When was the last time you decided to quite all the voices and just focus on your desire to create art? Is it hard for you to carve out the time in your life or have you found the right formula to make it work? Wherever you are at in your journey, I know you’ll appreciate hearing from the amazing Jacksonville based artist - Kristin Cronic.

In our conversation, Kristin opens up about how she got started as an artist, what it was like navigating life as a Navy officer, how she recovered when her whole world was flipped upside down, and so much more. Don’t forget to check out images of Kristin’s artwork located at the end of this post.

Paint on the floor and permission to create art

Do you remember when you were first given permission to paint? Remember the joy you had? What happened to that joy? Have you fanned those flames over the years or are you just now starting to re-light the fire?

Kristin Cronic looks back to the early years of her life when her mother would allow her to paint and explore to heart's content. Her mother still has a paint-covered floor in her room at that house to this day! Kristin also received early encouragement from her aunt, Kathy Strauss who is also an artist.

Surviving a hurricane

Several years ago in 2017, Hurricane Irma struck the Florida coast, the Florida Keys, and the Caribbean. Irma also happened to strike just as Kristin and her family were planning a major shift in their lives - Kristin was resigning from the Navy to pursue her career in art. Also - Kristin was six weeks pregnant with their second child.

As crazy as that time was, thankfully, Kristin and her family made it through the whole ordeal safely. In the ensuing months, Kristin and her family went to work picking up the pieces as they began to rebuild. Two months after the chaos - Kristin started to really struggle with all the challenges that were building up. Thankfully, her husband stepped in with some helpful advice.

Follow your gut

In the middle of trying to bring order to chaos, Kristin followed her husband’s advice, and she started painting again. He knew, even when she had forgotten that taking the time to create art would help her find peace. It’s wonderful when you have people in your corner who help you follow your gut even when you can’t hear it speaking up!

As Kristin started to follow her gut and get back into what brought her joy, she found herself struggling with a direction. Listening to the Savvy Painter podcast helped Kristin reconnect with her inner artist and begin the path toward creating art again. Listening to the podcast wasn’t the silver bullet for Kristin, she also reached out to a local artist, and she enrolled in the Savvy Painter Growth Studio.

It’s never too late

Hopefully, you’ll find Kristin’s powerful story of finding her way and following her gut inspiring - I know I did! What I want artists like you to know is this; it’s never too late. You aren’t too old or too out of touch with the art community. No excuse is big enough to keep you from creating art.

The world needs your story and you

Do you spend more time thinking about making art than actually making it? Start things you never finish? Make work and then stack it against the wall, facing inward, so you don't have to look at it?

If any of that sounds familiar, I'd love to chat.

Click here: savvypainter.com/survey to tell me what's going on. If it seems like I need more info, I'll reach out to schedule a call.

Thanks so much!

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