Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyssa Jill Harris.
Alyssa Jill, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
When I was young, I was diagnosed as dyslexic. My parents enrolled me at the Carroll School in Lincoln & then Landmark High School in Beverly. Both of them specialize in language based learning differences & have amazing art programs. Students with dyslexia are super creative and need an outlet. I 100% credit my creativity to being dyslexic.
After that I took classes at The Museum School & Mass Art before settling in to University of Hartford Art School for a little while. After dropping out of art school I took a long break from art. I didn’t think that art was a career option but with the Internet, it totally is.
So basically the story is, I started painting after about 10 years of not picking up a paintbrush. A blogger saw a random painting I had posted on Instagram and reposted it. It changed everything for me and I ended up having to leave my job as an interior designer to focus 100% of my time on painting and the day-to-day business of being an artist. Moral of the story: use hashtags people! They work.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am a painter/ illustrator. I am still not sure what the difference is between the two. If you know, please get in touch. A lot of my art ends up on products or I release prints of my paintings. For the past few months I have been working on designing my own line products that will be out in the fall.
I love happy art that makes me smile and is also pretty. I love to paint preppy little monsters which is a funny juxtaposition or animals sipping on champagne. Animals doing anything humans do is hilarious and it is even better if the animals are pink!
The main thing you should know about my art is that I don’t take it too seriously and you shouldn’t either.
Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
Success is a hard thing to define but being able to do whatever I want every day is a pretty rich feeling. I think the most important thing for success in art is to be unique. Do your own thing and make sure you love what you are making! If you don’t feel passionately about what you are doing, nobody else will.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
The best place to see my art would be to follow my Instagram @willaheart. I am pretty terrible about posting on my FB or sending out Emails so if you want to see what I am up to, that is the best place to find out. But also like me on Facebook and sign up for my emails because why not? It’s not like I will be posting often or emailing ever so you won’t get annoyed. I promise.
You can shop all of my art on my website WillaHeart.com
Other places to shop my stuff:
I have a collection of original paintings currently for sale at Skinny Dip Nantucket. Go buy them please.
I have a line of invitations & stationary you can customize with Dixie Design
Shop here: www.dixie-design.com/collections/willa-heart
How about Pajamas or Tote Bags? Check out my line with Toss Designs
Shop here: https://www.tossdesigns.com/collections/willa-heart
I have a collaboration with Little Goodall coming out soon for children’s clothing and a few other projects in the works!
Contact Info:
- Website: willaheart.com
- Email: xoxo@willaheart.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/willaheart
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/shopwillaheart
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
