How Hustle & Blue Ivy Led This Painter To Her $20K Big Break
Blue Ivy had the Internet going nuts recently when a video of her bidding on artwork went viral, but another star emerged from that moment: painter Tiffanie Anderson, also known as The Pretty Artist.
It was her handiwork---an acrylic, tempered-glass painting of legendary actor Sidney Poitier---that ended up in the hands of Tyler Perry after his $20,000 bid trumped the young heir to the Carter empire.
Talk about boss moves.
Getting a spot in the auction, which raised funds for WACO, a youth organization founded by Tina Knowles and husband Richard Lawson, was a true testament to the power of cultivating a great network, being the best at what you do, and always being ready.
So how did she do it?
It all started with Anderson being asked to create a jacket for Trell Thomas, an entertainment PR, talent relations, and marketing professional. Anderson had previously worked with Thomas for VH1's Save the Music, and they'd kept in touch.
"A couple days before the auction, he said, 'Hey, do you have any art for the auction?' I just happened to have that Sidney Poitier piece at my studio. It worked out that it was perfect for that event," Anderson recalls during our chat. "I knew it would stand out and be nice there, but I didn't know it was going to blow up like that. It's incredible because you run a risk when your art is in an auction and it's public like that. If it doesn't do well, it could be a bad look. Having the Queen's baby bid on it---for me, it was exciting, very, very exciting. Beyonce, Jay Z, Tina Knowles---that's royalty to me. Barack and Michelle are the only people above them in my mind."
"Having the Queen's baby bid on it - for me, it was exciting. Beyonce, Jay Z, Tina Knowles - that's royalty to me."
Like any glow-up, Anderson's journey has not been without major challenges. In her late teens, she joined the pop group Girlicious (who was once mentored and co-signed by the Pussycat Dolls), but after a brief stint as a budding pop star, she decided to risk it all to redirect her life and find peace.
"I felt like the music industry didn't really make me happy because it was 10% singing and 90% trying to avoid being screwed over. I was very stressed out," she told me. "[I just wanted to] do something that would get my mind off work and take my concentration for a few hours.' I went to the store, bought some paints, and painted Barack Obama. I was like, 'Hey, I'm not half bad.' [Laughs] A year later, I sold a piece, quit the group and began pursuing painting full time."
She sold her first piece for $300 to a producer who wanted a portrait of his daughter. "I asked, 'You're gonna give me $300 just for painting your daughter?" He's like, 'Yeah.' And so I did it. Just the fairness of it---I did a service, and I got paid fair money for what I did---that was addictive. I knew I had to keep at it. At first it was hard. I had to be off the grid: no money, nowhere to live, my car was getting repossessed. It was hard for a long time before I started to build success and take care of myself."
The struggle continued, but when her motivation was on E, she counted on faith and a strong work ethic. "There's a lot of mental maintenance that goes into this---the belief that you can make it. A canvas could be maybe $50, and I'm hungry. But I thought, 'If I buy this canvas for $50, I could turn that into $500 when I sell it.' I would have to choose. There were a lot of times I'd spend my time reinvesting in my dream."
"It was hard for a long time before I started to build success and take care of myself."
One look at her work, and you see a God-given gift manifested. Her inclination and natural talent is rooted in her DNA: Her grandmother was an abstract painter and her grandfather created realism pieces. "I think I ended up with a mix between the two. The skill came from my genes for sure. Art school is expensive. I definitely had to figure it out on my own. And as with anything, if you do it every day, you get better. I'm definitely better now than when I first started."
Anderson draws inspiration from online research and everyday life, and she seeks to paint pieces that stand out from what's already available or popular. She's also built a solid online brand, particularly on Instagram, where she has more than 86,000 followers. Her art has caught the eye of many celebrities including Drake, Russell Simmons, Jason Derulo, Andre Berto, Ray J, and Floyd Mayweather, with the latter being a repeat purchaser who has spent more than a pretty penny for her massive masterpieces. Now, she's able to get tens of thousands of dollars for her work and she can pick and choose what projects she takes on.
Social media buzz may be golden, but for Anderson, verbal referrals are vital to her success. "I have a presence online, true, but the majority of the way I survive on art alone is through word of mouth, especially with celebrities. I don't have a side job. Once I sold my first painting, I never had a regular job again. For me, the key is that I don't really have a choice. I have to continue to paint. I have to make it bigger and more unique and better to survive. If I don't paint, I don't eat."
"I have to continue to paint. I have to make it bigger and more unique and better to survive. If I don't paint, I don't eat."
Anderson urges creatives to give their passions their all and to be prepared for their time to shine. "This is how I keep my network and keep working with the same celebrities over and over again: I'm not annoying, and my work is good," she says. "You don't have to kiss someone's ass or try too hard to be friends. If you work hard and your work is good, it'll make people stick to you. Every time something comes up, you're the first person to come to mind."
Another DJ Khaled-level key to sustaining success and securing the bag: Ignore the doubters and naysayers and hold tight to faith. "Everyone's gonna tell you that it's a bad idea, and that you need to get a 'real' job. So many people told me not to do it. Even now, with the success I've seen in the past three years, there are still days I wake up and say, 'Is this gonna work out?' I have to listen to my Joel Osteen and get back into the faith of all this."
With a growing fan and patron base, Anderson hopes to continue letting her work and growth Inspire other black and brown girls to get into art, and she eventually wants to launch a public studio of her own. "I would like to contribute to inspiring young people of color to let them know that they can do it, too," she says. "They don't have to follow the path the [typical] American dream provides to them. I want to let them know you can be successful. Just look at what I did. I definitely want to continue to do work with Tina Knowles and keep going forward. I want to have my own gallery. For now, it's just all these amazing opportunities that are coming in, and I just want to be prepared for them when they come."
I can dig that. After talking with Anderson, I'm super hyped to step my game up--- that way, when she reaches Basquiat status, I can be on the radar to get the coveted exclusive yet again.
For more Tiffanie, follow her and her work on Instagram.
- Tiffanie Anderson (@theprettyartist) • Instagram photos and videos ›
- Tiffanie Anderson | The Pretty Artist ›
- Celebrity Painter Tiffanie Anderson Interview | Essence.com ›
- Exclusive: We Chat With 'The Pretty Artist' Tiffanie Anderson - The ... ›
- LA artist Tiffanie Anderson on hand during ArtWalk at Lancaster ... ›
- Tiffanie Anderson – Vikipedija ›
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Less & Less Of Us Have Close Friends These Days. Why Is That?
German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.” At close to two decades of working with married couples, I agree with this man 1000 percent. It’s actually the main motivation for why I once penned, “Are You Sure You're Actually FRIENDS With Your Spouse?” because, the reality is, if you’re not friends with the person who you vowed to share every aspect of your life with, for the rest of your life, it’s going to be very difficult (if not damn near impossible) to honor that level of commitment. Without question, I will now and forever die on the hill that if you like your partner, you can make it through the not-so-in-love-right-now moments. Vice versa? Eh…not so much.
A basis for why I feel this way? Another quote immediately comes to mind. Famed author Jane Austen once wrote: “There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.” You know, back when I also wrote “10 Things You Should Absolutely Expect From Your Friendships” for the platform, I shared that some of the traits of a friend — a real friend — include loyalty, honesty and compassion. And if you can’t say that your spouse is this way (as they say the same thing about you), chile…what is y’all doin’ over there?
So, why am I talking about marriage when this article is supposed to be about friendship? It’s because, something that life has taught me, kinda sorta the hard way, is we should vet potential friends — especially close friends — almost like we would a spouse.
And if you keep reading, I think you’ll get why I framed the intro in the way that I did.
Why Friendships Are Still Hella Essential
GiphyOkay, so before I get into why it seems that people have fewer friends than they ever had before, let me just say that, even as an ambivert who enjoys my own company and has absolutely no problem with being alone a good amount of the time, every personality type needs friends. That’s not just my opinion;science makes it a fact. Not only do studies support thathealthy friendships help us to feel more satisfied with our lives, but they can also reduce our chances of experiencing depression, stress, and anxiety and they increase longevity overall.
This is why — without going too deep because it’s kind of another topic for another time — it’s important to not allow past hurts and disappointments from former friends (or folks you thought were your friends) to cause you to build up walls as you declare that you don’t need anyone. When you do that, all you’re really doing is working against your own health and well-being. The saying that “no man (or woman) is an island”? It is absolutely true.
That said, even if it’s just a couple of people, make sure that you’ve got individuals in your life who you can call a friend and, in turn, they can say the very same thing about you, okay?
Are All of Those People Your Actual Friends? Or Do You Just Happen to Know a Lot of Folks?
GiphyAight but what if you happen to be someone who swings on the other side of few? Meaning, if someone were to ask you how many friends you had, you’d quickly declare that you’ve got too many to count. Listen, not to patronize or anything yet, but whenever I hear folks (especially if they are over 35) say something along those lines, it takes me back to high school — a time when so many of us thought that so long as we knew a ton of folks and/or we were popular, clearly, we had many friends.
Wisdom and pure ole’ dealing with humans on a consistent basis will teach you that an article that I wrote a few years back for the platform has a title that is spot-on: “According To Experts, We Only Have A Few Friends — Here's Why.” According to it, the average American (based on a survey that was conducted) has somewhere around 16 friends. Oh, but wait. Last fall, I wrote another article for the platform entitled, “What's The 'Five Friendship Theory' All About?” According to it, if you’re someone who takes the word “friend” and the responsibility that comes along with it very seriously and quite literally, as an adult, you can probably only maintain about five close friendships.
Why? Well, that brings in another article that I once wrote: “Life Taught Me That True Friendships Are 'Inconvenient.'” Chile, I don’t know about y’all but my friends know that if I call you that, you can call me in the middle of the night, and you can have money towards your rent (I’m not your mama but we all have hard times sometimes) and I’m gonna have your back in a way where you’ll wonder where you stop and I start — and no, I don’t have a lot of bandwidth for a ton of those people.
Okay, but what if you’re someone who is like, “I know that I have more than 16 and definitely more than five friends, no question”? The next thing that I would encourage you to explore is a theory by Aristotle (check out “According To Aristotle, We Need ‘Utility’, ‘Pleasure’ & ‘Good’ Friends”). Without even realizing it, many of us have people who we use the word “friend” for when…it’s kind of like how social media apps say “friend”: we’re familiar with one another and enjoy some of the same things, we might even have some of the same goals; at the same time, though, we’re not “all-encompassing friends.” We just get along really well at work (utility friends) or like to go to brunch at the same spots sometimes (pleasure friends).
Taking all of this into account, are you sure that you have a ton of actual friends? Or do you just happen to know a lot of people and you use that word for the lack of having another?
And that brings me to my next point.
There’s A LOT of Space Between “Friend” and “Enemy”
GiphyIf you read a lot of my friendship content, something that you will notice me saying quite a bit is that there is quite a bit of space between friend and enemy. It needs to be mentioned, as often as possible, because there are some people who get offended if you don’t consider them to be a friend — and that is unfortunate. I say that because the conclusion shouldn’t automatically be that they are your enemy just because “friend” isn’t what immediately comes to your mind.
They can be an acquaintance. They can be “cool people.” There is someone in my life who, while we’re not friends in the traditional sense, we are each other’s confidant; years ago, we agreed that we would be the place to tell each other whatever and it would stay between us — that is the main purpose that we serve in each other’s lives. Some people, you may consider to be spiritual family in the sense that you care for them and have some deeply profound things in common and still, they are not exactly a friend (I mean, a lot of blood relatives aren’t “friends” with each other).
All I’m trying to say here is we’re all too old now to only put folks in two boxes when it comes to this particular relational dynamic: friend or enemy. So, take some time out to seriously reflect on what you consider the various people in your life to be. I can promise you from personal experience that the sooner you know and the clearer you are, the easier it will be on everybody — because needs and expectations will be clear to you (and them once you articulate them) too.
What Got Folks to Having Less Friends? The Pandemic Plays a Significant Part.
GiphySo finally on to what inspired this piece to begin with. A part of it was an article that was published last year by Big Think entitled, “Americans more than ever have no friends. Here are 5 steps to make more friends.” Another was something that The New Yorker published back in 2021; it’s entitled “What COVID did to friendship.” Y’all don’t have enough time and I don’t have enough space to get into the fact that, just because the media may be talking about it less, that doesn’t mean that we’re not still in a pandemic.
In fact,one article stated my thoughts on it quite well when it said, “The real question, then, is not whether COVID is still a pandemic, but how much COVID illness and death are we willing to accept?” SMDH. And one of the things that has come with experiencing COVID is an interesting type of PTSD: detachment. There are plenty of articles out here to support the fact that my saying that is not merely my opinion.
Even according to the American Psychological Association, loneliness damn near skyrocketed, especially during lockdown and, unfortunately, a lot of people have not recovered from it. That’s why it did not surprise me at all when I read that more than ever, many people do not consider anyone to be a best friend; fewer people are relying on friends for any type of real support, and there is a semi-steady decline in people having friends, especially quality friendships, overall.
In fact, as far as close friends go, currently, close to 50 percent of Americans say that they only have three or fewer, and a relevant contributor to that was what the pandemic revealed as far as people’s proactive participation in other individuals’ lives (I actually read that young women were the ones who lost touch with friends during the peak of the pandemic the most). I also thought it was interesting that some studies cite that 12 percent of Americans say that they don’t have any friends at all.
Is the pandemic the only cause? No. So are things like people working more hours and spending more time online than they probably should (which also increased due to the pandemic, though). To that, Teen Vogue once published, “Social Media Is Impacting IRL Friendships” and Healthline once published, “Social Media Is Killing Your Friendships.” Then we also have to factor in having families of our own which can also take up a lot of time, and that sometimes can cause us to forget to nurture our friendships; so, before you know it, they fade to black. Not due to a fallout or anything, just…life.
And all of this? Some people are saying that it has led to what is known as a “friendship recession.” A huge flag about that is there are reports that a drop in close friends can cultivate a type of loneliness that is just as health hazardous as smoking a whopping 15 cigarettes a day. Not good, y’all. Not. Good.
Quality over Quantity Is Key. Just Make Sure That You Have a Friend or Two.
GiphyOkay, so what is my overall point? That’s a fair question. Just like sometimes “life life-ing” can make us forget to tend to our friendships, if you don’t stumble across content like this, you might not even realize that you’re feeling mentally stressed, emotionally strained, or super isolated and it’s all because you need to prioritize your friendships — because your mind, body, and spirit need them. Again, science has proved it.
At the same time, if, like a client of mine, you find yourself getting a little bit paranoid because you have noticed that over the past several years, your close friend count has been far less than what it used to be, this article proves that you are absolutely not (pardon the pun) alone. Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with having a very small circle of friends because quality is gonna beat out quantity every time; you just need to assess when it happened and why so that you can be sure that you are choosing it to play out that way and it’s not due to some underlying cause that you hadn’t taken into consideration — until now.
An Italian priest by the name of Thomas Aquinas once said, “The happy man in this life needs friends.” Even if it’s just one or two people, please make sure that you have folks who aren’t just your friend but your very close friend. You need them. They need you.
Everyone else, figure out where they fall and nurture accordingly. Life is a lot. We all get by with the help of our friends. Real talk, y’all. Thank goodness for them.
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Featured image by jose carlos cerdeno martinez/Getty Images