Meet Sue Averell | Artist and Entrepreneur

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

Hi Sue, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Opening an art gallery had been my dream and goal for many years. I knew realistically that it was important to first have a large collector base. To accomplish that I worked with several US galleries and for 14 years participated in The Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale Arizona. After almost 20 years of consistent sales I opened Gallery Sausalito in 2017. I continue to partner with galleries and participate in international gallery exhibitions.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What sets my gallery apart from other galleries is that my creative studio is located within the gallery space. Sharing my creative process helps people to connect with my work and offers an experience to everyone who visits. Taking your passion and making it your career is not easy. There are many reasons for this, and for me the most difficult thing is finding the energy to do a good job at the business side as well as the creative side of the business.
One of the ways I have managed this is to hire and trust people to do the jobs I am not good at. For example, I work with a bookkeeper a webmaster and a custom canvas maker. They free me up to do the things I love to do.
I am very excited to continue to grow and explore as an artist. My latest series has taken my paintings into the 3D. The new works are free- standing towers and mixed media 3D wall installations.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love Arizona and California for different reasons. Both places are beautiful and offer great shopping, restaurants and site seeing. If my friend was visiting Arizona with me we would be there in March. First stop would be a day hike in northern Scottsdale. Hopefully the flowers would be blooming and the day would be warm. Of course it would be sunny as Arizona is always sunny.
After our hike we would walk the galleries in Old Town Scottsdale and then have a tasty meal at one of the fantastic restaurants.
If my friend were visiting in Sausalito, we would meet up at my gallery for a nice glass of wine and then take a sail on the bay. After seeing the beautiful sites we would go to one of my favorite restaurants.

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 parents and grandparents were very supportive and encouraging about my choice to pursue a career in art. I feel without their support I would not be where I am in my career. The Scottsdale, Celebration of Fine Art was a turning point in my success. The owners of the show as well as many of the artists taught me how to curate and sell my work. I have so many wonderful memories of my 14 years in Arizona.

Website: www.sueaverell.com and www.gallerysausalito.com

Instagram: @sueaverellart @gallerysausalito

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sue.averell.artist and www.facebook.com/gallerySausalito/

Image Credits
Judy Reed Photography, San Francisco