Episode 226: She Paints What We Feel But Can’t Say | Claire Buckley | Fine Artist & Digital Marketer
What happens when you channel your grief into something beautiful and share it with the world? Claire Buckley did just that. After leaving her career in fashion marketing, she followed an unexpected path into painting full-time. Now, her ethereal, prism-like work resonates deeply with anyone who’s experienced loss, longing, or the quiet magic of everyday life. In this episode, we talk about making the leap into entrepreneurship, navigating self-doubt, how to price your work as an artist, and the real power of community and mindset. Claire shares how her art helps people connect with the other side, why marketing is just as important as talent, and what it actually looks like to build a creative, purpose-driven career in New York.
“Who you surround yourself with matters. It’s important to surround yourself with people who have similar goals to you - even if your industries vary greatly. ””
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Follow along using the Transcript
CHAPTERS:
00:00 From fashion marketing to full-time artist
01:00 Painting as escape and unexpected success
02:45 Leaving a startup job during the pandemic
04:50 Selling her first pieces and finding the courage to leap
06:20 Balancing creativity with financial pressure
08:00 Using marketing skills to build her brand
10:15 Why artists must learn to self-promote
11:45 “I’ve always been slightly delusional”
13:00 The shifting art scene in New York
14:30 Making work about grief and spiritual connection
16:00 Receiving daily messages from people who’ve lost someone
17:30 Her painting process: no plans, just feeling
19:00 Gallery representation vs. doing it yourself
20:00 Pricing artwork and claiming your value
21:30 The role of community and creative friendships
23:00 How traveling (and skateboarding) influence her perspective
25:00 What she needs now: partnership, brand deals, and expansion
I lost my dad to alcoholism when I was seven, and those pieces are really representative of kind of that comfort of someone maybe sending you a sign from the other side.
That's Claire Buckley. I'm Kara Duffy and this is The Powerful Ladies Podcast.
First things first. I love the fact that you are dressed matching your artwork today. Thank you. I try. Do you every day match your artwork or just when you're presenting yourself in PR situations?
Yeah. No, only for like interviews. If you catch me on a regular day, I'm in overalls, covered in paint and t-shirts and baseball hats and converse.
Before I go any further, let's tell everyone who you are, where you are, and what you're up to in the world.
Yeah. My name is Claire Buckley, and currently I'm an abstract artist based in Brooklyn, New York.
I found you on Instagram. We happen to also share a connection with the amazing Sydney the best, and your paintings.
For people who haven't seen them, it is like, how I would describe them is gem. The holograms meets fairy princesses, meets rainbows, meets dream sequences on a painting. Wow. I love that. Yeah. That on my tombstone. But there are the, they're ethereal and abstract and prisma prism. Like it's really artwork that you're not seeing other places.
The closest person I've seen to making art to you is someone who does aura paintings. Thank you. And like how did you decide this was your niche of artwork? Because I'm sure you do lots of other styles and have lots of other skill sets, but like how did you end up in this magical rainbow painting place?
Yeah. I definitely didn't decide it was honestly a total accident, a happy one at that. But I was just, I was in a full-time job before this in the fashion industry, which is where I met Sydney. And I was looking for an escape and I wasn't really an artist before that, like I loved art, I appreciated it.
I've always done it growing up, but always for fun. And I never really took it seriously and I started painting as an escape from that job. It was so stressful. And and I just started experimenting and. I honestly didn't think it was even good. And I showed a friend one of my first pieces and they were like, whoa, that looks crazy.
That looks holographic. And I didn't even see it. But when they did I was like maybe that is cool. And I posted on Instagram and it just spiraled from there.
When and when were you brave enough to quit your day job and start being an artist? Full-time?
Yeah, it was definitely a result of COVID.
I, at the beginning of the pandemic had just taken a new job at a startup and I was super overwhelmed by it. It was not for me. I was like the seventh employee. I was opening my laptop at 7:00 AM shutting in at 12:00 PM and then we were, sent home and working from home and it got even worse.
And everyone in my life told me, do not quit your job. You are, we are in a global pandemic. No one can get work. That is an insane thing to do. And for some reason I was just like, I have to do this. Like I have to take this leap. With no real security to be honest. And no real help, but I just felt like I had to, I don't know, I felt compelled.
There are so many people who have been on this podcast and so many clients that I work with who made the leap into their business because they couldn't not do it. Yeah. It wasn't a matter of, should I or should I not? It's I have to. It's pulling me. Yeah. And you know what gave you the courage to listen to that pull?
Like what made you feel. Like it would be a safe choice to, to honor what you knew was happening?
Yeah, I think once my work was selling that really gave me the courage when people who were cool in my eyes loved my work and were buying my work. When a celebrity bought my work, I was like, okay, you know what?
Maybe this is going somewhere, maybe this is something. So yeah, definitely like having a little bit of financial security and being like, okay, I could, make up what I was earning before, if I sell X amount of paintings a month and let me see if I can do that for a month. And if I can, I'll quit.
I did, and it was the best decision ever. Scariest decision and definitely a risk. And still something I think about every day is was that the right decision? But I know in my heart it was because I'm working for myself now. And what's better than that?
And it allows you to be in so much more alignment with yourself.
Yeah. There's so many people who take that leap and do the thing and they get so focused on. The money element. Yeah. And when you're an entrepreneur, that's honestly the main stress area. 'cause everything else we're choosing, we can handle. How do you stay focused on doing the work and making the relationships and making the art and not get sucked into worrying about the money element?
I don't,
that's like my biggest worry for sure. And I wish it wasn't, and I work every day to try and fight that. But it's also a huge driver. Like it's a huge motivator. And I wish it wasn't. I wish that I had buckets of money and I could make whatever art I want all day long. But I don't, and I can't. And because I can't it's what motivates me.
It honestly does. But it's not like money is my motivator in the sense that I need to be super rich. It's more just like I need to make money to live so that I can make the stuff that I wanna make. So yeah, I do worry about it every day. I wish I had better advice, but I don't need it for myself.
Yeah.
You're working for freedom.
Exactly.
Yeah. You had a little bit of an advantage versus other artists in that your. Past life day job was in social media marketing spaces. Yeah. How has it been using those skills? You have to promote yourself and your art. And I know from I have to have a coach as a business coach because I can't see the stuff I'm telling everyone else to see.
Like it's too close to me. So like I need a coach as well. And I imagine to pivot from marketing other people to marketing yourself. There's extra layers of oh wait, is it a good idea? Wait, is that a good picture that you don't think about the same way when it's not yourself and your own products?
So how has it been helpful to have that background and what challenges have you faced at the same time?
Yeah, when I started doing social media, it was like 20 16, 20 17, and believe it or not. People did not understand the value of it at all at that time. And so I was like a 22-year-old heading a department and working with the founders and the CEOs directly and working with these amazing, powerful women like Rebecca Minkoff and Stacy Bede of Alice, Olivia and that's that was my first job and here I was interacting with them on a daily basis and.
My department, department, a, k, a, just me, a team of one throughout the years turned out to be one of the like key revenue drivers, one of the most important aspects of the business. And so I was exposed to so many different hats. When I started, I was. They also didn't really know where to put social media.
So like at one point I worked under creative. At one point I worked under pr at one point I'm working under marketing. So I was able to see all those aspects of the business because we were posting about those things on a daily basis. And so those gave me a lot of tools that I think other artists might not have.
And I think. You could be the most talented artist in the world and if you don't know how to market yourself you're not gonna be successful. And I don't think I'm the most talented artist by any means, but I think I'm really good at marketing myself. And I think that's like a huge key to my success.
Success. I'm like still working at it, but that was, invaluable to what I'm doing now. And I think a challenge. That I face is being by myself and not being able, not having a team member to bounce ideas off of. Not having someone to be like, Hey, is this good? Or, Hey, like, how should I roll this out?
Or things like that. That's hard to be alone, but honestly, I find it so much easier to market myself and to do my own social media because. I don't have to go through a CEO, I don't have to go through approval processes. I can trust my instincts more. And it ends up being like way more authentic, I think.
You're born and raised New Yorker?
Yes, but not in the city. I grew up in Westchester. Yeah.
And if we go back to 8-year-old, you would she have imagined that this is your life?
Yes and no. I think I've always been slightly delusional my whole life. And always I never was like, I'm gonna be, famous or whatever, but I more was like, I know I'm gonna work in a creative field.
I know I don't wanna have a nine to five job. That's something I knew when I was really young. I was like a super theater nerd. Like I went to college for theater. I. I've always known I was gonna do something different. But I think she'd be really proud. And also, oh my God, sorry. It's getting so dark now.
There's like a storm coming.
The camera did a good job of auto changing your light. Yeah. Okay.
Yeah I think she'd be like surprised that I'm an artist, but also be like, oh, that makes sense.
New York has been known for being the mecca of art in the US for decades, and there's been a lot that New York has gone through, especially during the pandemic.
And there's a lot of com competition between other cities, la London, there's art popping up in scenes in Austin and Miami, Chicago, Detroit. There's a lot of shifting and almost maybe a balancing of where creativity is coming from, not just in the world, but in the us. What is the art scene in New York like right now, and how would you describe it to people who haven't experienced it?
Obviously there's so many artists here and I work out of a studio in Greenpoint where it's full of artists and so I've definitely met people that I probably wouldn't have if I wasn't here physically. But I also do see there being a huge shift. Just in the sense of since COVID, everyone's leaving and people can do a lot of their work from anywhere.
And that's the power of social media. Like I could move to Costa Rica and do what I'm doing and I think I could have kind of the same result. So I think it's cool that it's opened up to artists all around the world and you don't have to be in these cities anymore to be seen. And I think that's awesome.
But it is helpful to be surrounded by artists, I will say. Yeah. There's pros and cons for sure.
How does your art and creating the art that you do make you feel more powerful?
Yeah. A lot of the art I've been making recently, which you talked about the prisms, that was a series that was inspired by something I went through when I was little.
I lost my dad to alcoholism when I was seven. And those pieces are really representative of kind of that comfort of someone maybe sending you a sign from the other side. And so that's been able, that's. It's been awesome because I've been able to take something horrible that happened to me and make it into something beautiful and make it into something that people are connecting with who have gone through similar situations.
Before that, a lot of my holographic work, I didn't really say what it was about or like what it meant to me. And then with this new series I did. And lo and behold, I'm receiving messages every day of people who are like, I lost someone last last year and I'm, your pieces are helping me get through it.
And that has been so insane and so amazing and something where I've been like, okay, this is like a purpose. Like this is something that I'm meant to do and something that I had to go through to help other people.
I was just talking to the last guest that we recorded with about how I wish more people knew that the thing that you do, that you forget you do, that comes so naturally to you as well as the thing that was so pivotal in your life and maybe hurtful or shameful or traumatic.
Those two areas are what's gonna give you access. To the gift that you have to share with the world. And we don't usually intentionally put those out as oh, this is what my business is gonna be about. But the fact that you've had that experience with your dad has given you access to an understanding and a knowing and has seen that other people who haven't gone through that don't have, yeah, and it knowing that it doesn't surprise me that your work.
Looks like you have an access point into seeing what's in that other space. If you lived in the clouds, if you lived in the universe, like it would look like that. And it's, there's something very intuitive looking in the work that you do as well. Is that just what comes out of you or do you have a process of tapping into yourself?
Are you meditating? Are you. Are you just letting it free flow out and that's what magically appears?
Yes. There's basically no planning that goes into any work I do. It really is just me and the paint and oftentimes no brush either. So yeah, it really is just like a free flow. I never go in with a plan ever.
How many favorite pieces of clothing have you ruined painting? Oh my God.
Literally one Yesterday I literally bought a new pair of vintage Levi shorts and I was so excited and I covered up with a huge button down and still there was paint on them, so I cannot wear anything I care about in this space at all.
Literally before we got on the call, I spilled something and it ruined like 10 things and I'm like, no more nice clothes in here. No nice clothes.
I work with a lot of creatives and artists, and there's a big debate about using the traditional art business side of going to galleries and having representations versus the do it your own way approach and social media has been great and that it's democratized a lot of what people have access to.
What has your approach been to doing it your way with your own online store, your own gallery? Versus partnering with the more traditional spaces.
Yeah, I've done a little bit of both. And I will say I think for me, the social media side and owning it myself is definitely the way to go, just because galleries often take 50% of your commission.
So it's that's like archaic now. It's if you don't have to do that. Why, like, why not make all the money yourself? Like I do understand, they have clients and they do marketing and outreach and things like that. But for me, I've been able to do it myself, so why not? I see value in both sides for sure.
But yeah, I definitely think I have social media to thank for that. It's like a blessing and a curse for sure.
When you hear the words powerful and ladies, what do they mean when they're on their own? And do their definitions change when those words are next to each other?
When I hear powerful, I just think women mostly. No, I don't think the definition changes much. I grew up with a super powerful single mom and. Whenever I think of those words, I think of her and the sacrifices she made for me. How does being
powerful shape you, pitching yourselves, you marketing yourself, you asking for whatever price you think a piece is worth?
Yeah, I think it's a lot of not not doubting yourself and. Like I said before, being a little bit delusional and yeah, just the fact that you'll never get it if you don't ask for it. And I, that's something that I learned like negotiating salaries at past jobs. Like you deserve it.
Like
you do. Yeah. You mentioned that you were confident to take the leap into full-time artists when a celebrity bought your work, when people in general bought your work. How has your circle and your network changed since you've become an artist?
It's definitely grown own, it's definitely way more online than in real life than it used to be.
But that's okay. And it's expanded just in the sense that I've been able to connect with so many people in so many different areas. When I was in my old jobs, it was a very small industry of the fashion industry and now I meet people who do everything. I'm it's just totally expanded my world.
Art is universal.
Yeah. How do you feel before you start a painting and how do you feel after a painting is finished?
Oh my gosh. It depends on the painting. Usually before I am, like, sometimes I dread it, sometimes I'm excited. Like literally I could be. Like the most opposite emotions, like on a day-to-day basis.
And finishing is like, is it finished? I'm like, I'm not sure. That's like going back to what I was saying before I'm alone. So sometimes I do need someone to come in and be like, yeah, like that looks good. That's done. Because I'm not always able to see it myself. But when it is done and I am proud of it, it's literally the best feeling in the world.
I know that it's also hard for a lot of artists to sell their favorite pieces. Yes. What is your relationship like with selling your work versus the ones that you are attached to, and how do you go through that process?
Yeah. I am lucky in the sense that I don't hold onto a lot of paintings at all. But it also does make me sad because I'm like.
I don't have anything I don't have anything of mine. But I'll sell anything. I'll sell it all because once I'm, it's out of me and it's done, like I don't need to hold onto it for myself. And if someone else connects with it yeah, please let it live another life. Like it doesn't need to be like in my studio.
Buried in a corner. I'd rather it be out in the world. So I do just sell everything. I've kept maybe a couple things and that's just like first iterations of ideas and stuff. After that I don't keep anything
at all. Yeah. When you're not painting, what are you doing? What is your regular life like?
Like how are you spending your time when you're not working?
Yeah. Definitely a lot of like reality tv. Sometimes it's like a good mix of seeing friends and being social and I do really love working out. I do love Pilates a lot. Shout out. SLT, big fan. That's also a new thing for me. I'm like never used to work out, but in the pandemic I really picked that up and it's been amazing for my mental health.
So yeah, working out, seeing friends a good binge every now and then and traveling is like my favorite thing in the world.
Where are your favorite places you've gone?
Oh I mentioned Cuba before because I've been to Cuba a few times. And love it. My boyfriend is a filmmaker and I've been down there with him making a documentary.
And so that was amazing. And I one of the first places where I was really able to see it through local's eyes, which is, I just think the best way to travel ever. So that's amazing. And I'm also just a huge fan of Italy,
like
anywhere in Italy. I'll go.
Same. I am currently working to buy an apartment in Rome.
Oh
my God. Yeah. That
dream.
It's much more affordable than buying a house in California. And why not have a place to escape to somewhere else?
Oh, yes. I'll be inviting myself once you Yes, you're
invited. What also I wanna make sure that you and your boyfriend are invited to is I go to, I sponsor and go to Mountain Film and Telluride.
It's the all documentary film festival.
Yeah.
And next year I'm committed to having three, four other. Companies or people sponsor. It's actually quite affordable to get in as a sponsor. But I really wanna roll with a crew at 20. Yeah, a whole weekend of meeting cool people and cool conversations and book signings and all the movies.
I'm like, yes, so mark your calendars. Yeah,
definitely keep me posted.
And then I also don't wanna skip over the Cuba part and have you guys seen Cuba skate?
Yeah, so we were also down there with the Cuba skate guys. Okay. Because my boyfriend is a skateboarder as well, and the subject of his documentary was part of Cuba skate.
And it's just the sickest thing ever. They sadly, they park got destroyed recently by the police. And so yeah, we've been sending money down there just to help them rebuild because. It's amazing what they do. They're awesome people.
It's so amazing. I come from the skateboarding world from my past corporate life, and I got to go to the screening in LA for the, for Cuba skate.
And I'm just so attracted to supporting people who are doing what they love and doing it for the sense of service to other people. And that can be in a nonprofit space, it can be in a business space or for-profit space. But just seeing that and when people are against all the odds and they're gonna do it anyway and be creative and work together, nothing makes my heart grow a size than that.
Yeah. And that's what I felt about that movie.
Totally. Skateboard, I've learned so much about skateboarding since dating my boyfriend, and there's so inspiring. Like literally just even watching him skate is inspiring because you just you get down 20, you get back up 20, like there. It's just relentless, like their pursuit of just one trick and it's inspiring.
It so is it's something that is hard for me to articulate in my own marketing, to talk about what type of business coach I am, because that punk rock skate sensibility is so in how I make business choices, like we're gonna throw it all away and we're not doing that. That's stupid. And why would we do what everybody else is doing?
Yeah, what, who do we have? What can we work with? How do we rally the crew to make this idea happen? Like it's so much more project based and like the scrappiness, we can build something from nothing approach and. I just use a lot of words. And when you're marketing, you're supposed to use like two.
Yeah. And it's like, how can I hone that down into one or two words to explain to people what I do? And it's been the biggest challenge. So if you think of something, please text me. I'll
it's hard because it's like a feeling,
yes. It'd be easier to use one of your paintings to explain what I do than words.
So you have this, rich culture around you of artists and creatives. You've got people working on projects all the time. How much is where you are location wise, inspiring not just your art, but also you as an entrepreneur?
Yeah, I think it's a big part of it is the people that you surround yourself with and.
All of my friends are creatives and all of my friends are freelancers and business owners, and they inspire me and they're building towards their own futures. And that's, it's important to surround yourself with people who have similar goals as you whether it be in a different field or not. I think.
We're able to bounce ideas off of each other and we're able to motivate each other and we don't have nine to five jobs, so we are just like a supportive unit. And I think that's super important. Yeah,
we need each other. We do. Both creatives and entrepreneurs have so much overlap because you have to be an entrepreneur if you're going to make your art the way that you want to.
Yeah.
And it really is a rollercoaster of everything's great. I hate this, everything's great. I'm never gonna succeed. Like it's Exactly. It's, people don't get that. And I think that. We've heard a lot of the tropes and stories about the starving artist or the lonely artist, or the introverted artist, and I don't think we anyone following what they know they're supposed to do is in that same space of failing isolated.
And that's why it's so important to have a community around you. Like we have to have mentors, we have to have coaches, we have to have people who can tell us. To keep going, but then also to be like, Hey, if you look left, there's $10,000 over there. And you're like, oh, really? Yeah, because it's we get stuck in our own world so easily.
Yes. We ask everyone where they put themselves in the powerful lady scale. If zero is your average everyday human, and 10 is the most powerful lady possible. Where would you put yourself today and where would you put yourself on average?
That's really hard. I.
I'm at like a nine or a 10 because I'm, I am proud that I'm doing this. I think this is awesome. The fact that someone here wants to hear me speak is like, why? So I'm on a 10 today, but I think on a day to day, I like try to push myself to be like a seven or an eight, but really I'm at like a five.
On a day I sell a painting. I'm full 10. On a day that it's slower, I'm like a one, every day is different.
What advice would you give to an artist who's trying to decide to go full-time or not?
Ooh. I would definitely say make sure you have some money saved to survive for a solid six months if you don't sell anything.
Because I think the second you put that money pressure on yourself your work can suffer. So I think, yeah, financial sta stability would be like the biggest thing. And then the next thing I would say is are you putting your work out there? Are you posting it? Because if you're not, start there.
We've been asking everyone this year, what do you need? What do you want? What's on your manifest list? Because this group. Is a powerful group with a lot of connections and a lot of wisdom. And I really think it's important to be asking the people around you and the universe for what you want.
'cause you never know who has that next key. So what are some things that you want that we can rally the community to solve for you?
Ooh. There's so many things I want but I think. Definitely, like I'm open to like brand partnerships and things like that. I think artists get overlooked in that category.
When I was working in fashion, we partner with a million different influencers and I think artists can do the same and have the same influence as taste makers. And so I think, yeah, that'd be next. Like on my list is definitely delving into that side.
For everyone who wants to follow you, support, you get some art immediately where can they find all those things?
Yes. I'm on Instagram and TikTok at Claire Buckley Art, and my website is claire buckley.com.
Amazing. It has been such a treat to meet you. I love your work. I am so excited for the community to meet you and for you to have a whole bunch more powerful ladies followers. But just thank you for being a yes to us and being brave to share your story and your world with us.
Thank you.
Thank you.
All the links to connect with Claire and her amazing work are in her show notes@thepowerfulladies.com. Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening, and leave us a rating and review. Come join us on Instagram at Powerful Ladies, and if you're looking to connect directly with me, visit kara duffy.com or Kara Duffy on Instagram.
I'll be back next week with a brand new episode and new amazing guest. Until then, I hope you're taking on being powerful in your life. Go be awesome and up to something you love.
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Instagram: Clairebuckleyart
Website: Clairebuckley.com
TikTok: Clairebuckleyart
Email: Clairebuckleyart@gmail.com
Created and hosted by Kara Duffy
Audio Engineering & Editing by Jordan Duffy
Production by Amanda Kass
Graphic design by Anna Olinova
Music by Joakim Karud
