Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Deechaleune.
Emily, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It all started with the book store called Boarders. My dad used to take my brother and I every day to that book store while he walked around the loop to get his exercise. That’s how I learned how to draw. I was always fascinated by children books because of the bright bold colors, the simple line work, the contrast between light and dark and the choice of colors. That inspired me to pick up a pencil and started drawing. I learned from “How To Draw…” books which helped me a lot as well. I’ve been drawing ever since. As I grew older, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my art but I knew I wanted to do something within the arts field. After I graduated high school, I did not end up going to college but instead, I told myself I am going to practice every day, experiment and try different mediums. I kept drawing and creating daily and practicing because the more you practice, the better you will be. Practice makes progress. After 2 years of consistent drawing and creating, I got a good amount of customers thanks to my friends and family and started doing commission pieces. Then, I started drawing things that interest me like spirituality, animals, space/universe, feminism, the LGBT community. People connected with my work when I started posting my work up online. A friend of mine told me to make prints so people can buy them. After that day, I started making prints for people to buy and here I am today running my own business and being my own boss.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Any road you take in life will never be smooth. There will be lots of obstacles and challenges along the way but you will also have your little victories and rewards. The road is never linear. There will be bumps, you will have your ups and downs, you will be frustrated and sad but you will be happy and ecstatic. After I graduated high school, I took a risk and didn’t go to college. My parents were supportive of what I chose to do. They knew I loved to draw and saw my potential. They told me, do what you feel you are comfortable with. They never forced me to do anything I did not like or told me if I didn’t go to college, I would be a disgrace to the family. In the beginning, I was making no money because I was practicing my craft trying to become better. Thankfully for my mom specifically, she knew my work was good and so she sought out her friends and told them I was willing to draw them anything. And so, I did. That was going well for a few months, but then there will be other months where I didn’t get a customer and it was frustrating. Working for yourself can be tough but also rewarding in the end. You make your own schedule, you wake up when you want to, you get to wear your pj’s to work if you’d like. But then, you work more than 10+ hours a day, putting in that work. Sometimes, you’re swamped and can’t stop working until the job is done.
The advice I would give to young women who are starting their journey is, take that risk even if you’re scared. Do whatever it is that sets your soul on fire. When going through your journey, make sure you are having fun and enjoying the process because what matters the most is the process, not the outcome. Make sure you are enjoying yourself and what you do.
What should we know about HEYEMILYDEE? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’ve come to grow a love and affection with watercolor paint. That is my all time favorite medium to use while creating. Watercolor is a natural companion to pencil and ink. It spreads and moves like a living thing. Watercolor has a unique spontaneous look to which it cannot be replicated digitally. It has a mind of its own. Watercolor is such a versatile medium and I love how you can do many things with it.
When creating, I don’t stick to one specific theme. For instance, like landscapes, animals, religion, mythology, etc. I like to create things that I’m interested in and excites me. I support the LGBTQ community and some of my work reflects that in a sense of using bright bold colors. I love space and the universe and often times, I create a mini series of space related things. I also create works that relate to feminism. I myself am a feminist and I believe in gender equality. We should all have human rights regardless if we are male, female, gay, straight, trans, Asian, black, white or Muslim. Yes, we may all be different, but deep down we are all the same. I also love to create spiritual things like mandalas, yin-yang, dream catchers, the sun, moon, plants, etc. I love to create things that people can connect with or feel something when they see my work. I love hearing people’s different interpretation of the work I create. It can be different from mine and that’s what makes art so beautiful. There is no wrong answer. You feel what you feel and no one can take that away from you.
I am my own brand and what I’m most proud of is the ongoing journey of self-discovery. I’m constantly learning something new about myself. As humans, we are always changing, evolving and growing and that’s what makes life so beautiful. We get the chance to be who we want to be, express our inner most thoughts and ideas. We have to power to continue growing and learning and we also have the power to stop growing and just being comfortable where we are. We can become stagnate if we want to. It is ultimately up to us to choose what we want to do in life. I choose to keep growing, evolving and learning new things.
I don’t think about what sets me apart from others. As long as I am honest with myself and my work, that is what matters to me. We are constantly analyzing other people’s lives and comparing our life to theirs. In doing this, that distracts us and puts us in a bad mood like jealousy, depression, or anger. That energy we used in comparing to people’s lives can be used in our lives. We can put that energy into what we are working on or trying to accomplish.
Do you have a lesson or advice you’d like to share with young women just starting out?
The advice I would give to a young woman just starting her career is to believe and trust in yourself. No one will believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself first. Trust that you will be okay when starting your career. The beginning is always the hardest. There will be ups and downs and lots of obstacles but keep pushing through and don’t give up. Allow yourself to fail and succeed. To keep trying. You are stronger and powerful more than you think. You are brilliant and anything you set your mind to, you can accomplish. Trust the process. The universe has your back.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.heyemilydee.com
- Email: business@heyemilydee.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemilydee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Heyemilydee/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/heyemilydee
- Other: www.heyemilydee.shop
Image Credit:
Sammy Deechaleune
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