Lemony Fresh Etsy Seller: Stephanie Corfee

Hola Lemonheads! How are you doing today?

Today I would like to share a an artist after my own heart, Stephanie Corfee. She creates these wonderful Bohemian illustrations that are filled with bright colors and fabulous shapes. She has a shop on Etsy that is chock full of all of her lovely works…

Would you like to go on a shopping trip with me? Guess what? Stephanie is going to come along with us to answer our questions…Grab your shopping bag. Let’s chat!

This is the first piece of her art that I was introduced to…Don’t you love the funkiness?

Barefooted Hippie by Stephanie Corfee | This is the first piece of Stephanie's I fell in love with...

Kelly: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you started in art?

Stephanie: i am 35, married for almost 7 years and have a 4 year old little boy. i work from home as a freelance graphic designer and artist. i work on my commercial design accounts during the day and do my artwork in the evenings and on weekends for the most part. There is always some crossover.
i have a BA in Fine Arts and also in Biology. i always thought i’d be a doctor growing up. Art was a love of mine, but i don’t think i really ever considered it as a career because i was very bookish and hadn’t really found my creative voice. i graduated college and took a job at an advertising/design agency while taking lab classes at night & getting prepared for medical school. i always figured i’d be having fun at my creative job only until i finished school and became a doctor. BUT! Life had a different plan for me….here i am.

Now i am very happy to be doing something creative everyday, to be home with my son and to have a certain amount of daily freedom in my life. i definitely think it is harder to work for yourself, but the benefits are pretty great too. i also think it’s an amazing thing that my artwork will live on and that when all is said and done, i will have communicated with countless people through it.

Hanging Lanterns by Stephanie Corfee

Kelly: Can you describe your style and why you are drawn to it?

Stephanie: i never really know how to answer this question! My style is all over the place in some ways. i use pen and ink and a very whimsical illustrative style sometimes and i have a more organic, raw color & layers thing going other times. i love to combine intricate detail and riotous amounts of color and i love interjecting some earthy elements whenever possible. Working on wood planks has sort of become an obsession and most of my originals are on wood boards. My art style is exactly the same as my fashion sense and decorating style. It’s mixy-matchy, earthy and vibrant and filed with delicate detail. It makes me smile. {It makes me smile too, Stephanie!}

Dream by Stephanie Corfee

Kelly: What are your favorite things about creating your pieces?

Stephanie: i like the surprise. You have a vision in your head, but how it all turns out on the page is always a mystery until you find yourself staring at a finished piece. i like playing with color. i like the sparkly feeling of inspiration that continually pops into my head as i make decisions during the process. i feel calm creating artwork. In design, i’m always feeling a bit of a nagging in the back of mind…wondering if the client will like my choices, etc….but with my art, i’m fearless and i only have to please myself. That feels great.

i BELIEVE in Fairy Dust by Stephanie Corfee

Kelly: What made you want to turn your art into a business?

Stephanie: i don’t think i ever made a conscious decision to start selling my work. i’d get a request here or there. The requests became more frequent. i was caught up in it. It just happened. Now, the decision i’ve made in the past 6-7 months, to actually dedicate myself to growing my art business…that has some soul searching behind it. i think i was looking 10 years down the road and i realized i didn’t want to be doing just graphic design the rest of my life. i realized that i was trudging through my day in anticipation of the time i’d get to sit down with my art. i wanted to shift that balance. Why not spend MOST of my time doing what makes me genuinely happy and less trudging through? i decided to jump in with both feet and just launched my new website last friday. It’s exciting and exhausting, but i think that’s the way it’s supposed to be : )

Chartreuse Woodgrain Profile by Stephanie Corfee based on the Etsian, Mandizzle

Thanks Stephanie for giving us insight into your process and thoughts behind your work. I just love these interviews, don’t you lemonheads? I feel as if I have a little window into some of my all time favorite artists.

Now, back to our shopping trip…Don’t you just love this fabulous pieces? I think they are so sunny, intricate and beautiful. Check out more of Stephanie’s work in her shop. Here are some other places you can find her too:

Website: http://www.stephaniecorfee.com

Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/stephaniecorfee

Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephaniecorfee

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stephaniecorfeeartist