It all started out West for local artist Kaitlyn Dear. When she looked at the massive Rocky Mountains, she knew she had to capture them in some way—so she did.
“We set out west in a minivan that we took the seats out of, and I quit my job to do all of that,” Kaitlyn said. “There were so many different textures in the landscape out west. When I got back to Michigan, I had to start painting.”
But doodling and drawing weren’t new to her—she’d done it her whole life. After she returned home, though, Kaitlyn painted all the more.
After she posted a photo of her artwork on Instagram, she didn’t anticipate that one post would lead to a new business venture. For the past three-and-a-half years, Kaitlyn had been creating watercolor paintings. But at the start of 2020, she began to realize that she could turn her love for painting into a personal business, Clexo.
“Someone bought one of my paintings, and as I started posting things, people asked for different things,” Kaitlyn said. “My intention was not to make money; it was just to post it and someday look back and be like, ‘Look how far I’ve come.’”
As more people commissioned Kaitlyn to produce different art projects, she set a goal to sell her work at a market and on her website. Eventually, she set up a booth at the Hillsdale County Farmers Market.
“People were excited to get out of the house come April and May,” Kaitlyn said. “And a lot of my business did well because they had never seen anything like my art on tote bags or mugs and things like that.”
In addition to scanning her watercolor paintings onto mugs, pillows, and totes, Kaitlyn also creates custom paintings, wedding stationery, illustrations, thank you cards, event maps, and business cards.. Right now, she said she enjoys painting landscapes for the mugs and loves working on commissioned projects.
Kaitlyn, who grew up in Hillsdale, said the community members and local business owners have been very supportive of her watercolor business. While at the farmers market, Kaitlyn said that people could come up to her booth and fully experience the many layers to her watercolor paintings.
“The farmers market was very encouraging,” Kaitlyn said. “I can run reports to show what items are doing well and show my husband that maybe I can actually do this full time.”
Dustin Dear, her husband, said that one of his favorite memories of Kaitlyn includes seeing the look of excitement and gratitude on her face when she first started making sales. He added that Kaitlyn has used 2020 to blossom as a businesswoman.
“She has been an artist her entire life, but it has taken her some time to fine tune the not so warm and fuzzy aspect of selling her art,” Dustin said. “And 2020 has really allowed her to sharpen all aspects of owning a small business.”
Even though she’s always loved painting, Kaitlyn said her mom encouraged her to study something other than art at college. During her time at Saginaw Valley State University, she studied communication and picked up a minor in graphic design.
While the mountain landscapes in Colorado and Utah inspired much of Kaitlyn’s artwork, she also said that the time she spent traveling with her family as a kid shaped her view of the natural world. She was raised to watch the sunrise and sunset but also taught to enjoy a rainy day.
Today, Kaitlyn still finds inspiration for her paintings in nature. She particularly enjoys painting near bodies of water. Anytime she makes a trip to the Upper Peninsula, she said that she’ll paint something. Her love for water also helped her to develop an eye for watercolor painting.
Courtesy | Kaitlyn Dear
“It’s a very hard medium to control, and that dips back into nature,” Kaitlyn said. “It’s something about using the water and pigment and blending colors that really speaks to me.”
Although watercolor painting challenged Kaitlyn in new ways as an artist, she said that years of practice has led to consistency in her art.
“When something is calling you and filling your soul, you don’t give up,” Kaitlyn said. “With all the practice, now there’s new tips and tricks I have that I wouldn’t know if I would have stopped trying watercolors.”
Dustin said that he is most proud of his wife for her dedication.
“She has set goal after goal and has either surpassed or has put herself in arms reach of them all by her sheer dedication,” he said. “She loves what she does and it shows.”
In addition to Clexo, Kaitlyn has a day job as a designer for a metal art company in Hillsdale. She said that she finds her creativity challenged in different ways between her work at the metal art company and her watercolor paintings. One day, Kaitlyn said she hopes to be able to devote all of her time to Clexo.
“It’s just been about proving to myself that I can do whatever I want,” Kaitlyn said. “I don’t do this full time, but I’m on that edge of being able to do this full time.”
Dustin said he offers his wife encouragement and has no doubt that Clexo will become her full-time job one day.
“Her business has grown leaps and bounds, and her art keeps getting better and better,” Dustin said.