Ep. 27: Carrie Cantwell on Building Confidence, Facing Rejection, and Finding Your Voice

In this inspiring episode, Stacie chats with Carrie Cantwell, a graphic designer turned licensed artist, Skillshare top teacher, podcast host, and creative coach. Carrie opens up about her transformative journey from the high-pressure world of film graphics to finding her artistic voice through art licensing. Her story is one of courage, reinvention, and learning to lean into the things that come naturally. Together, Stacie and Carrie dive deep into the realities of self-doubt, the power of creative bravery, and the freedom that comes with not needing external validation.

Today on Art + Audience:

• From Film to Freelance: Carrie opens up about leaving a prestigious film career to pursue art that reflects her true creative vision.

• Discovering Her Artist Identity: Through trial and error, and a little spaghetti-throwing, Carrie found her style and embraced life as an artpreneur.

• Bravery Grows With Age: Carrie explains how courage isn’t innate, but something that builds with life experience, perspective, and choosing to show up anyway.

• Rejection and Resilience: A ghosted agency deal became a pivotal lesson in honoring boundaries, feeling disappointment, and choosing self-compassion.

• Confidence Is a Learned Skill: Stacie and Carrie discuss how confidence grows through repeated action, not through waiting to feel “ready.”

• Comparison and Social Media: A powerful story about Stacie’s daughter reveals how early artists can navigate self-worth in a digital world.

• What’s Next for Carrie: She’s setting her sights on editorial illustration, art that reacts, uplifts, and brings meaning to current events.

 

Resources:

• Book: Don't Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen

 

Connect with Carrie Cantwell:

• Website: carriecantwell.com

• Instagram: @carriecantwellart

• Podcast: Two Cranky Creatives

• Carrie’s Editorial Portfolio: carrie-cantwell.cargo.site/editorial-illustration-portfolio

 

Connect with Stacie Bloomfield:

• Subscribe, Rate, and Review: Art + Audience Podcast

• Website: staciebloomfield.com | leverageyourart.com

• Instagram: @gingiber | @leverageyourart 

• Facebook: @ShopGingiber

• Pinterest: pinterest.com/gingiber

• Leverage Your Art: Stacie’s signature course, opening again this August 2025

• Got questions? Call the Art + Audience Podcast hotline: [phone]