Meet M Carlisle | Artist

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

Hi M, why did you pursue a creative career?
Selling my work is more of a necessity than a career, unfortunately. But while work (to me) is just something to pay the bills, I do hope to enter some kind of stable creative field like at a museum or in website design QA. As an artist, I find the industry well within my skill range, while also allowing for challenges to further my craft.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Art is my biggest passion in life! It’s a bit cheesy but I guess it’s the thing I’m on earth for. My main skill is illustration but I love any traditional art, and I’ve dabbled in digital as well from time to time. I’d say what sets me apart is that I embrace any medium, my strong artistic discernment/ease of ideas, and that reused/repurposed materials are endemic to my craft- it’s rare I use something new outside of replacing tools.

Professional-wise, I’ve been maintaining/editing my own website since college and I highly recommend it. Even if just to replace photos in an already designed theme, it gives people a place to see what you want people to see. Not many professions need websites, but artists sure do! Luckily I’ve found it a very engaging puzzle so I built mine from scratch with WIX. It’s free (not sponsored lol)!

The biggest challenge has been with marketing- I’m terrible at it and I hate the voice that’s expected of it. So I’m usually antagonistic in a funny way (ie “If you don’t have my stickers on your water bottle you’re a loser”) to get through it. Reels are the big thing right now, and although they work very well with getting eyes on you, they are tricky and can take a lot of work. My advice? Small effort, lots of reels! The more the better. One very nice one with very few eyes just isn’t worth the effort.
Creators should know there are plenty of lateral ways to make money as an artist- passive sales like pdfs, print-on-demand and ko-fi/patreon are totally viable options.

I don’t have a brand or a story- I just wanna make art for the rest of my life. I hope I have time for all the things I wanna make!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The Botanical Gardens for sure! And we have so many incredible museums it’s hard to choose, I’d probably let my guest decide. Fourth Avenue and downtown is a fun walk- hopefully there’s an art fair as well, or Cyclovia would be fun! We could eat at the new Revolutionary Grounds, enjoy the chill vibes at Saigon Pho, or have the incredible tacos as Bocca. And personally I’m always showing off the arboretum that is my alma mater, the University of Arizona campus! The orange tree path, rose garden, and multiple little parks are so nice to visit. I know there’s so much more, I really should make a list for myself sometime!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My mother for her encouragement, my friends their curiosity, and any strangers who’ve bought my work. And thank you to all the art vloggers I follow, they keep the fire hot!

Website: https://ecarlisle.wixsite.com/portfolio

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creosotem/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-carlisle-258a2a98/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/creosote_m

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@creosote_m https://mcarlisle.itch.io/ https://www.pinterest.com/aimiliona/ https://ko-fi.com/mcarlisle

Image Credits
Credit to Professor Jim Cook for the picture of the sculpture installation (‘Line Study’, my art) taken 2017 for a student show. His website is here: https://www.jamesacook.net/