Meet The Artist

My love for art stretches back to my youth. Most kids played sports, but I typically spent my weekends playing with my sisters and creating something new with paper and crayons.

Art was always my favorite class, so there was no question it would be my elective of choice in middle school. It was there that my Art Teacher pulled my mom aside and said that she saw something in me and recommended I take AP art classes in high school.

I loved art before, but I really found my happy place in high school. I won two gold medals for “Best in Show” for my artwork submissions of horses at The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

I graduated and left for UNT to pursue a degree in Design, but quickly saw that art was going more digital, which was not in alignment with what I wanted to create.

So, I changed direction and got a degree in Fashion Merchandising, which prepared me for an almost decade long career in Product Development and Brand Management for well recognized Retailers. This experience gave me the business know how to eventually launch Life To Art Portaits, several years later, after taking time off to start a family.

Now that my kids are getting older, I’ve rediscovered this part of myself and I’ve truly enjoyed bringing your family and pets to life on paper. I look forward to each new opportunity to create something special for my clients.

– Gia Findley

The Birth of Life To Art Portraits

My oldest son came home from school one day in January 2018 and told me that he worked on self portraits in art class, and he asked me if I could draw him.

He never saw the kind of artwork I did “back in the day” so he didn’t know what was about to happen, but I agreed, knowing I couldn’t just accept this challenge and produce a measly stick figure, because I’m that “all in or not at all” personality type.

So, I sat down and sketched out his 7 year old face with a standard number 2 pencil and a piece of computer paper in about an hour and a half, after more than a decade hiatus. It wasn’t my best piece of artwork ever, but it reignited the inner fire. And, so, this new journey began.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank David, for coming home that day and asking me to draw his portrait. That simple request made a huge impact on my future, and I will always remember it as the moment that led me here.

I would like to thank my husband, Jimmy, for supporting me and our family so that I could take the time I needed to pursue this dream of mine. It wouldn’t be possible without you.

I would like to thank my parents for encouraging and supporting me in reaching every artistic milestone I aimed for as a child and young adult. I wouldn’t be here today without that foundation.

I would like to thank my sisters for being the creative geniuses they are...always inspiring me with new ideas and cheering me on in my journey. In particular, I have to give a huge shoutout to Ashley, who took all the content I threw at her, and whipped this website up for me in record time! And it looks amazing!

I would like to thank Kiera Laike, first, for returning me to good health after a long period of time enduring a painful, chronic illness. I surely would not be here today, because I would be too sad, lost and miserable to undertake this endeavor. But also, for all the time and effort she put into The 13 Stages and teaching me Sensology Practice. The ways in which both have transformed my daily experience of life (and the process of creating beautiful pieces of artwork) are countless. Thank you for your unwavering support in all that I do.

Lastly, I would like to thank all of my friends and family who believed in me and supported me in my creative journey in one way or another. Whether it was a “like” or “comment“ or you asked me to draw something for you, your love and support motivated me to make Life To Art Portraits a reality.