We had the good fortune of connecting with Mallory Cash and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Mallory, what do you attribute your success to?
Growth. Growth has been the important factor behind my success. It is a loaded word for a business and artist, so let me clarify the growth that has aided in my success. I am referring to the growth of my talent, in what I provide as a service, and reaching out to others, If I had not put effort into any of these three growths I would not be a successful business woman.
Ever since I was little I was an artist. I started attending art school when I was in middle school and continued onto college. I learned and refined my craft, but knew my education and evolution would not end in a traditional classroom. Every piece that I create I evaluate how my next attempt could be better. The benefit of this action is that my work will always evolve into something better.
To create great art is one accomplishment. However, to sell your art is another talent within itself. 70% of people have never bought art. The number of those who do buy can’t (or assume they can’t) afford original art. Thus I started offering prints to bridge the gap to those who can buy my work. To aid in my success further I offer my prints in frames. This gives the collector the satisfaction of being able to go home and display the work promptly. Rather than giving them the task of searching for a frame on their own time. This has been a great success to introduce buyers to become collectors of my work. Unexpectedly, it has allowed me to show my work in more places. Simply because I have more work to display at once. Instead of having to worry about providing and creating 10 new originals to a location I can display prints with ease and give more time to creating originals.
Last, I deem my success to reaching out to others. I have business coaches I meet with regularly to discuss the goals that have been met and which goals to set in place next. Having a road map of goals makes each task seem doable and thus achievable. Having a team to discuss which goals are worth implementing first makes for a smoother growing process. In this success to reaching out to others I have also reached out to a number of companies and events to display my work. The companies range from coffee shops to breweries, to hospitals to public art calls, and the events range from small town single artist events to larger events with 100 plus artists. The more eyes on my work the more sales come from the exposure.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am an oil painter that has two different subjects and styles. I paint custom pet portraits and vibrant landscape paintings. I have painted well over 7,000 pets as one stops counting after 7,000. As of last year, I have started doing live pet painting events at local businesses. It is fun for the community to watch an artist in real-time and see their pet become a masterpiece before their eyes. I do create custom pet portraits in my studio and ship them to those who are unable to attend the live painting events. I have shipped to all US states, Canada, the Virgin Islands, and Africa. This year I have limited myself to 100 pet portraits. This allows me more time to focus on painting vibrant landscapes. Currently I have finished 52 out of the 100 pet portraits I have allotted myself to complete this year.
As mentioned I also paint vibrant landscape paintings that resemble more of an impressionistic style. The vibrant landscape paintings are from real places I have traveled to. Instead of creating a painting on location I like to take photos and sit with the experience. This allows me to absorb what is happening in the moment, so that way I can reflect on my experience on canvas when I am in the studio. I enjoy sunsets and sunrises. Colors change rapidly during the golden hour and I cannot paint fast enough to resemble the majestic moments. I would rather enjoy the moment than miss out on the events because I was working.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am not one to live life on an itinerary. I enjoy living life serendipitously. Living life this way allows for welcomed surprises and less disappointments. Say on your travels someone suggested a place or activity for you to do. If your day was filled with scheduled events you would not have time for this gift that was presented to you. Rather say the weather should shift making your destination impossible to get to if you live life with more freedom you would be less disappointed if you had to suddenly shift gears. If my best friend were visiting she would understand this and we would start with going into the mountains and seeing where the wind takes us from there.
With that said I do enjoy any hikes in the mountains. Some of my favorites are near and far. My husband and I have a converted van I used to live and travel in so that makes going on adventures a joy. The southwest part of Colorado is a gem that I could continue to visit and be inspired by. Any hike is a dream and after grabbing a beer at any small town brewery wont disappoint. Spending the evening next to a river or lake with a home cooked meal at camp rounds out the day.
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 not be where I am if I did not have the support of my parents. As a child I could have gone to a traditional public school. However, my parents saw my talent at an early age and wanted to jump start my success by having me audition to a magnet school. Luckily, this was an option where I grew up and has fostered many talented artists of all disciplines. I attended Bak Middle School of the Arts and Dreyfoos School of the Arts. To note Dreyfoos School of the Arts remains one of the top 100 schools in the US and is a public school that was the jumping point of my career.
My parents support continued as I went to an art college for my degree. I chose to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art, because they have a career center that helps students and graduates well beyond their time on campus. The career center has helped me set my road map to success and has put me in touch with my local business coaches of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of Larimer County. I recommend SBDC to anyone in Colorado with a business looking to grow. They have an amazing team that is knowledgeable in many facets.
Website: https://www.mallorycashart.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mallory.cash.art/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mallorycashart