Welcome to season five, episode 25 of The Abundant Artist, the show that dispels the myth of “the starving artist” and shares how you can live an abundant life as an artist and make a living from your talent, one interview at a time.

Our guest today is Marisa S White, an award-winning artist-photographer based in Colorado. A drawing and painting major, Marisa fell in love with photography in college and eventually began to incorporate it into her work, creating mixed media collages. In 2012, she was introduced to Photoshop, and her artistic world changed forever.

“I’ve got a decent personality for sales and that has served me well.” — Marisa White

In this episode, Marisa shares her journey as an artist, why she went from art school to setting up her own payroll business to back in school learning photography, how her “decent personality for sales” has served her well, how she handles her gallery relations, and many more tidbits about her art life.

Join us for today’s podcast to learn more about Marisa’s “trials-and-errors” in life which, she believes, have got her to the point where she is now.

In this episode:

[1:20] Cory kicks off the conversation with Marisa asking how she came up with the idea for her series titled Certain These Clouds Go Somewhere.
[4:48] Cory reminisces about his growing up years in Utah, and how he resonates with Marisa’s creative feelings emanating from being surrounded by giant mountains and being in and among the clouds.
[7:19] How does Marisa describe herself – a photographer, an artist, or a collage artist?
[8:12] Marisa shares her art journey with the TAA audience, from art school to where she is today.
[11:20] How going to the Rocky Mountain School of Photography and being exposed to Photoshop there changed the course of Marisa’s art career.
[14:35] Cory asks Marisa why she decided to sell her payroll business and go back to school to learn photography.
[17:22] What does Marisa mean when she says she has “a decent personality for sales?”
[19:40] Cory compares the sales cycle in the mid-upper tier of the art market with that of enterprise software solutions.
[22:23] How Marisa loves to share the stories behind her artworks with visitors in art fairs.
[24:20] Marisa talks about her creative process.
[28:48] Why Marisa thinks that making behind-the-scenes videos of their creative process can be a bit frustrating for artists since they do a lot of things “in the moment,” but why she still recommends doing so.
[30:43] How do buyers find Marisa?
[31:40] Apart from galleries and art fairs, sales through social media have started picking up lately for Marisa.
[32:10] How does Marisa choose the art fairs she goes to?
[34:14] Why it is important as an artist to keep track of where your sales are coming from.
[36:13] Cory asks Marisa whether she has formal contracts with the galleries she is working with.
[39:46] Marisa explains how she handles her relationships with multiple galleries.
[43:10] Why is Marisa using both Photobiz and ArtStoreFronts for her website?
[45:22] Marisa is going to get her own retail space soon.
[47:31] Cory thanks Marisa for joining the podcast!

Resources mentioned:

Marisa S White’s website
Marisa’s series Certain These Clouds Go Somewhere
Marisa’s Instagram
Marisa’s Facebook
Kelli Erdmann’s Instagram (kelladactyl)

About the guest:

Marisa S White is an award-winning artist best known for seamlessly stitching multiple photographs together, weaving personal narratives through surreal and fantastical imagery. She uses surrealism to hyperbolize emotions and experiences that aren’t always so easy to put into words. Marisa has received numerous accolades for her art, is collected internationally, and has exhibited across the US and in Europe; most notably at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California. She currently resides in Colorado with her husband, whom she fondly refers to as Captain Awesome, and their two rescue fur babies.