Today, The Platinum Mask channel would like to introduce Jaleah Ledford for a conversation.
Hey! Please explain to the audience what you’re promoting.
I am a full time visual artist. I am promoting my art skills.
What was the biggest obstacle in your journey and how did you overcome it?
My biggest obstacle would be putting myself out there and finding clients. I was able to overcome putting myself out there with the support of my friends and family. They really believe in me. Honestly I’m still struggling with finding clients.
What separates you from similar artist in the Dallas-Fort Worth area?
What separates me from other artists is that I don’t have a particular art style. I paint and create whatever is in my heart.
Is there anything you wished you would have known earlier in your journey?
Something I wish I would have known would be it doesn’t happen overnight. You are not automatically going to make a sale the first time you put on a show and not everyone is going to like what you put out there, but as long as you like it it’s going to succeed.
Do you have any favorite spots in the Dallas-Fort Worth area?
My favorite spot in Dallas would be Deep Ellum. It has so many creative and talented people out there and there’s never a dull moment. It’s definitely a vibe.
Were there any major challenges due to the covid-19 pandemic? How did you overcome them?
Honestly I didn’t have any major challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s when I actually started painting so it gave me the opportunity to slow down and decide that this is the life that I wanted to live, so it was actually pretty beneficial for me. If we hadn’t been shut down I would’ve been working long hours and I wouldn’t have been able to put my all into my art.
What was your upbringing like and did you discover your passion early on?
My upbringing was really well. I have an amazing support system and grew up with a single mother but she was everything I needed. I didn’t need anything else and didn’t really know I was missing out on anything by not having a dad because she was all I ever needed. I didn’t discover my passion of art until I was in my mid-20s, but as a child I always knew that I was going to be creative. I just didn’t know which direction of creativity I was going to be led to and it took a long time for me to figure it out but we are here and I wouldn’t change anything.
Do you have a mentor and can you remember any key advice they have given you?
I didn’t have a mentor. I don’t have a mentor currently and everything I do was self taught. If there was something I didn’t know how to do I got on YouTube and figured it out from there, but I do also surround myself by a lot of creative artists and one thing that they all tell me is to stay consistent. Consistency is key.
Were your friends and family supportive of your mission?
My friends and family are extremely supportive and they believe me every step of the way to the point where they were buying the art supplies and buying pieces from me. Once I decided to take this journey everyone was extremely excited, because I tried a lot of different things and I put my hands in everything and they were always supportive of everything that I did. Something about the art spoke to me and once I started doing that they knew that this was going to take me far.
Any links you want to share for the viewers?
