August Art Crush: Susan Skelley!

My art crush for August is an artist that I've been following for almost a year- I am obsessed!

Susan Skelley is an artist from Myrtle Beach, SC. She has taughr herself every aspect of being an artist, from the actual painting to photographing her work and managing her online shop. "It has been a wonderful, challenging education because honestly, I wanted to just paint, stick a sign in my yard that read WILL PAINT FOR FOOD and hope for the best. I quickly found out it doesn’t work that way although there isn’t a black and white formula, either.  There is an explosion of marketing information out there and trying to do too much made me want to explode," Susan told me in our correspondence. I can definitely relate to being overwhelmed with all of the work that goes into what we do!

Susan works as an artist full time. She started selling on Etsy three years ago, making the promise to herself that if she sold ten paintings in six months, she would paint full time; she sold eleven! Her work is so colorful and full of life, it's hard for me not to fall in love with every single one of her pieces. 

Instead of her kitchen, Susan says that her studio is the “heart” of her home. (partly because she doesn't cook, so the kitchen would never do!) All jokes aside, the studio is the heart of her home because it is where she works, plays, and lives out every emotion. It's where her friends and family know they will find her when they visit, and where she makes the magical paintings that everyone loves so much!

In addition to her Etsy shop, Susan sells reproductions of her work with an Australian company and is thrilled to be joining a new gallery opening in Charlotte, NC in October. These images are just a few of her paintings that I love... How gorgeous are they?! Here is the link to her Etsy shop-- Enjoy! {www.etsy.com/susanskelleyart}