Meet Aiyla Paulin | Artist

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

Hi Aiyla, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
I don’t really see an end point. I foresee my career taking so many twists and turns, developing into something I never could have imagined at this point. All I’ve ever wanted to do is create beautiful things and share them with the world. I’ve always known I wanted to be a creative, since the time I was little I was sewing clothes for the dogs or filming reality TV shows in my backyard with that giant camcorder. Over the last few years, I’ve started taking that path seriously. It began with a pet portrait for a friend and has evolved from my own art pop ups and festivals to mural assistance. Ideally, I can grow my skillset both as an artist and business owner to the point where I can do so consistently and with contentment.

I want to create art that fills my soul, without the expectation of having to conform to what’s popular. I have found so many young artists are discouraged from even beginning their journey because of the pressure to create in a certain way or aesthetic and they’ll never be good enough. I know I’ve certainly struggled with this. It’s critical that I maintain what made me fall in love with producing art in the first place; being unabashedly and wholeheartedly myself. Designing art that is humorous and weird and slightly uncomfortable but always beautiful.

I digress; I know that my career will be ever changing and will continue until someday it doesn’t. The most important goal I hope to achieve by that point is to find a way to help animals through my art. I consider myself so lucky to be one of those people who knows for a fact what gives them purpose. For me, it has always been animals. I grew up extremely fortunate to be surrounded by them. My mother taught me from the time I was very small that animals bring a certain magic into our lives that cannot be matched. We’ve fostered dogs and nursed injured birds, if there was ever a mission I believed in, its to be able to assist the animals that deserve the love and care that I give to my own sweet babies every day.

When I began my professional artistic journey, I was creating custom pet portraits. Each time I made a commission, I would donate some percentage of my proceeds to shelters and charities dedicated to the benefit of underprivileged animals. As good as that felt, I always wanted to do more. The bigger picture for me is to find a way to bridge my two loves, animals and art. I want to find myself in a position to make a difference in a way I wouldn’t even know is possible now.

My end goal is to keep the creativity alive, to leave the world a little more beautiful than how I found it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a renaissance woman. If I can create something beautiful with my hands, I will. Throughout my artistic journey I have explored so many different mediums and styles. I believe as an artist, you are ever evolving. My path began with digital pet portraits; this was my first foray into becoming a business owner. The beginning was messy and took a ton of “figure it out”. Eventually I found my groove and some success locally. While growing my portrait business, I found myself missing traditional art. I began painting small pet portrait ornaments and slowly that product grew successfully. While I adore creating pet portraits, I felt that I was missing out on showing people a real sense of who I am.

Currently, my focus is charcoal and gold leaf art. I’m finally getting to tell a story directly from my soul. A story of peculiar animals and beautiful women, art that is somewhat uncomfortable while maintaining its sense of “pretty”. I get to showcase my love of the vintage aesthetic with a touch of surrealism. This expression of my creativity is taking me farther than I expected it to. My strange sense of whimsy and humor paired with a slight tone of macabre is resonating with people. I’m starting to receive opportunities to do pop up shows and display my art in local businesses. I am delighted to have local business owners take notice of the value my art brings and it shows me that I am heading in the right direction.

Was this easy? Absolutely not. This took years of developing a skillset to get close to a level where I felt comfortable creating a business around it. It took so much trial and error through multiple attempts at running an art business, understanding what works and what doesn’t. While I would never call them failures, I had plenty of learning opportunities and hard lessons.

The most important thing I’ve learned throughout this experience is that through perseverance you will prevail. Each perceived failure is a moment where you can pivot and become better. Rather than viewing setbacks as the end, I see them as steps toward eventual success. I genuinely believe things happen for a reason.

I’ve found the ability to trust in that thought has pushed me to keep going, when all I wanted to do was give up. I didn’t give up because I trusted that every challenge had a purpose, even if I couldn’t see it at the time. Believing that things happen for a reason gave me the strength to push through, knowing there was something to gain from each experience.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oooh I love this question! Denver is such a special city, as a Colorado native there are things I would never skip out on if I were visiting. A few of my favorite spots are Linger in LoHi, Babe’s Tea Room, as well as Williams & Graham. Linger’s food is consistently incredible, and the service is phenomenal, make sure to order their Devil on Horseback and a Duck Bao Bun! Babe’s Tea Room is the perfect place to have an afternoon tea with an old friend and a sweet spot for a good selfie. Williams & Graham is one of the coolest speakeasies I’ve ever seen. Fabulous cocktails and the exact atmosphere you want for the perfect date.

Activities I would highly recommend are going to Comedy Work’s New Talent Night. Grab a quick drink at Roosevelt across the street and gear up for a night of laughs, you certainly won’t be disappointed. I always find the Denver Botanic Garden to be a wonderful time, especially during the holidays. The best part about Denver is you can go hiking just about an hour out in any direction. We live in such a magical state, I’ve been here 30 years, yet I’m still discovering new things to do!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to take a moment to thank the person in my life who has always put my dreams first and helped me make them a reality. Thank you to my most lovely and wonderful fiancé Matthew. He has encouraged me when I had no belief in myself and he continues to push me to be the best version of myself I can possibly be. Thank you for loving me unconditionally and seeing who I really am with unwavering support. You are my everything.

Thank you to my loving parents who always saw the light in me. Thank you to my friends Dallas and Elleya, you keep me positive and remind me I really can do this. Truly, thank you to everyone who has seen me for who I am and given me the opportunity to shine. Thank you, I am eternally grateful.

Website: https://www.artbyaiyla.com

Instagram: @art.by.aiyla

Other: Tiktok: @art.by.aiyla