Meet Candice McEnturff | Independent Artist

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

Hi Candice, what role has risk played in your life or career?
This is a fun question for me, because honestly, my art career is built on risks. I risked it all when I went full time and took the leap of faith pretty blindly, but I knew that if I didn’t try I would regret it. God planted the seed and I wanted to do everything in my power to grow in my newfound craft. I bartended for 12 years, and I embrace my wild and dark past. I had some fun, made some mistakes, and learned a lot the hard way. I believe that you have to be lost in order to be found. My faith has been strengthened, and my soul is well. There are still risks I take almost daily, but I wouldn’t have it any other way if I have a choice. I am just so happy being an artist for a living, it’s worth every struggle, bump, and bruise. I love what I do very much and it gives me the inner peace I needed so badly for so long. I have been very humbled by the whole experience, and as a result I have grown more fearless. It’s like what they say “You gotta risk it to get the biscuit” and I want that biscuit.

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.
First of all, thank you so much for your support of my work, truly it means the world  to me. I love to paint a little bit of everything, and I enjoy creating in as many mediums as possible. I’m self taught and I never stop learning! Acrylics are my most used medium of choice. I paint portraits, landscapes, horror themed paintings, abstracts, murals, and more. I paint on clothing and accessories and recently been working with resin often as well, making earrings, bookmarks, trays, and hair clips. I love fashion and dipping my toes into design. I enjoy being versatile and experimenting as much as possible. I like to make weird stuff sometimes and I like to play with textures too. Abstract is my bread and butter, it’s the core of all of my technique, and I have discovered that I love it so much because it reminds me of my dance days. I grew up dancing and singing my whole life and as an adult I have always missed it. I missed the release and challenge I got from being in the studio for hours a day. I missed the thrill and excitement of performing to live audience. I missed the comradery and creative energy. I am so happy I found painting!I have met some amazing creative friends that I love to death. I’m always amazed by the talent all around me in the art community. I have done a lot of really hard work in these first few years to get to where I am right now, and Covid and recent life events have thrown me for a few loops. It has been the most challenging time of my entire life and I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world. I want to spread happiness to others through things I create. I want to connect through my expressions in my soul’s truest form. I include a piece of my joy in every painting, along with a release of my own pain. I hope to provide comfort to those around me in a way that I can only do with art. I never want to stop. I want to get to a point that I can give back to the world in big ways. I have dreams to make a difference.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Okay so I will be honest, I moved to Denton right before everything went on lockdown. I haven’t got to explore the area enough at all and have ordered some really good takeout and that’s about it. Now that things are getting more and more back to normal ish, I hope to discover some fun and local Denton treasures. However, if I could have a fun week in Dallas with friends, I would want to visit the DMA because sadly I have only been like once in my life, I’d like to stop and shop at Guns & Roses Boutique, visit some local art galleries, see a musical, see a local theatre play, and end the weekend with attending a Vibes Texas event. That would be an epic week for the books!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This is a tough one! I have so many responses to this and will try to keep it as condensed as possible. There are many people in my life that have shown me enormous support. My other half Sean Callahan has been a rock through it all. Thank you to my Sean for all you do! My Dad, Terry McEnturff, has gone above and beyond. Some individuals and close family have stepped in and been nothing short of angels on Earth and complete blessings when I needed it most. I am so grateful for each and every one, you know who you are and I hope to make you proud. I also have to give a shoutout to Shoreline City Church. Sean and I love our Shoreline so much. They have helped us grow in ways we didn’t know we could. We would highly recommend them to anyone, and nowadays you can watch from home if you live far away. The main campus (White Rock) is in Dallas, and there are other locations as well. They are AMAZING!!!

Website: www.candyartworks.com

Instagram: @candyartworks

Facebook: @candyartworks

Other: TikTok- @candyartworks