Today we’d like to introduce you to Kasia Bukowska.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kasia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and always went by Kashia Bukowski. After moving to Poland in 2013, I embraced my Polish roots and now go by my Polish name, Kasia Bukowska. I have always been interested in art ever since I can remember. Another passion I latched onto very quickly was horses. Since I was three years old and had the opportunity to grab the mane of one poor pony at Griffith Park, I have never let go of that dream: to ride horses and be around these amazing, graceful, and powerful animals. I had high aspirations for furthering my riding career when I was diagnosed with Lupus SLE and Fibromyalgia. This is the point in my life where I actually started painting horses. It alleviated the emotional pain of not seeing horses for months on end. Expressing myself through art allowed me to overcome this obstacle in my life.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has definitely been a bumpy road for me. At first, I started painting as an exercise for my joints. Doctors had said that though it hurts, I have to move or wiggle my fingers as much as possible, otherwise, my tendons would shorten, stiffen, and shrivel. Painting killed two birds with one stone. It was my way of “exercising” and it kept me focused on pushing through. After posting some of my artwork on Facebook, I got a lot of positive feedback and someone asked me how much I wanted for one of my paintings. This gave me the wonderful idea to actually sell my art. I mean, stuck in bed and “exercising” my fingers by painting, why not “exercise” more and start advertising and posting on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest? I mean, I literally couldn’t do much else, might as well try to make something of my time in bed!
Well, it wasn’t as easy as I had thought… It consumed most of my time and I invested what savings I had. I tutored on the side and used a percentage of my earnings each month to invest in my art. Those investments included the basics like canvases, paint, and paintbrushes. As I got stronger, I invested in easels for exhibitions at horse competitions, horse races, and hotels, not to mention the gas and time driving all across Poland, literally from one end of the country to another.
I contacted many equine tack stores, home decor stores, and gift shops both in the US, Poland, and the UK. Only one store in Redondo Beach was interested in having my work on consignment. Gallery after gallery, auction house after auction house turned me down and responded with “Your art does no the style and character of our gallery.” So what did I do? I started entering art competitions in hopes of getting a bit of exposure. I did win one and placed in three others. I saw my following on Facebook increase.
I continued brainstorming new ways of getting my art out there and ended up trying paid advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. When I didn’t get the results I was after, I decided I needed to improve my content. I started time-lapse videos which grabbed a lot of attention. But then when that plateaued, well, I needed another game plan. That’s when I decided to help my viewers to get to know me. That must’ve been the hardest thing for me to do. I do not like publicly sharing my struggles. However, I started writing about why I started painting horses, then more about what makes me paint, what inspires me. That helped and I got a great deal of support with many people sharing my story on Facebook. But, in regards to actually making money on my art, I was still in the negative.
My next idea was that if people got to know me, more than just read about me, to see I’m a genuine person, maybe they’d be more likely to scroll through more of my pictures. And that’s the next thing, pictures. It was really tough to keep investing month after month and losing money, month after month… But, I decided it would be worth it to invest in a professional photographer. That way, not only could I include myself in the photo shoots, but I could also offer more variety in my artwork, like prints.
Get this! The more I posted my artwork on social media, the more negativity I ran into. It took a lot out of me to wake up in the morning and read things like “this is not art, this is trash” or “my child paints better than you.” Let me tell you, it’s not a nice way to start your day. The hate did not stop there, at horse competitions and the horse races, I had people come up to me, and to my face asked me if I was drunk when I painted. Or, I have had people offer me pocket change because they said no one in their right mind would pay real money for my scribbles. One time I even had one hot shot come and take my canvas off the easel and and walk away. This was in the VIP section at the Służewiec Race Track in Warsaw. When I told him to stop he said “Thank you for the art” and took it to his friend’s table and said, “look at this painting this girl gave me.” I said he could buy it or give it back. The whole table laughed and one guy told his friend to “give the poor girl back her painting.” That really boosted my confidence…
But I’d like to add that even though these bad experiences are more memorable and vivid, I’ve been building a loyal fan base. These people are the people who help keep me on track when I’m feeling down about building my career as an artist. When I get negative comments online, I just scroll back up and re-read all the lovely things my followers had to say about my art. I also go back through my old school notebook where I keep a list of all the paintings I’ve sold and all the commissions I’ve done. I have goals of growing my following worldwide and hope to take part in equine related events in the UK and EU.
Like with every business, there are always obstacles that come up. The difference between successful people and the people who say they “have bad luck” is that the successful people don’t take no for an answer and are persistent even when the odds don’t seem to be in their favor. Entrepreneurs are creative and innovative. They don’t just sit there and ponder about what they will do to make it work but they actually go out and keep trying until they get it right. You can find Negative Neds in every corner of the world. If you’re an entrepreneur and you don’t have thick skin, you will eventually develop it.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Most people know me for my equine art, but I am also available for commissioned portraits of peoples’ pets.
When I began painting horses, most of my work was rather dark. I developed my signature “drip” which might symbolize my depression in that dark period of accepting my illnesses and thinking I might never feel a three-beat canter again. Though my paintings still incorporate this drippy effect, they tend to be a bit brighter and more colorful. Adding some “drip” in a painting is my signature style and can found in nearly every painting of mine since 2014.
I really have a handful of styles, just depending on how I’m feeling. I have never studied art and always paint when I “feel something”. I paint based on my moods, which is why my artwork is very emotional. Though abstract, I still try to incorporate detail in the subjects I paint, but I don’t focus on painting exactly what I see in one picture. I focus on my emotion and let that emotion channel through me and onto the canvas.
I feel that the way I go about painting sets me apart from most other artists. I never plan too much, I might just have a general idea of what I want to paint. For example, if my horse were to neigh when I call her, that might inspire me to paint a horse, looking head on. To me, this painting would express the excitement I feel when my horse gives me her full and undivided attention. Having this inspiration and idea in mind, I will flip through my horse’s pictures, scroll through horse pictures on Instagram and Facebook and compile my “inspiration board” on my laptop. I lay out all my tubes of paint next to my canvas and I pick and choose what I like from each picture as I go. Sometimes I put ten colors on my paint pallet and end up only using two. That is the extent of my planning! I like just doing what I feel and using whatever colors my hands are attracted to. I don’t think, I feel.
What were you like growing up?
I sat on my first pony at three years old but never took a lesson until I turned nine. Ever since I started taking those horseback riding lessons, I never grew out of that “horse phase.” Once a little girl falls in love with horses, it’s over, she has the horse-bug. Her whole life will revolve around ponies! Everything I did was aways with the same goal in mind: to ride. Whether that be when I was nine years old or last year, if it can bring me closer to seeing horses, riding horses, or having horses, I put my all in it.
My parents said if I did well in school, I could take riding lessons. And so I did. Once I got to high school, I took AP’s, Honors, and attended SAT classes once a week. I had four to five horseback riding lessons a week, both in Dressage and Jumpers, and competed with my horse about once, sometimes twice, a month. I also volunteered at MACH 1 in La Cañada, Flintridge, a therapeutic riding center. Being a student at Arcadia High School helped keep me on track and not get into the shenanigans high schoolers tend to get into.
I really did not have much time to myself, but when I did, I blasted Led Zeppelin, The Doors, and Depeche Mode and drew. I’m a very visual person and I can tell you almost every square inch of my room was covered in something. Artwork, posters, pictures, glow in the dark stars, drawings, notes from friends, etc. Everything, including my ceiling, was covered.
I loved using pencil or pen at that point in my life. I mainly drew horses, until one of my friends showed me her new found love, which soon became mine: spray painting. I got into stenciling and loved it. My greatest inspiration was Banksy.
To this day, I adore spray painting and wish I had a bit more time for it. A few years back I did some stenciled spray paint pieces of horses which were inspired by Andy Warhol but lately, I’ve been overwhelmed with acrylic commissions.
I’ve gone through many phases throughout my life, but the one constant phase that I can’t shake off is horses. Horse has always been my priority, and always will be. My life continues to revolve around these amazing creatures.
Pricing:
- Original paintings start at $150
- Prints on canvas start at $95
- Commissioned portraits start at $250
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kasiabukowska.com
- Phone: +48 537 43 00 44
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/kasia_bukowska_art
- Facebook: facebook.com/kasiabukowskaart
- Other: pinterest.com/bukowskaart
Image Credit:
Lena Saugen Photography
Karol Rzeczycki Photography
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