Hi there!
I’m Alex Kincaid.
I’m a watercolor artist and teacher living in Fort Worth, Texas. I love to share the joy of creativity with others and to inspire others to live a beautiful life.
Keep reading to read more about my story of becoming an artist; what life is like as a creative entrepreneur; and how you can become a fulfilled and thriving artist, too!
I picked up a paintbrush in 2015 and then promptly put it down two weeks later.
(That’s not how you expected that story to go, is it?)
I bought into the same lies that many of my students believe. Lies that tell us we don’t have natural talent or ability; that unless it is perfect — immediately — it isn’t good enough; that we just don’t have what it takes to be creative.
“After all,” we say, “I can’t even draw a stick figure.”
But then 2016 ended up being the hardest year of my life and in the midst of it, I picked up a paintbrush again. Something had changed. My perspective had shifted. The need to be perfect had dropped away and in its place I simply enjoyed the process.
Watercolor became a lifeline for me.
I sat at the kitchen table and listened to audiobooks and pushed paint around and watched the colors swirl. There was something about the process that was healing and peaceful in a way that changed my life.
Fast forward a couple of years and I had pivoted from a masters degree in international humanitarian law to selling paintings and teaching small in-person workshops.
By the end of 2019 I was teaching workshops full time. I discovered that I loved teaching and — even more — I loved seeing the joy that painting brought to my students.
Of course…you know what comes next, right?
2020.
🫣
As my carefully-built business ground to a halt as a result of the shutdowns in 2020, I pivoted to teaching online.
It took a little while to figure out how to have an online business, but in 2021 I launched The Garden Studio, my private botanical watercolor membership.
Since then, it has continued to grow and I release new content every week to hundreds of amazing members who constantly blow me away with their joy and talent. Hard work + desire is the formula to make anything possible, and I see that in their work every day.
In addition to teaching, I paint and release collections of artwork; I license art and patterns to companies and stores; and I am always, always, always learning and growing.
The way I’ve told my story has changed over the years.
I used to put the emphasis on cool places I’d travelled or fun experiences I’d had. But I’ve been learning a lot lately about showing up authentically and pulling back the curtain and letting people see the real me. The sometimes confident, sometimes scared-but-does-it-anyway, sometimes funny, sometimes serious me.
My experiences are what make me, me.
My story makes me uniquely able to understand the limits that perfectionism can place on creative dreams and the freedom on the other side of those constraints. I know through hard experience that there is a joy and a peace to be found in creating that is only explained in the truth that we were created to create.
My story is incomplete without that truth at the center of my life — that I was created and made by a loving God who loves me and who planted a seed of creativity deep in my heart. I am loved and saved by Jesus and though I am insufficient on my own, somehow He has made a way for me even when I have run into almost insurmountable odds.
When you say yes to that truth, the biggest and best things happen.
My story makes me uniquely able to understand the limits that perfectionism can place on creative dreams and the freedom on the other side of those constraints. I know through hard experience that there is a joy and a peace to be found in creating that is only explained in the truth that we were created to create.
My story is incomplete without that truth at the center of my life — that I was created and made by a loving God who loves me and who planted a seed of creativity deep in my heart.
I am loved and saved by Jesus and though I am insufficient on my own, somehow He has made a way for me even when I have run into almost insurmountable odds.
When you say yes to that truth, the biggest and best things happen.
The Day-to-Day
When I’m not working, I love gardening, reading, podcasts, audiobooks, listening to music, and going on adventures with my husband and our cute chocolate lab Ranger.
Working for myself means that I wear all the hats in my business! My favorite, of course, is as artist-in-chief, but I also am the head of marketing, the graphic designer, lead teacher, and the lunch lady.
My life and routine look different every single day and that’s one of the things I love most about being a creative entrepreneur! I also love helping fledgling business owners figure out how to make their special talents available to others.
Some days are spent painting or dreaming up collections of artwork; other days I film and create new courses or answer emails from students; you might find me editing videos or creating new marketing material or experimenting with new art supplies. Usually Ranger is curled up at my feet (unless he sees a squirrel outside in which case all bets are off), a candle is flickering, I’m listening to music, and an ever-present cup of coffee is nearby.