I'm Harlie, and I'm an abstract artist
Describe your job
My day to day job consists of answering emails, creative brainstorming and planning new things, finishing off current collections, sourcing second-hand vases and pots, getting new content and updating social media, updating my website with any new pieces, answering enquiries and DMs on Instagram, finishing off personal commissions and finding the time to walk my dog and make some food in the midst of all of that.
What are the most important skills you need to do your job?
I always consider kindness and giving people time the top skills in my profession – if you can’t interact with your customer base and answer their queries then you may not keep that customer base.
I must be as creative as possible and come up with new ideas to keep things fresh and exciting. Content creation seems to place a bigger role than I had thought it would – it’s important to post new content often to keep people interested.
I left school and...
I went to university in Sheffield to study Biology and Psychology, despite my parents telling me that I should go to art school. I genuinely thought I wouldn’t get a ‘proper job’ if I didn’t go to university and study something ‘academic’ (that is of COURSE not true).
I was then enrolled onto Teach First and completed my PGCE at UCL in London before becoming a teacher for 3 years. I decided to leave and then had a little stint at being a showroom manager at a fashion PR company but this wasn’t really for me.
After that I went back into teaching part time so that I could focus more time on my art. That was working nicely and then lockdown happened and all I did was paint paint PAINT.
I’m most proud of...
I’m proud of this piece, being the biggest piece that I have painted, the time it took, and the fact that it sold just blew me away!
Before I started my career, I wish I knew…
You get out what you put in.
A mistake I made which you can avoid repeating is...
I wish I’d followed my dream earlier on, but I do not regret the path I’ve taken. Sometimes it takes people a little longer to find what they really want to do.
So, I’d have to go with not genuinely believing that I was talented enough for people to buy my work.
If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect others to as well?
So, what’s next?
I’d love to have a solo exhibition one day. I’m not sure how many years I’m thinking here but it is a dream of mine to create a whole collection for people to come and see.
Here's my: