How to Find Your Voice, Grow Confidence, Develop Thick Skin, and Grow Your Business with Kristy Gordon

Art & Cocktails

Feeling stuck? Overwhelmed by trying to put pressure on art sales and feel like it's interfering with your studio practice? Look no further than this inspiring conversation with award-winning artist Kristy Gordon who learned a framework that helped her find her artistic voice. We also chat about allowing your intuition guide your work and finding income streams to support you in the process.

On this episode of Art & Cocktails, Kat chats with Kristy about her journey, how she got unblocked, how to grow thicker skin as an artist and more!

Episode Highlights:

• Kristy shares her journey of wanting to be an artist from childhood, navigating initial doubts, and eventually finding her artistic voice after overcoming fears and artistic blocks.
• She discusses her early work, colorful and multi-figure paintings exploring themes of identity and self-perception, and how it laid the foundation for her current style.
• Advice for artists struggling to connect their vision with their skill, emphasizing the importance of intuition alongside technical training.
• Balancing the demands of social media exposure with maintaining a peaceful studio practice, including strategies for sharing work-in-progress without compromising vulnerability.
• Navigating relationships with galleries, prioritizing open communication, and maintaining a strong partnership while honoring one's artistic process.
• Kristy's multi-faceted income streams, including teaching and online courses, as stable supplements to painting sales, offering stability and creative fulfillment.
• Strategies for coping with criticism, including developing a thick skin, seeking support from trusted peers, and understanding that not everyone will immediately resonate with one's artistic direction.

About Kristy Gordon: Kristy Gordon has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, and China at venues including the European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona, and the National Academy Museum in New York City. She received a BFA from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2011 and an MFA from The New York Academy of Art in 2013. As a three-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, her work has won numerous awards and honors. She has received residencies at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, China; Shanghai University in China; OCAD University Florence, Italy. Kristy’s work and art writing have been featured in publications, including The Artist’s Magazine, International Artist and Fine Art Connoisseur. She is an adjunct professor at the New York Academy of Art and has taught at numerous schools and academies including the National Academy in NYC, and The Academy of Realist Art in Ottawa and Boston. Her paintings hang in more than 600 collections worldwide including the Government of Ontario Art Collection, The Clearing House (New York City) and Touchstones Nelson Museum of Art and History. Gordon is represented by Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor, New York, Studio Sixty Six in Ottawa and Garvey|Simon in New York City. kristygordon.com.