Meet Heidi Easley: Texas Art and Soul

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

Hi Heidi, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
I teach artists how to make money. The starving artist mentality is real and what I have learned from going bankrupt and losing everything before the age of 30 is… you have many many chances to fail and try again. Starting a business while being a full time art teacher taught me that when courageous great things can happen. Now I teach other artists how to make money online using their God given talents.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Wow! This is a loaded question! How much time do you have! 😆 I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that failure is a BIG part of success! I would have never imagined that my biggest year ever would be during a pandemic. You have to pivot and try things… not a few things… but a lot of things. Keep tweaking and finding what works while always staying true to who you are and what you love. We’ve had many challenges from bankruptcy over 10 years ago… a hole in my heart that led to a heart surgery just a few years ago, to so many ups and downs and not sure if I would ever be successful. I think people glorify the success part and they don’t talk often enough about the failures that got you there. My failures are like proud battle scars now. I earned every one and I know each one led me to the next step towards success. I always say… Take action through fear and Pray BIG! As artists we are emotional beings. We feel more… we hurt deeper… we laugh louder… and when we fail it hurts us to our core. But, I’ve learned if we can become just as obsessed with marketing as we do our art we will succeed financially doing what we love. And… it’s so much fun to be able to wake up and create!!!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh my gosh!!! I love Stumpys’! It’s this really cute resturant on the lake and has the best little bakery inside! The chicken tacos are also to die for! I would also take you to Christina’s Bistro on the square! Hands down the best tomatoe basil soup I’ve ever had. After we would stop by Divine Wine for their Blackberry wine! Hmmm… everything is food related! Our town square is iconic with ghost tours and all the cutest shops like Mimi and B’s! We would also check out the Local Goat for some of the best nachos in town. Can you tell I love food!?!? And for people…. I would stop at the book store on the square. Brandie who is in charge of all the ghost tours in town is such a sweet girl and has created the coolest bookstore I’ve seen!

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?
So many people!!! When we started my first business right after bankruptcy, my mother-in-law and step dad jumped right in to help! They said “let’s make this 50/50”. And that’s what we did! I had NO money to invest so we literally bought supplies, sell wooden hand painted surfboards and split the profits after expenses were paid. Later when I started my paint party business and now we are teaching 1000’s of people online I have my husband mostly to thank! There were soooo many times I tried to quit. He kept believing in me and pushing me to move forward. I know God has a plan with all of this and I’m just so thankful to be a part of the ride!

Website: www.texasartandsoul.com
Instagram: @texasartandsoul_
Facebook: Facebook.com/texasartandsoul
Youtube: Texas Art and Soul