We had the good fortune of connecting with Sunshine Jackson-Charles and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sunshine, why did you pursue a creative career?
I pursued an artistic career simply because I had to. Creating art is such a part of who I am, my being and God-given purpose. It’s impossible to ignore. I’ve actually spent the last 6 years working in my engineering career and though I’ve enjoyed it – that entire time, I’ve been using every spare moment to devote to painting, making art prints, making apparel, editing YouTube videos and creating content, and doing whatever I could do to build my art business. Recently, I reached a point where my spare time just wasn’t enough and I knew that to unlock the full potential of what ARTXSUN could be, I had to commit to it completely. So this is actually my last week in civil engineering and June 7th, 2024 marks my first day as a full-time artist! I get emotional just thinking about finally reaching a point where I can finally pursue my dreams like this. I believe that God called me to make a meaningful impact on the world through my art, and no matter what, I know that creating art full-time and running my own business will bring me more happiness and pride than any other profession in this world. This career switch is a scary leap of faith, but again, that calling is just impossible to ignore!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have been creating and painting as long as I can remember but I started my brand ARTXSUN in 2019. The name traces back to a gift from my parents: a custom license plate bearing the name. It’s a fusion of “Art x Sun” as in Art by Sunshine and the word “Artisan” defined as one who is skilled in making things by hand. The name evolved from a cool play on words to now, my business where I create and sell my art, create content to help educate others on how to run a creative business, and teach art and painting tutorials.

My art style is very bold, vibrant, and textured, using a lot of colors and often highlighting the beauty of black and brown people. My art is whimsical and expressive yet often very detailed at the same time. I always think of it as my right side and left side of my brain sparring with each other. My analytical left side of my brain took me through my engineering degree and career for the past 10 years and I am now trusting my creative right side to lead in this next phase of my life as a full-time artist. I still like to experiment with different styles and the challenge comes from this – okay, how do I take a landscape or a painting of an ocean and still make it match the lively vibrant style I’ve always showcased in my portraits and expressionist paintings. I enjoy the constant challenge that art provides with having so many ways and mediums to tackle the assignment.

My art business has come a long way from doing commissions to make extra money in college back in 2014 – I was creating art for EVERYONE’S dorm rooms! – to selling my first art prints and t-shirts with my art on it on Etsy in 2016, to the creation of artxsun.com in 2019, to today where I now have a wide-format commercial fine art printer in my art studio to make high quality fine art prints at home, I have an entire art apparel line from shirts to sweatshirts, I sell stickers, do commissions and paint-n-sips at special times, and create content on all platforms to share both my art and any knowledge I’ve gained so far on how to run a creative business, stay inspired, and profit as an artist. I don’t believe in the starving artist narrative – I feel just as passionate about helping and encouraging other artists as I do about creating my art itself. And even with that 10 year timeline of me selling my art and merchandise, I know that I am in the early stages of ARTXSUN’s story now that’s I’m finally going full-time and I am so extremely excited about the big plans I have for ARTXSUN coming up.

The creative journey isn’t easy and entrepreneurship is filled with ups and downs. My biggest challenge in the past has been staying consistent with art when I had to travel almost every year for the past 6 years with my primary job, along with the long hours the construction industry has. Yet, I believe I’m about to be working harder now as a full-time artist than I ever had even in my engineering career! But when you have your “why” – why you show up everyday, why you create, why you feel the need to pursue your art so relentlessly – when you know and fully embrace your “why”, you are filled with such a tunnel-vision focus leading you towards your goals. The things we can create and accomplish when we are filled with purpose and passion are unbelievable. So follow along on my ARTXSUN journey as I pursue what sets my soul ablaze. I’m just getting started!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My husband and I live in Buckhead and some of our favorite spots include Iberian Pig, Gypsy Kitchen, and Saints and Council where we had our first date! (You see we’re big foodies). And whenever my friends are in town, there’s always a festival or concert we’re attending like ONE Musicfest, ATL Food & Wine Festival, or even ATL Friends in Piedmont Park. We’re still always exploring and checking out new places and trying new things. In the past, I’ve always enjoyed attending and showcasing in art shows in Atlanta and I’m looking to get more connected with that scene soon!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
One of my biggest inspirations is the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. She discusses creativity in such a whimsical and magical way that truly captures how amazing the entire creative process is. Gilbert describes creativity and ideas as conscious entities seeking out people who are willing and open to collaborate with them to bring them to life. As silly as that may sound, she does it in a way that encourages the artist to always be receptive to ideas and to act on them quickly when they approach you because if you don’t bring your ideas to life, they will leave you in search for someone who will. So don’t overthink the process, don’t let perfectionism or your fears hold you back, and don’t let anyone tell you what your art should look like or what it should accomplish. Create for the sake of creation itself and don’t take your creative process too seriously. Gilbert tells us that art shouldn’t be pain and suffering – it should be this joyous, magical adventure that will only happen when you lean into it and surrender fully to your creativity. Big Magic is the most inspiring book I have ever read and it always centers me when I feel the fear of perfection, the fear of failure, or when I’m stuck in creative blocks and doubt my abilities. This book has changed my life and completely reshaped the way I think about my art and pursuing a creative life. If you are a creative person in any form, I encourage you to read this book!

“Fierce trust asks you to stand strong within this truth: You are worthy, dear one, regardless of the outcome. You will keep making your work, regardless of the outcome. You will keep sharing your work, regardless of the outcome. You were born to create, regardless of the outcome. You will never lose trust in the creative process, even when you don’t understand the outcome.” – Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

Website: artxsun.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ARTXSUN/

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ARTXSUN

Other: Tiktok: http://www.tiktok.com/@_artxsun

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta 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.