Meet the Artist

WHO AM I?

I’ve got to admit, I’ve always been considered the odd one in the bunch.   :)   I guess, I’m what they call a dreamer.   Ever since a young age, I always saw myself helping and teaching others in some way or some form.   Heck, when asked in kindergarten what I wanted to be when I grew up – I proudly stated at the top of my lungs “Missionary to China!”  Much has changed since then (though I still have a love for anything foreign), but my love for helping others and teaching hasn’t changed.

LIFE PLANS GONE AMISS

After graduating high school and having some rough years in college, I finally graduated with a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education.   Now, all I needed to do what get a job….

Yepster, get a job…

A job…

Yeah, when I graduated it was the worst hiring freeze for teachers in my state.   Ugh!  Time to go back to the drawing boards – I had to humiliatingly move back in with my parents and seek employment anywhere that would hire me.  I took two jobs – a tutoring job and a job working with 2 year olds at a daycare.  Both were challenging, but I absolutely loved them.  For nearly 3 years I worked both of those jobs and grew my tutoring business to the point that I was working over 20 hours a week.

So why am I talking about tutoring, when I’m an artist?  

Well, I’m glad you asked.  In the summers, my tutoring and daycare jobs kind of dried up.   That’s when I had to put my special thinking cap on and find something else to pay these constant incoming bills.   My mom actually came up with the idea while I was painting in my bedroom one day.   “Why don’t you teach art?”  She said.  My first reaction was to laugh.

COMPLETELY SELF TAUGHT

I had no formal training in art.  NONE!  I was completely self taught!   Who would pay to listen to my art instruction?   But….I was kind of desperate.   Money was getting tight again.     After thinking about it, I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask around.   That summer I started teaching 8 students and eventually grew to nearly 15.    Each summer, I gained more and more students and found myself loving this new business that I had created.

LIFE’s A RoLLeR CoAsTer RiDe

Life was great! Around this time, I met my husband, got married and then things took a turn for the worse.  I was working 3 jobs at the time and loved ever single one of them, but something was really off with my health.  I felt sick all the time and when I wasn’t working, I was curled up in bed with horrid pain that seemed to imprison me within my room.   I found myself depressed and so alone.   Doctors ran multiple tests and after nearly 3 years I had a diagnose   – PCOS.   I had suffered with it my entire life (though I never really knew it), but for some reason when I hit 28 it seemed to take me down for the count.  I tried diet, exercise, medicine, nothing seemed to help.

 A PASSION LOST

Finally, I hit my lowest, when my husband and I had to make the decision for me to leave my current jobs.  I felt my heart ripped from me.  It seemed so unfair.   Why, would God do this to me?  I would ask every night.  Wasn’t I helping people?  Wasn’t I doing good things?   Despite my questions, I will say my faith grew stronger the darker my life became.   Oh and if you didn’t catch that, I am a Christ follower.   I’ve been burned by a lot of so called good “Christian” people and I’m not cool with that.  But, those people aren’t my God.  I find myself more passionate about Him with each passing day.

Anyway, getting back to my weird life… I finally hit a point I was so low, my husband told me, “Why don’t you try painting?  You used to love painting. Better yet, film yourself painting and teach others on YouTube – similar to how you used to teach your students.”  At first, I was really turned off by the idea.  I’m more of a behind the scenes person than in front of the camera.  But, I had nothing to loose.  Might as well try…

MIGHT AS WELL TRY…

As I poured myself into watercolor once again, everything I had learned in the past seemed to flood right back and with an even stronger force.   I found myself stepping out of my comfort zone and being comfortable to stand out as myself. As I progressed in my skills, I began to wonder

 Why couldn’t art just be a means for healing, processing who you are, and most importantly just having fun while learning through the process?

WATERCOLOR MISFIT

I guess that’s how all this started…me becoming a Watercolor Misfit.  And so my journey continued…now bringing me into the online world to reach out to others.  My health, I’m happy to say is better – but it’s a daily struggle and some days are better than others.  I’m still a dreamer though!  Got big plans for this new venture and excited to see the outcome!  Anyway, I’ve rambled long enough!  That’s just a short summary of my life and how I became a Watercolor Misfit.

If you would like to learn more about me and my quirkiness – make sure to check out the video below!

Lots of love and happy painting!

Carrie Luc - Watercolor Misfit

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz0e626iSKQ