What do you do when the career you built keeps pulling the rug out from under you? After three layoffs in six years, April Paige decided to bet on the talent she had carried since childhood. She shares the realities of rebuilding her fine art business, finding customers, and moving forward without a ready-made support network. Her experience offers an honest look at the courage and persistence it takes to give yourself another chance. “I’m going to go all in on myself, which is a good bet because I’m a hard worker and I’ll figure it out.” - April Paige In this episode, fine artist April Paige decided to go all in on the creative work she had previously relegated to a side hustle. Drawing on decades of senior marketing experience, she began rebuilding an art business she had set aside while focusing on her corporate career. April shares the uncertainty of establishing herself in a local market, the difficulty of separating her identity from her former job title, and the conviction that keeps her moving forward. The conversation explores the creative process, from confronting a blank canvas to loosening the grip of perfectionism. April describes experimenting with unconventional painting tools, using augmented reality to help with composition, and balancing technical skill with the freedom to follow an unexpected direction. She also reflects on the unpredictability of creative flow and how quiet walks, meditation, and learning to be kinder to herself help make space for ideas. Alongside the joy of painting, April offers a candid look at the practical demands of running a creative business, including social media, sales platforms, administrative work, and mounting subscription costs. She discusses upcoming collections inspired by her Cuban heritage and North Carolina landscapes, while emphasizing the patience and tenacity required to bring meaningful work into the world. Her experience encourages anyone considering a career change to take their interests seriously and recognize that starting again remains possible at any age. About April Page Bio - Born in Sarasota, Florida, April Paige carries the vivid inheritance of her Cuban and Spanish roots into every canvas: bold color, deep feeling, and a family lineage of musicians, artists, seamstresses, cigar makers, and storytellers. After more than twenty years as a senior corporate marketer, she returned fully to her first language in 2025, relaunching her fine art practice from Raleigh, North Carolina, where she has lived since 2019. Working in oil, acrylic, and mixed media, April paints in the space between realism and abstraction. She builds layered, atmospheric grounds, lets the figure dissolve back into the surface, then restores what was lost, so each work holds the tension between clarity and mystery. Her evolving series, including musicians, angels, Asian themes, realism, and abstraction, return to the same questions of joy, empathy, music, culture, and spirit. Her two new series of work, Latin and North Carolina, will be launching at the end of 2026. 📸 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/april_paige_fine_art/📘 Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/aprilpaigefineart/ ▶️ YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@AprilPaigeFineArt🌐 Website – www.AprilPaigeFineArt.com📧 Email – artistanticswithapril@gmail.com📱 Call/Text – 941-586-6550 About Catryn Becker Catryn Becker is a screenwriter, creative strategist, keynote speaker, international best-selling author, and two-time Guinness World Record holder. Through VoiceBloom, she helps experts, entrepreneurs, and creatives transform lived experience into meaningful stories. Her work spans screenplays, nonfiction, personal narratives, and legacy projects, exploring how stories help us understand ourselves and connect with others. A graduate of UCLA’s Professional Program in Screenwriting, Catryn is the writer and creator of the Celtic fantasy adventure Of Mists and Gods and co-author of Life Snacks: Easy Breezy Self Care That You’ll Actually Do. She brings nearly two decades of engineering and business experience, alongside her background in coaching and leadership development through Optimize We, to stories about transformation, identity, and the courage to challenge expectations. Catryn holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Colorado School of Mines, a Master of Science in Environmental Systems Management from Southern Methodist University, and an MBA in Strategy and Innovation from SDA Bocconi School of Management. Her approach combines structured problem solving with curiosity about the human experience and a belief that everyone has a story worth uncovering, shaping, and sharing with care. Connect with Catryn LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/catrynbecker/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/catrynw TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@catrynbeckerInstagram – https://www.instagram.com/stories_with_catryn/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TheGoodBadAndUglyOfBusinessWebsite – www.voicebloommedia.com and www.optimizewe.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.