they're leaving it totally up to you. Well, then you can find an inspiration in that. But whenever they're telling you exactly what they want, then you're doing a paint by number, you know? So, yeah, I don't like commissions,

Laura Arango Baier: 37:10

yeah. I mean, it's one of those things, if you don't have to, and you have other means of income that can replace that, then go for it. But if you love commissions, go for it. You know. Again, that's one of the wonderful things about this career too, is that we have so many different avenues of income streams that can, you know, work within our boundaries and our own parameters and how we like to work. Like, yes, there's, there are moments where we should, you know, try to grow a little bit, but at the same time, if you already know something's working and you already know how you like to work, then it can be good to remain in that if it's a fruitful thing. So totally, absolutely yes. And actually, really curious to know too. Since you have your foot in graphic design and also painting, what was it like for you when you decided first of all to go full time with your graphic design and also become a painter? What was that jump like for you?

Chris Krupinski: 38:13

Well, my husband died in 1995 and I had three young kids, and I was a stay at home mom, and I was PTA vice president, his little league player agent. I was a Girl Scout leader, everything that a stay at home mom does, and and then it was just a sudden loss and and here I was with three kids, 12 and under, and I had to provide for them, and that was a scary time. And I had, I had been a graphic designer, and back in the day when they used t squares and rubber cement. And now at that time,

Laura Arango Baier: 39:06

Photoshop, Illustrator,

Chris Krupinski: 39:10

in design, all of the all of the software programs are what designers were using, and I didn't know them, so I went back to school full time just to learn all the computer programs. The same time. I was still painting every day. I continued to be PTA vice president. I continued, player agent. I continued, Girl Scout leader. Oh, my God, I don't know. I fit 48 hours into a 24 hour time period. So because I had volunteered to do all of these things, I had a lot of I had a lot of help out there as far as finding me graphic design jobs, because I thought I need to start my. Own business, because my kids have just lost a parent, and if I went out to work full time, they would lose another half a parent, and I didn't want that for them, because they were my primary, uh, care at that time. So I started my own graphic design business. I got quite a bit of work. I still found my two hours a day to paint, and so I started graphic design full time, and I'm going to tell you what, after a while, I was the best dressed girl in front of my computer because I had no time to do anything else. It was. It was very rewarding, and I used still painting every day. So I still have my graphic design business, although I've cut it back quite a bit to allow fine art to creep in there and take out up a lot more of my time. And that's happened slowly over the years that I can't there is nothing outside of my husband dying. There is nothing that ever has happened all of a sudden that has had an impact on me. Besides that, everything else has just been gradual. I don't know. I don't know if that answered your

Laura Arango Baier: 41:09

question. It did, yeah, you know, it's, uh, I think it's so interesting, you know, to be able to have had, you know, the strength to be like, Wow. You know, this incredibly unexpected thing just happened. I still want to be there for my kids, and I'm going to do anything possible to make sure that I can remain with them as much as I can. That's incredibly amazing. Just the getting up and being like, I'm going to do this. I'm going to make it work. And it's great that you also had a support system, of course, you know, and you also had other people who were, you know, maybe word of mouth, like, Oh, she's doing this, and this is what we need. And it slowly grew. And I think one of the, I feel like one of the things that you've mentioned already, which is time, right? It's one of those elements that is the component to growing, not just as an artist, but as a person, as a business. You know time is so imperative, and I think also because today, we're so stuck in this fast paced environment, type of world where, like, the internet is fast and everything has somehow become faster and faster, that we forget that things take time, and you can't rush that,

Chris Krupinski: 42:23

yeah, except for Amazon, you can have things tomorrow,

Laura Arango Baier: 42:27

exactly,

Chris Krupinski: 42:29

no, but it is important. It's, it's, it's, nobody changes in a moment's notice. It nothing does. Everything has to be built over time and and comes to life over time. You know, I remember I used to. I can be a very impatient person. I can't wait. I want I need this done. I need this done. I can, but even with my art, back in the day, I thought I want to be able to finish a painting in a day, but I'm not that kind of painter. There are, and I'm not discounting that there are, and they're wonderful, but I'm not. And so I would find myself rushing to finish a painting because I was getting impatient, and then I realized that they wouldn't work that way. So I found, as soon as I start getting impatient, walk away, because come back when you're patient again and and you know, because otherwise you're going to start this detailed, careful painting, and then it's going to become a mess if you just try to hurry it. So you just have to respect time,

Laura Arango Baier: 43:48

definitely, definitely things. It's like a I had a teacher at art school, and he used to tell us, like, your career is going to take at least 10 years. So 10 years, and that's the average, right? It could be more, it could be a little less, but I have found that 10 years is a good estimate, and it also, you know, when you think about it, like, Wow, 10 years, that's a long time, but before you know it, 10 years past, like, it just goes faster and faster each year. But yeah. And then also, one of the things I wanted to ask you, too is, how have you diversified your income as an artist?

Chris Krupinski: 44:28

So I did teach for a while. I I'm not a teacher. I don't I don't like teaching, because I'd rather, I'd rather do it than teach it. And so I will do other small things, like I, you know, I'll jury shows, I'll do other I'll do other things. But I find that my graphic. Design business is what supports my habit. You know? I don't I, I, I love graphic design. I enjoy it because it's creating. It's very creative. You know, you don't it's you can allow it to be what you want it to be. So I I'm happy. It's another thing I get up in the morning, and if I have a graphic design project, I don't find that work. I love it, so I enjoy doing it. And the fact and graphic design is very lucrative, so it does support my habit. And so I, I just decided to stop teaching because I didn't like what I was doing, and so that's where I make my money.

Laura Arango Baier: 45:50

Yeah, yeah. And, of course, I also love the other thing that you mentioned, which is you don't like teaching, therefore you find a way to make things work for you, so you don't have to do that. I mean, I also, I have tried teaching. It's fun. I also find that it's very draining. It takes so much energy. It takes it, it really takes it out of you. It feels like, once you're done, like your cup is empty and you don't even have the strength or energy to paint your own work, because it's just so much that you have to give.

Chris Krupinski: 46:21

When I would do workshops, I'd find day two, I'd watch everybody be painting, and I'm thinking to myself, wish I was painting. Wish I was them,

Laura Arango Baier: 46:31

yeah, yeah, even though you could do a demo. But then once you're when you're doing the demo, you just get so lost and so focused that it's really hard to jump in and out of that focus. And I totally relate to that. So of course, once again, you know, you've decided, okay, I don't want permissions. I also don't really want to teach. So this is the way that I'm going to make things work for me so that I can continue to do what I love. And that's, you know, that's something that is really important for other artists to hear too, because they might be like, Oh, I gotta teach, or, Oh, I should do this. It's like, no, no.

Chris Krupinski: 47:04

I think most artists have to subsidize their passion in other ways. Because, you know, art, selling art is is a chore and and, like I said, most artists have to look elsewhere. And for me, graphic design works. And I think, I think it's important to find what works for you, what what keeps you happy, because in the end, we want to all be happy with what we're doing.

Laura Arango Baier: 47:36

Totally Yeah, and and again, you know, if, like, if someone was just trying to jump into art full time, and they didn't have that, you know, economic stability, or that constant looming fear, right? If you have that constant looming fear, you won't be able to pay your bills next month. It's okay to have a job. It's okay to have a day job. You'll make time for your paintings. It might suck at first, because of you know, you're going to be tired from work, but hey, you know what? If you if you pick a job you actually enjoy, suddenly it's not so burdensome on you to be able to pick two hours, maybe before work or after work, to just sit and do the thing you enjoy. And hey, if you sell something, wow, that's more income that's coming in, right? So it's good to have that balance and that, you know, lack of economic pressure, because, personally, I would be freaking out so bad I would just be creatively blocked. I don't think I'd be able to paint if I felt that looming fear of, oh my god, how am I going to eat next week? You

Chris Krupinski: 48:35

know, exactly, exactly, because you have to take care of all aspects of your life. You know, you have to make sure you're comfortable in everything that you do,

Laura Arango Baier: 48:47

totally, totally. And also, you know, in terms of marketing, what are some of the ways that you have sold your artwork? And then also, you know, what are some of the ways that you've been able to maybe have a network as well for your graphic design business, because I find that very interesting

Chris Krupinski: 49:05

too. Well. First of all, with my art, although I knocked Facebook and Instagram before, they're wonderful, wonderful outlets to to have your work be seen, I also enter a lot of, an awful lot of national competitions and shows, and I've sold work through those and through them, people just, it's name recognition. And when people start to get to know you, you know, maybe they'll look you up online and see your website. And I've had sales off my website, you know, sight unseen, which sometimes shocks me, because I think art needs to be seen, and when people just buy it off my website without ever seeing it, it just blows my mind. But that's today. I think people are i I'm going off on a tangent here, but I think. People. I think people today like being able to buy, you know, from the comfort of their home, without having to go and look at it. But so between the two, between shows and social media, I've, I've gained some a decent following. I also think, because of what I do my still lifes, I think they're just very recognizable. I put it as i There are artists that I can recognize as soon as I walk into a gallery. I do not need to walk up and see their name. I look at it from across the room, and I know whose it is, and I think it's important to develop that, to develop that for yourself as an artist, you know that recognition, that of your work, and as far as my graphic design, like I said, I volunteered a lot, like I said, PTA, all this stuff. And it's amazing how when you're volunteering, you meet other people that are volunteering, and volunteers tend to be very DO IT people, and they're the ones that you know. Through them, I got a lot of work and just word of mouth from the work I got from them to other places. I was in Fairfax, Virginia when I first started my design business. And you know, and that's the hub of all government, and there were so many associations in DC that you know, and people that know each other and talk and, oh, I need a designer. Do you know anybody? And so, but the same as as fine art, you've got to be good at what you do. You know, otherwise you're otherwise people are not going to recommend you unless you're you're good. I'm not. I'm I'm not doing this. I it just, you know, I like what I do. I care about what I do, so I put myself into it. You know, it's not, I don't think, oh, I want to finish this job so that I can get another one. When I'm in the job I'm just creating. I'm I'm not even thinking of where it's going to go, or is this going to lead to something else. I'm totally immersed into what I'm doing. That's both with fine art and design. I immerse myself fully in whatever I'm working on currently,

Laura Arango Baier: 52:30

totally and it's a fact too. What you said, you know, you have to be good at what you do, and that takes time, of course.

Chris Krupinski: 52:39

Go right back to the time thing, see,

Laura Arango Baier: 52:43

yeah, time. And also, you know that having that economic, I guess, support to be able to give yourself that time to practice and to, you know, get better at what you do, because, and a discipline,

Chris Krupinski: 52:55

you have to have a discipline. It's, it's easy to get sidetracked, you know, if, if you're in the middle of something and somebody calls and says, Hey, you want to go do this, how many times you think, oh, yeah, that sounds like fun. Let me go do this. And how many times I'd have to say, Oh, I'm I'd love to, but I'm in the middle of something right now, you it's discipline. Discipline so important again, it comes, you know, whenever I put every whenever I committed myself to two hours a day, that's a discipline, and you have to live up to that. It's, there's so many factors, yeah, yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 53:35

And actually, it just reminded me of a quote that I recently heard, and I loved it, and that is, self discipline is the highest form of self respect, because you know you're set, you're setting that boundary right. If someone like, like you just said, someone says, oh, let's go out and go do this really quick. It's like, sorry, I promised myself that I would be doing this instead. So I have to say no, but we can schedule for a time when I can say yes, because I'm busy and I have to prioritize these things in order to make sure that I feel good and that I'm okay again. You can't give from an empty cup, right? You have to absolutely yeah, oh, man, um, but yeah, there's so much that goes into it. And one of the things that I that you mentioned, that really reminded me a little bit of what you said about how you've been able to sell your work is also that, in the graphic design aspect, it's also word of mouth, right? It's also people being like, Oh, I heard about this person, and they do such an excellent job, and I can totally recommend them. And I feel like that's that's so common within the art world, but we forget that it's also common and outside, you know, in worlds outside of the art world, where your work speaks for itself, right? That's again, back to the it is the fact that you have to do something really well, right? You can't sell like something that doesn't work, or doesn't, you know, even look good, because that's just putting the cart for. For the horse, right? The horse pulls the cart, and that's beautiful work, and that's how you keep it going. Oh, and then the importance of community. My

Chris Krupinski: 55:09

whole life, anything that I would do, anything, I don't care what it was, anything, I'm not going to do it unless I can do it to the very best of my ability. Because if you do it to the very best of your ability, you're going to have a good time with it if you just do it, because, oh, I committed to this now I have to do this. You, you're not going to be happy. You're not going to do a good job. It's just, it's just a waste of everybody's time. But if you, if so, only say yes when you mean it, yes, that even means to yourself, you know,

Laura Arango Baier: 55:52

totally Yeah, because there's like, I feel like I relate to that so much, like, if, you're going to do something, why would you do it? You know, mediocrely, you know, it's if you're not going to do it with your heart, right, or with all that passion, just say no, you know, yeah, and then you can use that energy for something else, because that's totally fine. Um, but, yeah, I totally relate to that. Because I feel the same about how I cook, I feel the same about how I knit, how I paint,

Chris Krupinski: 56:28

absolutely everything. Yeah, I would, I would plan when I was working with the kids, like I said that on all night grad party. Well, I said, Yes, that I'm going to, I'm going to do this decorating committee. This is going to be the best almond grad party ever. And in your head, you have to say that to yourself, so you get your whole team excited. You're excited, and you don't feel like you're wasting your time, or you don't say, oh gosh, I I committed to this. So now I have to do it, because that attitude with anything is going to create something that's half baked. So if you get excited, and that goes with your artwork, that goes with my graphic design, that if you commit yourself and be excited about it, and you're going to do the best job, you can, more likely you'll succeed.

Laura Arango Baier: 57:24

Totally, totally. It's, it's one of those things, attitude changes everything, like you said, Oh, yeah. And then, do you have any final pieces of advice for someone who wants to become a full time artist?

Chris Krupinski: 57:42

Yeah. I do take a few classes to teach you the basics, to get you started. Do not become a workshop junkie, because that's not going to get you better the you need to you need to find things, you need to learn the basics, and then you need to find things that you can apply to you, and then you put the time in. Again, we get back to that. And that is, to me, that's the key to everything. I don't I often wonder what talent is I you know that is such a gray area and such a gray word, if you ask me, because is talent, your ability to see is talent, your your mind opening up to something. I mean, I can move my hand really straight. I can draw a straight line without a ruler. Is that talent, or is that just my muscle? It's just so I think talent is more a predisposition to like something, or to have an interest in something, you know, to be able to focus on something. But I don't think, I don't think I was born with a brush in my hand being able to create a painting. I think that maybe I've always been predisposed to see things, maybe a little bit differently. So I've always questioned, what is talent, and I've never gotten a good response from anybody. So I think the most important thing is time above all time.

Laura Arango Baier: 59:39

Yeah, that's become the theme of today's episode. You think, yeah, and I totally agree again, that time is something that you can't rush, and because you can't rush it, you might as well enjoy it. Enjoy all the time. Cool. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Oh, man. I. Then I wanted to ask you, too, do you have any upcoming exhibitions, or is there anything that you are preparing for that you would like to promote?

Chris Krupinski: 1:00:09

I moved. I moved at the beginning of December to the Philadelphia area from Cincinnati, so it was a long move, and I am just getting my feet wet here I it was, it was so cold for so many months when we moved here, I, I, I thought twice about going out to the mailbox, you know, I just didn't want to leave my house. So I kind of put everything on hold, except for painting. I still paint every day, and I still enter shows, but I'm trying to find my way around here. You know, I still have my guy, I still have a gallery in Cincinnati, and I'm going, I'm look, I'm going to be looking for representation in this area. I find I've been approached by a few galleries nationwide, and opted not too many times because shipping has become so horrendous, shipping and and even gallery commissions. You know, it's sometimes I like when one when my paintings sell, I like to be happy with the sale, but when you start paying high commissions and shipping costs and you end up with less than 40% or less than less than 50% let's say around 40% of your asking price, it's not always a good feeling. So I so anyway, that being said, I like, I like local representation, because then I can drive Exactly, yeah, and that's so right now, nothing's going on until I, until I figure out what's going on around here.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:02:00

Got it awesome. But then if someone does want to see your work, where can they see it?

Chris Krupinski: 1:02:06

Art collected gallery in Cincinnati, actually designed their logo for

Laura Arango Baier: 1:02:12

them. Oh, cool. That's awesome. Yeah. And then what is your website?

Chris Krupinski: 1:02:19

It's Chris pinsky.com, easy, easy, easy. Yes, I get these. I get these emails all the time from these developers that are telling me my website isn't getting me all of the they don't have all of the keywords for me to get high Google rankings. And I just think I don't need high Google rankings, because all they need to know is my name. And if they Google my name, they will find me, because what else are they going to look I mean, if they're looking for painting, they're just not going to say, Oh, I'm going to I'm going to put watercolor in there. So all they need to know is my name. So it's chriscorpinski.com

Laura Arango Baier: 1:03:02

So and then, of course, I'll include your links in the show notes as well, along with your social media and yeah. Well, thank you so much, Chris.

Chris Krupinski: 1:03:12

Anybody can sign up for my email newsletter. Please just go to my website and sign up. And my email, although I don't teach, I find it's important in my email newsletters, I explain a lot about how I approach my painting, why I choose the colors I do, why I've just made the decisions that I do. Because I think it's important to understand how an artist thinks, not just to see their work and for them to tell you, this has won an award, or this does this. I like to talk about why I've done what I've done.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:03:51

Yes, absolutely. And that's one of the in my opinions, that's one of the biggest keys to learning from someone is understanding where they're coming from, and why they're approaching something in a certain way. So that sounds really awesome. Well, thank you so much, Chris for the wonderful advice and for being a guest on the show. Well, thank you. Yeah, of course you.