Hi, I'm Ashley.

I'm an artist, teacher, traveler, and the person behind Createful Art.

I've been teaching acrylic painting since 2006, but my love of art started long before that. I believe you don't have to be naturally “gifted” at art to become an artist. You just need a willingness to try, a little guidance, and permission to enjoy the process.

That's why I created Createful Art—to help you put perfection aside, pick up a brush, and rediscover how much fun it is to create.

I grew up with my twin brother and three older sisters on my grandparents' small farm in rural Idaho. We couldn't afford art lessons, but that didn't stop me from creating. I took advantage of whatever free opportunities I could find at school and in the library, and I spent plenty of time simply making things.

Looking back, I think art became something of a sanctuary for me early on. When life felt difficult or I didn't feel like I fit in, creating gave me somewhere to go. It became a way to process what I was feeling, find some peace, and simply be myself.

I didn't know it then, but art would become a lifelong companion.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

— Pablo Picasso

I don't believe you have to be born an artist to become one.

I wasn't someone who magically knew how to paint. I learned by practicing, experimenting, taking classes, reading, asking questions, and—most importantly—continuing to create.

That's one of the biggest things I want my students to know: you don't have to be “good at art” before you begin. You get better by beginning.

<<< Teaching my little girl to be creative.

After high school, I left my small town in Idaho and moved to Seattle, Washington. It was a big change for me. Suddenly, I was surrounded by people from different backgrounds, cultures, and walks of life. My view of the world expanded, and so did my love for art.

Eventually, I went back to school and earned a degree in Respiratory Therapy. At the time, I thought I was choosing the practical path. I loved helping people, but I never stopped making art.

I was painting, learning, and even beginning to sell my work on the side. Still, I believed the message I'd heard so many times:

You can't really make a living as an artist.

So I tried to be practical.

But life had other plans...

While continuing my education in Respiratory Therapy, I realized that working long, stressful hours in a hospital wasn't going to be the right path for me. Around the same time, I was dreaming about having a family.

I eventually married my high school sweetheart, Kacy, and we moved to Pocatello, Idaho. I worked to support us while he attended graduate school—and I finally gave myself permission to take my art more seriously.

I opened my first art studio.

I sold my paintings.

I taught art lessons.

And I started discovering that maybe the thing I'd been told wasn't practical could actually become a life.

Then I became pregnant with my first child.

The pregnancy was extremely difficult, and I became very sick. But even during that challenging time, I kept making art.

Painting gave me somewhere to go when life felt overwhelming.

(The 1st pic is me pregnant packing up my studio and trying to go into labor. She was born the next day. Yay!)

After my daughter was born, I closed my studio and began teaching from home. Some people saw having children as the moment I had to give up my art career.

I saw it differently.

I didn't know exactly what my path would look like yet—but I knew I wasn't finished creating.

I just needed to find a way to make art fit into the life I was actually living.



I didn't realize it at the time, but that would eventually lead me to Createful Art.

After my first daughter was born, I began teaching art from home. What started as a way to keep art in my life while raising my family slowly became something much bigger.

When our family moved to Alaska for my husband's job, I continued teaching art and looking for ways to make it work around our family life. I eventually realized that teaching online could give me something I hadn't been able to find before: a way to teach, create, and be present for my family at the same time.

After my third child was born, I decided to give it a real try.

In 2015, I started my YouTube channel and built CreatefulArt.com. I didn't know how to build a website, grow an online audience, or even create an art channel—but I knew how to learn.

So I learned.

I experimented with different types of art lessons and discovered that people especially loved learning acrylic painting with me. Over time, I began focusing more on teaching acrylics to adults, and Createful Art began to grow.

And then something pretty amazing happened.

People from all over the world started painting with me.

What began at my kitchen table and in my home studio was reaching artists far beyond my little corner of the world.

While I was building Createful Art online, our family also decided to travel. We sold our home in Alaska and set out to explore all 50 states. Along the way, I painted a scene from each state, combining two of the things I love most:

Art and adventure.

Eventually, our travels took us beyond the United States and around the world. Today, my husband helps me run Createful Art, and I'm incredibly grateful that something I once wondered if I could make a living from has become the way I support my family.

And this is the part I'd really emphasize:

I didn't have it all figured out when I started.

I didn't have a degree in art.

I didn't know how to build a business.

I didn't know how to teach online.

I didn't know if anyone would watch my videos.

I just knew I loved art, I loved teaching, and I was willing to keep learning.

That's really the heart of Createful Art.



You don't have to have everything figured out before you begin. You can start where you are, learn as you go, and see where your creativity takes you.

Painting changed the way I see the world.

When my family decided to travel, I didn't want to simply see new places—I wanted to experience them through art.

We started by traveling to all 50 states, and I painted a scene from each one along the way. Painting became a reason to slow down, really look at where I was, and notice the colors, landscapes, people, and little details that I might otherwise have rushed past.

Eventually, our travels took us beyond the United States and into other countries and cultures. Everywhere we go, I'm reminded that there is always something new to learn, something beautiful to notice, and something worth putting on a canvas.

Travel has taught me that inspiration is everywhere.

And that's something I want to pass along to my students. You don't have to travel the world to find inspiration.

Sometimes it's in your backyard, a walk around your neighborhood, a memory, or simply the way the light falls across your kitchen table.

Art teaches us to slow down and really see.



That's one of my favorite things about being an artist.