Andrea Pippins

Illustrator, designer, and author Andrea Pippins has been featured in O: The Oprah Magazine, Family Circle, and The Huffington Post. She’s authored three books including her most recent, Young, Gifted, and Black. She’s done work with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Free People, and Lincoln Center.

But Andrea didn’t know you could make money making art until she saw Halle Barry playing the role of an art director in the film Boomerang. She didn’t take art until her senior year in high school. Now Andrea is a full-time artist who is known around the world for her colorful drawings and beautiful books. This is her story.

<div align="center" style=padding-top:20px;"><iframe frameborder='0' height='200px' scrolling='no' seamless src='https://embed.simplecast.com/457c2fe8?color=3d3d3d' width='100%'></iframe></div>

Some things we talk about…

  • The best thing to do when just getting started
  • Exactly what she does to stay grounded and creative under tight deadlines
  • Dealing with rejection (again and again and again)
  • How going natural changed her idea of beauty
  • The one question she wished she’d been asked as a teenager
  • How to share your work (and then let it go)

“I’m not afraid of rejection. I’ve heard ‘no’ so much… I remember my mom saying, ‘You have to keep going. Be resourceful. Try something else.’ And since then I’ve thought, ‘I’m just going to keep trying and see what happens because I have nothing to lose if I just keep going.’”

“Have your work speak for itself. Put it out there. Create as much as you can. Share your process. Share your ideas. Leave a paper trail people can reference when they are looking for you.”

Don’t Miss Another Conversation

No bullshit. No fluff. Just what’s true.

The insight, advice, and stories of successful artists. Every episode.

daphne cohn