Artist, Monique Fedor
“I still have to learn not to judge my work off the opinions of others.”
The fear of sucking at something has killed more businesses [and more passions generally] than any other life variable.
Thing is, being average and not knowing what you’re doing is completely unavoidable for anything new worth doing. Building a business is no different. We don’t get where we want to go without feeling challenged, confused, unsure and maybe even a little bit embarrassed while we try.
But if you’re willing to sit with this pain, you’ll become unstoppable. And this episode will show you why.
My guest is the celebrated painter Monique Fedor, and in the sharing of discovering her passion and following it through to a thriving business you’ll hear about:
Pushing forward when you almost give up
Embracing the title [and magic] of being of self-taught
The dark side of Instagram
How to find your crowd
The constant battle with self-doubt we experience
And the benefits of making new connections along the way
So, if you’re holding yourself back in some way, I think you’ll be ready to push forward after hearing this business-building story.
Follow Monique on IG @moniquefedor_
Check out Monique’s Website moniquefedor.com
You can find the conversation transcript at unemployedandafraid.com.au/episodes.
And don’t forget to follow Unemployed & Afraid on IG , Threads and LinkedIn
And show your support for this independent podcast and small business by shouting your host a cuppa at buymeacoffee.com/unemployedpod
You can reach your host on email kim@unemployedandafraid.com.au on IG and on LinkedIn
Keep scrolling for the conversation transcript…
Kim Kerton [00:00:00]:
Welcome to Unemployed and Afraid, a podcast that explores the glorious mess of building your own business with the people doing it. I'm your host and fellow business builder, Kim Kerton. Thank you for being here. Let's get into some good, honest small business chats. Hello Business Builder. I'm so glad you hit play on this podcast to hear another epic story of following your dreams and building a business you love. Now, I would argue that the fear of sucking at something has killed more businesses and more passions generally than any other life variable. The thing is, being average and not knowing what you're doing is completely unavoidable for anything new that's worth doing, building a business is no different.
Kim Kerton [00:00:47]:
We don't get where we want to go without feeling challenged, confused, unsure, and probably a little bit embarrassed while we try. But if you're willing to sit with this pain, you will become absolutely unstoppable, and this episode will show you why. My guest is the celebrated painter Monique Fedor, and in the sharing of discovering her passion and following it through to a thriving business, you're going to hear about the dark side of Instagram pushing forward when you almost give up embracing the title and magic of being self taught, how to find your crowd, the constant battle with self doubt that we experience, and the benefits of the new connections we make along the way. So if you're holding yourself back in some way, listener, I think you'll be ready to push forward after hearing this business building story. So let's get into it. I'm here with Monique Fedor, full time working artist of what I can only describe as the most magical still life. Oil paintings. Paintings that just drop you into a moment that feels real and raw.
Kim Kerton [00:01:56]:
She's someone who has always gravitated towards creativity and art, but it wasn't until she discovered her love of painting and undertook many hours of self education while her little one slept that she found what would grow to be her profession. Monique's paintings have graced the homes of some of the most fashionable humans and jaw dropping destination accommodations, quickly growing her from emerging artist to established and thriving, offering her paintings direct to consumer through her beautiful website, large audience on IG, and through the cornerstone Gallery in Toowoomba. The life of a professional artist is one I find deeply fascinating and often undervalued in the tone of business. The two are not often enough put in the same sentence, but I believe that business is an art in and of itself. And when that meets an art practice, well, that's just absolute magic. Monique, I can't wait to hear your story of business growth. Welcome to unemployed and afraid.
Monique Fedor [00:02:51]:
Thank you very much.
Kim Kerton [00:02:53]:
So I want to start with something fun just to get to know you a little bit beyond this incredible artist I have the pleasure of spending time with. How do you think your best friend might describe you?
Monique Fedor [00:03:04]:
I think you'd probably describe me as a little bit weird. I don't know. Well, my best friend and I went to school together, so we've spent many years together. And it's so hard to say what you and say, but I think we're both two weirdos that seem to be insane and have found each other.
Kim Kerton [00:03:26]:
I think weirdos are some of my favorite people on the planet. I love that she would describe you like that, and you may do it right back at her. And I think that weirdness is sometimes when we discover those unique parts of ourselves.
Monique Fedor [00:03:39]:
Yeah.
Kim Kerton [00:03:40]:
So before you were a professional artist and this person that we're meeting today, who were you? And we can go back as far as you like on that question right back to the beginning.
Monique Fedor [00:03:51]:
Well, I have always been the same, just more of a creative type person. Like my friend denier I was mentioning before. We would quite often not fit in with the other crowds. And in school, we would kind of just stay together. And we would sit on a little hill in school and at lunchtime and sketch the clouds together and draw little trees or try and draw each other's faces. Yeah. We just were always interested in that kind of thing from the start and stayed that way. I also love music a lot.
Monique Fedor [00:04:26]:
I learned piano for a very long time as a young girl growing up. And I remember sitting in one of my lessons and my piano teacher behind me, she had a little cup of tea, and she was just teaching music and listening to music all day. I was like, I think I want your job. I think that's what I'd like to do. And so all my way growing up, I was striving towards that to be able to become a piano teacher and get my qualifications, to be able to teach. So that's what I did do. And then I did that for many years until my little work came along. And then while I was in that period where you don't go back to work and you're looking after your babies, and they were sleeping, and I'd already cleaned the house, like 500 times.
Monique Fedor [00:05:10]:
I was like, what am I going to do now? So I started actually painting for my daughter's room to be able to have a sleigh for her. And after that, a few of my friends and family were like, oh, this is freshly, really good. You should do this more often. And my auntie was working in a little local gallery at the time, and she was like, oh, come bring your stuff in. You should see if they'll accept your work. And it kind of just changed from there, and I kind of fell in love with painting. Although I didn't paint every day, I would just paint whenever I really felt like it. It kind of really changed into a daily thing.
Monique Fedor [00:05:49]:
Actually, once my dad passed away, he and I were learning to paint with each other. Like paint acrylic from watercolor, what I started with, and we were learning to paint acrylic together, and he was like, my art go to person. And then when he passed away rather quickly, kind of shocked us all. Even when he was in hospital, he was encouraging me to continue on with art because I was actually at a point where I thought I'd almost give up and just go back to piano teaching, because I do love piano teachings. It's not like I was going to give up and go back to something I hated. I was going to be able to give up and still do something I love. But I guess he could see in me how much art really just bring that next level of passion and love from within me. And I guess he had that same, too, because he was also wanting to learn to be an artist.
Monique Fedor [00:06:44]:
So after I lost him, I kind of just threw myself into this painting challenge where I literally painted every day for 100 days straight. And when I did that, it just changed everything for me. So painting became part of my f day, and it became a way for me to calm my mind, and it became a way for me to deal with my grief, things like that. So now, even if I wasn't to be an artist as a full turn girl and went back to being a piano teacher, I think I would still paint nearly every day just because of the sheer love of it. And, yeah, that's kind of how it's all become what it is now.
Kim Kerton [00:07:27]:
That's so magical. I want to go back to you and your wonderful dad painting together, learning together. How did you approach learning? Because it sort of sounds like there might have been a little bit of a trial and error. Play with your friend at school and trying to do little things here or there that got put to the side for your time as a piano teacher. So where did you start in picking up a paintbrush, and how did you learn?
Monique Fedor [00:07:55]:
So, before I started painting at all, I came across an artist on Instagram, and her name is Lorraine. Boots. And she's a miniaturist artist. She paints these tiny, tiny little worlds, and they are just the most magical, phenomenal thing. And I actually got to see, she's based in South Africa, and she came to Sydney for a show of her own. And I got to see her work in person, and it just kind of went like, wow, this is amazing. I just was so inspired by her. And on her instagram, she shows the process of how her paintings become what they are.
Monique Fedor [00:08:34]:
So she takes, like a photo of it, start 20 minutes in another 20 minutes. And then just from seeing that, I realized that paintings require layers and a step and a process. And how you form that from watching those pictures was kind of how I took to it for myself. So they sketch them slowly, bring these other layers in, and from that, that's how I kind of took teaching myself. And oils were a completely different story. I was really scared about painting with oils for a very, very long time, even though I loved them more than anything when I saw oil painting. And just the texture, so the vividness of the color, it was just so next level to me compared to other mediums. So I actually tuned how to do that.
Monique Fedor [00:09:26]:
I was really shocked to find out you didn't actually need to have all these chemicals that I thought that you had to have to be able to paint with oils. It's actually not true at all. So that was a big turning point for me because I was like, oh, kind of suck. Like, having to use oils and have turts in your room or with you every day, that just doesn't seem like a good thing. But it ended up being totally fine. And after researching online and looking at these different YouTube videos, I took what I could from that and then just learned through my own trial and error of what works and what doesn't.
Kim Kerton [00:10:04]:
That's unreal, and it's so wonderful to hear. It never ceases to amaze me just how we can unlock parts of ourselves in this way, by just leaning into it, just doing something that you're passionate about every day, just to get a little bit better and a little bit better every day. I just think it applies for so many things. I have lots of art desire in my heart, and I think you just have to apply yourself to one thing. I write a lot, and my application of that is something I've almost shied away from because it's like once you commit to that time zone of, I'm going to do this every day for this certain period, it's almost like you're allowing yourself to be what's in you and it's a bit of a scary thing. Did that play a part in any of your experience then almost allowing yourself to become a painter?
Monique Fedor [00:10:52]:
Definitely, yes. So before my dad got sick, that was actually one of the reasons why I wanted to stop painting. And I still do now. I find it really hard, like, when I paint something and it's not receipt well or it doesn't sell relatively quickly, I freak out that I've been rejected and my painting has been rejected. I'm crap, what am I doing? And it's still something I'm working on. But I suppose at the very start of my painting journey, I was more susceptible to the opinions of others and how that affected my work. I would take it, like, if I painted something and I put a lot of hard work into it, and I would show someone and I could tell that their immediate reaction wasn't like, oh, that's actually good. This is nice.
Monique Fedor [00:11:40]:
I would just crumble and be like, that's it. I'm a piano teacher. What am I doing? Why am I doing know, why am I putting myself through this? But it was still, like, it was still something that I just loved doing. So I had to learn, and I still have to learn not to judge my work off the opinions of others. And it sounds so silly, but it is. So in the opening, I do this thing called thoughts on Thursdays where I'll try and do a painting and upload it every Thursday. And I've been really, really shocked and overwhelmed about how quickly they have sold. And sometimes I don't think any of them have stayed on there for more than 24 hours.
Monique Fedor [00:12:25]:
And one time when it got so close to that 24 hours, I was just like, pacing, pacing in my house. Just like I've made the worst painting in the world. Not the case at all. Like, Ramadanachi called me aside and like, remique, this is so normal. Something doesn't have to sell in 24 hours. Like, get a grip, girl. And it's not the selling necessarily. It's more like your heart that is in that.
Monique Fedor [00:12:53]:
And when somebody doesn't take that and you're like, you yourself have been rejected, and it's a really tricky place to be. And I'm sure a lot of artists and creators feel the same when you're putting so much of your heart and love into things, but it's hard to make that separation sometimes.
Kim Kerton [00:13:12]:
I just think you've perfectly described how so many people feel in terms of putting their art practice or any kind of object or thing that they've created out there for potential rejection. I think that internal battle is just so real and so relatable for so many people. And it can't be underestimated that it's art and it's the things that you create. But it's everything we do, particularly in business. You put a product out there that you've curated or a batch of products that you've curated to be beautiful onto a website that you've poured over everything. The parts of us just seep into everything that we do. So I think you are amongst friends in terms of that absolute fear of rejection and how hard everything is and all those. I feel that with my podcast every single week, I look at the numbers and I'm like, okay, so that's how many people have listened.
Kim Kerton [00:14:04]:
Okay. I wonder what they thought because I get no feedback ever except for my reviews or except for the OD message. You put something like this out there and it just goes into a void. So I really understand your fear of what do people think? How is this being received? And, yeah, it's a real challenge. Real challenge to get through. What practices do you put in place now to help you keep putting things out there and keep trying?
Monique Fedor [00:14:33]:
One thing that I've had to do, which, embarrassing, I suppose it's a good thing and not a good thing. So I didn't know this on Instagram, once you reach 10,000 followers, the numbers of individuals who follow you after a show, and it'll just set 10,000. It won't be like 10,000 and 110 thousand and two. And it was actually a blessing in disguise because whenever you post something for me, whenever I post something, there will always be people who unfollow because, I don't know, they realize they don't like my page anymore. They're like, oh, why am I following this lady? Or whatever? And that was really heartbreaking for me. And just seeing those numbers has really got to me. And so I've made this rule with myself because you have to go into a separate section of Instagram to check. And I was searching that.
Monique Fedor [00:15:23]:
I was like, okay, I need to see. Okay, it's at least number now. And then the next search, I'll be like, oh, my gosh, why do people hate me? I could go above again. And then it's like, oh, no, that's good. Or loses that. And so toxic. It's the last thing ever. And it would really affect my mood for the rest of the day.
Monique Fedor [00:15:40]:
I'd be like, so sad that something came through has made someone physically want to unfollow me. So I've made my rule with myself that I'm not allowed to check that anymore. And I actually have stuck to it, believe it or not. And it's been really great for me to step back a little bit. And I'm kind of at a place now where I am trying to just kind of post and go. And the funny thing is, even if I knew a particular style of painting that I made wasn't working well for other people, I still can't help that. I can still only paint what I feel like. So even if it's not, if I'm in this mood where I have to paint all these other things and they're not received well, I can't get out of that mood until it's done.
Monique Fedor [00:16:25]:
It's a hard thing to explain, but it just works better when I'm not aware of the numbers and I just reply to the people who are kind enough to comment and share on my posts and I'll just focus on that. And that is lovely. And that's where my energy will go to, rather than constantly checking how things are working for everybody. And it's so true. Not everybody will be pleased or I'm so subjective. One person will like something and it will be like, abhorrent to another person. So I think that's how it will help me in the future. These people have never met me before.
Monique Fedor [00:16:58]:
They don't actually know me as a person. So I've got to try and just separate that.
Kim Kerton [00:17:03]:
That is not embarrassing at all. It could not be more relatable in any way, shape or form. I think the exact same thing anytime. I mean, I have the same less so with Instagram because I'm not selling a visual product at the moment. I was certainly with my ceramics. But even with this, I'll put something out there and I will go back and I will look at how many people are following or subscribing to the pod, or go back into the socials and have a look at that. I do exactly the same thing and get just as obsessed with it. It is toxic, like you said, it's a real people pleasing thing that I think we do to ourselves.
Kim Kerton [00:17:39]:
It's seeing our success through the response of others or the indicators that we get that people like our work and us. Instagram is such a gift in so many ways, but it's such a curse in that as well, because you're putting something out there to connect. But then also if somebody doesn't want to connect, you're like, oh, hang on, is that me or is that the thing? I don't think it's anywhere close to embarrassing. I also like to remind myself about bots. Bots that come onto pages and come off of pages. They are a real thing. So follow accounts could quite genuinely be bots getting bumped from the network, which I wish they would just do more of. But, yeah, like you say, we can never, ever affect or understand how we show up in people's feeds.
Kim Kerton [00:18:19]:
There could be so many reasons for these things that we'll never understand. But, yeah, it's most certainly not embarrassing. I think it's important for us to remember when we're creating anything, be it art, be it a product, be it any kind of business or any kind of personal thing that we put out there. Everything has its time. Like, even if it's not being responded to, it has a dip in response. For example, your paintings. Everything has its time. So who's to say in a year's time, that particular painting that you thought didn't do very well gets picked up for some incredible art prize, or someone sees it and is just obsessed with it? Everything has to meet the right time and the right people, and it's so hard to do when we're in that Instagram immediate response world.
Kim Kerton [00:19:01]:
Definitely a challenge I think a lot of people relate to. So thank you for sharing it. I want to talk a little bit more about Instagram, because for your business in particular, incredibly important to share your visual art, it's, I imagine, become the primary stream of influence and of revenue for you as well. So take me back to the monique who was just getting started in that space and how it affected you putting work out there, but how it grew and what worked for you.
Monique Fedor [00:19:29]:
So it was actually almost easier in the start because I felt like there was no eyes on me. It was only a few people watching. So I was like, oh, it doesn't matter. And then I did that 100 day challenge, and I felt like that really helped create, I suppose, with myself and other accounts that I follow. When people do post regularly, you do form a form of trust with them because they're a regular occurrence. And I suppose because I was doing that for that amount of time, I had built up a certain level of relationship with people and the people who really liked being able to see paintings being made each day. And that initial crowd has made a bit of a difference for me. They've stayed.
Monique Fedor [00:20:16]:
And I have some art friends on Instagram, too, who are wonderful, and some artists who are very open and happy to chat to me about their tips and secrets. A local artist here put me into a company that has been life changing with canvases and framing and boxes and stuff like that that I had no idea where to go to when sending artwork. So that's been really amazing. But I suppose in terms of growth for Instagram, the most incredible thing that changed was my mom has an Airbnb that at the time, changing her home into an Airbnb, and she wanted to do some research about how to do that. And she came across Sarah Andrews and her Hosting Masterclass. And when she saw that, she saw captain's rest, her knowing me before being my mom, she was like, oh, my goodness, Monique, you are going to pass out when you see this captain's rest place. It's like you in a cottage. You're going to love it.
Monique Fedor [00:21:17]:
And she was so correct. As soon as I saw it, I was just like, oh, this is all romantical dreams come true. And at the time on Instagram, and I still like to do it now. I like to ask for a photographers permission to be able to reference their work in a painting because I know how hard it is to set up a photograph, and I don't have all the time in the world to get the lighting right and do this. And it's so much easier for me just be like, oh, I'll just use that photograph and paint from that. It seems like such a cheap way. So I always want to ask first that it's okay. And I asked Sarah if it was okay if I was to paint from this beautiful picture of ducks in the water.
Monique Fedor [00:21:58]:
That was from Captain Rest. In the meantime, I had no idea about how amazing that community was or anything. Like, I just. Just came across it. I had no idea about the classes or anything yet. And then once I did that little painting, she posted my painting on her page. And I remember waking up that morning and there was, like, all of these followers that came from that. And I was like, oh, my goodness.
Monique Fedor [00:22:22]:
This is insane. This is so cool. And then not long afterwards, she had an email sent to me and we ended up having a day painting together, which was really special. And it was my first time teaching what I had learned myself. I was like, are you sure? I'm completely self taught. I have no legs to stand on. Are you sure you want to learn from me? And she was just so encouraging and so instrumental in giving me that confidence that I never had before. When family and friends are like, oh, yeah, your work's great because they're family and friends.
Monique Fedor [00:22:58]:
You almost can't even take what they say seriously because people are like, you have to say that to me. You can't say anything else. And so when this amazing interior designer came and told me that she liked my work, it was just like, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face. I was just like, this is insane. My car was like a little pixie fairy skipping in my kitchen. I was just like. And then I just got into that well, and I actually ended up studying with her through the principles of style and storytelling. And that really helped me learn how to use Instagram, and it helped me find a balance of where I am comfortable sharing what I don't really want to share.
Monique Fedor [00:23:41]:
And it helped me really learn how to connect with people on a social platform and to be able to make it genuine. And I didn't think at the time, I'm 30 now, but I think it was a few years ago when I met her, and I didn't think that I'd be like, a 28 year old that was interested in painting roses and pears. That's, like, such an old lady thing to be into. And so I just was like, how am I going to find my crowd? I'm so bizarre. And I feel like her crowd of people just understood me straight away. They just also loved ducks and loved painting little things and dimple edge paper that has worn off edges. And that really changed my Instagram world drastically. And I am always ridiculously grateful for stumbling upon each other on Instagram.
Kim Kerton [00:24:38]:
Such a wonderful story. You really never know who is going to change your trajectory in that space. A lot of people, I think, are approaching socials, particularly these days, from a performance perspective. How often are you posting? And what are you posting on? And what are your cuts, your edits for reels, things like that? And I find that interesting. But what I find more interesting is how you build your network to support the dreams you don't even know that you have yet. And those people that can come into your world and influence you in such a positive way, introduce you to people, compliment your art, and give you the courage to keep going or directly share you and grow your business. There's just so many connections that can be made in that space when you share things from a vulnerable perspective and you share things from an authentic perspective. Sarah is an absolute legend of a human.
Kim Kerton [00:25:30]:
I've had her on this podcast, and that episode is one of my very, very favorites. I just love her story, and I love how she approaches growth from a personal and a professional standpoint as well. I think she's just wonderful. And it is just finding those people who are your tribe and then engaging with them and connecting, making real connections. It's just a very cool story. What I liked about something you touched on there, as well as speaking of 28 year old Monique and the person who has self taught themselves to become a painter, who's then being asked to teach somebody else to become a painter. And it makes me think about the challenge of your industry in particular, or any art industry where you can come into it from natural ways, as you have, and teaching yourself and learning and trial and error, and then you can come into it from a formal study place that is still very much about teaching yourself in trial and error. But there's that kind of other side of the coin.
Kim Kerton [00:26:26]:
And I've spoken to a few artist friends about this and just that, I guess challenge and industry around it and the expectations that the industry might have of industry folks, as you get into that space, has that been a challenge for you both, stepping into that space where it can be formalized in some ways and calling yourself a painter and calling yourself an artist, what's your experience been like in that world?
Monique Fedor [00:26:51]:
Yeah. So I definitely still would love to be able to do some form, of course, just so that I can say that I have some form of certificate in art or painting or something like that. Just so that I can say that I've done it because I feel, and I think it's just personal. I don't think that other people really make a big deal out of it, especially because I've had workshops. I've had two workshops, and they were all very happy to book a place in my workshop, knowing that I don't have a traditional certificates to stand on to teach painting. And so I suppose with knowing that, it's kind of eased my stress about it that I don't have those things. I also think having been teaching piano for as many years as I did with qualification really helps me learn those teaching methods and transfer it to teaching painting. And I think that's where I feel like.
Monique Fedor [00:27:51]:
Where I personally feel like I have a light bit of a laid to stand on within myself. That's obviously not a qualification, but within me, I feel like I have a bit of experience in teaching, so I feel okay to do that, to be able to teach others as well. And it is amazing. Like you mentioned, even when you do have those degrees and things, it's still always about the time that you have put into painting. And we're in a day and age where you really can learn so much online if you're willing to research it. And I have learned so much just from being able to do that. So I suppose the person who can't be bothered to do that and happy just to learn it from me or somebody else make it easier for them than having to troll the Internet the way that I've had to, then I would love that. There's still things that I would love to learn about painting, and I think there always will be.
Monique Fedor [00:28:47]:
It's always going to be new techniques, styles, and so many things about picking colors, and it's going to be amazing to continue always learning that. I think being able to have self taught myself quickly, being able to say that I'm self taught has been good because I think there's been no pressure for me to paint from that I don't like. Then I've been able to do exactly what I'm interested in and learn as much as I can in what I'm most passionate about. So I'm grateful for it in many ways, too.
Kim Kerton [00:29:22]:
I love to hear that. I think self teachings and the difference between self teachings and what somebody might deem a really important certificate or label to have. If we're talking about the artistic world, or even in very, very many cases, the business world, it's a perfectly fine route. And I think we all have to not get too hung up on. I would take myself seriously if I had this piece of paper because I think it comes down to a lot of that. Like, we're not necessarily willing to give ourselves the title unless somebody else has given us a piece of paper that says we're allowed to have the title. And I think it might be an unpopular opinion, particularly for those who have gone through the challenge of completing the degree, which is fantastic and wonderful and a huge achievement. But it doesn't take away that painful amount of hours that it takes to get yourself to a place where you can produce a beautiful piece of work.
Kim Kerton [00:30:14]:
And I hope that some of what we're talking about today, to the person who hasn't yet felt comfortable to call themselves something that they've spent hours and hours self teaching themselves to step into that and own the title, own the title of painter, of artist, of writer, of podcaster, of whatever. If you spend the time, you deserve the title. And I feel quite passionate, as you can probably hear in my voice, I feel quite passionate about that because so often we just get hung up on the formal study and provided we're not actually operating on somebody and self teaching ourselves on Google. There's levels of these things. But, yeah, I'm grateful that you're stepping into that because, yes, like you say, it comes from 10,000 hours.
Monique Fedor [00:30:53]:
There is any people listening that are wanting to be artists. I was really shocked, and I was also super stoked to find out that there are plenty of artists, especially the ones selling through galleries, that are sock taught. You don't have to have some form of degree to be able to be an artist that sells through a gallery. That was really special for me to learn that, because I thought, oh, I'm out of that realm. I'll never be able to sell in a gallery or have my work shown like that. But that's so not true. And there's plenty of other people and they all have, and they're doing wonderful galleries and on their own, like, whatever. Yeah, it really doesn't matter.
Kim Kerton [00:31:36]:
So valuable. As your business has grown and become a business, and you do now sell through Instagram, but through your website and then into the gallery space, how has that changed how you feel about making the art? Or has it changed how you feel about it, given that you now have a fully fledged and high profile business on your hands?
Monique Fedor [00:31:58]:
I think I've had to just keep it in a place that is still going to work for my family. And I suppose in the start, I was so shocked and so overwhelmingly happy that people were interested in my work that I would just say yes to everything and I would paint this, paint that, do this, go there. And it was just getting a little bit too busy for my own family life. I love the fact that being mom, I'm able to paint in that time or at night, and I'm still able to be with my children each day. I'm still able to work. It's a very special thing. But I found that the balance was starting to go. I was starting to work too much around my children, and I don't think it's not a bad thing for them to see me working, but I think they weren't learning much from me in a day.
Monique Fedor [00:32:53]:
Like, they weren't getting that quality one on one time that I would have wanted them to have. So I think I've had to learn to just do what I can and learn my boundaries with the role that I have in my own home, as well as the role that I have as a person who runs their own business. It's been a tricky one. Yeah. I think I'd found a place that I'm really happy with. With various thoughts on Thursdays because it still keeps and practice for me that's regular. I love painting regularly, and I'll just only accept shows every now and again. I think that's probably what undid me was these big exhibits and shows where you have to create, like, 28 or 30 paintings in one exhibit.
Monique Fedor [00:33:39]:
And that's a lot to tackle on time wise. So, yeah, I think I've had to step away from that a little bit.
Kim Kerton [00:33:46]:
Yeah, it's definitely all about finding that flow and that balance of work and business that works for you at the end of the day. That's why we get into this working for ourself gig at the end of the day is to make it work for us. Where would you like to take your art business in terms of big goals? Is there anything that's on your list?
Monique Fedor [00:34:06]:
I'm smiling like a crazy, wild person because I've actually got my dream coming true. So I'm so excited. Back when I was doing the principles of selling storytelling, call this question in there about what do you visualize for yourself in the future? And I physically wrote in there, and I was like, I'd love to travel with my family, paint and record with my painting, with what I'm seeing while I'm traveling, and hopefully be able to sell those and live off that. And so this year with Sarah Andrews again, I was in France, and I met a really lovely lady named Jane who owns a chateau in France. Just like, what a sentence. And we are lucky enough to be going there as a family next year for, like, six months. And we're going to uproot our whole life here. We're going to find someone to rent our home.
Monique Fedor [00:35:00]:
I'm going to be homeschooling my daughter, and we're going to be working in France six months, and if it works out really well, hopefully longer, but if not, yeah, it'll be just something to try for six months that my husband and I, we have always been just spending all time Europe. So, yeah, it's going to be a really cool experience. And I'm beside myself that I get to paint there and all the beautiful scenery that Brit has, it's just like, it hurts me how amazing it is. So I'm going to be painting my little heart out there, know, eating cheese and wine and playing with my kids. It's going to be awesome.
Kim Kerton [00:35:46]:
I love that. I love that you just talk about something that hurts. You kind of feel like you feel, like, pulled to have to do something. I think that it might be a feeling that the listener might understand that just that almost pain that you're so wanting to do something and for you to be bringing that into real life is just so, so wonderful and brilliant to hear. I'm wishing you all the very best for that incredible adventure, and I end my episodes with always with the same question. Because sharing your business building story, I think, is probably going to be very impactful to a lot of listeners, particularly the listener who is sitting there thinking about an artistic practice in any medium and where it might take them if only they just get started and not be afraid to suck a little bit for a while and feel challenged by their art a little bit for a while, for having to put in all of the hours and put it out there and go through the pain. I think your story is one in particular that I hope the listener is feeling encouraged by if they're sitting there holding themselves back to really dive into it. I think your lesson of doing something every day for 100 days in and of itself, is a fantastic way to progress with anything, any kind of artistic practice, but any kind of business practice to just really back yourselves in return for sharing your story so generously today.
Kim Kerton [00:37:07]:
How can the listener and I support you to keep kicking your business goals?
Monique Fedor [00:37:11]:
It honestly just is the most special thing when someone bothers to comment on something the best. It makes me smile like wild, and it's really nice to know what people are drawn to in a painting or how they interpret it. That's always really special to me. So that would be such a wonderful thing.
Kim Kerton [00:37:30]:
I'm going to make sure to have the links directly to your Instagram page where the listener can go and get around your incredible paintings. I think about the image that you painted of my ceramics a while back and it haunts me that I don't have that in my home. When it became available all the time.
Monique Fedor [00:37:49]:
I was like, oh my God, I.
Kim Kerton [00:37:50]:
Was so sad because I was like.
Monique Fedor [00:37:51]:
Oh, I love it so much, but.
Kim Kerton [00:37:53]:
I just cannot commit at this stage. I'm so tight. And business owners will get that fill when you're like, I am so tight on finances right now, but it haunts me because it was so beautiful. Your work is beautiful and deserves so many wonderful comments. So yes, I will have the links to that, to your Instagram page in my show notes, and also to your website as well, which is beautiful, so the listener can go around and see everything beautiful on Thursdays and every day. Monique, thank you so much for sharing your story with me.
Monique Fedor [00:38:22]:
Thank you so much for having me. It was a lot less nerve wracking than I thought.
Kim Kerton [00:38:26]:
Again, something that we all have to remember. That scary thing is usually, at the end, far less scary. I love that, and it's really good to hear. Thank you so much for being here with me. Thank you for listening to unemployed and afraid, the podcast for small business builders, with your host, me, Kim Kerton. If you love it, you can say thanks with a star rating and a review. And of course, join the community on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Find us at unemployed and afraid wherever you're hanging out, and I'll see you there.