Meet Andrea Maw | Artist + Formulator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrea Maw and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrea, how do you think about risk?

I consider risk a fundamental aspect of creating. If we are authentically creating, not simply repackaging others’ ideas, then we are always peering into the abyss of the unknown. And with the unknown must come uncertainty – while we can imagine the rewards of accomplishment, we can’t truly understand the journey required to achieve the vision we hold in our mind’s eye. Often, a creator, otherwise known as an entrepreneur, no matter what one’s business or industry, must go all in. Many people are reluctant for all the unknown factors including whether we think we personally may be up to the task. There is a way to transform a lack of some of the fundamental elements for getting projects off the ground in the area of knowledge, attitude, skills and habits by acquiring those through mentorship and training. Centuries ago, in the Old World, that was considered working with a master as an apprentice. Today, that might look like working for an employer in the industry of industry to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. Eventually, a personal vision or goal comes into focus, and provided one has created clarity and definition of the aim, I’ve found that a fundamental step is to literally leap forward head long. My friend Dusti said, “Leap and your wings will appear!” For inspiration, we painted that quote on the floor of one of our juice bars. When we are clear about a vision or goal for ourselves and why it is intrinsically important to us, we can transmute that passion into fully committed action no matter the fear. By doing so, we are summoning the greatest creative force to come partner with us in a ‘letting go, letting God’! This is when the magic swirls around projects by way of synchronicities that no AI could even conjure up, delivering key information through different messengers, or ‘chance’ meetings with important contacts to further ones goals, or presenting as the perfect inspiration about the next step, and so on.

As well, creating is a life long journey. I have had many careers and had to reinvent myself continuously. In physics, stasis is impossible to maintain. When riding a bicycle, we are either falling to the left or right – as a newbie the corrections are large reinforcing the wobble, though as we become skilled, corrections are micro, hardly perceptible. We are either expressing or depressing, evolving or devolving. I was the youngest sales representative at Xerox selling copiers at the age of nineteen back in the early ‘80s. Eventually, I would be instrumental is raising equity financing and selling over $500million in residential multi-family real estate – a completely different industry. After the real estate crash of 2008, I co-founded a multi-store organic juice company with my daughter, committed to helping others with high nutrition. And committed to the same health values, I went on found my organic Stark Naked Skin Care, alongside being an artist producing works at Andrea Maw Studio. Each of these endeavors required me to be more than I could have conceived. Many of the skills, knowledge, attitudes and habits are ultimately developed from actually doing and learning. With all that said to provide context, what I found was that my approach was two fold: I leapt and discovered the most remarkable resources were introduced to my projects in an effortless flow, while at the same time, I knuckled under to look at every obstacle facing my endeavor and putting together an action plan to remove the obstacle, and doing that work. As a result the unknown became something very tangible that I could never have stepped into overnight – the knowledge, skills, attitude, habits, and the resources and collaborations came over time, whereby years later there has always been something concrete to show for the all effort, diligence, and determination. Sometimes the project evolved differently than expected, or way beyond expectations, and sometimes at some point it could fail. It would require a fresh look at things and a new creation from what was left. The kicker is that once something is built, it requires continual re-creating as there i not standing still. Customers needs change, technologies evolve, costs and resources change. New technologies democratized access to information and audience which meant that sales and marketing are a continual process of innovating. Product development requires continual innovation as customers tastes and needs evolve. In other words, no matter where one is in the cycle of getting something up and running, it will require ongoing creating, effort, diligence and determination. The process is endless.

In summary, the fact is that many people think that risk lies in the entrepreneurial realm of creating projects, companies, and inventions yet what is becoming abundantly clear today, is that every day presents us with the unknown. We are exposed to risk every waking moment. The greatest risk lies in NOT being innovative, inventing, and creating. Jobs are morphing at breakneck speed as companies incorporate AI and other technologies – all being resources to big companies. That is why their departments that deal with employees are called ‘Human Resources’. So being an employee is no walk in the park. The issue isn’t being employed. That job or career can be the means to acquiring specific experience, or providing one with the financial resources while creating one’s passion alongside a career as a means to get something off the ground one day. Whether in a job or being a creative, we tell the truth about risk by recognizing it is ubiquitous, and rather come to have confidence in our ability to continually see our lives through a creative lens of ‘what next is possible?’ It’s asking that question continually – right there in the moment. And I found that a two pronged approach works well – leap fully committed to engage a greater creative force to lift the wings, and a plan of action chunking something big into bite size tasks that will bear fruit with the benefit of hindsight. The key is having a vision of the future that excites us about our lives, and in the present, doing the best we can, with what we have, from where we are.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Over several decades in real estate development, I was jealous of the time I could not spend with my art. I always had a canvas on the go but painting itself wasn’t joyful for all the career stress. I witnessed my mother carving out time to paint alongside raising four children and running a catering business plus a chain of drive-in restaurants with my Dad. It was a family affair so the entrepreneurial spirit was pretty much in everything we kids knew. We worked in the kitchens when we were younger. We were required to produce but weren’t on the payroll. To supplement our 25 cent weekly allowance, we got creative to earn money outside of the family business – in our spare time the boys had paper routes before and after school, and the two of us girls went door to door selling homemade Christmas wreaths, sweeping neighbors driveways, and doing their yard work, in addition to ours. As teenagers, the boys worked behind the grill at the drive-in restaurants, and the girls served up the root beer and burgers as carhops – the only money we earned were the tips we made so we became proficient in excellent and friendly customer service! Eventually, my parents retired so my mother began painting professionally and even opened her own gallery. As a young woman, I help to introduce her works to art collectors in Vancouver where I grew up. Eventually, I followed in her footsteps – by 2020 I had acquired time freedom to truly jump in and allow myself to become fully absorbed in painting.

Since my grandfather was also an artist of note in Germany in the early 1900s, it seemed that talent did run deep in my family. As well, thankfully, I had been painting over the few decades so it was my opportunity to develop some level of skill. The two conditions allowed that I was able to immediately produce works that I could take pride in. Through social media, a growing community of friends have been witness to the evolution of my painting style, skill, and subject matter over the last few years which has been rewarding and fun for me.

A challenge for an artist is becoming recognized for a unique style whether it be a particular color palette, a painting technique, or subject matter – often all those combined.  Yet, I love to continually stretch myself and attempting something new is what energizes and excites me to begin and more importantly, complete a current work. I prefer ‘Oil on Canvas’ in a style of hyper-realism, which serves my exacting nature well, reflecting my philosophy that ‘God is in the detail’. It can take a couple to several months to complete a work. So I take several weeks between canvases to determine my subject matter knowing the time I will be dedicating to that work. At some point, I’ll be itching to just throwing some paint around and produce art in a matter of hours instead of weeks, though for now, I am trusting that it is through my intrinsic nature that I will come to expressing a signature style worthy of a major series. Until I can feel such a groove, experimentation and my nature will be my guide.

Also, technology has disrupted the art business just as it has every other aspect of our lives. So too, where art galleries were the gate keepers of which artists were promoted and made visible, today the democratization of every aspect of sales and marketing not to mention the production of art itself, including software for image production, has changed all the rules. A gallery no longer determines whether or not I can sell my art work. There are so many channels. It is also up to me to create visibility. And since there are no rules, it means that the sky can be the limit. Banksy, a British graffiti artist, went from the street to blockchain selling his NFTs as digital assets, eventually being eclipsed by artists Beeple and Pak. Of course, I also jumped on board to experiment, in the spirit of continual creation, and have produced several crypto works though they have amounted to a big fat nothing for this newbie, however it was fun experimenting. It appears the crypto art market has seen that bubble burst, not to say there aren’t serious sales ongoing. And so it goes.

A final point that forms the bedrock for my joy of painting is that as a professional artist I have peace knowing that I can continue to develop my craft for the rest of my life – there is no need for retirement, provided my body and mind are willing. This very framing or idea means I take a very long view, for the first of any of my careers. It means that every time I produce a work, I am building on something longterm. This is intrinsically satisfying to me. And in order to make this a reality for myself, I focus on my health. I am a 15 time marathoner and have taught 2000 fitness classes in the early 80s – of course sporting my Jane Fonda leg warmers! From when I could control my own diet, I was eating organic foods. I continue with a daily regime of exercise to include alternating walking, running, stair climbing and workouts at the gym. And as for nutrition, my meals are mostly at home where I can control the quality of ingredients. I add in daily supplementation, and continually fine tune both my exercise and nutrition based on my ongoing interest in the latest longevity research. Broad brush (no pun intended), I’ve organized my habits where I focus on my health in the mornings, and I paint in the afternoons. Both require a commitment and investment of time. Bottom line – I want to be doing what I love for years to come!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Mornings are about exercise and in our summers here in Scottsdale in needs to be early for all the heat. But it’s a dry heat! Also, variety is the spice of life. One morning, it’s a bike ride along the canal through Old Town Scottsdale and Arcadia – we’ll go miles for a great workout. Followed by breakfast at Morning Squeeze or Breakfast Club on Scottsdale Road.

Another morning, we’ll hike up Echo Canyon on iconic Camelback Mountain, come back down the other side and run back to the car park. That will take longer so lunch beckons at Ingo’s patio in Arcadia just a stone’s throw from Camelback Mountain to share a delicious bean burger and orange fennel salad.

A third morning, it’s an uphill walk on the mountainside followed by a gym workout to include 100 stories on the stair climber for 20 min, 30 min circuit of weight machines, followed by stretching. I love the circuit at Planet Fitness.

The other mornings, we’ll do a 4 mile hill walk and finish with a cold plunge in the winter pool or a swim in the summer pool. Have a smoothy at home. Get showered and dressed for some daytime adventure.

Afternoons involve lunch and an excursion.

Lunch favorites include the patio at Chelsea’s Kitchen (love the tuna tartar) nestled under the trees canal side in Arcadia, the patio at Olive + Ivy on the Canal in Old Town Scottsdale right at Fashion Square, and the patio at Zinc in Kierland in North Scottsdale. It’s all indoor/outdoor living here.

Excursions include boutique shopping and gallery hopping in Old Town Scottsdale, shopping at Kierland and Scottsdale Quarter in North Scottsdale, and big box shopping at Desert Ridge. I love hitting Anthropologie to take in their super creative store displays.

A fabulous outdoor adventure is hopping on the paddle boat at Saguaro Lake serving up wine and a guide who is pointing out amazing information about our beautiful Sonoran Desert including spotting big horn sheep on the cliffs and deer on the lower reaches. The golfing is spectacular and can be super expensive so a bit of research is in order. The Phoenix Open is a world renown spectator extravaganza so friends will often come to visit this time of year – expect lots of entertainment and crowds. The golf courses at Talking Stick and We-KoPa have plush grass for all the year round irrigation with renovated casinos for evening fun. Desert Mountain, Camelback, Phoenician, and Boulders are lovely premium courses. We’ll probably join the fellas at McDowell Mountain for a golf foursome.

In the super hot of summer, taking to inner tubes down the Salt River is a sporty yet boozy though refreshing outing with a bus ride back to the car upriver. Any time of year, taking an afternoon into Carefree or Fountain Hills communities to browse their art festivals is a visual treasure.

Evenings begin with happy hours and early dinners as it’s an early town here in Scottsdale. In the summer, trades start on construction projects at 4 am, have their lunch break at around 10am, and are off the site by noon or 1pm to cope with the 110 degree plus heat. Folks get up early and go to bed early as a rule.

Happy hours are fabulous at Buck + Rider in Arcadia or North Scottsdale with probably the most delicious happy hour menu in the Valley, from 3pm to 6pm seven days per week. A nice happy hour patio with Mexican food and margaritas can be found at Barrio Queen at Desert Ridge, or south of the canal in Downtown Scottsdale. And if you can ever get a table, the happy hour Big Ass Burger at The Roaring Fork is a bargain, and provides a comforting old school setting.

And the Valley has excellent dining so there are many fabulous restaurants! The bar, restaurant or patio at Pomo in mid Scottsdale features a gorgeous, bejeweled pizza oven imported from Italy, producing the Neapolitan pizzas, plus it’s great for people watching. The Fat Ox just north of Downtown Scottsdale is exceptional and gorgeous. Houston’s and Cooper’s Hawk won’t disappoint, both in the mid range. And serious seafood are offered at two Ocean Clubs, Mastros in Downtown Scottsdale, for the famous seafood tower, and the steak at Steak 44 is exquisite.

Sumomaya and Hash Kitchens are great brunch spots with an array of mimosas and Bloody Mary offerings.

Phew! That was busy. Since most of our living through the year is indoor/outdoor, some relaxing poolside and patio at home is a must.

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?
Jennifer Boonlorn, Founder of Soul Carrier! This remarkable young woman is the quintessential Goddess – she’s a creative having designed a gorgeous line of bags SoulCarrier.com, she’s a savvy business entrepreneur who has a multi-faceted range of skills including a remarkable talent for sales and marketing particularly through her social media, and she is an inspiration in her innate joy of collaborating with other creatives. It seems to me that one the most important qualities for success in any endeavor is the ability to work with people, and specifically being courageous enough to throw open the possibility of connecting others with others. Jennifer’s high EQ is the secret sauce to her infectious joy and success, and keeps many of us joining forces in her orbit.

Website: AndreaMaw.com

Instagram: @AndreaMawStudio