My dream was to be an artist. A painter. In fact, I went through grade school and college taking all the Fine Art classes that I could at every opportunity.
Even though I won awards for my artworks, I THOUGHT I couldn’t be a painter because I didn’t think you could make a living off of it because of the Narrative “starving artist” ( Read Van Gogh Story) I didn’t want to be a starving artist like he was so I got a scholarship for Graphic Design to a local technical school and a full scholarship at a University out of state. I chose the technical school and I graduated as a Valedictorian at age 18. I got rejected at 4 interviews for Graphic Design positions so I quickly realized it was time to get a job at that point and went back to school to get my degree in Fine Arts.
I hated working in a call center environment, office, and corporate because that locked me up in a cubicle and I did it for 10 years. But while I was working, it didn’t stop me from working toward my dream which was to be an artist. I eventually started my business selling my paintings- jtorryart. Three years in, I felt like I needed to change the direction of my business because the “starving artist” was holding me back and felt like I couldn’t sell as many paintings as I liked.
That’s when I decided to fully make a Big Shift from painting canvases to faces instead. Keep in mind I never had a passion for makeup; it was Art (I didn’t even know how to do my own makeup). But that passion and talent is what fueled my success as a Makeup Artist. My approach to makeup artistry was different and I decided to give my all and fully dedicated myself to mastering my craft working 7 days running around town doing friends makeup on weekends and weeknights and learning from my mistakes. I applied my fine artistry skill to my makeup so shading and enhancing a person’s features came naturally to me. I honestly didn’t know a lot of the makeup terminology but I just applied it naturally with the Makeup medium and applied to my model. That’s when my signature style was born and I quickly became recognized for my work.
But one thing that fueled my WHY is that I didn’t continue the haunting narrative of a starving artist. I wanted to break that cycle in myself so that is why I set high standard in my business and my craft even when people were snarking or made comments about my little business, or threw shade at me that made me guess myself. And that is the FUEL to why I teach YOU so you don’t have to struggle and to battle with your self worth in your skills and business. I know I’m not the only only one that feels this way, most service providers go through this.
Yes, makeup artistry is in the glam life but the back office isn’t as glamorous because a lot of times we’re not getting paid our worth that’s why I created The Elite Bridal Mastery Program to LEVEL UP to teach the HIGH LEVEL Bridal Makeup skill but also COACH and provide more support so you can LEVEL UP not only in the WORK but also THRIVE in your Boss Business.
I often ask myself why do I keep pushing myself. Why do I continue to invest so much money into my Academy and why don’t I give up on education and teaching and just focus on my Bridal makeup and hair (which I’m still doing).
But there’s a pull in me to not give up and hone in to help others who value it so they can thrive and break the cycle of “starving artist” mentality that lives in our subconscious whether we like it or not. I’m here to guide and empower bridal artists to let them know they are worth more while supporting them on my proven Bridal Boss proven roadmap.
Xo Jenny
