ArtistsNetwork.com 69watercolor make it easy to layer due to
the faster drying time,” she says. “The
more layers of squared-off shapes, the
more pixilated the paintings become.”
When the blog world noticed
Duncan, she was approached for
creative collaborations that have
resulted in a wider audience. In 2014,
two of her abstract works were
featured on tops sold by Abercrombie
& Fitch, and her animal portraits
appeared in a 2017 Anthropologie
calendar. Prints are also being sold
through Crate & Barrel and One
Kings Lane. Clothing designer
Christian Siriano emailed Duncan to
say that the colors in her paintings
inspired his Summer 2015 resort
line, and he wanted to display her art
behind the models for the collection’s
photography. Other collaborations
with fashion and jewelry designers
are in the works.
In Duncan’s first year after college,
when she waited tables and taught
preschoolers while painting on the
side—“portraits of people’s dogs were
always the number-one request”—she
never imagined she’d be enjoying the
success she’s having now. She credits
Charleston’s Redux Contemporary Art
Center, a nonprofit workspace for art-
ists, for connecting her with other
creative young women who proved
that, with solid marketing efforts, it’s
possible to make a living making art.
“Getting recognition through internet
marketing is how all of them gained
their nationwide exposure,” she says.
Duncan claimed her own studio
space at Redux and began navigating
Instagram (new at the time) and
other social media with the guidance
of Laura Lea Vernon, her tech-savvy
sister (now studio manager). “She
helped me come up with ideas such asemailing bloggers to trade a painting
for Pinterest posts,” Duncan says.
Within two years, with focused effort
on developing her unique style and
thoughtful branding, painting became
her full-time profession.
Duncan’s advice for struggling
artists is to stay focused on finding
their style. She cautions that it’s easy
to get pulled into directions that can
dilute one’s work. “Don’t water it
down,” she says. “Paint one thing, one
subject, first. Focus on that and
become known for it. Once you’ve
established that look, slowly introduce
new subjects or approaches.”Stefanie Laufersweiler is a freelance
writer and editor living in Cincinnati.UNDERLYING
INTEREST
The way Duncan starts each of her beach paintings
instantly loosens her up and creates potential.
“Without a lot of thought, I simply make as many
marks as possible, splashing a wet brush on the
surface or scribbling all over it with a graphite stick,”
she says.
After the fi rst layer has dried, she comes at the
surface again with at least two more layers, using
diff erent approaches, before rendering her subject
over the layers. “As I continue to develop the painting,
that initial layering will peek through in areas in
unplanned ways,” the artist says. This adds liveliness
to the scene, making it appear less fl at.VISIT THE ARTIST’S WEBSITE AT
TEILDUNCAN.COM.