Jul 17, 2026 · 26 min · 10 segments
In this episode, I sit down with Ekaterina "Kat" Papova, artist, founder of Create Magazine, and creator of The Art Queens community, to talk about the messy, unglamorous path from making art in your…
Ekaterina PapovaGuestHayley PriceHost
You can just put things out there, and for some reason, I don't know if you felt this way or not, but when I first started, I felt like it, something needed to happen in order for me to be able to sell my work or price it at a certain point.
And one day, um, you know, when I hired my first mentor, she was like, "Go." I was like, "Can you help me, like, learn how to sell my work, attract a bigger audience and collectors and, you know, all the things that we always think we need?" And she's like, "Okay, go.
I was like, "I'm not ready for this," like, "What are you talking about, lady?" And I did, and I was terrified.
And then when things started to happen because I was taking action, I was like, "Oh," like I was waiting for something.
There are things that are helpful, you know, to know, and different strategies and wording and marketing and all that.
But I think just to boil it down, so many times we wait for that perfect moment, and it just, we have to create it.
Yes, and I feel like it's, one of the biggest piece of, pieces of advice I give is just start.
And I think, like you said, I was the same way, where I was waiting for everything to be perfect.
I was waiting to get into a gallery or waiting for an opportunity for a show or, you know, I was so scared to have an Instagram even though people were asking to buy my art.
I mean, this was obviously, Instagram for artists wasn't as huge this long ago, but it was still kind of like I was scared to put myself out there.
And then once you do it, you're like, "Why didn't I do this five years ago?" You know? It's like we have these barriers we put up because we're fe- we feel like everything has to be perfect before we put it out there.
Um, I started [laughs] I, it wasn't really, it just started, this was like 2013 I got my first-
You can just put things out there, and for some reason, I don't know if you felt this way or not, but when I first started, I felt like it, something needed to happen in order for me to be able to sell my work or price it at a certain point.
And one day, um, you know, when I hired my first mentor, she was like, "Go." I was like, "Can you help me, like, learn how to sell my work, attract a bigger audience and collectors and, you know, all the things that we always think we need?" And she's like, "Okay, go.
I was like, "I'm not ready for this," like, "What are you talking about, lady?" And I did, and I was terrified.
And then when things started to happen because I was taking action, I was like, "Oh," like I was waiting for something.
There are things that are helpful, you know, to know, and different strategies and wording and marketing and all that.
But I think just to boil it down, so many times we wait for that perfect moment, and it just, we have to create it.
Yes, and I feel like it's, one of the biggest piece of, pieces of advice I give is just start.
And I think, like you said, I was the same way, where I was waiting for everything to be perfect.
I was waiting to get into a gallery or waiting for an opportunity for a show or, you know, I was so scared to have an Instagram even though people were asking to buy my art.
I mean, this was obviously, Instagram for artists wasn't as huge this long ago, but it was still kind of like I was scared to put myself out there.
And then once you do it, you're like, "Why didn't I do this five years ago?" You know? It's like we have these barriers we put up because we're fe- we feel like everything has to be perfect before we put it out there.
Um, I started [laughs] I, it wasn't really, it just started, this was like 2013 I got my first-
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3 of 6
Mentor Says: Just Sell
Her mentor issued a life-changing unexpected dare
Fancy Site, Zero Sales
The shiny new website produced surprising crickets
Small Paintings, Bigger Profits
Tiny canvases quietly outperformed her giants financially
+3 more clips · 4 min 3 sec of audio in all
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