We had the good fortune of connecting with Cathy Carey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cathy, what makes you most proud of the business you’ve built?
Being an artist is a difficult and all consuming career. You put in a lot of hours not knowing if you are going to have success in terms of a quality piece of art, or a sale! So much of art and being creative is being experimental and being open to outcome, without regard to a finished successful piece of art. Sometimes I have learned the most from a complete disaster because it pointed me in the right direction. I have had to keep choosing art as a career over and over in my life. In college, I was creative and thought I’d major in art, but everyone told me I would never be able to make a living with painting, so I better major in something lucrative and do art on the side. I didn’t follow that advice and majored in painting and indeed it has been a difficult financial road. But the wonderful fulfilling things that have happened to me as a person have far outweighed the stress of making an income. I did other things to make money or more importantly to save money. I always lived at a level below what I was making so I could save. I paid my credit card every month and invested in real estate whenever I could. I had a graphic design business where I could do creative work as a job and get paid, and it was compatible with my career as a painter too. Every step of the way I had to keep choosing to be an artist. I made sacrifices, and went without some of the fun things others were doing, but I never felt like I was missing something more important. If I had not followed my dreams and my passions, I would have missed the most important thing my life had to offer, and that was the chance to be a fully realized creative human being.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Right now a lot is happening in my professional life! I recently moved back to the coast and have a new studio in La Costa and a new Gallery in Cardiff. With the pandemic changing how I offer tours of my space, I’m on hold for inviting the public in for a tour, but I look forward to doing that soon. When available I’ll offer appointments of an hour long each for people to see my newest work and all the inventory I’ve built up over the years. Until then I’m doing more with online posting. I have a big catalog of my work on Fine Art America, and I’m uploading a lot of new pieces to the Saatchi Gallery page too. I post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest and have sold pieces from each space.

I’m working on an ongoing series based on the canyons and hikes I’m doing in the local area, some of those pieces were juried into the show at the California Center for Performing Arts, “Finding Heaven in Hellhole Canyon”. I also went to France for a month and am still working on pieces inspired from that journey!

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
I love hiking and going to beautiful places to sketch, so my itinerary would include visits to some of the natural beauties in our area. My favorite would be a hike up the “Way Up” trail in the Elfin Forest of Escondido. After that, a yummy lunch in downtown Escondido at “A Delight of France” at 126 Grand Ave. I’d have the Olive and Pesto Mediterranean tart! From there we’d check out the Escondido Municipal Gallery at 262 East Grand where lots of terrifically talented local artists are in juried shows every month. The Nikki Saint Phalle sculpture garden “Queen Calafia’s Magic Circle” in Kit Carson Park is a great place to visit too. For dinner I’d head to the coast and have a glass of wine and pizza at Best Pizza at 102 Aberdeen Dr. in Cardiff. A stroll on the beach would be perfect after a delicious meal and we’d get some cookies next door at VG donuts to take with us! Other places I love hiking are Torrey Pines State Reserve, the canyons along the coast, and the beach in Solana Beach for as far as low tide will allow! A second day would be a trip to La Jolla. When the water is warm the beaches of La Jolla Shores are perfect for swimming, kayaking and hanging out on the beach. Next a stroll down Avenida de la Playa to The La Playa gallery to check out the local artists displayed there. A delicious favorite for dinner in La Jolla is the wonderful Italian restaurant Piatti’s at 2182 Avenida La Playa. I love the outdoor patio under the beautiful tree! For night time fun, I love the music scene in San Diego, there are so many fantastic local venues and artists. A few personal favorites are The Belly Up Tavaren in Solana Beach and Tio Leo’s. The Veranda at the Rancho Bernardo Inn has local musicians on their beautiful outdoor patio with an inviting fireplace.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I moved during the pandemic and lots of friends were encouraging and helpful from afar. But one person really stood out and went above and beyond, Mike Redman. He helped me repair my condo and get it ready to be a great studio space, and then we created a gallery at his house in Cardiff.

Website: www.artstudiosandiego.com
Online Galleries: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/cathy-carey
https://www.saatchiart.com/ccarey
Instagram: instagram.com/careyartstudio
Twitter: twitter.com/careyartstudio
Facebook: facebook.com/CathyCareyassd
Youtube: https://youtu.be/YwDCNIPeQ9U
Other: pinterest.com/cathycareyart/ https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/cathy-carey

Image Credits
Cathy Carey