Today we’d like to introduce you to Trisha Porter.
Trisha, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am blessed how I’ve grown so much as an artist in America. Born in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. and raised in San Diego, I currently study studio art at Biola University after I graduated with an A.A. degree in Music Studies in Highest Honors at San Diego Miramar College in 2017. I now run my new art business called Photor, etc., where I create vibrant fine art photography and designs since this is my childhood/American dream at age six. While building my artistic talents and experiences, I look forward to more opportunities on my next and last year of college and beyond!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I had a lot of struggling artistic experiences throughout my life because art is where people face and learn to overcome their emotional, psychological, and motivational issues. My biggest struggle I had was dealing with my two main passions: art and music.
While I was self-teaching in drawing and painting, I used to study music for 12 years through my violin performance in many orchestras and the various fields of music in San Diego Miramar College such as music composition. Because of my huge commitment in music, I mostly did not have time to develop myself in fine arts, so I had to find a balance between those areas over time.
My other struggle is confidence. I am a shy introverted person, so I have been training myself for a very long time to be brave enough to show my art to my classmates, professors, judges, or others. Even though I experienced some rejections of my art, I learn not only to persevere but to have faith in my developed skills in the future. I also learn to appreciate my artistic style since art is subjective in general.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Photor, etc. – what should we know?
Photor, etc. (FOO-tore) is an online art store where I create, print, and sell fine art photography (mostly nature) and some design like greeting cards. This business is pretty new since August 2018, and I work as a sole proprietorship. I had my own art booth at the marketplace for the first time in my current college, Biola University, so I was thankful for reaching the next level of my business!
Throughout my time in business so far, I am most proud of my heartwarming results from clients. I heard from my very first client that her daughter was too excited of the purchased greeting cards, so my client allowed her to keep it. This kind of moment always reminds me of why I have been doing art, so I want to continue to share my art and bring joy to the world.
As I slowly progress my business while studying at college, I try to keep my business unique as I can. Although it mainly focuses on photography, I treat it as a broad art place to sell because I want customers to explore more options of my products and view photography as part of the art world.
Since photography has been heavily commercialized nowadays such as wedding photography, I want to teach others that photo as art has been occurring since the 1800s and 1900s like Ansel Adams. In my photos, my style mostly focuses on zoomed-in plants and objects, unlike the typical landscape scenes. I also keep my art vibrant, colorful, and playful on most of my photos and my designed products to reveal the idea of joy to everybody.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I give huge credit to my parents because they are the ones who helped me on starting and running my business. They have been supporting my dream as an artist since age six in Abu Dhabi, so they have been helping me on the budget of my business.
I am very thankful for God for building my faith and guiding my artistic journey. I also thank my faculty and staff at Biola University for their teachings and advice of art and life in general before I move on to my last year of college and in the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: photoretc.com
- Email: photoretc@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photoretc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photoretc/
- Other: https://www.trishaporter.com (portfolio site); https://www.instagram.com/trishaporterhere/ (personal); https://www.pinterest.com/photoretc/ (Pinterest for Photor, etc.)
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