July 29, 2025 • 43 mins
How do we find the courage to build a creative career on our own terms? I'm so excited to share my conversation with Ashley Buttercup, a Brooklyn-based painter whose work beautifully captures the quiet, unguarded moments of life. From a childhood nurtured by creative parents to finding her own way through the bustling worlds of fashion and advertising, Ashley's journey is a masterclass in resilience and self-discovery.
In this episode, Ashley shares how she navigated the corporate world while keeping her artistic flame alive, launching her own print art magazine, and eventually taking the leap to pursue painting full-time. We talk about the messy, beautiful reality of balancing motherhood with a demanding creative practice and how a single, high-stakes project of painting 30 portraits in a month became a transformative experience. This conversation is a testament to the power of community, the importance of planting seeds for the future, and the profound beauty found in everyday moments.
Chapters
01:53 - A Creative Foundation: Growing Up with an Architect Father and Fashion-Focused Mother
04:27 - The Road to Temple University and Finding Her Own Path
07:45 - Life After College: From Fashion Internships to Ad Agencies
10:11 - Creating "Snacks Magazine" and Rekindling a Love for Fine Art
12:16 - The Leap of Faith: Quitting the Day Job and the Power of Community
16:08 - The Balancing Act: A Creative's Routine as a Mother and Artist
17:44 - The Harlem's Fashion Row Challenge: Painting 30 Portraits in a Month
28:01 - Evolving a Creative Voice: From Abstract to Documentary Figurative Art
30:25 - The Art of Observation: Capturing Tender Moments in Brooklyn
39:49 - The Traveling Shirt: A Project of History and Connection
Check out the full video interview on our YouTube channel! https://youtu.be/cue7WkqbMPo
Connect with Ashley:
Follow Ashley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashley_buttercup3000/?hl=en
Ashley’s website: https://www.ashleybuttercup.com/
Support the Show
Website: www.martineseverin.com
Follow on Instagram: @martine.severin | @thisishowwecreate_
Subscribe to the Newsletter: www.martineseverin.substack.com
This is How We Create is produced by Martine Severin. This episode was edited by Santiago Cardona and Daniel Espinosa.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
Come to This Is How We Create, a show that digs deeper into the creative life ofcontemporary artists of color.
Discover what feeds their creativity and how they've found or are finding their artisticvoice.
Through these intimate and candid conversations, you'll gain insights into the lives ofcreative professionals of color that are hard to find anywhere else.
(00:26):
Welcome back to This is How We Create.
My name is Martine Severn, your host.
Today I'm so pleased to have Ashley Buttercup in the guest chair.
Ashley Buttercup is a Brooklyn-based painter focusing on capturing moments throughportraiture and collage, emphasizing light, shadow, and texture in her striking works.
(00:48):
Her storytelling through painting often features her best friends, historical icons, orlocal environments.
As a gouache and acrylic painter, Ashley documents moments through figurative painting.
In an interview, she says, am interested in the art of genuine unguarded moments thatunfold when nobody is looking.
(01:08):
I've discovered that my most authentic self emerges in unscripted hours.
So now for a little more about Ashley's education and where she's exhibited her work.
So she has received her BA at Temple University, where she studied art direction andstudio art.
(01:29):
Her works have been featured in the infamous Macy's Window Displays in New York, not once,but twice.
She's been featured in the Harlem's Fashion Row, Apartment Therapy, Pegg Austin Gallery,and exhibited in Japan, New York, LA, and Philadelphia.
(01:51):
Ashley!
Welcome to the show.
So Ashley, you grew up in Westchester, New York, and you've had sporadic trips to Brooklynto visit your father where he grew up.
Could you tell us a little bit about your childhood of visiting your father's family inBrooklyn as well as growing up in Westchester?
(02:14):
Your early exposures to creativity and to the art.
Yeah, of course.
So I'm originally, I was born in Manhattan, raised in Tarrytown, New York.
And then I have lived in Philadelphia as well as Brooklyn.
My dad's side of the family is from Brooklyn.
So as a kid, I just remember coming to visit my uncle and aunt during the holidays.
(02:39):
Brooklyn has changed a lot.
My family's from like Fort Greene, like Clinton Hill area.
And my dad was an architect.
He had his own business for a couple of years and I believe he studied interior design aswell to go with the major.
And then when he, him and my mother moved to Tarrytown, my mother was in um fashion,fashion merchandise and also she did retail most of her life.
(03:07):
And so both of them together have always just had a creative eye.
So I was really, really fortunate to be in a house that was, I think,
beautifully decorated, um lots of art prints that hung.
And pretty early on, my dad would ask me my opinions on like, what do you think of thiswallpaper?
(03:29):
like, what do you think of this wall?
Anything that was creative, he really trusted my opinion and I would give him like, Idon't like it because this, or like I'd say this is really beautiful.
And so he really, I would say my parents,
definitely influenced my lover or nurtured it.
And they would always buy me art kits when I was younger.
(03:51):
And then in high school, went to Sleepy Hollow High School.
I had really great teachers who I still talk to to this day, Ms.
Dreher.
She's super supportive.
And she was, I would say, the first person to really make me believe that I was goodenough to make a career out of it.
And she pushed me to fill out.
(04:13):
our applications for college.
I was, you know, being in high school, I didn't really, I was pretty insecure about myskill set.
And I think, yeah, she really, it's always stuck with me.
So is she the one who influenced you to go to temple then?
No, actually, I did take a little detour.
(04:33):
she pushed me to apply for RISD, which was the top art school in this country.
And I didn't finish my application.
do remember, think one of the tests, because you have to take an art test for some ofthese schools.
And I think one of them was to draw a bicycle.
(04:54):
And I remember drawing the bicycle.
I wish I still had it, but I remember drawing.
remember being in the art class and trying to get this done.
And then I got accepted into Temple University.
And I was like, this is the school that I want to go to.
So I actually studied advertising art direction.
And I was thinking about going into the graphic design world.
(05:17):
But I'm glad that I did study design from a business side.
And then I
also studied techniques.
So I studied studio art and that opened me up to so many different mediums.
That's where I've learned, that's where I learned about gouache and abstract work and arthistory.
So it really just like really grateful for going to Temple because it really opened myeyes up to all the different possibilities in the art space.
(05:46):
I'm curious as to why you decided that temple was the school for you.
What was it specifically?
To be honest, I didn't have too much guidance in the college application process.
I didn't really know.
This is before Google was really popping.
(06:09):
And I just remember I was like, ask Jeeves, looking up schools.
And it was really important for me to go to a very diverse school.
and there are a lot of schools that were not diverse.
And so I forgot, it was like something about the percentage of minorities that wereattending Temple that really stuck out to me.
(06:33):
And also it's like a very well-known school.
It's a fantastic school.
A lot of great people have graduated from that school.
And then it was also far enough from my family, but close enough so I could just liketravel back and forth and like really.
be that I went to Temple because not only for the education, but I really found myself inthat city.
(06:55):
I really matured and became a woman.
And I it will always be have a little special place in my heart.
It's my second home for sure.
I've never been and I feel like it's one of those, I know, right?
I feel like it's one of those places where you need to go to, oh it's funny, um texted myson today and I said to him, I think we need to go on like a trip together.
(07:22):
He still hasn't responded, but Philly might be it.
So you graduated from Temple.
Can you tell me what happened next in terms of between graduation and really starting ingetting deeper and deeper into your art practice?
(07:45):
So I think that's around 21, 22 when you graduate.
After high school, I went straight to college.
So think I was around 21, 22.
Honestly, I was just trying to survive adulthood.
So I got a job working in, I think I was doing like retail right after college.
(08:11):
And then Philly was also super cheap back in the day.
I was striving off that really networking and then I really wanted to pursue fashionmarketing.
And so I took an internship in Manhattan, but I still living in Philly.
So I would commute like once a week.
I remember crashing on my friend Inere's bed.
(08:33):
Like it was one of those stories that you'd like write in the memoir.
I remember like crashing on his sofa and like, thank God for him because
He really took me in and allowed me to pursue this opportunity and intern me at this PRagency.
I got to do Fashion Week.
got to see all of these designers come in.
(08:54):
So that was really like, wow, I can do this.
It's like whatever I dream up, it's accessible.
I can do it if I just start putting in the work.
And then I landed a job at Gray Advertising.
So remember, I studied advertising art direction.
So I was kind of still trying to figure out myself, like, what
career path I wanted to do.
(09:15):
And I actually started doing like, I it was like project management or assisting, groupassisting or something like that.
not, it really wasn't, it was, I was a very small fish in a large pond, so to speak.
And I was doing that.
I stayed there for like four years.
And while I was there, I got to meet all of these really talented graphic designers fromall over the world, which is really inspiring to see.
(09:42):
what they were doing outside of the advertising.
like most graphic designers have other side gigs or like do other personal projects.
And that was really, really fun.
And I ended up starting a printed art magazine called Snacks Magazine.
And that was what kind of got me back into falling in love with my skill set and fine art.
(10:07):
So I would put together this physical book.
with my little money that I had, I would print a certain amount and I would do thesepop-up art shows that featured these underrepresented artists.
And I did about like six or seven magazines on and off because prints extremely expensive.
(10:28):
But that allowed me to one, like feature some of my work, but also again, network and meetall of these different artists and talk to them about their experience.
It taught me curation.
Like I had to, I literally was doing these pop-ups and you know, the first one is alwayslike, ah, I don't know.
But by the time I got to my last one, it was a genuine like in art galleries and like itreally did evolve into this beautiful thing.
(10:56):
And then also like the quality of print.
I learned print production.
I learned print production also through like corporate world, but like to be in charge ofit and it's just you.
you really learn hands on, you're in the thick of it.
So it was a great experience to have the magazine.
(11:16):
also just, like I said, starting at gray and being surrounded by all these other creativepeople just helped kind of guide me into the direction I needed to go in.
Wow, you worked at Gray and then you started making these connections through the printedmagazine and you were learning curation and print production as well.
(11:42):
At what point did you start creating a portfolio of work and thinking about getting it,exhibiting that work?
Yeah, it's been a journey.
like, still, I will be forever a student, you know?
I would say, so I worked at many agencies, PR agencies, I worked in-house, I've worked atmultiple different industries within the market, creative marketing space.
(12:12):
So along that route, I met, like, so many different types of people.
I think the pivotal point for me was just I got to the point where I truly did feel like Ihave so much to offer, but these companies are not using me.
And so after I stopped doing the art magazine, I was like, I'm just going to really juststart practicing my own stuff again, get really back into it.
(12:35):
And I started doing that, just like studying.
And then actually was like, I'm going to quit my job.
And I just quit.
And I
just had to figure it out.
And so when I quit, I ended up working at a tattoo studio and I was doing like managementthere, artist management there.
(12:57):
And during that time, I was also like, I'm going to get these paintings done.
And then the pandemic hit and I had, so I was working at the agency.
I was like, I'm going to start submitting myself, myself to art fairs.
And I had a couple of art fairs and, and pop-ups.
group shows and then the pandemic hit and all that was like no more in-person showcases.
(13:22):
So I did do a couple of like virtual ones, but you know, that still doesn't have the sameeffect as seeing them in person.
But I would say the pivotal point was during the pandemic and you know, this is reallyimportant for uh I guess other artists to hear, but like really.
m
(13:43):
tapping into your friends and your network.
That's why networking is really important.
And not just for the sake of just, need this business card, but genuinely meeting somebodyand becoming friends with them.
And so as I'm painting, you know, I'm using social media like this is what I did.
My friends started reaching out to me and commissioned me to do some of my first, I guess,professional paintings.
(14:08):
And yeah, I would say like the first...
four paintings were purchased by my friends or family without me being like, buy my stuff.
They literally were like, no, we're going to pay you to do this.
And so that is the reassurance that I needed at the time to keep pushing.
And then I started to, you you can't really wait for opportunities.
(14:30):
You have to really go out and put yourself out there, especially since it's a veryoversaturated field, I guess, if you will, in the best way.
But so I started submitting to like Saatchi Art Fair, the other, which is the other artfair, a couple of other fairs, group pop-up shows.
(14:50):
And so that pushed me to keep painting and keep doing art because I needed inventory andstuff like that.
And like, I eventually put myself out there so much that I started having some peoplereach out to me for opportunities.
So.
I still do that to this day where I will look for opportunities.
(15:12):
It's the business side of fine arts and being a painter is you still have to find theseopportunities.
But yeah, I would say the pivotal point was my friends.
My friends really just keeping me on track and supporting me.
One of the things I love about having these conversations, Ashley, is that it all soundsso simple.
(15:37):
No.
It sounds like...
and I did this and I did that, but we tend to forget the messiness of life.
And throughout all of that, you're not a family, you have a little boy, and you're being aprovider, you're being a mom, you have your day job, and you're doing all of these things,
(15:59):
but yet you're making, you're sending time aside to create work because it's important toyou.
Can you walk us through your routine for setting time aside to actually creating work?
That's a good question, because I'm still trying to find ways to balance myself.
(16:24):
And I would say, like, my dad has always said this, even when I was a child.
And I didn't really understand this until now, really.
He would just say something as simple as, like, slow down.
Stop rushing.
And I have a tendency to be like, I got to get it all done.
Like, I got to do laundry.
I got to cook.
(16:44):
I got to get this painting done.
I do the the the.
And if you kind of just like slow down, have a moment and put a list together of not 30things, but just maybe like five things that you want to accomplish in that day, ah it's a
lot more manageable.
I am not to say life does kick in and sometimes you just got to do that, but like I'm alsogoing back to what I was saying is like, I would try to seek out these opportunities
(17:15):
myself and I
opportunities don't always come like every single day, every month.
So when opportunities did come, I knew like, hey, kick it in.
When I was doing Harlem's Fast and Row, I would say that that's definitely one of my most,it's a huge milestone that I had this opportunity with Harlem's Fast and Row.
(17:35):
But just going back to what you said, it seems easy, but that was years, years of seeds,seeds being planted.
I
interned with Hardilums Fashioner.
Hardilums Fashioner is like an agency or organization that supports black and brownfashion.
Well, I'd say mostly designers, but like stylists as well, like people in the fashionspace.
(17:59):
And they work really hard to get people in these corporate spaces and just being seen.
And so I interned with them probably like their second year or third year of them.
And they were a baby.
They were so small.
And fast forward years later, I know the founder, Brandice, and I had sent her an emailabout like, hey, I'm an artist now if you need any, because she's really good at always
(18:26):
putting people on.
so I was like, and I had a love for fashion, so I genuinely loved the agency, theorganization.
I wanted to work with my friends.
I wanted to work with brands that resonated with me.
So I sent that email.
And then years later, she's like, hey, I have an opportunity.
And it was to paint this coffee table book.
(18:49):
And the coffee table book contained such elite fashion pioneers.
We're talking Dapper Dan was in it.
And yeah, just really some heavy hitters.
And I had the opportunity to paint them all.
But going back to how do I fit that in my schedule, it was like,
(19:10):
Like to tell the story, it was about like 30 paintings that I had to do in a month.
And it was like Christmas time.
And I still was, I was at the time working at Amazon.
I was leading some of their big projects like Cyber, Cyber Monday, Black Friday, CyberMonday.
So I was busy up until like November and she gave me that assignment.
(19:34):
And I was like, this is like a dream assignment.
And like, was, I'm a mom.
have young son, my son's nine now, but like he was seven when I had taken on that project.
And you have to just get it done.
Like if you really love what you're doing and like what things stand for, like I wouldrather dedicate my time to like creating things and working with people than like
(20:00):
scrolling through social media and just doing like some mind lifting.
Just, I really just had to tighten up and I would.
wake up at like four or five a.m., crank out a painting before I took my son to school,and then try to get through another painting the rest of the day.
And so I really was up from like five till midnight or one o'clock.
(20:24):
I felt like accomplished when I could, it's like, oh, I finished this before midnight,yes.
But it's also, it was temporary, you know?
Like I knew like just kick it in high, go full speed because in 30 days,
this, you're not going to be doing this, you know?
And I'm so glad that I took that challenge on.
(20:45):
like, ultimately it taught me to paint faster and opened up a whole other opportunity forme.
mean, that's such a master class, right, that you're teaching yourself.
Learn to paint faster.
Anything else that you learned during that time?
You'll have to like, I'm still learning every day and like, I think it's really importantto be gentle with yourself and like, you have to champion yourself, set parameters and
(21:14):
like, be hyper-focused.
I'm not, I'll be honest, like I'm not the most hyper-focused person, but when it comes togetting something done, you can bet on me, you can, I'll get it done.
And that's kind of the reputation I've always had is like, if you reach out to me, we'regonna get it done.
We're going to figure it out.
We're to get this when I hit the deadline.
(21:35):
So yeah, it's just about zoning in and just being gentle with yourself.
I love that.
I think I needed that today, being gentle.
Yeah, yesterday um I got up early and I was working, not super early, but by eight o'clockI was working and it was quarter to 11 p.m.
(22:02):
and I was still going and I was like, you didn't even chill out.
There was a bit of a stop, but it was just go, go, go, go.
And I was fried, but yet I was pushing myself because there's a deadline I have to meet.
I thought, just relax.
Yeah.
Sometimes, you know what?
It's funny because this morning I did send you a very early email.
(22:25):
And like I move like that sometimes where I'm like, if I have something, let me just getit out.
So sometimes I forget I have like my concept of time is not just within when and wheneverthe sun is up.
Like I really try to utilize all of my time.
like sometimes that time means I need to sleep.
(22:45):
You know, it's really important to take a minute, check in with yourself.
Like, did I eat?
Did I eat?
Okay.
Go eat something.
did I, have I been outside today?
Go outside.
And those small things really, for me at least, switch my mental a little bit.
Like, cause I can definitely be like, I got all these deadlines.
(23:06):
And then just like, stop.
What do you need?
Better.
It's like you.
have an, I may be putting words in your mouth, but it sounds like you have a sense ofpurpose in terms of what you want to do and how you're going to go about doing it.
And as you said, planting seeds, is that something that you learned from your father, fromyour family, or is that something inherently that you've always done?
(23:33):
uh
necessarily something that I learned from my family, but I think it's just the way Imeasure success is I feel really successful when I can work with friends or I can put
people on to something and when I'm in control of my time.
(23:55):
So my time and schedule.
I don't want to say like planting seeds.
I know I use that term, but I don't want it to be
misinterpreted as like an opportunist.
I think it's really important to just be human and interact and generally listen andengage with people and create.
(24:18):
Like I'm a creator.
It doesn't matter what the medium is.
I am a problem solver also.
So like if there's an idea, I think why not?
Why not?
What do we have to lose?
Like just get.
I failed a lot, but at least I tried.
And I feel like that's just been my mantra, I guess, or how I move through life in generalis just connecting with people and uplifting one another.
(24:53):
So I guess that is my purpose, is just kind of existing in a space of just existing andmoving with love.
It's really that.
simple to say that that's who I am.
Life is hard, but it doesn't, we all have it within us to like change how we, we're incontrol of how we feel.
(25:15):
And not to say that I don't have bad days for sure.
I have bad days, bad moment.
Every day is like something, right?
But it's really, I was just telling my, one of my best friends was like, it's really thatbounce back.
It's really like just how you.
react and how you control yourself and like, yeah, that was crappy thing that happened,but it's done with now.
(25:39):
Now I, it's, I have the power to move forward and choose how I want to feel aboutsomething.
I was reading this this weekend, I went to Baltimore to a conference and I picked up abook and one of the chapters of the book was, it was a business book.
And one of the chapters was talking about mental toughness, specifically thinking aboutathletes and people who have setbacks and how setbacks aren't the end to everything.
(26:10):
It's not the end of it all, but it's just a lesson.
And I love what you just said because it really does remind us that you have to be alittle bit tougher in the way that you recover from setbacks because if you don't, then
you're no longer living in your purpose, but you're just wallowing in pain.
(26:32):
And it's not to say that you shouldn't have the opportunity to do that, but it's nice toreally have a very good framework in your head in terms of how you digest bad times.
and bad days.
I mean, for sure.
And like, some things are easy to get over and some things are not.
(26:52):
Death, right?
Like, all of us have experienced a family member that has transitioned or not thereanymore, but like, that pain might not ever leave, but you still have the power to move
forward and find beauty out of some of these things.
(27:14):
And...
again, move with love.
And I always try to be, like I said, keep saying gentle with myself.
like, especially now, whenever I get overwhelmed or I feel emotional about something, it'slike, when I say gentle, I really mean just tapping into myself.
Like, well, where is this coming from?
(27:34):
How do you feel?
Like, what do you need?
And you can persevere.
It's really about trusting yourself.
We all got it.
We'll be fine.
Ashley, you talked about creating 30 new pieces for Harlem's Fashion Row.
Can you talk to me a bit about how over the years, how you've come to identify yourcreative voice?
(28:01):
It's definitely, my voice has evolved over the years and I think it's really, a lot ofartists will evolve and I think it's important to kind of switch things up and like
discover a lot of, for me, art, part of being an artist is playing, being able to play andkind of just have fun with it.
So I actually, it's funny because when I was like, I'm taking my art seriously, I'm gonnastart submitting my stuff to art fairs, I was doing abstract work.
(28:31):
And like, I love abstract work, but I'm not really an abstract artist.
And even when I was in college, I was doing figurative work.
And so I just needed to do something just to kind of play and get back into it.
so just think going from abstract to doing portrait work, you know, is like, what theheck?
(28:54):
And then also, like I told myself too at the beginning, was like, I'm not doing portraitwork.
pretty much what I do.
And then I was like, I'm not gonna do watercolor.
Like that's so hard.
And that's now the medium I use.
I use gouache now, which is like it's like acrylic watercolor, a little bit more velveteerthan watercolor.
(29:18):
But it's, my style has evolved because I'm educating myself on things and I'm just playingaround.
And so now I also love
I like to call myself like a documentary figurative artist.
So I like to paint a lot of historical black figures and that started because I wanted toeducate myself on all of these amazing American black trailblazers, you know.
(29:46):
And I started a Visible History Collection series.
Essentially that was just me learning about my people and that has evolved into like, youknow.
have an opportunity to work with Harlem's fashion room, where they were doing the samething, but in a fashion space.
And so it's really important for us to honor and pay tribute to some of these people thathave paved the way, because they literally were just, they weren't, they were just
(30:11):
existing.
They were just being themselves and like feeling, trusting themselves and taking leaps.
And that's, I think a lot of us can relate to that.
And then now what I'm doing is, I was just like, I'm not gonna do any backgrounds.
I don't wanna do landscapes.
Now, if look at some of my recent work, it now incorporates more landscapes.
still people involved, but now I like to capture moments in Brooklyn of this is whateveryday life in Brooklyn looks like.
(30:38):
So I like to take walks.
I try to catch really sweet, tender moments when people aren't looking.
young couples holding hands.
saw this is one painting I want to do very soon, but it's like,
This father is getting his daughter, he's trying to get her into the school before thebell rings, and he stops to fix her hair.
(31:04):
And he's putting a ponytail and he's really rushing it.
It's just so sweet because this dad is like, we got to get this hair looking decent beforeyou get into this school.
And what parent can't relate to, got to drop this kid off and they can't look crazy.
So I captured that moment.
My son thought it was being a creep because I was taking a picture of it, but it wassweet.
(31:29):
So yeah, that's kind of now a lot of my work uh is very emotional for me.
It's like my subjects are things that I generally like doing and resonate.
And that helps me paint.
It just helps me stay focused.
And it makes me want to paint this as beautiful as possible.
(31:54):
Beautiful, um the way that you're observing life.
again, in the beginning, when we were reading your bio, we talked about how you focus onmoments and you like to document moments.
I love how you just shared how you go about doing that.
So it sounds like you'll notice a moment and might take a photo of it and then save thatmoment for later.
(32:20):
What's your process?
Yeah, so I that's that's exactly what I do.
So I am I am an artist that needs to paint from reference.
So like I'm still working on like uh that's a skill set that I want to practice is likebeing able to paint from memory.
I'm not there yet, but I do capture I think Jordan Castile does this to where like she'llwhat she has like her whole all of her earlier work was her and like her Harlem taking
(32:47):
pictures forces her forcing herself to like be in the streets and getting to know
her neighbors and m I don't necessarily always get to know the people because I do like, Ifeel like we're our most authentic self when no one's paying attention.
And so that's kind of my style of like, and I'll capture these moments, but you don'treally see like too much detail of the person's face, but like I try to capture a moment
(33:16):
that like everybody can resonate with the feeling.
And like, I actually did an art fair this year in LA.
And most, again, most of my scene is very urban, like Brooklyn streets.
And like, I took these Brooklyn street moments to LA and the amount of feedback that I gotregarding like, know that feeling, like I know exactly what this is.
(33:42):
And like, it's really beautiful.
Like one painting that I did was picture, it's my grandmother, my aunt.
my uncle and my niece and my mother.
My niece was like, I barely one years old.
My grandmother and aunt have since passed away, but it was, I captured this moment.
(34:04):
was the last time I actually saw my grandmother and her two daughters were sitting in herliving room, like on the floor, just like looking up at her and like, I think it's titled.
grandma's house or something like that.
it just, the amount of people that stopped by to like, I resonate with this picture.
(34:29):
I remember what my grandmother's house smells like and like the curtains and the candy orlike her perfume.
it's like everybody, most people have this matriarch that like holds down the family.
That's my goal with some of these paintings is to just kind of spark some sort of joy inall of us, joy and love in all of us, in the simplest moments.
(34:57):
Like literally they were just sitting on the floor talking to their grandmother, to mygrandmother.
The dad was literally just trying to get his kid to school, you know?
And there was a lot of beauty in some of these things that we're not paying attention to.
It also sounds like your art director self comes up to play as well.
(35:19):
Yeah, maybe a little bit.
mean, the best ads are usually the ones that are like emotionally triggering.
yeah, maybe a little
Yeah.
At this point, I'd love to talk about your sources of inspiration.
Are there some artists whose work you return to over and over?
(35:43):
I went to, yes, there are tons of artists every day that I meet.
And also just not artists, just just seeing people create and musicians, I get so inspiredby people's drive as well.
And like, I get inspired by my friends and family, just like, again, like I'm really drawninto like sweet moments.
(36:04):
So like even just being inspired by some of my friends who are mothers and like seeing howgentle and tender they are.
I guess like I use Instagram for a lot of my inspiration.
Like if you go to my feed, it's a lot of artists, a few artists right in the, mean,there's so many.
I like Alvin Armstrong.
(36:25):
He's a figurative artist, very large scale, but he does these like quick in-personportraits of people.
And he, I feel like he's just capturing moments and capturing essence because it's reallynot like a super high detailed portrait.
I would say also Joseph Lee, he's also a figurative artist, but also does app.
(36:49):
It's kind of like abstracty, really inspiring because he plays a lot with texture in hispainting.
I have my friend Otha vaccine.
He does hyper realism collage work.
So it looks like his paintings look like they are like ripped out of magazines, but heactually is painting them.
I had the opportunity of meeting him when I was
(37:12):
doing my snacks magazine.
many years ago, and we just met this year in person because he's in LA.
He's great.
It's been a blessing to be able to watch his journey.
But I also have another friend, Miss Billie Joe, went to temple with her.
She does, right now she's doing like 3D pop art.
(37:34):
The only reason I say pop art is because of the colors that she's using, but she also doesfigurative work.
She's did a lot of political work.
And I actually learned a lot about what was going on in the world through her work.
But yeah, I mean, every day I'm inspired by people and things.
(37:55):
I'm a forever student.
even inspired by this podcast, this takes a lot of work to put together.
And you're killing it.
And it's so professional and clean.
And there's inspiration that we can pull out of everything.
think one of the things that's really surprising is how inspirational the podcast is andhow much I think I've grown as an artist through the process of interviewing and listening
(38:24):
to these discussions because listening to, we're having this discussion, but I'm so in itthat there are some things you see here and there that I think, my God, it's so good.
But then when I listen to it a second time and a third time each time, m
there's something else that pops up and it's almost as if conversations with you and someof our other guests, it's like going to a wishing well.
(38:51):
You wish for something and then I listen to an episode and that thing or I talk with youand that thing that I needed comes out of our interaction.
It's really interesting how.
No, I agree.
like, yeah, I've been listening to some of the previous episodes as well.
(39:11):
And like, sometimes you receive information that you're like, huh, I wasn't even thinkingthat, you know, and now it's like sticks with you and you can like become a better person
because this person said this thing.
So that's, yeah, I think it's really important to have conversations and, you know, I wasusing the term network.
(39:31):
but it's so much more deeper than network.
It's literally about connecting and learning from one another.
It really is.
That's, you've just said it.
Yep.
That's what it's all about.
I guess one last thing I wanted to ask about is for you to tell me about the travelingshirt.
Yes.
my What's that all about?
Yes, yes.
(39:52):
It's a new project or I started this project this year.
So remember I was talking about my visible history project.
So that's, that's been a couple of years since I've been doing that.
And that was all about like me educating myself about like historical black figures, likeShirley Chisholm, Mae Jemison, Langston Hughes, just like all diving deep into some of
these people.
(40:12):
And so I was working at the time with my cousin who has like a print shop and I was like,well,
it's more than just me painting.
I want people to like take what I'm learning and like go have a conversation.
So I was printing them on t-shirts, selling them, people were buying them.
And then this year I was trying to be more sustainable and being like, well, how can Imake this even more special?
(40:35):
So I took one shirt and I like hand sewn like all these different portraits of likeOdetta, Shirley Chisholm, like all the people that I've done.
And
I challenged people to, it's a unisex shirt, just to travel and wear it and talk about it.
And a lot of people have signed up.
(40:56):
I started this in June and it's pretty much booked out to like February right now.
And so people wear it, they travel, they take pictures and I post about it.
My favorite stories are when like we had my one friend, Emily,
I believe it was Emily and she has children and her daughter was very interested in theproject.
(41:19):
That's what it's about is like teaching our youth specifically about like, hey, thesepeople existed and look, this person looks like you and you can do it.
So she was very interested in the shirt.
And then I also have my neighbor who's very, I think she wore like the Ruby Bridges shirtand they were so proud of wearing the Ruby Bridges shirt and like they.
(41:39):
I think she was in kindergarten and she stood up and was talking about who Ruby Bridgeswas.
that's the purpose of this project, is to talk about it and have conversation.
So the traveling shirt has been to Greece, it's been to Spain, it's been in Westchester,it's been in Colorado.
(41:59):
And again, it just started at the end of June.
So right now it's in Brooklyn.
So it's kind of making its way through all the different neighborhoods and then I willprobably send it to New Jersey Super fun project.
It's kind of like the I like to say it's like historical traveling Sit, what is yaga thetraveling pants the sisterhood of the traveling pants, right?
(42:26):
They all kind of sisterhood Yeah, they just kind of borrowed the pants and like wore itand felt beautiful in it.
And yeah, that's the shirt
Well, Ashley, so much for joining us on the podcast.
had such a fun time talking with you and learning more about you and your process.
Yeah.
(42:46):
Are you kidding me?
Like, I'm honored to be on here, so thank you even for thinking of me and it's been apleasure speaking with you as well.
there.
I have a quick favor to ask you before you go.
If you're loving this show, would you mind taking a quick second to leave us a five starreview on your favorite go to podcast app?
(43:12):
Here's the thing.
Those reviews are like magic fairy dust.
They help other creators of color discover our show and tap into their own artisticsuperpowers.
While you're at it, why not subscribe to our sub stack
newsletter Creative Matters.
Creative Matters is like a weekly dose of inspiration delivered straight to your inbox.
(43:37):
You can find the link to subscribe in the show notes.
Alright, that's all that I have for you today.
I can't wait to see you on the next episode.
Bye!
Come to This Is How We Create, a show that digs deeper into the creative life ofcontemporary artists of color.
Discover what feeds their creativity and how they've found or are finding their artisticvoice.
Through these intimate and candid conversations, you'll gain insights into the lives ofcreative professionals of color that are hard to find anywhere else.
(00:26):
Welcome back to This is How We Create.
My name is Martine Severn, your host.
Today I'm so pleased to have Ashley Buttercup in the guest chair.
Ashley Buttercup is a Brooklyn-based painter focusing on capturing moments throughportraiture and collage, emphasizing light, shadow, and texture in her striking works.
(00:48):
Her storytelling through painting often features her best friends, historical icons, orlocal environments.
As a gouache and acrylic painter, Ashley documents moments through figurative painting.
In an interview, she says, am interested in the art of genuine unguarded moments thatunfold when nobody is looking.
(01:08):
I've discovered that my most authentic self emerges in unscripted hours.
So now for a little more about Ashley's education and where she's exhibited her work.
So she has received her BA at Temple University, where she studied art direction andstudio art.
(01:29):
Her works have been featured in the infamous Macy's Window Displays in New York, not once,but twice.
She's been featured in the Harlem's Fashion Row, Apartment Therapy, Pegg Austin Gallery,and exhibited in Japan, New York, LA, and Philadelphia.
(01:51):
Ashley!
Welcome to the show.
So Ashley, you grew up in Westchester, New York, and you've had sporadic trips to Brooklynto visit your father where he grew up.
Could you tell us a little bit about your childhood of visiting your father's family inBrooklyn as well as growing up in Westchester?
(02:14):
Your early exposures to creativity and to the art.
Yeah, of course.
So I'm originally, I was born in Manhattan, raised in Tarrytown, New York.
And then I have lived in Philadelphia as well as Brooklyn.
My dad's side of the family is from Brooklyn.
So as a kid, I just remember coming to visit my uncle and aunt during the holidays.
(02:39):
Brooklyn has changed a lot.
My family's from like Fort Greene, like Clinton Hill area.
And my dad was an architect.
He had his own business for a couple of years and I believe he studied interior design aswell to go with the major.
And then when he, him and my mother moved to Tarrytown, my mother was in um fashion,fashion merchandise and also she did retail most of her life.
(03:07):
And so both of them together have always just had a creative eye.
So I was really, really fortunate to be in a house that was, I think,
beautifully decorated, um lots of art prints that hung.
And pretty early on, my dad would ask me my opinions on like, what do you think of thiswallpaper?
(03:29):
like, what do you think of this wall?
Anything that was creative, he really trusted my opinion and I would give him like, Idon't like it because this, or like I'd say this is really beautiful.
And so he really, I would say my parents,
definitely influenced my lover or nurtured it.
And they would always buy me art kits when I was younger.
(03:51):
And then in high school, went to Sleepy Hollow High School.
I had really great teachers who I still talk to to this day, Ms.
Dreher.
She's super supportive.
And she was, I would say, the first person to really make me believe that I was goodenough to make a career out of it.
And she pushed me to fill out.
(04:13):
our applications for college.
I was, you know, being in high school, I didn't really, I was pretty insecure about myskill set.
And I think, yeah, she really, it's always stuck with me.
So is she the one who influenced you to go to temple then?
No, actually, I did take a little detour.
(04:33):
she pushed me to apply for RISD, which was the top art school in this country.
And I didn't finish my application.
do remember, think one of the tests, because you have to take an art test for some ofthese schools.
And I think one of them was to draw a bicycle.
(04:54):
And I remember drawing the bicycle.
I wish I still had it, but I remember drawing.
remember being in the art class and trying to get this done.
And then I got accepted into Temple University.
And I was like, this is the school that I want to go to.
So I actually studied advertising art direction.
And I was thinking about going into the graphic design world.
(05:17):
But I'm glad that I did study design from a business side.
And then I
also studied techniques.
So I studied studio art and that opened me up to so many different mediums.
That's where I've learned, that's where I learned about gouache and abstract work and arthistory.
So it really just like really grateful for going to Temple because it really opened myeyes up to all the different possibilities in the art space.
(05:46):
I'm curious as to why you decided that temple was the school for you.
What was it specifically?
To be honest, I didn't have too much guidance in the college application process.
I didn't really know.
This is before Google was really popping.
(06:09):
And I just remember I was like, ask Jeeves, looking up schools.
And it was really important for me to go to a very diverse school.
and there are a lot of schools that were not diverse.
And so I forgot, it was like something about the percentage of minorities that wereattending Temple that really stuck out to me.
(06:33):
And also it's like a very well-known school.
It's a fantastic school.
A lot of great people have graduated from that school.
And then it was also far enough from my family, but close enough so I could just liketravel back and forth and like really.
be that I went to Temple because not only for the education, but I really found myself inthat city.
(06:55):
I really matured and became a woman.
And I it will always be have a little special place in my heart.
It's my second home for sure.
I've never been and I feel like it's one of those, I know, right?
I feel like it's one of those places where you need to go to, oh it's funny, um texted myson today and I said to him, I think we need to go on like a trip together.
(07:22):
He still hasn't responded, but Philly might be it.
So you graduated from Temple.
Can you tell me what happened next in terms of between graduation and really starting ingetting deeper and deeper into your art practice?
(07:45):
So I think that's around 21, 22 when you graduate.
After high school, I went straight to college.
So think I was around 21, 22.
Honestly, I was just trying to survive adulthood.
So I got a job working in, I think I was doing like retail right after college.
(08:11):
And then Philly was also super cheap back in the day.
I was striving off that really networking and then I really wanted to pursue fashionmarketing.
And so I took an internship in Manhattan, but I still living in Philly.
So I would commute like once a week.
I remember crashing on my friend Inere's bed.
(08:33):
Like it was one of those stories that you'd like write in the memoir.
I remember like crashing on his sofa and like, thank God for him because
He really took me in and allowed me to pursue this opportunity and intern me at this PRagency.
I got to do Fashion Week.
got to see all of these designers come in.
(08:54):
So that was really like, wow, I can do this.
It's like whatever I dream up, it's accessible.
I can do it if I just start putting in the work.
And then I landed a job at Gray Advertising.
So remember, I studied advertising art direction.
So I was kind of still trying to figure out myself, like, what
career path I wanted to do.
(09:15):
And I actually started doing like, I it was like project management or assisting, groupassisting or something like that.
not, it really wasn't, it was, I was a very small fish in a large pond, so to speak.
And I was doing that.
I stayed there for like four years.
And while I was there, I got to meet all of these really talented graphic designers fromall over the world, which is really inspiring to see.
(09:42):
what they were doing outside of the advertising.
like most graphic designers have other side gigs or like do other personal projects.
And that was really, really fun.
And I ended up starting a printed art magazine called Snacks Magazine.
And that was what kind of got me back into falling in love with my skill set and fine art.
(10:07):
So I would put together this physical book.
with my little money that I had, I would print a certain amount and I would do thesepop-up art shows that featured these underrepresented artists.
And I did about like six or seven magazines on and off because prints extremely expensive.
(10:28):
But that allowed me to one, like feature some of my work, but also again, network and meetall of these different artists and talk to them about their experience.
It taught me curation.
Like I had to, I literally was doing these pop-ups and you know, the first one is alwayslike, ah, I don't know.
But by the time I got to my last one, it was a genuine like in art galleries and like itreally did evolve into this beautiful thing.
(10:56):
And then also like the quality of print.
I learned print production.
I learned print production also through like corporate world, but like to be in charge ofit and it's just you.
you really learn hands on, you're in the thick of it.
So it was a great experience to have the magazine.
(11:16):
also just, like I said, starting at gray and being surrounded by all these other creativepeople just helped kind of guide me into the direction I needed to go in.
Wow, you worked at Gray and then you started making these connections through the printedmagazine and you were learning curation and print production as well.
(11:42):
At what point did you start creating a portfolio of work and thinking about getting it,exhibiting that work?
Yeah, it's been a journey.
like, still, I will be forever a student, you know?
I would say, so I worked at many agencies, PR agencies, I worked in-house, I've worked atmultiple different industries within the market, creative marketing space.
(12:12):
So along that route, I met, like, so many different types of people.
I think the pivotal point for me was just I got to the point where I truly did feel like Ihave so much to offer, but these companies are not using me.
And so after I stopped doing the art magazine, I was like, I'm just going to really juststart practicing my own stuff again, get really back into it.
(12:35):
And I started doing that, just like studying.
And then actually was like, I'm going to quit my job.
And I just quit.
And I
just had to figure it out.
And so when I quit, I ended up working at a tattoo studio and I was doing like managementthere, artist management there.
(12:57):
And during that time, I was also like, I'm going to get these paintings done.
And then the pandemic hit and I had, so I was working at the agency.
I was like, I'm going to start submitting myself, myself to art fairs.
And I had a couple of art fairs and, and pop-ups.
group shows and then the pandemic hit and all that was like no more in-person showcases.
(13:22):
So I did do a couple of like virtual ones, but you know, that still doesn't have the sameeffect as seeing them in person.
But I would say the pivotal point was during the pandemic and you know, this is reallyimportant for uh I guess other artists to hear, but like really.
m
(13:43):
tapping into your friends and your network.
That's why networking is really important.
And not just for the sake of just, need this business card, but genuinely meeting somebodyand becoming friends with them.
And so as I'm painting, you know, I'm using social media like this is what I did.
My friends started reaching out to me and commissioned me to do some of my first, I guess,professional paintings.
(14:08):
And yeah, I would say like the first...
four paintings were purchased by my friends or family without me being like, buy my stuff.
They literally were like, no, we're going to pay you to do this.
And so that is the reassurance that I needed at the time to keep pushing.
And then I started to, you you can't really wait for opportunities.
(14:30):
You have to really go out and put yourself out there, especially since it's a veryoversaturated field, I guess, if you will, in the best way.
But so I started submitting to like Saatchi Art Fair, the other, which is the other artfair, a couple of other fairs, group pop-up shows.
(14:50):
And so that pushed me to keep painting and keep doing art because I needed inventory andstuff like that.
And like, I eventually put myself out there so much that I started having some peoplereach out to me for opportunities.
So.
I still do that to this day where I will look for opportunities.
(15:12):
It's the business side of fine arts and being a painter is you still have to find theseopportunities.
But yeah, I would say the pivotal point was my friends.
My friends really just keeping me on track and supporting me.
One of the things I love about having these conversations, Ashley, is that it all soundsso simple.
(15:37):
No.
It sounds like...
and I did this and I did that, but we tend to forget the messiness of life.
And throughout all of that, you're not a family, you have a little boy, and you're being aprovider, you're being a mom, you have your day job, and you're doing all of these things,
(15:59):
but yet you're making, you're sending time aside to create work because it's important toyou.
Can you walk us through your routine for setting time aside to actually creating work?
That's a good question, because I'm still trying to find ways to balance myself.
(16:24):
And I would say, like, my dad has always said this, even when I was a child.
And I didn't really understand this until now, really.
He would just say something as simple as, like, slow down.
Stop rushing.
And I have a tendency to be like, I got to get it all done.
Like, I got to do laundry.
I got to cook.
(16:44):
I got to get this painting done.
I do the the the.
And if you kind of just like slow down, have a moment and put a list together of not 30things, but just maybe like five things that you want to accomplish in that day, ah it's a
lot more manageable.
I am not to say life does kick in and sometimes you just got to do that, but like I'm alsogoing back to what I was saying is like, I would try to seek out these opportunities
(17:15):
myself and I
opportunities don't always come like every single day, every month.
So when opportunities did come, I knew like, hey, kick it in.
When I was doing Harlem's Fast and Row, I would say that that's definitely one of my most,it's a huge milestone that I had this opportunity with Harlem's Fast and Row.
(17:35):
But just going back to what you said, it seems easy, but that was years, years of seeds,seeds being planted.
I
interned with Hardilums Fashioner.
Hardilums Fashioner is like an agency or organization that supports black and brownfashion.
Well, I'd say mostly designers, but like stylists as well, like people in the fashionspace.
(17:59):
And they work really hard to get people in these corporate spaces and just being seen.
And so I interned with them probably like their second year or third year of them.
And they were a baby.
They were so small.
And fast forward years later, I know the founder, Brandice, and I had sent her an emailabout like, hey, I'm an artist now if you need any, because she's really good at always
(18:26):
putting people on.
so I was like, and I had a love for fashion, so I genuinely loved the agency, theorganization.
I wanted to work with my friends.
I wanted to work with brands that resonated with me.
So I sent that email.
And then years later, she's like, hey, I have an opportunity.
And it was to paint this coffee table book.
(18:49):
And the coffee table book contained such elite fashion pioneers.
We're talking Dapper Dan was in it.
And yeah, just really some heavy hitters.
And I had the opportunity to paint them all.
But going back to how do I fit that in my schedule, it was like,
(19:10):
Like to tell the story, it was about like 30 paintings that I had to do in a month.
And it was like Christmas time.
And I still was, I was at the time working at Amazon.
I was leading some of their big projects like Cyber, Cyber Monday, Black Friday, CyberMonday.
So I was busy up until like November and she gave me that assignment.
(19:34):
And I was like, this is like a dream assignment.
And like, was, I'm a mom.
have young son, my son's nine now, but like he was seven when I had taken on that project.
And you have to just get it done.
Like if you really love what you're doing and like what things stand for, like I wouldrather dedicate my time to like creating things and working with people than like
(20:00):
scrolling through social media and just doing like some mind lifting.
Just, I really just had to tighten up and I would.
wake up at like four or five a.m., crank out a painting before I took my son to school,and then try to get through another painting the rest of the day.
And so I really was up from like five till midnight or one o'clock.
(20:24):
I felt like accomplished when I could, it's like, oh, I finished this before midnight,yes.
But it's also, it was temporary, you know?
Like I knew like just kick it in high, go full speed because in 30 days,
this, you're not going to be doing this, you know?
And I'm so glad that I took that challenge on.
(20:45):
like, ultimately it taught me to paint faster and opened up a whole other opportunity forme.
mean, that's such a master class, right, that you're teaching yourself.
Learn to paint faster.
Anything else that you learned during that time?
You'll have to like, I'm still learning every day and like, I think it's really importantto be gentle with yourself and like, you have to champion yourself, set parameters and
(21:14):
like, be hyper-focused.
I'm not, I'll be honest, like I'm not the most hyper-focused person, but when it comes togetting something done, you can bet on me, you can, I'll get it done.
And that's kind of the reputation I've always had is like, if you reach out to me, we'regonna get it done.
We're going to figure it out.
We're to get this when I hit the deadline.
(21:35):
So yeah, it's just about zoning in and just being gentle with yourself.
I love that.
I think I needed that today, being gentle.
Yeah, yesterday um I got up early and I was working, not super early, but by eight o'clockI was working and it was quarter to 11 p.m.
(22:02):
and I was still going and I was like, you didn't even chill out.
There was a bit of a stop, but it was just go, go, go, go.
And I was fried, but yet I was pushing myself because there's a deadline I have to meet.
I thought, just relax.
Yeah.
Sometimes, you know what?
It's funny because this morning I did send you a very early email.
(22:25):
And like I move like that sometimes where I'm like, if I have something, let me just getit out.
So sometimes I forget I have like my concept of time is not just within when and wheneverthe sun is up.
Like I really try to utilize all of my time.
like sometimes that time means I need to sleep.
(22:45):
You know, it's really important to take a minute, check in with yourself.
Like, did I eat?
Did I eat?
Okay.
Go eat something.
did I, have I been outside today?
Go outside.
And those small things really, for me at least, switch my mental a little bit.
Like, cause I can definitely be like, I got all these deadlines.
(23:06):
And then just like, stop.
What do you need?
Better.
It's like you.
have an, I may be putting words in your mouth, but it sounds like you have a sense ofpurpose in terms of what you want to do and how you're going to go about doing it.
And as you said, planting seeds, is that something that you learned from your father, fromyour family, or is that something inherently that you've always done?
(23:33):
uh
necessarily something that I learned from my family, but I think it's just the way Imeasure success is I feel really successful when I can work with friends or I can put
people on to something and when I'm in control of my time.
(23:55):
So my time and schedule.
I don't want to say like planting seeds.
I know I use that term, but I don't want it to be
misinterpreted as like an opportunist.
I think it's really important to just be human and interact and generally listen andengage with people and create.
(24:18):
Like I'm a creator.
It doesn't matter what the medium is.
I am a problem solver also.
So like if there's an idea, I think why not?
Why not?
What do we have to lose?
Like just get.
I failed a lot, but at least I tried.
And I feel like that's just been my mantra, I guess, or how I move through life in generalis just connecting with people and uplifting one another.
(24:53):
So I guess that is my purpose, is just kind of existing in a space of just existing andmoving with love.
It's really that.
simple to say that that's who I am.
Life is hard, but it doesn't, we all have it within us to like change how we, we're incontrol of how we feel.
(25:15):
And not to say that I don't have bad days for sure.
I have bad days, bad moment.
Every day is like something, right?
But it's really, I was just telling my, one of my best friends was like, it's really thatbounce back.
It's really like just how you.
react and how you control yourself and like, yeah, that was crappy thing that happened,but it's done with now.
(25:39):
Now I, it's, I have the power to move forward and choose how I want to feel aboutsomething.
I was reading this this weekend, I went to Baltimore to a conference and I picked up abook and one of the chapters of the book was, it was a business book.
And one of the chapters was talking about mental toughness, specifically thinking aboutathletes and people who have setbacks and how setbacks aren't the end to everything.
(26:10):
It's not the end of it all, but it's just a lesson.
And I love what you just said because it really does remind us that you have to be alittle bit tougher in the way that you recover from setbacks because if you don't, then
you're no longer living in your purpose, but you're just wallowing in pain.
(26:32):
And it's not to say that you shouldn't have the opportunity to do that, but it's nice toreally have a very good framework in your head in terms of how you digest bad times.
and bad days.
I mean, for sure.
And like, some things are easy to get over and some things are not.
(26:52):
Death, right?
Like, all of us have experienced a family member that has transitioned or not thereanymore, but like, that pain might not ever leave, but you still have the power to move
forward and find beauty out of some of these things.
(27:14):
And...
again, move with love.
And I always try to be, like I said, keep saying gentle with myself.
like, especially now, whenever I get overwhelmed or I feel emotional about something, it'slike, when I say gentle, I really mean just tapping into myself.
Like, well, where is this coming from?
(27:34):
How do you feel?
Like, what do you need?
And you can persevere.
It's really about trusting yourself.
We all got it.
We'll be fine.
Ashley, you talked about creating 30 new pieces for Harlem's Fashion Row.
Can you talk to me a bit about how over the years, how you've come to identify yourcreative voice?
(28:01):
It's definitely, my voice has evolved over the years and I think it's really, a lot ofartists will evolve and I think it's important to kind of switch things up and like
discover a lot of, for me, art, part of being an artist is playing, being able to play andkind of just have fun with it.
So I actually, it's funny because when I was like, I'm taking my art seriously, I'm gonnastart submitting my stuff to art fairs, I was doing abstract work.
(28:31):
And like, I love abstract work, but I'm not really an abstract artist.
And even when I was in college, I was doing figurative work.
And so I just needed to do something just to kind of play and get back into it.
so just think going from abstract to doing portrait work, you know, is like, what theheck?
(28:54):
And then also, like I told myself too at the beginning, was like, I'm not doing portraitwork.
pretty much what I do.
And then I was like, I'm not gonna do watercolor.
Like that's so hard.
And that's now the medium I use.
I use gouache now, which is like it's like acrylic watercolor, a little bit more velveteerthan watercolor.
(29:18):
But it's, my style has evolved because I'm educating myself on things and I'm just playingaround.
And so now I also love
I like to call myself like a documentary figurative artist.
So I like to paint a lot of historical black figures and that started because I wanted toeducate myself on all of these amazing American black trailblazers, you know.
(29:46):
And I started a Visible History Collection series.
Essentially that was just me learning about my people and that has evolved into like, youknow.
have an opportunity to work with Harlem's fashion room, where they were doing the samething, but in a fashion space.
And so it's really important for us to honor and pay tribute to some of these people thathave paved the way, because they literally were just, they weren't, they were just
(30:11):
existing.
They were just being themselves and like feeling, trusting themselves and taking leaps.
And that's, I think a lot of us can relate to that.
And then now what I'm doing is, I was just like, I'm not gonna do any backgrounds.
I don't wanna do landscapes.
Now, if look at some of my recent work, it now incorporates more landscapes.
still people involved, but now I like to capture moments in Brooklyn of this is whateveryday life in Brooklyn looks like.
(30:38):
So I like to take walks.
I try to catch really sweet, tender moments when people aren't looking.
young couples holding hands.
saw this is one painting I want to do very soon, but it's like,
This father is getting his daughter, he's trying to get her into the school before thebell rings, and he stops to fix her hair.
(31:04):
And he's putting a ponytail and he's really rushing it.
It's just so sweet because this dad is like, we got to get this hair looking decent beforeyou get into this school.
And what parent can't relate to, got to drop this kid off and they can't look crazy.
So I captured that moment.
My son thought it was being a creep because I was taking a picture of it, but it wassweet.
(31:29):
So yeah, that's kind of now a lot of my work uh is very emotional for me.
It's like my subjects are things that I generally like doing and resonate.
And that helps me paint.
It just helps me stay focused.
And it makes me want to paint this as beautiful as possible.
(31:54):
Beautiful, um the way that you're observing life.
again, in the beginning, when we were reading your bio, we talked about how you focus onmoments and you like to document moments.
I love how you just shared how you go about doing that.
So it sounds like you'll notice a moment and might take a photo of it and then save thatmoment for later.
(32:20):
What's your process?
Yeah, so I that's that's exactly what I do.
So I am I am an artist that needs to paint from reference.
So like I'm still working on like uh that's a skill set that I want to practice is likebeing able to paint from memory.
I'm not there yet, but I do capture I think Jordan Castile does this to where like she'llwhat she has like her whole all of her earlier work was her and like her Harlem taking
(32:47):
pictures forces her forcing herself to like be in the streets and getting to know
her neighbors and m I don't necessarily always get to know the people because I do like, Ifeel like we're our most authentic self when no one's paying attention.
And so that's kind of my style of like, and I'll capture these moments, but you don'treally see like too much detail of the person's face, but like I try to capture a moment
(33:16):
that like everybody can resonate with the feeling.
And like, I actually did an art fair this year in LA.
And most, again, most of my scene is very urban, like Brooklyn streets.
And like, I took these Brooklyn street moments to LA and the amount of feedback that I gotregarding like, know that feeling, like I know exactly what this is.
(33:42):
And like, it's really beautiful.
Like one painting that I did was picture, it's my grandmother, my aunt.
my uncle and my niece and my mother.
My niece was like, I barely one years old.
My grandmother and aunt have since passed away, but it was, I captured this moment.
(34:04):
was the last time I actually saw my grandmother and her two daughters were sitting in herliving room, like on the floor, just like looking up at her and like, I think it's titled.
grandma's house or something like that.
it just, the amount of people that stopped by to like, I resonate with this picture.
(34:29):
I remember what my grandmother's house smells like and like the curtains and the candy orlike her perfume.
it's like everybody, most people have this matriarch that like holds down the family.
That's my goal with some of these paintings is to just kind of spark some sort of joy inall of us, joy and love in all of us, in the simplest moments.
(34:57):
Like literally they were just sitting on the floor talking to their grandmother, to mygrandmother.
The dad was literally just trying to get his kid to school, you know?
And there was a lot of beauty in some of these things that we're not paying attention to.
It also sounds like your art director self comes up to play as well.
(35:19):
Yeah, maybe a little bit.
mean, the best ads are usually the ones that are like emotionally triggering.
yeah, maybe a little
Yeah.
At this point, I'd love to talk about your sources of inspiration.
Are there some artists whose work you return to over and over?
(35:43):
I went to, yes, there are tons of artists every day that I meet.
And also just not artists, just just seeing people create and musicians, I get so inspiredby people's drive as well.
And like, I get inspired by my friends and family, just like, again, like I'm really drawninto like sweet moments.
(36:04):
So like even just being inspired by some of my friends who are mothers and like seeing howgentle and tender they are.
I guess like I use Instagram for a lot of my inspiration.
Like if you go to my feed, it's a lot of artists, a few artists right in the, mean,there's so many.
I like Alvin Armstrong.
(36:25):
He's a figurative artist, very large scale, but he does these like quick in-personportraits of people.
And he, I feel like he's just capturing moments and capturing essence because it's reallynot like a super high detailed portrait.
I would say also Joseph Lee, he's also a figurative artist, but also does app.
(36:49):
It's kind of like abstracty, really inspiring because he plays a lot with texture in hispainting.
I have my friend Otha vaccine.
He does hyper realism collage work.
So it looks like his paintings look like they are like ripped out of magazines, but heactually is painting them.
I had the opportunity of meeting him when I was
(37:12):
doing my snacks magazine.
many years ago, and we just met this year in person because he's in LA.
He's great.
It's been a blessing to be able to watch his journey.
But I also have another friend, Miss Billie Joe, went to temple with her.
She does, right now she's doing like 3D pop art.
(37:34):
The only reason I say pop art is because of the colors that she's using, but she also doesfigurative work.
She's did a lot of political work.
And I actually learned a lot about what was going on in the world through her work.
But yeah, I mean, every day I'm inspired by people and things.
(37:55):
I'm a forever student.
even inspired by this podcast, this takes a lot of work to put together.
And you're killing it.
And it's so professional and clean.
And there's inspiration that we can pull out of everything.
think one of the things that's really surprising is how inspirational the podcast is andhow much I think I've grown as an artist through the process of interviewing and listening
(38:24):
to these discussions because listening to, we're having this discussion, but I'm so in itthat there are some things you see here and there that I think, my God, it's so good.
But then when I listen to it a second time and a third time each time, m
there's something else that pops up and it's almost as if conversations with you and someof our other guests, it's like going to a wishing well.
(38:51):
You wish for something and then I listen to an episode and that thing or I talk with youand that thing that I needed comes out of our interaction.
It's really interesting how.
No, I agree.
like, yeah, I've been listening to some of the previous episodes as well.
(39:11):
And like, sometimes you receive information that you're like, huh, I wasn't even thinkingthat, you know, and now it's like sticks with you and you can like become a better person
because this person said this thing.
So that's, yeah, I think it's really important to have conversations and, you know, I wasusing the term network.
(39:31):
but it's so much more deeper than network.
It's literally about connecting and learning from one another.
It really is.
That's, you've just said it.
Yep.
That's what it's all about.
I guess one last thing I wanted to ask about is for you to tell me about the travelingshirt.
Yes.
my What's that all about?
Yes, yes.
(39:52):
It's a new project or I started this project this year.
So remember I was talking about my visible history project.
So that's, that's been a couple of years since I've been doing that.
And that was all about like me educating myself about like historical black figures, likeShirley Chisholm, Mae Jemison, Langston Hughes, just like all diving deep into some of
these people.
(40:12):
And so I was working at the time with my cousin who has like a print shop and I was like,well,
it's more than just me painting.
I want people to like take what I'm learning and like go have a conversation.
So I was printing them on t-shirts, selling them, people were buying them.
And then this year I was trying to be more sustainable and being like, well, how can Imake this even more special?
(40:35):
So I took one shirt and I like hand sewn like all these different portraits of likeOdetta, Shirley Chisholm, like all the people that I've done.
And
I challenged people to, it's a unisex shirt, just to travel and wear it and talk about it.
And a lot of people have signed up.
(40:56):
I started this in June and it's pretty much booked out to like February right now.
And so people wear it, they travel, they take pictures and I post about it.
My favorite stories are when like we had my one friend, Emily,
I believe it was Emily and she has children and her daughter was very interested in theproject.
(41:19):
That's what it's about is like teaching our youth specifically about like, hey, thesepeople existed and look, this person looks like you and you can do it.
So she was very interested in the shirt.
And then I also have my neighbor who's very, I think she wore like the Ruby Bridges shirtand they were so proud of wearing the Ruby Bridges shirt and like they.
(41:39):
I think she was in kindergarten and she stood up and was talking about who Ruby Bridgeswas.
that's the purpose of this project, is to talk about it and have conversation.
So the traveling shirt has been to Greece, it's been to Spain, it's been in Westchester,it's been in Colorado.
(41:59):
And again, it just started at the end of June.
So right now it's in Brooklyn.
So it's kind of making its way through all the different neighborhoods and then I willprobably send it to New Jersey Super fun project.
It's kind of like the I like to say it's like historical traveling Sit, what is yaga thetraveling pants the sisterhood of the traveling pants, right?
(42:26):
They all kind of sisterhood Yeah, they just kind of borrowed the pants and like wore itand felt beautiful in it.
And yeah, that's the shirt
Well, Ashley, so much for joining us on the podcast.
had such a fun time talking with you and learning more about you and your process.
Yeah.
(42:46):
Are you kidding me?
Like, I'm honored to be on here, so thank you even for thinking of me and it's been apleasure speaking with you as well.
there.
I have a quick favor to ask you before you go.
If you're loving this show, would you mind taking a quick second to leave us a five starreview on your favorite go to podcast app?
(43:12):
Here's the thing.
Those reviews are like magic fairy dust.
They help other creators of color discover our show and tap into their own artisticsuperpowers.
While you're at it, why not subscribe to our sub stack
newsletter Creative Matters.
Creative Matters is like a weekly dose of inspiration delivered straight to your inbox.
(43:37):
You can find the link to subscribe in the show notes.
Alright, that's all that I have for you today.
I can't wait to see you on the next episode.
Bye!
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