This interview is part of Laura’s Artist Series.  Listen to the interview to hear about my journey of how and why I became an artist.  I also talk about money (including how much money I used to make before and after the economic collapse) and how the economic crisis negatively and positively affected my art career… and my life.

Listen to the Artist Series interview!

Here’s a video about The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money; by one of the authors, Chris Guillebeau.

“If you have a friend that dreams of one day becoming a full-time artist, think about buying them this guide. It would be such a great gift! I mean really… what better gift than to give your loved ones inspiration and knowledge in how to pursue their dream job? Seriously, name me one gift better than that.” – Soniei, Full-Time Contemporary Artist

Buy The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money!

Personally, when people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them that I’m an artist. I never once called myself an entrepreneur, even though I work long hours trying to grow my business.  Why?  Maybe it’s because I work long hours to support my artwork.  I created my business, Soniei’s Contemporary Art, so that I could make paintings.  All this business stuff is to support my passion for art.  Although, I must admit, I’m having fun with the business side of things too.

Nevertheless, if someone were to call me an entrepreneur, I wouldn’t care either.  I wouldn’t even give it a thought.  It’s just another label.  Call me what you want because it doesn’t affect me one way or the other.  But, one thing I DO care about is that…. I’m in Signal vs. Noise!  Yoohoo!

Here’s a video of me, Soniei, trying to explain the evolution of my art and the inspiration behind my contemporary paintings.

This video includes a brief explanation of how I left the 9-5 work world to live my dream as a full-time artist.

Thank you so much to Linda Bell for writing a blog post called, There is something special about Soniei.

Your appreciation for my art gives me great joy.

Here’s a video of me, Soniei, trying to explain the evolution of my art and the inspiration behind my contemporary paintings.

This video includes a brief explanation of how I left the 9-5 work world to live my dream as a full-time artist.

Right now, I’m doing my happy-dance because I’m honored and delighted to be in Chris Guillebeau’s manifesto, 279 Days to Overnight Success! Guillebeau is also the author of The Unconventional Guide to Working for Yourself: Creating Personal Freedom through a Very Small Business.

If you’re a writer, a blogger, an artist or you’re thinking of creating your own dream job, you must read “279 Days to Overnight Success”. It’s full of advice on how to be successful with your own project and how to expand your online presence. If you want extra motivation to live your best life, then make sure to check out the rest of Guillebeau’s website, The Art of Non-Conformity. You’ll be glad you did!

I’ve also been added to Chris Guillebeau’s 26 People I Highly Respect list, which includes some of the top online entrepreneurs!  This calls for a happy-break-dance!

*spins on ground and hurts thyself badly*

You can download the PDF 279 Days to Overnight Success for FREE! So what are you waiting for? Happy reading! =D

To Chris: You’re definitely generous with your advice! Your manifesto was helpful and inspiring beyond words. Thank you so much for making me a part of this whole exciting experience! I’m truly grateful.

Here’s a video about The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money; by one of the authors, Chris Guillebeau.

“If you have a friend that dreams of one day becoming a full-time artist, think about buying them this guide. It would be such a great gift! I mean really… what better gift than to give your loved ones inspiration and knowledge in how to pursue their dream job? Seriously, name me one gift better than that.” – Soniei, Full-Time Contemporary Artist

Buy The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money!

From painting tutorials to marketing your own artwork online, this website has so many interesting and informative articles for artists.  I advise that you check it out, even if you only doodle on a napkin while talking on the phone. Also, if you have any artistic friends, tell them about EmptyEasel.com. It will be a gift!

The Art Review: A Taste of Japan: Contemporary Japanese Inspired Paintings by Soniei by Dan, Editor of EmptyEasel.com.

Here’s a video about The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money; by one of the authors, Chris Guillebeau.

“If you have a friend that dreams of one day becoming a full-time artist, think about buying them this guide. It would be such a great gift! I mean really… what better gift than to give your loved ones inspiration and knowledge in how to pursue their dream job? Seriously, name me one gift better than that.” – Soniei, Full-Time Contemporary Artist

Buy The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money!

I’m so excited to announce that I’ve been picked for the Fine Art Registry’s (FAR) featured artist of the month and got another article written about me!

The article, Serene Inspiration by Georgianna Lane, is about how I became a full-time artist, where I get the inspiration for my paintings, how I use the FAR system and different websites to market myself, and much more!

Artists should definitely consider looking at www.fineartregistry.com to see how it can help market and protect their artwork.

To Georgianna: Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a beautiful article! You are so kind, patient and understanding. I’ll never forget when you wrote to me in an email and said, “… hang in there. This planet is not rigged to nurture artists, when artists are the very thing it needs”. I felt such a sense of validation for all the sacrifices I’ve made, and those that I’m still making, just to be an artist. Thank you for those words.

FAR Article:  http://www.fineartregistry.com/featured_artist/soniei.php

Here’s a video about The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money; by one of the authors, Chris Guillebeau.

“If you have a friend that dreams of one day becoming a full-time artist, think about buying them this guide. It would be such a great gift! I mean really… what better gift than to give your loved ones inspiration and knowledge in how to pursue their dream job? Seriously, name me one gift better than that.” – Soniei, Full-Time Contemporary Artist

Buy The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money!

Lloyd Lemons, a microBusiness advisor, writer, copywriter, marketing consultant (and much more!), posted an article on his blog called Soniei, an artist and a MicroBusiness?. The article touches on my experience and challenges of merging my passion for art with business and marketing.

Don’t know what a microBusiness is? Lloyd defines this term in his blog post Will the Real microBusiness Owner Please Stand Up? I definitely recommend that you take a look and browse through his blog, especially if you’re thinking of starting a small business of your own. There are great business and marketing articles you don’t want to miss!

To Lloyd Lemons: I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to write about my experience as an artist and microBusiness owner!

Here’s a video about The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money; by one of the authors, Chris Guillebeau.

“If you have a friend that dreams of one day becoming a full-time artist, think about buying them this guide. It would be such a great gift! I mean really… what better gift than to give your loved ones inspiration and knowledge in how to pursue their dream job? Seriously, name me one gift better than that.” – Soniei, Full-Time Contemporary Artist

Buy The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money!

I want to thank Michael McCrea, from sohohelpdesk.net, for writing such a lovely blog post about me and my roommate, Peter. It’s so sweet!

If you want to get an idea of what I was doing before all this Soniei’s Contemporary Art business, and where I met my boyfriend Peter over 5 years ago (CDI), you must read this blog post called “Soniei’s Contemporary Art and Information Technology“.

Michael, you’re the best! I do miss the days when we used to hang out at CDI* College!

PS. For those who have bought my art for the past few years, you might be surprised that I used to be an Oracle Developer (relational database management system… say what?).

PPS. For all of you out there… if you can’t pronounce ‘Soniei’, you can always call me Melissa. Or Jimmy, or sexy nerd girl, or whatever you prefer.

*CDI College of Business & Technology, where the IT peeps chillax yo.

Here’s a video of me, Soniei, trying to explain the evolution of my art and the inspiration behind my contemporary paintings.

This video includes a brief explanation of how I left the 9-5 work world to live my dream as a full-time artist.