Meet Sierra Thomas | Digital Marketing Strategist & Artist

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

Hi Sierra, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Siehorse Fine Art started because something ended.

I was fresh into my career at a small agency with huge demands for new hires – not at all unfamiliar to those in advertising. I don’t think I handled my early 20s well at all. I had moved out of state to California right after graduating university, took the first job I got, and bam: was thrown into the real world real quick. As an artist, the rigidity of corporate life and monotony of working Monday through Friday just to live for the weekend took a toll on my creative spirit. I felt adrift having gone from putting in 3+ years of studio hours to commuting 2+ hours a day to a sterile office. I had to go back to my art, my roots. Because I lived in San Clemente, I decided to paint the ocean and post my work to Instagram.

Soon enough people on social media and in my personal network started reaching out about commissions and how they could buy prints. I built a website and took my first crack at having a side hustle.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art is heavily influenced by my surroundings. When I first started Siehorse Fine Art, I was painting the ocean nonstop. This made sense since I was 10 minutes away from the beach and became obsessed with surfing, marine wildlife, and waves. I moved back to Colorado in 2018 and realized this might not be the best market for a bunch of beachy paintings and prints. Luckily the mountains and nature have always been a huge inspiration for me having grown up in the Rockies. I pivoted, but only my subject matter and materials.

I used to paint large canvases with acrylics. Space is a factor when deciding on media, so I dabbled with gouache paints my first year back in Colorado. Now my work is done 100% on heavy weight watercolor paper with gouache and ink. I’ve finally become profitable because of a few factors. I found a nice fit with current market demand, and I started taking more risks with applying for local showcases, selling events, etc.

I’m most proud of the fact I can manage my own website, commissions, events/shows, and vendors on top of a full time career outside of art.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Denver’s starting to come into its own these past couple of years after business owners are rebounding from the pandemic. I would 100% recommend someone to split their trip into a city and a nature day. Day one they should grab a coffee at Weathervane, take a lap around City Park or through the Botanic Gardens, eat breakfast at Good Bread on East Colfax, stroll down South Broadway and pop into the vintage shops, eat lunch either at Lucky Noodles on Colfax or Adelita’s on Broadway, and have dinner at Wildflower in the Highlands. Weather and seasonality drives so much around here; I would tell them to avoid i70 and head to Roxborough State Park instead or take a hike around Boulder. Then top off the weekend with a rooftop happy hour at Rosetta Hall!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I can’t thank my friends and husband enough for constantly hyping up my work. It really helps having people whom you’re close with remind you of your talent. It speaks volumes when someone sends me information to an art event I should enter. Not only is it validation that the work I’m doing has appeal beyond a focus group of one (me), but that they want to see me succeed.

Website: https://siehorsefineart.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siehorse/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sierraweir/