We had the good fortune of connecting with Kimbell Sadler and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Kimbell, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
I really think what matters most is that we invest our lives into giving, creating, sharing, caring, believing, and loving. I think that’s how we manifest meaningful existences. I try my best to create a compassionate and joyful life, and one way I do this is through art. I started an art business so that I could share my passion and love for art with others and hopefully make other people’s lives a little brighter.
I think when you’re starting a new business or starting anything new for that matter, the three most integral ingredients for a rewarding entrepreneurial endeavor involve taking action, taking risks, and having the tenacity to keep trying until you succeed. A lot of people have great ideas. A lot of people talk about their great ideas. But it’s the one’s that take actionable steps toward their dreams that make the difference. Taking the first step is often the hardest part, but once you do, it just gets easier and easier to create momentum to continue moving toward your goals. I experienced this when I starting thinking about creating an art business. I talked about it and dreamed about it for months before I actually started doing the work and creating an art website. But when I did, it’s like all the stars in the universe started aligning and supporting me to keep dreaming and keep creating. I turned my dreams into action and now I am working on building a sustainable business. To take action though definitely involves a sense of risk. But the most important thing is to believe in yourself, believe in your goals, put positive thoughts and vibrations out to the universe and don’t be afraid to take calculated risks. And if you make mistakes along the way, it’s ok. I try to see the beauty in mistakes and welcome what they have to teach me. Take what you learn and keep going. We often learn more from our failures than we do from our successes in life.
Also a powerful way to mitigate the fear of failure is to bring your support system, your friends and family, alongside of you. They will help create a safety net so when you do take risks, they will be there to support you and believe in you too. Our support systems want us to succeed, they want to help us accomplish our dreams. So share your goals and vision with them, and they can help give solicited guidance for taking risks and also be there for you if your endeavor isn’t an overnight success. If your first attempt at creating your goal doesn’t go how your envisioned it, don’t give up. Try again a different way. Look at it from another angle. Ask your support system for advice. And then create again. I always go back to my “why”. Why am I doing what I’m doing? Why am I creating art? I’m creating art because I love it! Because I can share happiness with it. I’ve seen it bring huge smiles to people’s faces. And I want to keep doing that. If at first you don’t succeed, keep going back to your “why” and any “how” is possible.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I really believe that the smallest acts of kindness, compassion, gentle responses, seeing the good and choosing to share beauty can do wonders to brighten all of our paths. Even though we are going through some strange and scary times right now, remember that we are all in this together, and sometimes the best way to thrive is to lean into what feels a little uncomfortable so that we can all shine our lights a little brighter. I’ve always had a love affair with art. I think it even began way before I was born when my parents named me after a beautiful modern museum in Fort Worth called the Kimbell Art Museum. I love beauty in all forms, especially bright and colorful manifestations. Anything bursting with light, color, and joy expands our souls towards infinite magic and I try to create each piece of art to leave behind a little shimmer of happiness. There is something so soothing yet exhilarating every single time I sit down to play with the colors. That’s what I love about art, it has the power to transform us, to transcend ourselves, and to remind us to slow down and notice the beauty all around us.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Some of my favorite places in Austin you must to check out if you come for a visit: I absolutely love Town Lake, also known as Ladybird Lake. It is my absolute favorite place to go for a run and be outside in nature. It’s basically the health Mecca of Austin. And you never know who you’re going to run into out there, I’ve definitely run past Matthew McConaughey! Lots of kayaking, paddle boarding, and canoeing happens on this little lake. And you can rent the kayaks and boards right on the water! I also love to take my dog Coco to Zilker Park and let him run around with all the other dogs. Zilker park is a huge grassy park where people sunbathe and play soccer and the city hosts the amazing Annual Kite Festival where everyone flies the most colorful and creative kites. Juiceland is my favorite restaurant in Austin. It’s basically a hippie, free spirited, plant based, juice bar / smoothie shop. They literally have the BEST MATCHA LATTES in the world. These lattes are packed with antioxidants and superfoods. Their matcha lattes are literally like nothing else you’ve ever tasted. They blend together matcha, hemp seeds, coconut oil, vanilla, sea salt, and dates and then serve you up this hot green cup of goodness. Literally to die for. You have to try it if you come to visit Austin! And it’s so good for your body! I also love the shopping district of South Congress. South Congress is this long road that leads strait to the Austin Capital. You can walk up and down it and window shop, listen to live music streaming from a coffee shop, pop in and out of little shops like Allen’s Boots, and stop and refuel with a margarita from Hotel San Jose. A lot of people love to go to Barton Springs. It’s a natural spring but it is absolutely FREEZING cold. Like the temperature never changes even in the summer it stays really cold. And there are special white salamanders in it! Kinda scary. I also love to get sushi at Uchi on South Lamar. Uchi is the King of sushi places in Austin. But it’s little sister, on North Lamar is called Uchiko and it’s just as delicious! The best plan is to hit up Uchiko for their “Sake Hour” and sample all these different hot sakes and then see if you can end up snagging a table for dinner. The White Horse on the East Side is a honky-tonk and has great Two-Stepping and live country bands. I love to dance and could dance into the wee hours of the morning at The White Horse. Whistler’s Bar on the East Side has a secret, dark, hidden Mezcal bar above it called Mezcaleria Tobala. They often have this really old man playing Spanish Flamenco guitar music in a little dark corner. It’s so cool!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Just wanted to give a shoutout to all the strong women who have helped me and given me support, mentorship, love and encouragement on my journey. Julie Pelaez taught me how to paint with alcohol inks and how to create with them, Michelle McDaniel is an incredible Austin artists and dear friend, Soni Bota helped me branch out and learn new art techniques, and Claudia Castro was my yoga teacher who taught me principles of life that I incorporate into my life and my art business. So much gratitude and love to all of you!
Website: http://www.kimbellsadler.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimbell_sadler/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimbellsadler/