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

Hi Isabella, how do you think about risk?
Being an artist is a risk. I am a freelance artist which means I need to pursue creative work in order to survive. No one is handing me anything, I actively need to look for jobs in order to move forward in my career. I think that is extremely important to an artist, that “not knowing if they’ll have work this month or not,” it keeps us motivated. The worst thing you can be as an artist is comfortable. Once you’re comfortable you stop innovating. And choosing a life where being comfortable means your art may be worse is a very risky path to take. Because being safe and comfortable is easy. Art is about fear, expression, and taking risks. Taking risks has made me feel confident in my work because I’ve learned that making mistakes is totally ok. It’s how you overcome those mistakes and what you choose to do after is what defines you. During the pandemic, in 2020, I started to feel way too comfortable in my life and that made me feel unsatisfied with my art. I chose to leave that comfortability and take a huge risk to move across the country to Los Angeles. I didn’t have a home or a job I just knew I needed to take a hold of my life again and stop letting the days pass me by. I couched surfed for months and I took every chance I could to seek out opportunities where I could show or make my art. I find myself now as a character on an artistic show on YouTube with an audience of 20 million. Taking risk paid off for me and it will pay off for anyone who is willing to take the leap, I guarantee it. You have to power through the low points and have the confidence in your craft that it will take you where you need to be, you just need to take the risk.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art deals with the repercussions of climate change and the advancement of technology in our society. I create art with the intention of telling a narrative. Every painting I create is another puzzle piece in telling the story of a universe I am developing. My dream is to create a cartoon series to tell my story, every move I make in my career is ultimately driving me closer to reaching that goal. I feel that the story I have created can have a very positive influence on the younger generations and I want to leave a positive mark on this planet after I am gone. I use social media to tell my story and grow my art business. I sell fine art prints of all my paintings and promote them on platforms like Instagram, Tik Tok, and Youtube. Every dollar I earn from my business goes back into funding for my cartoon series. I have recently had the great opportunity to join the cast of an artistic kids show on Youtube called ZHC! We get to create art, do crazy art competitions and give back to the community. It’s truly an amazing experience that I am very grateful for. It guides me closer to being able to make my cartoon series a reality. Along with being a commercial artist, I am also a fine artist. I create paintings based on my world that are done in a style I have developed myself. I use color and specific subject matter to evoke the mood and narrative of my paintings. I create large-scale murals of my paintings as well and I am very honored to have murals throughout South Florida and in Wynwood Art District in Miami.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would recommend first we visit Wynwood which is the art district of Miami. It has really amazing murals, bars, and restaurants everywhere. I recommend first grabbing a mojito from Miami Mojito Company then head over to Wynwood Walls across the street and check out some of the art. Then hit some of the other bars like Dirty Rabbit, Racket, No 3 Social they’re all within walking distance in the same area. As far as food goes there’s a lot of options! So we could either walk around and stumble upon some interesting hole-in-the-wall place, food trucks, or whatever we’re feeling! But I am a sucker for 1 800 Lucky, a cool Asian-style food market. The next day could be a beach day and we hit South beach! Get a tan and go in the water and maybe after hit a few restaurants along ocean drive for a classic Miami vibe. What’s a Miami trip without a little dancing? I love electronic music and the best place for that in Miami I would say is Club Space. It’s in the heart of Downtown and has an amazing terrace for dancing all night long! Just be safe during the pandemic, of course. Then if we’re feeling like we want to shop we could hit the Design District and look around at all the high-end designer retail stores.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate my Shoutout to my mom and dad. They’ve always been such a positive influence in my life and always looked out for me. They’ve only ever encouraged me to pursue my passion for creating art and always gave me 110% of their time, it’s something I can never repay them for. I want to show them that the time they’ve spent helping me grow did not go to waste and that I’m working so hard to make them proud and do something important and meaningful with my life. I love them so much and I am so grateful to be their daughter.

Website: isabellaaddison.com

Instagram: @IsabellaAddison https://www.instagram.com/isabellaaddison/?hl=en

Twitter: @IsabellaAddison https://twitter.com/lsabellaaddison?lang=en

Facebook: @IsabellaAddison https://www.facebook.com/lsabellaaddison

Youtube: Isabella Addison https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWmslQWCvsef_E1cyPjvRZw

Other: Tik Tok: @IsabellaAddison https://www.tiktok.com/@lsabellaaddison?source=h5_m

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutMiami is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.