Introduction to Imaginary Rebels: My Story

Hi, my name is Lindsay and I am your host, teacher, friend, and promoter! I am here to help you in any way that I can whether its art related or not. I feel like Art has fallen out of focus especially in schools. I know in some states they don't even teach art as an elective anymore, which makes me really sad. 

I remember going to art class in middle school and totally falling in love with it. That was the class I looked forward to everyday. When I got to high school, there wasn't any art classes being taught. 

When I started community college, I wanted to get back into my creative side and create some amazing projects. I decided to go for my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (BFA) which is a little more advanced than just a Bachelor of Arts degree. 

I took a oil painting class which I thought was going to be so fun and I was so excited to started. But my hopes of actually learning how to paint in oil were dashed because of the professor that I had. He had no patience for newbies. I told me that my paintings were ugly and that I had to redo them. He was very negative towards me and just humiliated me in front of the class. He never actually taught anything step by step, so sadly I did not learn anything from that class. When the semester was over, I could not wait to get out of that class. 

Because he shamed me and just made me feel so awful about painting and art, I changed my degree concretization from painting to graphic design. I hoped creating digital art was better. 

By the time I graduated college in early 2015, I didn't really want anything to do with art or design. My spirit was just crushed and I felt like I was a horrible artist and that I needed to get far from it.

I also moved to Central Oregon in fall of 2015, to start fresh and start a new career path. I decided to go back to school for Medical Billing and Coding and Medical Administration. After that, I did get a job in the medical field and around 2022, I decided to go back to school again to become a CMA (Certified Medical Assistant). 

Another thing happened in 2022, I was seeing people painting on Facebook and I was intrigued. I suddenly felt like I wanted to try painting again, only this time with acrylic which is way easier to use than oil. In July 2022, I was playing around with different names for my art business. I came up with Imaginary Rebel Art Studio LLC, but that name Imaginary Rebel came from a project I did in my senior level classes. I had to design a beer bottle and a carrier and I had to come up with a catchy name. I came up with Imaginary Rebel and I was told by teacher that name was too long and it didn't work for that project. Well, I rebelled against him and did it anyway, and honestly to came out great! 

Imaginary comes from existing in my imagination and Rebel comes from not wanting to create standardized paintings or creations. I went against all the norms and did what I wanted to do. 

Around fall of 2022, is when I started painting a lot of paintings and putting them on YouTube. Then, I saw an ad on Facebook from Texas Art and Soul by Heidi Easley.  She teaches people how to make money teaching paint parties. I decided to sign up and just see if I could even do it. 

My first paint party was end of October 2022 and I had two amazing students. I was so excited that someone actually want me to teach them how to paint a snowman. I felt amazing and I loved talking and teaching the ladies that came. It was validation that I am a good painter and artist. I just needed to believe in myself and that was really hard to do in college, especially with that one professor. 

I made some really good money from teaching paint parties, but I also got some really great confidence that I really needed. I loved teaching people who have never painted before to paint and seeing them gain their own confidence in just one painting. 

I know this post is totally long, but I want you to know where I started and how Imaginary Rebels was born. I wanted to create an online art membership/school where I am doing the exact opposite of my college experience. I want to help beginner artists find their confidence and show them how far they can go, if someone is cheering them on. I want to be your cheerleader, I want positivity and happiness in the group. I want everyone to help each other grow. 

Thanks for reading my story and how my brand was born. Please share in the comments or in your post your story and how to you got the courage to join this awesome group of people who are so ready to help you with your artistic journey.