Today we’d like to introduce you to Madison Byler.
Hi Madison, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Although I don’t work with graphite much anymore, it was actually what I started with when I was about thirteen or fourteen. I especially loved drawing portraits. The first commission I ever received was for a pencil portrait of two little boys, requested by my mom’s friend when I was just starting out. I began the portrait, but I never got it to a place I was pleased with, and I never delivered it because I was so embarrassed by it. I couldn’t stomach the thought of my mom’s friend seeing my attempt, let alone accepting money for it!
I began painting when I was a sophomore in high school. I took to it immediately–which isn’t to say I was very good or anything, but instead to say that I felt like it was something I wanted to keep trying despite (or maybe because of) my disappointing first attempts.
Even after I began accepting (and delivering!) commissions after high school, I retained a strong sense of shame associated with receiving payment for artwork. I was ashamed of the quality of my work and felt guilty charging anyone for it. I charged very little, and I actually returned a portion of someone’s payment once or twice because I felt so guilty accepting money for what I believed to be an awful painting. The shame and lack of confidence in my work was something I carried with me through college at the University of Georgia, and it even informed my decision to pursue my degree in English (which, to be fair, I do also love) rather than art.
When I was a freshman in college, my childhood dog Cache passed away back home. The night he died, I was moved to paint a portrait of him as a sort of attempt to both hold onto him and begin to let him go. It was an extremely emotional painting to create, and it was the first real pet portrait I had ever painted. When I soon realized pet portraits might actually be something I could lean into, I did lean into them, and through a couple fundraisers for local animal shelters, I managed to receive lots of pet portrait commissions and really get some practice under my belt while still in college for English.
I was also still in school when the owners over at Izola’s in Hinesville asked me to create a fresh mural for their main room. It was the first real mural I had ever attempted and certainly the largest painting I’d ever tried to create. It was intimidating but invigorating, and I deeply enjoyed the process. I have fond memories of late nights painting that first mural. By the time all was said and done, my shoulder was on fire, and my feet were killing me, but I’d created something I was genuinely proud of. I think that mural was pivotal for me in terms of both mindset in regards to my work and mindset in regards to whether art could ever be a viable, family-supporting career path.
After almost diving into publishing, which had long been my post-college plan, life presented a few opportunities and obstacles that pointed me instead in the direction of finally genuinely pursuing art as a career. I moved to Hinesville, my husband’s hometown, after graduating with my English degree in 2021, and once I saw things beginning to really get moving– once I started frequently booking and fulfilling commissions, selling original paintings, creating murals, teaching classes, and creating digital art including branding work–I left my publishing plans behind and dove into my art. And now I get to do what I love every day.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Shame and fear got (and still get) in my way big time. Especially when I was first starting, I was by no means a fan of most of the art I was creating. I’ve learned so much since I first started, but I still have lots to learn.
I also find it challenging to be my own boss. The flexibility it provides can be both liberating and problematic. It means that I’ve got to really double down on myself because nobody else will do it for me. Instead of consequences coming from over top of me, immediate and imposed arbitrarily, consequences naturally arise from the choices I make. I love having the freedom to decide how my days look, but this freedom can’t be something I abuse, or I’ll find myself out of business!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As an artist, I specialize in acrylic paint, but I also work digitally a good bit. Most of my time is spent fulfilling commissioned work, which are most often pet portraits. While most commissions are of pets, I’m also frequently commissioned to create landscape paintings as well as portraits of people and other things. Outside of commissions, I paint what inspires me, which actually is often simple objects.
Additionally, I create murals. I’ve created multiple murals across Liberty County and as far away as within the I-95 Toyota dealership in Brunswick, GA. It’s such an amazing feeling to see my work pop up in places on social media or online, like my murals used in pictures as backdrops at the It’s All About Me Selfie Studio in Hinesville or my Izola’s mural as the backdrop for a photo that appeared in the Washington Post.
I also work digitally on my iPad to not only design my murals but to design logos and other graphic design sorts of things. And every now and then, you’ll see me leading art classes, whether open to the public or booked as private events. I’ve also popped up at a couple festivals, and last year I was able to have a month-long exhibition of my work at the Hinesville Area Arts Council gallery.
I think I’m most proud of how far I’ve come with my art itself. I look back at my old paintings and drawings, and I can see how far I’ve come. It’s taken so much practice, work, and persistence to develop my skills as an artist, and while I still have so far to go and so much more to learn, I’m proud of the difference I see between my old stuff and my newer work.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
To support what I do, reach out for a commission! I think that’s likely the best way to support my work. Another huge way to support what I do is simply to share my work on social media. Tell your friends and family about me, and point people my way if someone asks for recommendations!
Contact Info:
- Website: madisonbylerartistry.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madisonbylerartistry/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madisonbylerartistry
