Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandria Farmer.
Hi Alexandria, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I fell in love with painting as a little girl. Me and my sisters would have paint night at the kitchen table, which was better than dessert to me back then. Growing up, drawing became my choice of creative outlet. Throughout high school I painted, but I always saw it as a fun hobby- never a lifestyle. The world had told me all my life you can’t make a career out of art, and I believed it.
By the time I was in college (studying business and literature), I had put a full stop to painting. In my mind, it had become a memory of my past, and something I should put in a box with all my other childhood things. It was time to build a “real” career for myself.
At 24, I made a portrait painting, for a birthday gift, to one of my friends. Everyone was astonished. No one knew I could paint. Over the next year, they all encouraged me to peruse art seriously.
In May 2025, I had a dream encounter with Jesus. He lovingly told me I have immense potential that was being wasted working in a restaurant. I woke up from that dream and everything changed. I really started perusing my career as an artist. I went from not painting over the span of six years, to creating over 10 new artworks in 4 months. By the end of that year, I started a painting business. I marketed live wedding painting and other freelance commission work. The following January 2026, I left my 9-5 and became a full-time artist.
I now spend my time painting commission artworks, live painting at weddings, and teaching other artists the basics of painting that school doesn’t teach. I am very early in my career, and only expect to continue to grow as an artist.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Identity was a challenge of mine. I’ve always seen myself as an artist, but it was more of a secondhand descriptor. When people asked me what I did for a living, it felt unnatural to say I am a painter. As if I answered the question wrong by listing a hobby instead of a career.
Once I actually bought into the fact that I am an artist, I started acting like one. I didn’t feel shameful advertising my paintings anymore. I stopped reasoning and discounting prices with myself.
It took seeing myself as an artist, to start moving like an artist.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am known for realistic portrait work. Capturing a moment in a painting that actually feels like a moment you could step into. As a live wedding painter, this helps me really celebrate the wedding through my painting. As a portrait artist, it helps me showcase the personality of the people I’m painting.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Letting go of perfectionism. They say we are our worst critic. I refuse to be critical of myself as an artist. Art is imperfect in nature, as a creative subject. I could drive myself crazy trying to make a painting “perfect.” If I let go of the need for perfection, I can celebrate my natural talent and actually enjoy the process.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.AlexandriaCaroline.art
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandriacaroline.art/
