Mary Aslin — Process Over Outcome

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On today's episode we sat down with Mary Aslin a full-time professional artist who creates representational paintings inspired by the beauty of nature and light. Mary shares her journey of becoming a professional artist, including overcoming self-doubt, building technical skills, and finding her voice. She tells us about the tips she likes to give her students including the fact that there are no mistakes and to focus on the process over the outcome. She also emphasizes the importance of treating art as a business, using tools like a website and newsletter to connect with collectors. Mary advises aspiring full-time artists to focus on creating their best work, participate in art shows, and consider teaching. Finally, Mary tells us about her mentorship on Mastrius and her upcoming workshop in Crete!

Mary's FASO site:
https://www.maryaslin.com/

Mary's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/maryaslinfineart/

Mary's Mastrius Mentorship:
https://www.maryaslin.com/workshop/38775/small-group-mentoring-through-mastrius

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Transcript:

Mary Aslin: 0:00

We're all artists. You're going to make mistakes. Aren't mistakes. And process is way more important than the outcome. Every student wants to come in with the idea that they're going to create a finished painting. I understand that we all want to, you know, create work that we feel like, okay, that's worthy of a frame. But process, process, processes is just foundational.

Laura Arango Baier: 0:29

Welcome to the bold brush show where we believe that fortune favors a bold brush. My name is Laura Arango Baier, and I'm your host. For those of you who are new to the podcast, we are a podcast that covers art marketing techniques and all sorts of business tips specifically to help artists learn to better sell their work. We interview artists at all stages of their careers, as well as others who are in careers tied to the art world, in order to hear their advice and insights. On today's episode, we sat down with Mary Aslan, a full time professional artist who creates representational paintings inspired by the beauty of nature and light. Mary shares her journey of becoming a professional artist, including overcoming self doubt, building technical skills and finding her voice. She tells us about the tips she likes to give her students, including the fact that there are no mistakes, and to focus on the process over the outcome. She also emphasizes the importance of treating art as a business using tools like a website and newsletter to connect with collectors. Mary advises aspiring, full time artists to focus on creating their best work, participate in art shows and consider teaching. Finally, Mary tells us about her mentorship on masters and her upcoming workshop in Crete. Welcome Mary to the BoldBrush show. How are you today? I'm doing

Mary Aslin: 1:41

well. Thank you. How are you? I'm doing

Laura Arango Baier: 1:44

great. I'm really happy to have you, and I am grateful that you are here on your birthday. So happy birthday.

Mary Aslin: 1:51

Thank you. It's a birthday present to myself to be here. So thank you for having me. It's a great gift. It's really, really an honor,

Laura Arango Baier: 2:00

yes, and I absolutely love your work. I think it is so it is such beautiful, romantic, happy work. It definitely reminds me of the same vibe that you get from looking at the paintings of the pre raphaelites, you know, the beautiful woman who's in the garden. Or, you know, all of these more happy, romantic images that I think we need, we need in this world. So thank you for producing that.

Mary Aslin: 2:27

Well, you're welcome. Thank you. Thank you very much for your thoughts about it. I appreciate that. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 2:33

of course. But then, before we dive into your gorgeous work, do you mind telling us a bit more about who you are and what you do?

Mary Aslin: 2:42

I would love to I am Mary Aslan. I am a full time working professional artist in San Juan Capistrano, which is about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. I am married to a wonderful man of have been for 40 years now, and he is my number one patron and sponsor. Couldn't do what I do without him. I have three wonderful children who actually happen to be triplets, and they live in various parts of the United States, so my husband and I end up doing a lot of traveling, but and I have four grandchildren, I'm very blessed. I absolutely am driven, driven to capture at some level, or be a conduit or a channel for the beauty that I see. I love representational paintings that kind of follow in the naturalist tradition, where I let the light and the subject speak to me and tell the story. I really try hard to keep myself out of the way, and just let the beauty before me speak. It's and as I do that, it's a tremendous privilege, because I think how did I get so lucky that that I can witness this and see what nature does for us in the way of the orchestration of light and shadow, the beauty of color. It's, it's, it's like sitting in front of a feast, which I'm grateful to partake in. So

Laura Arango Baier: 4:35

yes, I totally agree. I think nature gives us the most beautiful feasts for the eyes, as you just said, for the eyes. Yeah. And as artists, I think we all definitely respond to that in a deep, deep, instinctive level. And I think that's that's why you know like you, you like want to capture it, and you want to also share it back into the world, right? You want. To create this reflection, which is really beautiful. And actually, I wanted to ask you, you know, because your work is absolutely gorgeous, and then I can only imagine what it was like, you know, painting and having triplets, that is insane. When did the path of the artist begin for you?

Mary Aslin: 5:20

Well, you know, I always wanted to be an artist. You know, I always just had that niggling, that desire. I remember in fifth grade, I told the teacher when we had to do a report, I wanted to do a report on art. And you know, when you're 10 years old, that's such a general subject, and where do you begin? And I didn't end up doing my report on art, but I did do some later in high school, I took some junior high and high school, I took some classes, and when I got to the University of Washington in Seattle, I was excited to take some university level courses, and I ended up taking only one because I came of age in the era of conceptual art, and even though the curriculum was very good, there was really no path forward for kind of building a career in representational painting, and I didn't have the words then or I, I knew what I was seeking subconsciously, but I didn't know how to articulate it. And, and, you know, of course, this was in the era before we had access to Google. And if you wanted to know about art, you would get on the bus and take go downtown to the central library and check out the yellow pages. And, you know, go to art schools and then, you know, hand write a letter and ask for them to send you a brochure. So, you know, I ended up getting a degree in geography with a specialization in cartography because I wanted to be able to have at least a graphic component to whatever work I did. And I also really wanted to figure out how to make a living. And I had this, you know, somewhere along the line, I came up with this mindset of or this idea that, you know, if you are a fine artist, then you are going to be a starving one, and I didn't want to do that. So, you know, I got a degree in, in my degree, and I started working. And I spent three very intense years working 60 hour weeks. This was in the era before there was any concept of, you know, work life balance. And, you know, the work was really interesting, but I still had this pull to paint. And you know, I would do some sketches here and there, but, you know, I couldn't figure out how how to get this thing rolling. And I did start subscribing to art magazines, and those were helpful to, you know, start to read and get a sense that, you know, there is a world of fine art out there. You know, I will say that my uncle was a watercolor painter. He painted beautiful watercolors and oils. He ended up becoming an architect. My mother, I list, grew up listening to her play the piano. There was always an emphasis on arts, but just, you know, how to channel that into, you know, a livelihood was really, you know, I had no idea. But then, lo and behold, I get pregnant with triplets. And I always wanted to be a stay at home mom, and I was able to do that. But, you know, just practically speaking, the cost of daycare for three babies would have taken been way more than what I was even making. So the decision was very easy, and, you know, very fulfilling to be able to be home and take care of my children, but it also was the launching point for me to say, Okay, I've set aside this 60 hour a week intense job as a cartographer. I'm going to take care of my babies and I'm going to figure out how to make this art thing move forward. And I remember, when they were about three months old, I just had this unbelievable drive. I thought, I have got to paint. And I would get up at from about 1030 to midnight at night, and I would work on watercolors. And then by and by, when they were 10 months old, I signed up for an oil painting class at the little local art center, and I painted one evening a week after the kids were in bed, and that's when it started to unfold, and I went from oil to water color. And by and by, I had a couple friends say, Hey, would you paint my dog? Or a friend say, I can you do. A pencil portrait of my husband and I had a friend say, you know, my husband and I just finished remodeling our house. Can you do a pen and ink watercolor of the house? So, you know, by and by, things started to unfold that way. And I checked out every single book in the library. Many times. Read them cover to cover. I started taking some art workshops through, through the Seattle the art store in Seattle, Dan called Daniel Smith. I I started to do life drawing, and that was an unbelievable thrill. I remember at the I'll never get over it. I was at the Seattle Art Museum, and we went downtown, I think the kids were maybe five years old, and they had a model posing, and people could just paint from the model. And I remember going up to the easel, and my heart started beating so so fast. I thought it was going to have a heart attack. I was so excited. I thought, Oh, I love this so much. And I just, I was, it was, it was a very, very pivotal moment for me. In fact, I was so excited. My hand was shaking. I just said, this is the most exciting thing I've ever done. So, you know, by and by, I just started to build, just with a lot of reading, a lot of drawing, the little the art, the painting class, I started to build a critical mass of skills and and I taught some kids classes. And by and by, we moved to Minnesota for a couple of years. And very interestingly, I my daughter was a in a ballet program the Saint Croix Academy of Arts in Stillwater, Minnesota, and every parent was expected to make a contribution to the production of The Nutcracker. And I was, I thought, well, I'll just, I'll design the little program. And the director said, you know, what I really need is the snow scene, backdrop for the Waltz of the snowflakes, for the for our production of The Nutcracker. And, you know, it's, it's the audaciousness of the young. You know, when you get older, you start to go, Gosh, I don't know when you're young, you go, Oh, okay, I'll do that. Well, 18 feet high and 40 feet long, having never painted a any kind of theater painting at all. So again, I go check out a book at the library. I research scene painting. I go pick up the casing based paint in Minneapolis. We get the muslin backdrop. The director rented a strip mall video store that had gone out of business, and I had done a small, a little, small study, just to try to figure out, what do, what do for laden trees really look like? Anyway. I mean, coming from the northwest, we didn't have a lot of snow, we had a lot of rain, and here we are in Minnesota, it still hadn't snowed. I didn't have, you know, and of course, this was the era before digital cameras or anything, so I just started to work. And I remember, after a week, the backdrop was finished. It only took me about a week. And I thought, you know, how am I going to stand back to see how this thing looks? And I thought, you know, I'll get a ladder. And I think I remember as a little kid playing with some binoculars, and when you turn them backward, everything looks far away. So I went, wonder if that'll work. So I got up on the ladder and I turned the binoculars backward, which I realized later, acts as a reducing glass. You know, that's what, just so that if you're this close to your surface, you can use the reducing glass and get it far away. So it actually worked. And I thought, Okay, well, I think that works, that everything looks pretty good. And once the backdrop was raised in the theater, my heart was pounding because I thought, is there going to be a train leaning too far sideways? But that was, that was a giant painting. And then I was hired to be the artist in residence at my kids Elementary School, and there was tremendous support and funding for the arts. So for the entire year, I led the kids in the production of a trompe l'oeil style painting, because I wanted to teach them about, how about realism? Because, you know, kids in elementary school really want to know, how do you make things look real? You know, when they're kindergarten through third grade, they draw with reckless abandon. When they're fourth through sixth grade, they start to get really nervous. How do, oh, I don't like what. I'm not a good artist. I can't do this. I don't know what to do. So I tried to, you know, out of those seven grades, tap into, you know, where? What do they need to know? And, and, you know, it was more of a technical experience, as opposed to, you know, learning about, you know, fine art movements or whatever. But that was that turned out to be very successful. So those were, oh, I also joined some local art groups. So this was in the era of about 1987 to about 2000 456, in there. And that was that kind of comprised the building of my skills, and then the development and the opportunities for, you know, growing my work as a business. So then I have to say, in around 2004 I was teaching at a I was teaching kids classes here and there. I was working as a tutor at the elementary school to help payment for my kids college. But Fridays were my painting days, my sacrosanct days. And I was, you know, reading the pastel journal, because, you know, I've been working in oil. I'd been working in watercolor, but I really launched into pastel in around 2003 or four, and I turned the page of the pastel journal the last page. And I'd been following an artist for years by the name of Judith Carducci, and she was part of the very active in the portrait Society of America as well. And I turned the page and I saw a painting of, let's try not to have the glare on the glass. It's called Titian's Venus, and it's all crinkled and it's all faded. But I taped this to my easel, and it was an absolutely pivotal moment for me, because at this time point I'd been really focused on the figure, but I that painting of those roses just stopped me dead in my tracks. And I thought I really want to do this. So I did, and I started. I painted my first floral still life from life. And just as if I can just throw a little aside about this painting, just a quick little digression, in the year 2020 2020, during COVID, I had read an article that she wrote in the portrait Society of America newsletter. And I thought, wow, Judith Carducci has no idea what an impact she had on my life, because I literally had this thing taped to my easel for for years. And so, you know, given our wonderful opportunities now to connect with people. I emailed her, and I told her the story, and I said, you know one thing i I need to I said, you know, that painting Titian's Venus, it's probably sold, but it really had a huge impact on my life. And she wrote back, and we wonderful things. And she said, Well, no, that painting isn't sold. And I said, and it's mine, and it was always meant to be mine, and I bought it, and it's hanging on my wall right here, 16 years later. And it it just, I just knew in that moment that painting was of mine, and it was waiting for me. And so back to 2004 Thank you, Judith. And you know what's really I'm so grateful I have her painting. I still have my clipping. I had always wanted to go to a portrait Society of America conference. I hadn't made it. She's and she told me, she says, Well, please don't wait too long, because we need to have some good, long discussions. Well, I did wait too long, and she passed away last year, but I I'm really, really grateful that I at least made this connection and I let her know how life changing her work was for me. Um, so the other you know, and I'm a person of of faith, and I remember thinking, man, I've built up all of this critical mass of of, you know, I wasn't thinking of it that way. I was just working, I was raising my family, and I was just loving any moment I could to continue pushing this art career forward, but I did get down on my knees, and my little duck shed turned studio, and I said, God, I don't know where this is going, but I trust that you'll show me the way. And two years later, we moved to Southern California. I have 318 year olds the time they're launched off into college. My husband's job pulled us down here to Southern California, and I was without a job, and my husband was extremely insistent that we moved to Laguna Beach, and I said, we can't afford LA. Luna beach. She said, we'll find a way. And we found, honestly, a rather cruddy old place to live and but it was in the heart of the art colony of Laguna Beach, and I remember absolute terror, having to have a point of reckoning where I had to say to myself, I don't have a job. I'm going to throw my lot in to this life as a full time artist with every ounce of my being. And I'm afraid to know that that I don't have what it takes to make it full time. I'm afraid to find that out. But you know, what choice did I have? I it was a do or die moment. And so I strapped my plein air backpack on my back, and I started plein air painting with a vengeance, and the alleys, the beaches, any anywhere I and I remember Laguna plainer painters had a drop in Figure session, and I said, Well, I'm not going to do that, because the weather's too nice and nobody will be there, you know. I'll wait until you know the weather, you know, gets a little little cloudy one day a couple months in. I thought, Okay, I'm going to set my planner backpack down and I'm going to go join the figure drawing group. And I walked in in there, you know, it's a 75 degree, gorgeous day, and I walked into this room, and there were 25 people in there. And my first response, I just wanted to say, what are all you people doing inside on a day like this, because, of course, in Seattle, that would never happen there. Everything's, you know, when you get those kind of days up there. So, so anyway, that was also extremely pivotal life change because the ability to plan or paint, because of the weather, the access to the art resources of Laguna Beach and the surrounding area was significant. And also there is an element of the weather and the environment that that draws people out. They want to buy art. They're happy. They want to buy art. So I was able to jury into the local art shows in 2007 I was part of the art affair, then the saddest Festival, and I spent 14 years on the calendar as a as a juried artist in the Festival of Arts. And at that point, my career was launched full time, and plus, I have sold a lot of work. I started teaching workshops. I, you know, just kept reading and learning. I will say that Clint Watson with Faso. I started my website with Fine Art Studio online in about 2005 because I saw a little ad in art magazine for it, and so, but, but his the the website and his advice were absolutely pivotal to my success, all of the business advice, all of the, you know, the the blog function. I mean, I know people don't do blogs anymore, but Clint was teaching us about blogs so, so there were a lot of things that that really came together beautifully. And, yeah, I'm just in in i i kind of spins my head around. I have no words for the gratitude I feel. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 23:41

yeah. That's quite, quite the journey. And I think what I find interesting about hearing your journey is how much it feels like you know in hindsight, right? It all makes perfect sense. Everything fell into place as it should, but probably the moment, you must have felt some serendipity, right? You must have felt like, oh, now I'm in Laguna Beach and, oh, this is actually the absolutely perfect place to really dive into this thing that I'm terrified of doing. Because, you know, just like you may, may have been afraid, what if I fail, there's, I don't know if you maybe feel this, but there's also that fear of, but what if I don't, right? There's, there's still fear in that it's like, whoa. Like that would open up this whole Pandora's box with possibilities that I could never imagine. Right? It's easier to imagine yourself failing than it is to imagine yourself going places and like,

Mary Aslin: 24:41

you know, you know that is successful. That is an absolutely excellent point. Because I remember sitting at the Art affair, and you know, when you have the opening party, there are 1000s of people, and you're, oh, loving art. Art. How about Monday morning at 10 o'clock when there aren't people at at the show, because they're, you know, there's, there are these slow moments. And I remember thinking to myself, to pick up on your thread there. What have I signed up for? What have I gotten myself in for here? And and the other thing that that to that point too, is that if I was making 1000 pair of leather shoes of the same style, I could continue to hone my craft and make that leather to the tanning of that leather finer and finer and finer with art, you're starting over every single day from scratch, and of course, you bring whatever technical skill you built the prior day. But you can't repeat yourself. If one painting is successful, you can't say, Okay, I'm going to do 15 or 25 or 100 versions of that. So to your point, the failure is terrifying, but the success has its own level. Of, Oh, yep. So

Laura Arango Baier: 26:14

yeah, exactly, yeah. It's that. It's that fear of, oh, man, I don't know what to expect, right? It's you just gotta roll with the punches. And it feels like a roller coaster, right? Where some moments you're doing super great, and other moments slow down in sales, or, oh, now I'm traveling to teach a workshop, and that's exciting, and then you have this, oh no, I'm exhausted from teaching, so I need some time off, like it's, it's so it's fun, right? It's fun. But there's also that element of the unexpected, where you think you can plan out a whole year as an artist, but then suddenly those plans will change, or something else gets added. And yes, yeah, it's wild.

Mary Aslin: 27:02

It is. And you know, it's you meet yourself at your easel and to kind of act, you know, there's the you're you're activating the the left part of your brain for the record keeping and and sending a thank you note to whoever happened to, you know, send you an email and say, I love this painting, and they bought something. And then you've got to really delve deep into, okay, what do I need to say and how? How can I bring out the best of bring the best factors together? It's, it's a tall order, it's a lot, and it's, and to your point, it's very unpredictable. You cannot craft a step one, step two, step three. You cannot do it. So, yeah, because it changes.

Laura Arango Baier: 27:53

And I think it also should, right? Because, yes, we are in a constant state of Growth as artists. Yes, you can't just stay stuck following the same steps. Obviously, you'll get the same results, but at the same time it it that's no better than an office job, in my opinion. You know, maybe someone else really cool, but it can get boring, and then what's the point? I mean, you're doing this because you love it, and because there's an element of of trying something new, but also staying, like, just outside of your comfort zone, but inside your comfort zone, and you're just,

Mary Aslin: 28:32

that's right, yeah,

Unknown: 28:34

yeah. It tends to

Mary Aslin: 28:35

incorporate experimentation. You've got to have, like, I do, set goals for for myself, where I, you know, there, because in my mind's eye, I can visualize finished paintings and, okay, what do I need to do to get there? And, and I'm and then I work on the compositions and design. But there has to be an element, too, of experimentation and and kind of following threads that you're being led to and going with that. And it's, it's, it's hard to to nip at your own heels all the time in the right ways, so to keep you going forward,

Laura Arango Baier: 29:13

yeah, yeah. And I really like that you mentioned, you know, following those threads because they're, you know, and also the phrase you use, which is meeting yourself at the canvas, right? Because there is an element of self observation while we work, but then also a sense of you have to allow yourself to listen to the canvas, right? Like, what is this asking for? What does this want? And oftentimes it's you know, that dialog with the self that is so important for that as well.

Mary Aslin: 29:45

You said it perfectly. The thing that has really struck me the deeper I go, is how and you can there is absolutely no predicting it or orchestrating it ahead of time. You have to be fully immersed in. It, and the painting will start to talk back to you and guide you. You know, it's a, it's a, it's an odd and wonderful thing. And you think, Well, I thought I was going this way, but now I realize I'm going this way. And, yeah, very much. So it's a, it's an amazing journey. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 30:19

yeah. And there's also that push and pull right, like, if, if you have resistance to those threads that are pulling you oftentimes, at least in my case, I feel frustration if I resist those Yes, and then I kick my buzz saying, Why didn't I just do that? And it's, just do it, yeah, just do

Mary Aslin: 30:35

it. Always do it. Yeah, yeah, exactly, yeah, yeah, yeah. We like predictability. We like the we like to compartmentalize things into categories, and so when, but the world of art is very different. It's so it's following a very different thread, and how to when to follow it, when to say, I'll save it. It's all it's all part and parcel of the experience.

Laura Arango Baier: 30:59

Yeah, yeah. And I think that also brings to mind nature, right? Nature has this unpredictable way of Yes, existing, right? Like, yeah. Think is a barren piece of land. Somehow a tree starts growing there, or you suddenly see flowers that are sprouting. And you wouldn't have expected that, even though you might think, Oh, this isn't the ideal place for that to happen, nature finds a way, right? There's that. That's right, strange beauty that nature has. And I think it makes sense for an artist to go through the same thing, since that's what we observe naturally. We're observers of nature.

Mary Aslin: 31:38

That is an excellent, excellent analogy, you know, we, we, we blew. We can bloom where we're planted. And the manifestation that that that comes out of that can be not what we expect, but can be the most exciting thing of all so

Laura Arango Baier: 32:00

very much, definitely, definitely, and actually, since I brought up nature and you mentioned earlier, how you allow that to tell the story, what do you find most inspires you to paint?

Mary Aslin: 32:16

What most inspires me is it honestly, Laura, it's, it's just beauty as manifest in the way light orchestrates a beautiful design. And you know, I'm, I love painting floral subjects and figure subjects, but the underpinning, and I know so many artists of the representational persuasion feel this way, but there's a beautiful underlying, abstract, an orchestration and and it doesn't really matter what the subject is. So what really inspires me is how light and it it can, can create a mood, a story, an orchestration. And the deeper I go, the more thrilling it becomes. Because in the early days, I really wanted a very distinct pattern of dramatic light and shadow. And, you know, I think part of that was just building my skills and understanding how to how to represent form. Boy, I tell you, a diffuse, soft over High Noon light on a moist day creates the most beautiful, soft poetry, and so the orchestration of light gives conveys a different mood than one where it's at eight o'clock in the morning on a very crisp, sunny day. Those are two different light experiences, equally thrilling, but, but that's what really inspires me. You throw a you put a figure, a human being, and some and a and, or a floral subject, and it's i, i The this is the happiest kind of anxiety, okay? And this is make this way makes me realize it's like, okay, there is anxiety and there is anxiety. My anxiety is, I've gotta get started right now it's so beautiful because I have this fear that you know, that it's going to, you know, at the time is short and the light is changing. So that's what I love. I love, and it's beauty speaking to me loud and clear. And I just, if I can, just be a conduit for just a little part. Part of that then, then that's my goal. And, you know, beauty is so grand that all our, all of us, artists who paint beauty, we just say, Oh, we didn't quite, we didn't quite, quite get there today. But even moving the needle a little bit in terms of our understanding of how to do it is, is, is worthwhile so and thrilling and deeply, deeply fulfilling. Yes,

Laura Arango Baier: 35:24

yeah. And I love how you mentioned that you know, seeing that exact moment and you feel that, that deep urge inside of you, right? Because I think as artists, we also live so much in the moment, and we have to capture that moment, right? Especially Yes, plein air in life, like it's, it's a moment that, of that will never repeat, because every day is different, like every sunrise is different, every light condition is different.

Mary Aslin: 35:53

So yeah, you said it, that is exactly it. That is exactly it, yeah?

Laura Arango Baier: 35:58

And funny enough, it also reminds me of the Greek myth of Tantalus, where just he's reaching for that Apple, and it just always is just outside of his reach, you know. And but we're still hungry for us.

Mary Aslin: 36:13

We're still hungry for it, and it keeps us coming back and back. And here's the other thing, Laura, the more you absorb yourself in that environment, the more you see everywhere. You know, I mean, I when I was younger, I, you know, it had to be a certain way. I had kind of a preconceived notion of, here's how it needs to look. It's everywhere now, and it's there's just this constant urgency, like you say, Keep reaching for that Apple constantly.

Laura Arango Baier: 36:51

Yes, beautiful, beautiful. And then also, I know that you teach, right? And I wanted to ask you about your personal beliefs about art that you love to instill in your students.

Mary Aslin: 37:07

Well, I, I deeply, you know, students can come to me very nervous and they'll say, Oh, I'm just a beginner. I don't know anything, or I don't I just don't have enough skills. And my, probably my deepest core belief, is that we are all creators. We are co creators with our Creator, and we are human beings. Are. We are all artists. We are but we have different mediums. And, you know, at the Festival of Arts, people would say, Oh, I don't have I can't draw stick figure, or I don't have a creative bone in my body. And it's like, but, but maybe the way you teach a six year old to read is your the words you use, and the mechanism for presenting that subject matter is your art, or maybe you, you know you are a landscape gardener, and you just really know how to space those plants so that you just get a beautiful display. We're all artists. Relax. We are all artists, so let's get that out on the table. The second thing that is super important is that mistakes, mistakes are part and parcel of the whole process, and it would be incredibly nice to be able to just perfectly pull out of the sky, the perfect solution. But I show them how I'm always grappling and and you know, Quang Hall was when, when I was part of a little thing called weekend with the Masters, with him, and you said, there are no such things. There aren't mistakes, because making that Mark teaches you what you need to do. It's an it's an infra. It's information that you use to make the next decision, and you had to make that first mark in order to get to that next better decision. So we're all artists. You're going to make mistakes. Aren't mistakes and process is way more important than the outcome. Every student wants to come in with the idea that they're going to create a finished painting. I understand that we all want to, you know, create work that we feel like, okay, that's worthy of a frame. But process, process, process is, is just foundational. So those are sort of the, the overarching principles and that, and then and then, once we establish that. Then the next most important thing is to really, really pay attention to what it is they love. If they like the sight of a giraffe eating leaves out of a tree and that really moves them, then that's what we're going to work on, because that's what they love. If they like, they like a tonal they just really happen to love, you know, more of a just a collection of shapes that manifest themselves as a tonal landscape, then that's what we're going to do. But pay attention. Be really cognizant. And it's really hard, as we all know, in this era, we have access to wonderful information, visual information, but you got to filter it too, so and just pay pay attention because, and I think it was, gosh, I meant to look up the name of the artist who was very specific about this, but the first four lines of your rectangle are the first four lines of your composition and where you what you love is going to go into the space of that rectangle, where is it going to go? That's your fifth mark. And so these are the and, and once you can not be afraid of mistakes, focus on the process and then figure out what you love and where is it going to go on the rectangle. Then, then we can work on the technical skills from there, and I can help you get there. So that's and you know, I have lots of technical exercises. I have my students go, go, please do life drawing, whenever you can, you will not only, and it's not so much about creating a perfect figurative drawing. That's, that's great, that's, that's a nice goal, but, but you also learn a lot from the way the others interpret the figure. It teaches you something. It's like, oh, I never thought to do. You know, this is a very dark room, that is, but this person is doing a line drawing, or this person has got a bunch of color they've just they, you know? So you learn a lot from from others. The the one of the next best things to do, it's probably the best education person can get. And it's easy as to take an egg, a white egg, and put it in window, light, artificial light, sunlight, morning light on a white cloth, and then do the same with a colored cloth. And then do the same thing with deep space or shallow space, and then do the same thing indoors and do the same thing using a limited palette, do the same thing with full palette, do the same thing with a monochromatic palette. That's probably one of the best educations that a person can have, because out of that, it, it will not only build a lot of technical skills, but it will also keep forcing back the idea, where is my if. Okay, I'm not saying you have to love painting an egg, but if you are going to do representational work, if that's your drive, as opposed to abstract expressionism, you're going to want to figure out how to start building that form. An egg has a form. Let's just use the egg as a mechanism for understanding. How do I place this in the rectangle? And you know, what's interesting is that your neighbor over here is painting the egg this big, and you're painting it this big, and already we're starting to discern what drives you. So when you are not painting the egg, perhaps you are painting a tree, or maybe you are painting a waterfall, or maybe you're painting a portrait, you are going to begin to understand where, how you see the world, by virtue of that very specific technical exercise, and you're going to come away with it understanding how light works, and from that understanding of how light works, you're going to be able to delve into what you need to say as an artist. So I really try super hard not to have my students drink from a fire hose, because it's, it's so incredibly exciting, and I know they can get there, and I've seen tremendous growth, and, you know, so it's, it's a key thing to just, you know, get for me, my, my, the Most important thing for me is just to keep zeroing in on who they are. And, you know, just keep building forth so

Laura Arango Baier: 44:51

forward from there. I can tell you're a very passionate teacher, and I love that I am. I love

Mary Aslin: 44:57

it. I just this whole world of. Uh, of painting. And I just, I don't know, i i Every day, I just shake my head and go, Wow, and yeah, to share that with my students is an incredible thrill. And I've seen them grow so much. They're just and they're so excited, you know? And then so not only are they building skills, but they're building things according to the sound of their own voice. So and I tell them too, hey, I I am working on my drawing every single day. I had a student ask me once years ago, she goes, have you ever done anything you don't like? And I thought, Oh, dear. Oh dear. We need to go back to square one, understanding that, you know, I am I, I am still working on my drawing every day. I am working on my composition every day. Composition and design is, is, you know, is never easy for me. And so I'm learning with you. Let's learn together so and it then helps them realize, you know, you never arrive. We're not ever arriving. Let's enjoy the process and keep growing. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 46:12

Apple brush, we inspire artists to inspire the world, because creating art creates magic, and the world is currently in desperate need of magic. BoldBrush provides artists with free art marketing, creativity and business ideas and information. This show is an example. We also offer written resources, articles and a free monthly art contest open to all visual artists. We believe that fortune favors the bold brush and if you believe that too, sign up completely free@boldbrushshow.com that's BOLDBRUSH show.com. The BoldBrush Show is sponsored by FASO. Now more than ever, it's crucial to have a website when you're an artist, especially if you want to be a professional in your career. Thankfully, with our special link, FASO.com/podcast, you can make that come true and also get over 50% off your first year on your artist website. Yes, that's basically the price of 12 lattes in one year, which I think is a really great deal, considering that you get sleek and beautiful website templates that are also mobile friendly, e commerce, print on demand in certain countries, as well as access to our marketing center that has our brand new art marketing calendar. And the art marketing calendar is something that you won't get with our competitor. The Art marketing calendar gives you, day by day, step by step, guides on what you should be doing today right now, in order to get your artwork out there and seen by the right eyes so that you can make more sales this year. So if you want to change your life and actually meet your sales goal this year, then start now by going to our special link, FASO.com/podcast, that's FASO.com/podcast, yeah, exactly. It's like the the myth of Tantalus. Yeah, that's right. Just gonna keep reaching and keep reaching Yeah. And every single artist I've interviewed just like you, they all say the same thing, like, you know, yep, I have a burn pile. Or, yeah, you know, I I'm not happy with every piece I make, but you know, it's always about the next painting. Or, that's right, um, those doubts that we have when we're painting, they never truly go away. I mean, they're still there, never hanging out, but you know, you sometimes you're a little bit stronger against them, and sometimes, you know, you're a little bit weaker against them, and it throws you for a loop. But you know that it continues like that. And I think it's, it's definitely a very novice thing, you know, and we've all been there as students, when we assume, yeah, I'm sure Leonardo, Dave, Angela, they must have been fine. They're so amazing, but in actuality, they probably were struggling just as much as they were when they were students to love their own work, never Exactly,

Mary Aslin: 48:59

yeah. And the paradox too is that sometimes, even with the best laid plans, the most careful orchestration, the most vigilant focus on composition and design and the most everything is in place. And you know, you work, work, work, work, work, and that painting ends up falling short. And then one you just throw up one day, and you're kind of distracted, and you're just filling an hour of time, and it ends up being having a magic about it, and you go, wow, I I wish I knew how this works. But

Unknown: 49:36

yeah, yeah, that's

Laura Arango Baier: 49:39

beauty and magic and difficult side, I guess, of bringing it back to nature, being unpredictable. And you know, like you mentioned earlier, you know, being a conduit for that, for nature and its beauty, it comes with that unpredictability, and we just have to, we. Roll with the punches. Roll

Mary Aslin: 50:01

with the punches and and just keep, keep showing up, and keep focusing on the process and the skill building is needed and and seeing how it unfolds. Because sometimes you know it's what you said at the beginning of the podcast. It's when you when you're in the moment, you're not, you're not sure of anything, but it's when you look back, you start to see kind of the how, how things are moving forward.

Laura Arango Baier: 50:30

Yeah, yeah. Hindsight is 2020, that's right, yeah. And it's, it's always incredible to hear stories like yours, where it's like, of course, of course, this was going to happen this way. Of course, one day I would be sitting here talking to Mary about her career, but Mary, maybe 20 years ago, wouldn't have thought that, because she didn't see the rest of the path right. And I think that's also what's magical about it. Exactly

Mary Aslin: 50:55

It is. The whole thing is magical. You use that word a lot. The world is in desperate need of magic, and we have to remind ourselves that there is this kind of where, when we show up at the easel, there is kind of this, we're entering this world of magic. And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but it is still magic. It has and and so it's, all, it's all part of the process. Yeah. I

Laura Arango Baier: 51:23

mean, we're making these flat, flat surfaces look 3d which is pretty much, right,

Mary Aslin: 51:29

pretty darn magical, yeah. Also, one last thing too, before I forget about my students, is one thing that, and there's a reason I'm wearing this apron and it has my granddaughter, she wrote a little thing, which I'll hope to share a little later. I love you art, but the other and maybe part of activating the magic, because there are so many distractions. But the other thing I try to impart to my students is to pay attention to when their brain goes into that creative space. And for me, it's when I put my apron on. All of a sudden, there's some switch that happens. And I got that from this amazing book, Twyla Tharp, the creative habit. And she said that for her, it's when she gets into the taxi to go to her studio. So she said, pay attention to those things that that that really put your brain into a different place. And so, you know, it's strange, but I do know that it, I will definitely not get as good a painting if I don't have my apron on. It's weird. So, you know, I guess magicians have a hat. I They pull the rabbit out. I've got, I've got my apron. And, you know, I hope that it works. So no guarantees, but it does help. Oh,

Laura Arango Baier: 53:01

yeah, yeah. And actually, I remember also reading that in the book. And there's an aspect of, you know, having a ritual, right? Yes, ritual, yeah, putting on apron, putting on your, I guess, you know, we would call your your uniform, right? That's just having a designated studio space, if you can, like, the moment you walk into your studio space, the whole world is behind you. There's nothing else. It is just you and your studio. And that's an X,

Unknown: 53:32

that's exactly it. Yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. And

Laura Arango Baier: 53:38

then I also wanted to circle back into when you made that jump into becoming a full time artist, and what, what was it like for you? Was it, what would you say was the biggest challenge that you faced when you finally said, Oh my gosh, I'm doing this

Mary Aslin: 53:57

self doubt. And you know, I'm going to be the first to say I I'm exhibit a for imposter syndrome, you know, thinking, well, there are all those real artists out there who's little old me deciding to be a full time artist. Yeah, I'm just little old me. So that self doubt was a challenge, and the other element of it is that, you know, I, I could never, I could never do what you know, I will always paint no matter what, but it doesn't matter. But I also felt that, you know, artists to be shared. And there's, you know, the business aspect of it, and it's like, if nobody wants it, if I do it and nobody wants it, what then? And this was in the Arab. For Instagram and Facebook, actually, and Facebook was just getting started, so, but the the remedy for that was that I just would drown out. I would not let my head go there. So, for example, launch a full time as a full time artist. I was at the Art affair and my first year, and I did not sell. And that particular fair in Laguna Beach is probably the least attended. It doesn't get a lot of traffic. There are three festivals in town that one, I love it, but it doesn't get a lot of traffic. I didn't sell a single painting, not one the entire summer. But, you know, a lot sales were hard to come by. I, you know, comparing notes with my fellow artists, well, I didn't sell anything either. Um, the following year I sold, I sold a couple of paintings, and I made contact with my biggest collector, and she has purchased 40 of my paintings, and Clint Watson was emphasized the fat tail, not The Long Tail, and the single most significant value of the small pool of collectors. And so that has helped me get asked, I don't need you. Don't need everybody to love your work. You don't need to have big sales in the short term. You you, you have to have some other avenues for generating some income. So teach a class, sign up to do a demonstration, they'll pay you to do that. So, yeah, that's self doubt and, and what if nobody wants my work, but you just keep piling forward,

Laura Arango Baier: 56:54

yeah, yeah. And that's, that's a really great point that you made, you know, like it's about quality of collectors, not quantity, correct? Yeah, and I think you know, one of the first things you know, just from what you've mentioned, that I think many, many artists struggle with as well, is that people pleasing sort of thing that we want to do, where we want everyone to like our work, right? Which is normal, because we want that acceptance and reassurance that, oh, my work is good, right? But the only person it should really matter to is yourself. That's number one. Yeah,

Mary Aslin: 57:37

that's correct. And on that note, on that note, it's very interesting. I remember my dad asking me, Well, how do you decide what what you're going to if you like it, or if you don't like it, would you sell it? And it's like, oh, I don't care if the whole world wants it if I don't like it, there is no way that painting is going to see the light of day. However, there are paintings that I particularly know feel right, and there's, there's zero reaction, so there's kind of both, both ends of that spectrum. So yeah, to your point, it needs to feel you in, you know, inside when it feels right, yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 58:24

yeah. And, I mean, also, if it doesn't sell, it doesn't mean that it's unsellable. It just correct right person hasn't seen it yet. Yes,

Mary Aslin: 58:31

yes. And yeah. I mean, you know, there in in the being an exhibiting artist at an art show is unbelievably terrifying and humbling. And I remember at the Festival of Arts, very renowned art show, and I was really privileged to be part of it for so long. But I remember a couple of other artists saying, who are not? They go and people saying, well, you know, people are kind of aloof over there. And when, when the show opens up, and it's like they're aloof because they're terrified, what if that they've spent an entire year working on a body of work, and someone just walks by and doesn't, I mean, it's not even just about selling, it's just about, oh, wow, look at that. You know, they don't even get a reaction. So, you know, it's but back to your point. It has to feel right here. If it does, then you've got to take the long view, definitely,

Laura Arango Baier: 59:31

definitely. And then also, I wanted to ask you, what are some of the things that you did in the early years of your career that you feel really helped move your career forward as an artist,

Mary Aslin: 59:50

um, in the early years I, I, yeah, business wise. I put, I made a little brochure. I said, I can paint your watercolor portrait. I put in a painting in the school auction, and said, you know, as a fundraiser, and I taught some, you know, kid, a couple of kids classes. Um, I even put a little ad in, in the little local paper, I will paint your, you know, portrait, you know. And I had, you know, for a head. It was $50 for, you know, whatever. So, starting small, and there's, I think we've all heard of the book well, to the War of Art by Stephen Pressfield, which was absolutely excellent and creative authenticity by Ian Roberts and art and fear, those three book, Steven Pressfield said, set yourself up as an LLC or as a business because it it helps you be accountable to yourself as a business person. And that's not to say that. Well, it, it's only, it's all about selling art. No, it's about thinking about things in in a, in kind of a business way, there's the art making part of you, and there's the part of you that is bringing your art to the to the world. What does that mean? You know, donating, offering to do a demonstration. You know, painting you setting yourself up as a doing portraits at the local frame shop on a Saturday. You know, just those little things can start to stair step in it, and it helps you think as a business person. And, you know, start to keep little records and say, Oh, well, you know what that person, you know, wants, my wants, would love to buy some copies of my paintings on cards. I'm going to make some greeting cards. You know, it just starts to build a critical mass like that. So those, those books were very helpful for me. And you know, Ian Roberts says, when your work is ready, it'll find an audience too. So read a lot of books.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:02:46

Yeah, that's an excellent point, definitely in the business side, because, of course, we all kind of dread that. As an artist. We dread it, yeah, the taxes and the oh, well, I have to try to get maybe, like, a separate credit card or debit card, you know, for my expenses as an artist, just to keep everything organized. And yes, inventory, yeah, it's all of these yes little things,

Mary Aslin: 1:03:12

all the little things, yes, yeah, it's a lot, definitely a lot, yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:03:16

oh yeah. But it definitely, like you said, it makes you take it a little more seriously.

Mary Aslin: 1:03:21

Some level It does, yeah, to treat it less like

Laura Arango Baier: 1:03:25

a hobby, because suddenly, you know, oh, well, I gotta tell Uncle Sam. You know that this is happening

Mary Aslin: 1:03:33

legitness on that note too, you know? I mean, there is an investment in materials and framing and, you know, there, and those things can be deductible, because, you know, if you're operating at a business, and you're doing a little, you know, a weekend art show, and you end up selling some cards and an and, and a small painting, and somebody signed up for your classes, You have purchased materials for all that, and you should start to reap some of the benefit, and, and, and it just helps you feel, oh, somebody says, Oh, can you, you know, send me a little brochure I'm going to, or this was in the you asked about, the early days we had paper brochures. I got little tri fold paper brochure that I could hand out, you know. So it starts to build that way, and it does help you feel professional.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:04:26

Absolutely, absolutely, um, yeah. And even also, I mean, these days, especially, you know, having a website and having, oh, your Instagram or social media, all of those things super well.

Mary Aslin: 1:04:38

And I should have mentioned that first and foremost, and that's why, you know, i The website is the what is the foundation that that that's key variable number one. So,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:04:50

yeah, yeah, totally. And then I also wanted to ask you, because, you know, since we're on the topic of the website, how do you use the newsletter? Right your newsletter to stay connected with your online audience and your collectors. The

Mary Aslin: 1:05:06

newsletter is the single most valuable thing that I use for for the business, and I I give Clint Watson a lot of credit for, for in the early days, emphasizing how significant that is. And the number one question is, just to back up a little bit, well, how to, how do you get people in, you know, to sign up. You know, art shows, when anytime you can meet people in public and invite them to do that. I know, in Instagram, you can now go followers and ask them, you know, please sign up for my newsletter. You know, blogs, the daily the daily art show that that is on as part of BoldBrush, all those things people get to know you and will sign up the email. Newsletter is absolutely instrumental. It has made all the difference for me and how I connect is one thing that's really important to me personally is I really try to put myself in the mind of the reader, because I don't really want them to read kind of a boring list of I'm doing this, doing this, doing this, doing this. To me, that's kind of bullet point boring. So how can I make the newsletter interesting? And so what I try to do is share an art related story. And you know, my inspiration for that comes from the late Robert Gen, who was formed the painters keys, and he absolutely wonderful man, and he wrote the twice weekly newsletters. And his newsletters were always they were just so much fun to read because there was always a story or an idea about art making or something about business. And so I can't say that I do anywhere near as good a job as he did with those, but I did try to take the idea of just a beautiful story and people I've got received rave reviews every about my newsletter, which is very touching. But when I say, Oh, I love your newsletter. Oh, your newsletter. I just make sure to read your newsletter. And I thought, oh, isn't that nice? And, you know, in in back to to Faso again, you know, I really don't look at the statistics about, you know, the who the open rate and all that. But my brother, who's a software guy, he goes, that's a really good open rate you're getting on your newsletter. So people love it and read it, and I they're a lot of work. They take me the better part of two days to write, but it once. It's also, you know, unbelievably helpful for me as an artist to be able to wrap words around what is a visual language when I get into my studio. So I can't say enough about the newsletter, it's the best thing ever.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:08:13

Yeah, yeah. And also, I think you mentioned to me that you do it actually quarterly, right? Because, you know, some people, they get a little bit overwhelmed, if they have to do it weekly, or they might set really high expectations, and then they end up burning themselves out, and suddenly they give up on writing a newsletter, you know,

Mary Aslin: 1:08:31

yes, and I was trying to do a newsletter monthly, and I thought, you know, I just can't do it. And and at the end of the day, and I've heard some of your other guests. You know, in the realm of creating art, you have to be authentic. In the realm of marketing your art, you have to be authentic. You know what feels right and quarterly feels right to me?

Laura Arango Baier: 1:08:56

Yeah, yeah. I mean, in the end, you know, everyone chooses the schedule that works best for them. I mean, some people have an easier time writing, or maybe they're more comfortable writing shorter snippets. Or, you know, it's so open ended in that sense. And I think for sure, you know the I love that you mentioned doing it quarterly for that reason, because it also opens up that perspective of, hmm, maybe someone who's listening to this would want to try quarterly. Maybe that would be more comfortable for what they want to accomplish with their newsletter versus, you know, trying to do weekly, bi weekly, monthly. Yes, there's, there's a whole spectrum of possibilities, which I think there is there, right?

Mary Aslin: 1:09:39

There is, yeah, and I have to say that the templates are really nice. You know, just the interface with Faso has just made it super easy to add links, and it's just fabulous.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:09:53

Absolutely, yes. And then I wanted to ask you what final advice. Would you give to someone who wants to become a full time artist as their career?

Mary Aslin: 1:10:11

Always, never put the cart before the horse. First of all, always make doing your best work, priority number one, and build your skills to that end. The second thing that I would that, that I think, is really to carry it forward. How do I bring that, that art to the world? I know that the social media platforms are a really excellent way to do that. They're what they're not my favorite way. I they serve a valuable function, and I'm grateful that I can keep in touch with people around the world. That that's the marvelous part. But I really have have, I really think weekend art shows are could be a wonderful Avenue. I personally have never done a weekend art show because I've had access to these summer long, entire summer long shows here in California. But I've heard other artists speak very highly of them. They, you know, allow you to bring the work to people directly. And art is about communication and and sharing. And I, you know, I've, I've said many times that to people that I've spoken with, that the artist has this part of the circle. This is what the artist makes. This is the realm of the artist. The viewer. And they don't have to be a buyer. They can be an appreciator that says, they say, you know, I really, oh, that that, you know, the the light in, in that floral painting just makes me feel happy. The circle is now completes and art shows give you a really beautiful mechanism for building that relationship and completing the circle. Joining art groups can be incredibly beneficial, sharing with like minded artists and you know, teaching you may you may not think, Oh, I'm not really any kind of a teacher. I think I remember reading about, I think studio and cominati, who required their students to teach after the first year, so that, because there that kind of propels you forward. So those things do your best work, art shows, collaborating with other artists, and some teaching. Those are three really good ways just to establish a really good foundation. And you know their juried, juried art shows are, are also nice. I mean, receiving awards and art shows isn't the be all and end all, but it can. It can be significant for advancing your career as well.

Unknown: 1:13:16

Definitely, absolutely,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:13:18

I completely agree those are all really important tips and things for, you know, someone to keep in mind. Because I think it's very easy to look at very, very successful artists and have your expectations that high, right? Instead of, you know, managing those expectations a bit and just build things in a more stable way, right? I think that, you know, starting with how you said, you know, teaching and, you know, those local weekend art shows or a summer one, if you can find one, and then just slowly building is so important, yes, yeah,

Mary Aslin: 1:13:53

slowly, slowly and surely building. Because there what you had said earlier. You know, there may be a particular painting you didn't did, didn't resonate with an audience this time, but it will somewhere else. And, you know, slow and steady kind of wins the not that I like to use the word race, but it just sort of wins the wins the process, I should say, wins the method, wins the the reality, that way, just slow and steady for time. And if you, if you're doing quality work, and you're, you know, also receiving critiques. I seek out critiques from artists that I admire. And say, you know, I gotta have your feedback and eyes on this painting and now, and, you know, and couple great painting, nothing's nothing, nothing I can see fixed that. I say, okay, you know, it's not just me thinking. It's, you know, it's there been other, other seasoned eyes. On it, and that can give you the confidence to just trust that it'll it will pan out. It will

Unknown: 1:15:06

definitely yes.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:15:08

And then, speaking also of teaching, do you have any upcoming workshops, or any teaching opportunities that you would like to share, and also any upcoming submissions

Mary Aslin: 1:15:21

I have, I've just been asked to, I'm part of a master they've designated me as a master teacher through the Masters online mentoring program. I've never done an online class or taught one, but I've participated in some, and they're they're actually great. And so I'm looking forward to launching that with masteries, and then I'll be teaching a workshop in Crete Greece in October. I have organized and led two other international workshops that have just been unbelievably fulfilling. So I'm looking forward to Crete, Greece in October. And I don't have any exhibitions at the moment planned, but I'm building, you know, a new body of work, and we'll see where that goes so and you know, the the most I tell you, we're so we're so incredibly fortunate there. Have been so many artists, you know, in the past that have informed our work we that help inform us and inspire us. But gosh, you know, you've had a lot of incredible artists on your podcast that just, I just did so admire. And you know, Dan gear Hearts is near and dear to my heart. He talks about painting with honesty. I love rose Franson. We all love Richard schman. There's so many, so so, so many. And Harley Brown is in pastel painter. Anyway, it's so I love to bring all of that, whatever, what I have gleaned from, from, from all these wonderful artists that have paved the way. It's really thrilling to share that with the art, with my students. So you know the and you know, back to exhibitions. You know, when people ask, Who are your inspiration? I always love to, well, look at the work of all these people and and you'll see, you'll see where I received my influence, so it's real privilege.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:17:22

Yeah, yeah. We stand on the shoulders of giants. We sure do. Yeah, yeah. Oh. And then where can people see more of your work?

Mary Aslin: 1:17:33

I have my website, my beloved website, Mary Aslan, fine art. I am on Instagram. Also. Mary Aslan fine art, my Facebook business account was hacked, and sadly, so I don't have Facebook anymore. And then I'm at the Mission Fine Art Gallery in San Juan Capistrano, I was doing a demonstration there last Saturday. Really fun to talk to people. And oh, on that note, just any time, just to go back a little bit, anytime, just launching a career, anytime that you can paint in public with people, they are people are intrigued, deeply intrigued by the process. And that really helps, you know, build a build a following. But yeah, so my website, Instagram and my gallery

Laura Arango Baier: 1:18:22

so well. Thank you so much, Mary for being such a light of joy in the podcast. Well, you're

Mary Aslin: 1:18:29

welcome. Can I share one more quick thing as to close, and this is something that's on my here. I love you art. And you know my granddaughter, she created this little graphic year years ago. And what touched me about it was she wrote, you know, I love art, but she also wrote, I love you art. So I wrote a blog about this. And it really, it just, it really taught me a lot what just for saying I love you art. Because we all say I love art, but do we say I love you art? And I wrote a little blog about it, I love you art, for the way you make me feel when I make you. I love you. Art for the way you make me feel when I enjoy others. Expression of you, I love you. Art for being a mechanism that allows us to explore and express our humanity. I love you. Art for the ways you allow creativity to flourish. I love you. Art for offering a path for manifesting and sharing beauty, truth, life, joy, peace, happiness and love. I love you. Art for the way you bring people together and so. I want to thank you, Laura, for bringing us together through art. I'm so grateful. I'm

Laura Arango Baier: 1:20:07

so grateful also, this was a beautiful conversation. And then you know that you know, to mention a bit about your your blog post, I love that you speak of art as if you know we're a muse, like a physical embodiment, you know? And I think that's really, really. It's beautiful. It's very touching.

Mary Aslin: 1:20:29

Well, thank you. It's been touching for me to to get to know you and be with you. And I just can't thank you enough.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:20:37

Oh, thank you. I feel exactly the same. I'm so happy our paths crossed.

Mary Aslin: 1:20:41

Me too. Great way to celebrate my birthday. Let me tell you my husband, David. My husband's out of town, and he feels, feels so bad, and it's like, oh well, I've got a really nice morning going with Laura.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:20:57

I thought I could, I could be your birthday buddy in the morning. You're my birthday buddy.