Check Out Allison Wickey’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Wickey.

Hi Allison, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My art career started in 2000 when I started a faux finish/mural business in the St. Louis area. In 2007, my family moved to Santa Rosa Beach and I was ready for a career shift. Unable to find art that would work with the decor of our home I set out to fill that gap. After creating some pieces using the media I loved working with in my former career – Venetian plaster, acrylic paint, and glazes – I started visiting local galleries and stores in hopes they would pick up my work.

Once I started selling work we converted a bedroom into my studio and a year later I had my first opportunity to move my studio into a Rosemary Beach gallery, World Six. The owner of World Six, Anne Hunter, eventually turned the space over to me and I had my very own first studio/gallery. During these years I won Best Gallery of the Emerald Coast and Walton County Artist of the Year. I found great pleasure in showing the work of up-and-coming artists in the gallery and became a Board Member of the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County.

After 10 years of having my gallery, I simplified and moved into a warehouse complex surrounded by other creators including painters, jewelry/metal forgers, glass artists, clothing designers, photographers, florists, and a woodworker. Around this time I became a founding partner and two-time sculptor in the Underwater Museum of Art, an immersive sculpture museum located less than a mile off Grayton Beach State Park at a depth of 58’.

As of today, we have 40 sculptures at the Museum which is visited by scuba divers and many different varieties of marine life. Learn more at UMAFL.org. I feel so fortunate to be a part of our art community and love watching new artists emerge every year!

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Honestly, being a self-employed artist feels like the best job in the world but it’s always a roller coaster. The first month I had my gallery the BP oil spill of 2010 hit our coast and 30A was a ghost town. As a newly divorced mom of two small kids, I knew if I survived that I could survive anything.

On 30A a lot has changed over the years the clientele is different and the “busy” season for selling art has changed also – but all of this is manageable and artists have learned to go with the flow. Balancing the constant artist hustle with family life and free time has been a challenge I am happy to take on and I can’t imagine a better life for us.

The rewards far outweigh the struggles and I am grateful for this experience.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am best known for my textured landscapes, especially our famous Western Lake tree span.

I create landscapes and abstracts by applying many layers of tinted Venetian plaster with trowels on wooden “canvas’’, a 13-step process from beginning to end. I am most proud of my ability to make a living doing something I love. Being an artist means constantly learning and overcoming challenges on so many levels, everything from sourcing media, budgeting with an unknown budget, and mastering marketing/social media.

Creating is the only way of life for me and truly is my therapy, I always feel good when painting, using my hands in any way. I love looking at an abstract weeks after its completion, it’s like a roadmap of what I was thinking at the time, so interesting. I feel that art is the language of the soul and am so happy to connect with the people that are drawn to my work and to know they “get it,” that we are communicating on a soul level without words.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
The earliest supporter I can remember was a museum tour guide who, on a field trip to the St. Louis Art Museum in 4th grade, had us do a “one line” portrait drawing of our friend – he came by and complimented my piece and that touched a nerve in me. As a young person, my friends had me draw cartoon characters and I constantly doodled on everything through school. In college, I took my first art classes and was encouraged by my professors to pursue art as a profession, to which I laughed – I didn’t know that was an option and was not at all interested in being a starving artist.

After college through desperation for money and an avoidance of anything corporate, I painted a mural for my mom, and through her network of friends I suddenly had a career – thanks, Mom! Once I moved to the beach, I sought out the World Six Gallery owner, Anne Hunter, to show my work and she gave me my big break. She had an extra storefront in Rosemary Beach and let me work there and run it for two years. Eventually, she decided to relocate to NYC and told me I had to take over her main gallery, I cried in fear, but I did it and it changed my life for the best and set me on my way to making a name on 30A.

Another backbone of my work is the Cultural Arts Alliance family, serving on the board for years has been a highlight and boost in confidence knowing they trust my opinions and ideas. Growing alongside the CAA and Executive Director, Jennifer Steele has been immensely rewarding and exciting. Most of all my clients have been the hugest supporters, I have collectors that have become like family, and am so thankful for their years of support. I love walking into their homes and seeing my work throughout the years, thoughtfully placed.

Pricing:

• I price my work at $275/sq. ft, this is the same for completed and commissioned work. A 10% discount is applied for clients who buy more than one piece in perpetuity.
• Designers get a 10% commission on all work purchased through Allison.

Contact Info:

• Website: Allisonwickey.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/allisonwickeyart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AWickeyStudioGallery?mibextid=LQQJ4d