Ep #6: Growing an art business through genuine connection - with artist Tracy Verdugo

December 12, 2024

In the final episode of season one, I sit down with Tracy Verdugo, an Australian artist and teacher whose vibrant work and approach to creativity has touched lives worldwide. Like many of us, Tracy came to art later in life - she was 33 when she first picked up a paintbrush, believing until then that creativity was something other people did.

Our conversation explores how she moved from teaching art to neighbourhood children to running international workshops and retreats, building a thriving creative business while managing chronic illness. We dig into the reality of being a working artist - the challenge of balancing creative time with business demands, the importance of working in seasons, and how to stay connected to the joy of making art when it's also your livelihood.

What I love about this conversation is how Tracy emphasises the importance of community over commodity. Her approach isn't about quick wins or marketing tricks - it's about building genuine connections and letting the business grow organically from there.

Whether you're considering taking your art professional or simply wanting to develop a more consistent creative practice, Tracy offers practical insights about staying true to yourself while building something sustainable.

Watch the video version here:

Listen to the audio version by clicking here or find it wherever you get your podcasts.

Find out more about Tracy:

If Tracy Verdugo was given the opportunity to coin a term for a new art movement based around what she teaches she might call it “Curiosity and Wonderism”or maybe “Loosen-upism” or “Endless possibilitism”

When she is not hanging out with her family in their artsy adobe home in a small village on the shores of Jervis Bay, Australia, or throwing paint around in her little purple studio in their backyard, you may find her teaching poolside on a volcanic island in Italy or sketching with her students in a centuries old marketplace in Mexico.

Tracy is an inspiration instigator, prolific painter and lover of the written word, smitten traveller and soaker up of all that is beauty-full. She teaches her Paint Mojo and other creative workshops all over this amazing planet and reminds her students of the wonder that already resides within them.

Her works are vibrant and filled with joy, inspired both by wanderlust, diversity and the beauty of everyday life. Her works are held in collections both in Australia and internationally.

Mostly though she is mama bear to two gorgeous, zest-filled daughters, Santana and Sienna, Ita to Nora Luz and Meya and co-adventurer in life with her amor of 38 years, the talented and brilliant Marco.