Advocating for Artists and Storytellers
A lifetime realizing the importance of art and the dilemma artists face.
I’ve got a deep rooted passion for storytelling. When I talk about storytelling it’s pretty obvious. It’s been my connection to everything I do and who I am, as an advocate for storytellers using smartphone cameras to turn their stories into films.
What most people don’t realize, is that my personal affinity to storytelling has also stemmed from my own personal realization that art is a very underrated industry.
You call it a hobby, I call it identity.
An industry is how many artists don’t like to be considered. I realized this at the young age of eight or nine.
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As children, we base a lot of our perceptions around our parents and family. My father was an artist and he would sketch and paint on canvas. House guests, friends and acquaintances would fall in love with the art on our walls.
I remember my dad arguing with someone who offered to buy one of his paintings. My dad argued “art is not something you create to sell.”
He was very adamant about that. He would gift a painting to someone as birthday gifts but never could bring himself to sell it. And I personally think this is why he discouraged me from wanting to “be” an artist when I grew up.
I create my own art because I find the process soothing. Sometimes I need to express what I cannot express into words through my art. Some of you pray, or meditate. Art is a bit like that.
What you create when you are free to create is something that is not the same as what you create for someone who hires you to create, such as work-for-hire.
I’m a graphics designer, believe me when I tell you—I don’t consider it creating art when I am creating it under the direction of a client.
You feel art. It is who you are, an artist.
Selling Art
You can sell your art. But when your intention is to sell it, you have an illusion of the expectation. In a way, it’s like being under the direction of a perceived client.
There are artists who will tell me that as soon as they begin to create art to make money, the freedom they feel when they are just creating art without any direction disappears. How much pressure you put in your own creativity and process can affect the outcome and, depending on the type of art you are creating—music, film, etc. you are not feeling the magic of art before, during, or after you finish.
Why patrons supporting artists rock.
When you have a patron, someone who is supporting you as an artist, you feel the freedom to create art that you own. Art, in my opinion is best created when you feel it. And when you feel your art, you own it. It’s all you.
Art helps you find yourself. It can heal you. It can be great therapy and help open up your mind to positive thoughts and awareness. It can change your perception of yourself and the world around you and help you become a better version of who you want to be.
One person may not give you a thousand dollars for your art. But a thousand people can spare a dollar for what you create. - Susy Botello, 2023
A story of art and community.
I’ve had a dream of making a documentary since I launched my company in 2006. Finally, I am on the way to realizing that dream. Or at least attempting to. And it feels really good to chase this dream now.
I am in pre-production mode right now. The documentary is a series with six episodes in 2024, which will tell the story of art and community.
I am not good at asking for funding, but I need it. Funny how I’ve been promoting artists and filmmakers through my work with the International Mobile Film Festival in San Diego and the SBP Podcast Mobile Filmmaking, but when it comes to funding a project like this, I am not sure how to realize the funding I need.
I am confident things will come together. I know each episode will benefit the artists I love and connect new artists I have yet to know of. My advocacy for storytelling and art drives all I do.
I plan to premiere the first episode of the documentary series online here for paid subscribers only. As a thank you and a benefit to subscribing. Thanks to
for providing the video streaming service on this platform.
Join me behind the scenes and follow along my journey in the making of this documentary where I’ll be using my iPhone as a camera.
It is great to hear more about your background and goals. I myself will be shooting my first mobile phone feature in Southern California and need all the help I can get. If you are interested in helping me to make my feature it could possibly, I think it could easily fit into your documentary series. We share many goals. Let's talk about how we can work together.