Bekky Beukes had a plan for completing her mural in a week.

Beukes works three 10-hour days each week designing marketing materials for a nearby community college.

She lives just a few blocks from a rented garage that serves as her studio.

An artists poses for a portrait in front of her paintings.

Beukes paints her mural during the SHINE Festival in St. Petersburg, Fla., on October 6, 2018. Chris Zuppa/The Penny Hoarder

It has electricity, but no running water or bathroom.

There,she paints, using oils on large canvases to represent the opposing pulls of light and dark.

Her dual creative roles are just one example of what it takes to make it as a working artist.

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In the process, we learned what it takes to create a mural from scratch on a tight deadline.

Beukes, 34, started painting when she moved to the Tampa Bay area from South Africa in 2014.

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But doing so takes a balance that requires early mornings and late nights.

She knew it would rain.

She planned for rain.

She didnt plan for the possibility of a hurricane.

There was no shade on the side of this warehouse that sat within sight of three other mural projects.

Rounsavall, 43, had only about 8 feet of clearance between his work surface and a busy intersection.

Did you know?

A lot of his work is corporate art, perhaps for a new restaurant.

He recently sold a piece to be displayed at the Kentucky International Convention Center.

For a few years, hes been selling fine-art prints of select pieces that have already sold.

Crunch Time, All the Time

Beukes has been exhausted for months.

She delivered two big projects at her design job this year.

She also had two solo art shows, which she planned herself down to the last detail.

One of those work projects overlapped with preparations for one of the art shows, adding to the stress.

I just feel like Im under pressure all the time, she said.

Obviously, because Im delivering.

I get it done.

I dont have space for normal human things, you know?

Like, my relationships are affected.

I dont have social…

I have everything allocated.

The studio can be lonely, with only the paint and maybe some music for company.

But at the mural site, it became obvious how full Beukes life is.

Theres no space for panic, she said a few weeks prior to the festival.

But a few days in, it was a matter of getting the colors right on the wall.

When it dried, she started that part over again.

Its crunch time, she said.

I did 12 hours yesterday.

Riding the Self-Employment Wave

This was Rounsavalls first mural project with time constraints.

It forces you to change the process, he said.

Shes been a freelance artist for five years.

The stability of Gibbs teaching job made it feasible for her to build up her business, Sara said.

Now its his turn to take a career leap.

Thetwo sole proprietorsconsidered forming an LLC, then tried COBRA insurance when Gibbs left his job.

But the first COBRA bill made Sara scream.

She described their family as aggressive savers.

As a self-employed person, she was used to receivingirregular paymentsinstead of predictable paychecks.

We talked about, How much [does Gibbs] need to contribute?

in a 12-month breakdown, she said.

Well, maybe one painting could float his contribution for three months.

Or you sell X paintings per year.

Or you do X murals per year.

You learn to ride the wave of this work style, she said.

The phones going to ring or its not going to ring.

And if its not ringing, I know how to hustle.

The Instagram Effect

Beukes first painting measured 5 feet square and sold for $5,000.

I didnt feel anything about putting big prices on the work after that, she said.

Starting with high price tags has allowed her to maintain those rates, she explained.

Its very difficult to sell art, she said.

But theres a way to do it, and you have to believe in the work.

She hasnt sold an original piece for less than $750.

The respect flows two ways, Beukes said.

Its an honor to be a part of something like this.

And then theres Instagram.

The whole world can come into my studio, Rounsavall said of the power of social media.

Social media, he said, Has changed my whole career.

Her day job gives her stability; her art rounds out her creative fulfillment.

Yes, I want to do a million things.

Her oversized sunglasses with mirrored, rose-colored lenses hid how tired she was.

She admitted that about two hours of sleep in the early morning hours was all she was getting.

But it was easy to see her mural site was where she wanted to be.

Because thats how I measure whether or not Ive done my best, she said.

Were covered in paint, were done.

Always the Hustle

Rounsavall is the broker, the negotiator, the shipping specialist.

You have to be everything, he said.

A lot of people dont understand all that goes into [creating art].

But theres more to it than sitting down in front of a canvas and waiting for a muse.

Am I making what I put into it?

Rounsavall asked the wall as he paused before painting another stroke.

I would love to get to that point, but I dont know.

All that behind-the-scenes stuff, it just adds up.

Without a salary to rely on, he has to be able to count on his craft.

Theres always going to be the hustle, he said.

But when its something like this that Ive been working on my whole life, you like the hustle.

Youre all in for it.

Its a ton of good news, he beamed.

Im going to take that momentum home with me.

Lisa Rowan is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.

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