CANVAS REBEL
We were lucky to catch up with Katie Park recently and have shared our conversation below.
Katie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights.
Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
Define your quality of life. Could I make a full-time living from my creative work, yes. Have I previously, yes. Was I making enough to support the quality of life I wanted, no. I think I’ve always been in a crossroads professionally. What I love to do isn’t necessarily a lucrative business and the older I get, the more I’ve come to terms with money does matter. It defines the kind of life you live, what access you have and the experiences you can indulge in.
Katie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I graduated college with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. In 2013, I moved down here with my younger brother who was about to begin his career working as an engineer in the oil and gas industry. Free-spirited and open-minded, I completely underestimated what it would be like to start all over again, especially in the nation’s fourth largest city filled with mostly engineers, consultants and medical professionals. My first professional job after school was a Photographer Professor who specialized in film photography… what good was that going to do me in Houston? Needless to say the first few years were extremely rough.
Over the years, I was able to turn a passion, scuba diving, into a revenue source. I absolutely love taking students underwater for the first time and teaching them to take their first breath. Diving brings literally anyone and everyone together to do one thing, to dive! Through meeting a variety of people every week, I not only met my husband, but also a lot of leads for my photography business and many other opportunities along the way including graphic/web design.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Always be friendly, kind, attentive and smile! Although this can be exhausting, it truly does make the difference.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
The hospitality industry. I spent a few years working in restaurants and the relationships I made have been the greatest asset to my business growth and development.