Member Spotlight: Caroline Stroud of Caroline Stroud Art
Hey ladies! Welcome to another Member Spotlight, featuring our members — influencers, entrepreneurs, bloggers, and girl bosses alike! Next up: Caroline Stroud of Caroline Stroud Art.
Read on to learn about how Caroline turned her passion into a business of inspiring people to see the joy of life, through art!
Q: Tell us a little about you, girl!
A: Hi there! My name is Caroline Stroud and I have always been a creative at heart. I graduated from UGA with a degree in business and studio art. I moved to Atlanta and started working a corporate job, painting commissions at night and doing live wedding paintings on the weekend. One year after juggling all three, I decided to pursue a painting and design career full time. I now create at my studio in Decatur during the week and paint live wedding paintings most weekends. When I am not traveling for work on the weekend, I am either visiting my family in Macon or on the BeltLine with friends.
Q: How did you transition from college graduate to starting your own paint + design business?
A: This transition started happening before I graduated. In 2017, my junior year of college, I gifted my cousin a live wedding painting. I used this as a trial run to test out all of the logistics and to see if I could actually finish a painting in one night. From there, I promoted that one wedding and booked 3 more in 2018, then 21 weddings in 2019. During those two years, I was a full time student or a full time employee, with weddings and commissions happening on the side. So the transition was about a 3 year process leading up to me actually quitting and pursuing art full time.
Q: What inspired you to turn your passion into a business?
A: My passion is making other people happy and I realized I could do that through painting. I am so inspired by other self-employed artists and their vulnerability, creativity, and passion. Constantly seeing other successful female artists really gave me the courage to pursue it myself.
Q: What advice do you have for female creatives like yourself wanting to start their own business?
A: Make sure some of the groundwork is laid out for your business before you pursue it full time. Before I quit my job I wrote out my business plan, made sure I had enough wedding paintings scheduled to sustain me for 6 months and found a studio space that I could afford. Be courageous, but somewhat practical when making business decisions, especially in the beginning. Second, I would say to make the conscious decision every day to believe in yourself, even when you don’t want to. As cliche as that may sound, the work you produce is a direct reflection of how you feel about yourself. If you are confident and unapologetic, your work will come across as that. If you are full of self- doubt, your work will also reflect that.
Q: What’s the most rewarding—and most challenging—part of your work?
A: The most rewarding part of my work is dropping off the finished piece of artwork to the client or when the bride and groom see their live wedding painting for the first time. To realize that I created something that is valued so much is a feeling hard to beat and what I find the most fulfillment in.
The most challenging part of my work is being a one-woman show - making all of the decisions, balancing the creative and business side of things, and planning for the future. I am a bit of a micromanager at heart so I loved this at first, but I have realized in order to grow you have to trust and delegate out to others.
Q: What’s next for you and your business?
A. That’s the question I ask myself everyday! My goals are constantly evolving. I would say my most immediate goals are to expand my live painting presence across the Southeast. I have done a few out of state weddings, but really establishing a presence in all surrounding states is what I am working towards. For fine art, I would love to partner with more interior designers and interior shops. Creating art for beautiful spaces is what makes me most excited about going to my studio everyday. I feel so lucky and thank God everyday that this is what I get to do and I cannot wait to see what else is on the horizon.
THERE YOU HAVE IT, LADIES
A look into how Caroline turned her passion of sparking joy through art into a full-time business! Interested in a live wedding painting? Visit her website to book! Also make sure to follow her on Instagram to stay up to date with her new art pieces, creative endeavors, and everything in between.
Who should we spotlight next?! Leave a comment below!
