We had the good fortune of connecting with Chelsea Kavanagh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chelsea, career-wise, where do you want to be in the end?
End goal is to solely make a living as an artist, to be my own boss, and to travel for it. By the end of my career I hope to have a large body of work in a museum. It’s human nature to want to leave a mark on the world and I definitely feel that push a lot. Human existence can feel very futile at times, so to extend my legacy beyond my lifetime would be rad. Looking at the near future I’m just trying to navigate the world during COVID-19 and attempt to figure out how to increase my audience online. I’m hoping to get a mural done by the end of this summer and in the next few years I’m hoping to have the opportunity to show my work in spaces outside of Flagstaff. 

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I was raised in Flagstaff and have been creating art ever since I was little. I moved away for a little bit after college, but came back because nowhere has felt like home quite like Flagstaff. I live and work on my paintings in a self-proclaimed hobbit hole in the south side with too many house plants, records, and tchotchkes.

My work is a non-traditional take on landscapes. I pair painting and intricate line-work to make mesas, mountains, arches, and other landmarks on live-edge and manufactured wood or paper. Most of the time I paint places from the world of the living, but recently I’ve been working on two series, “Anywhere But Here” and “Dreamscapes.” These were both born out of the boredom, uncertainty, and anxiety of the past year; living in a small house with nowhere to go.

I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my art career. A highlight so far was my “Land Lines” exhibition at the Museum of Northern Arizona in 2018, which focused on landmarks in the Colorado Plateau. My work being in the same building as all of those by hugely talented, well-known artists was incredibly humbling and a huge opportunity that I’ll be forever grateful for.
I think the greatest challenge to getting to where I want professionally is location. Flagstaff is a town full of creatives, and the vast majority of us vie for the same wall space in restaurants and coffee shops. There aren’t a huge amount of professional galleries to show at. Although it’s a great amount of exposure, it doesn’t end in red dots on many (if any) of your tags. If you want to make a living as an artist here you have to hustle. All that being said, I’m extremely lucky in the fact that that is my challenge.  I’ve learned that painting every day doesn’t work for me. I have some friends who do that. That blows my mind, and definitely not how I’m wired. I get creative-block super easy, so I find my creative process thrives if I just put whatever I’m working on away for a week or two and put energy into origami, knitting, or reading.
A piece of advice from my friend and tattoo artist, Zach Beckett, has always stuck with me. He told me in regards to naysayers, “if it was so easy, why didn’t they do it first.” I truly do think about that all the time. There are always going to be haters that will try to knock you and your art, and the sooner you come to terms with that, the better your work will be for it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
BBQs and yard games are a way of life during the summers in Flagstaff and over the past year my friends and I have created pretty epic gardens at our homes, so enjoying those would be at the top of the list for the week. Breakfast (my favorite is the Jerry El Mujeriego) from MartAnne’s, bagel sandwiches from Bif’s, crullers from Tourist Home, and an Amore oi Mari and house focaccia from Pizzicletta are always a must for any visit. We’d probably grab a couple of kayaks or SUPs from Ceiba Adventures (my full time job) and head out on day trip to one of the waterways near Flagstaff with a sandwich from Proper or Crystal Creek, and beverages from The Western Post or Pay N Take. Shopping at Winter Sun and Old Town Shops, checking out art at The HeArt Box, and perusing the shelves of Bright Side Bookshop while walking around downtown are an awesome way to spend an afternoon. Grabbing a couple of drinks from the Flagstaff Brewing Company crew and enjoying live music on their patio is a staple of the tour de Flag. On the last night I’d grab a meal from the guys over at Square Root Foods to send my friend back home on an extremely good note!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m a very lucky person with friends who constantly hype me and my work in any way they can. Specifically though, my friend Rachel Corak has been momentous in my success so far. At the beginning of last year she motivated me to get my shit together and built my website which launched this past December. She’s a ride-or-die and we spend far too much time cracking each other up on zoom chats or phone calls while brainstorming marketing ideas and social media posts. She has talked me off many a figurative ledge, backed me up when I needed it, has killer pep-talk skills, and has just been all-around fantastic. She’s incredibly talented at what she does and is funny as hell. She worked in customer service for many years and transitioned to a more meaningful role in e-commerce in 2016. Now she runs her own business, Compelling Space, which focuses on developing websites, content, and digital marketing strategies for clients. Y’all should check her out.

Website: www.chelseakavanaghart.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/landlinesart/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/landlinesart
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/landlinesart

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.