Meet Ashley Harrington

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Harrington.

Hi Ashley, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have always been stuck in the mindset that you can’t make a living with art. With that, I wandered aimlessly after college trying out different roles in the corporate world from office management to marketing. I finally pulled out my paints from school and fell back in love with painting. I tried to bring more creativity into my job by learning design for marketing, but it wasn’t enough. I really wanted to give my painting a chance but struggled to practice regularly.

By 30, I was fed up with my lack of discipline creating art and by the end of 2019 I started to create every day to ingrain the habit. I was gaining momentum in my art practice and could really see myself slowly growing this business on the side until I could leave my day job. Little did I know that 2020 had other plans. In March, I was given four months’ notice of being laid off and a week later, the pandemic had everything shut down. Trying to stay positive, I took the four months to put together a design-focused resume to get some contract work and kept painting. In July, I was officially unemployed and registered my business, Bleeding Art Studio. I’ve had a lot of help and support from artists I’ve met along the way who are also in different stages of their own creative businesses. During the rest of 2020, I was able to sell some paintings and book my first exhibition scheduled for late summer 2021. Since then, I’ve expanded into commission work and have had the opportunity to show my work in co-working spaces. Now it’s been a year and I’ve never been happier to be building something that helps me grow as a person and brings joy to others.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Losing my day job was a major change in my life but I luckily had savings to fall back on and support from my partner during my transition to a working artist. There are struggles in building awareness around my art, trying to find the right audience and the right channels to reach them. Part of this is being able to share my story and why I create art; communication is always a work in progress for me. There are also a lot of stereotypes about artists that I’ve believed most of my life that can be difficult to dismiss at times. I have been able to work through some of these struggles with the help and support of the artist community here in Raleigh. There’s a lot to learn in a one-person business that can be overwhelming. Having a network of artists and art resources has been instrumental in my success so far.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Since I started painting, I have focused on landscapes and cow portraits. Nature scenes are mentally grounding for myself and bring a lot of nostalgic and calming sensations for the viewer. For landscapes, I love working with blue greens and yellow oranges and exaggerating the lighting, color saturation and movement. My cow portraits are still nature-inspired but in a colorful, quirky, fun way. My cows are about enjoying awkward, imperfect moments and remembering to laugh every now and then.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can follow me on social or sign up for my newsletter through my site to see what I’m up to. Along with original works, I offer commissions for those who want a specific piece that’s personal to them or as a personal gift. I’m always open to new opportunities and would love the chance to give back however I can to this amazing community of Raleigh artists.

Contact Info:

• Email: ashley@bleedingartstudio.com
• Website: bleedingartstudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleyharringtonart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bleedingartstudiogallery