Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophia Croasdale.
Hi Sophia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Art has been the center of my life for as long as I can remember. My earliest memory is from preschool; while the other kids would run off to the playground or the sandbox, I would stay in the classroom and paint alone. My aunt was also an artist, and I looked up to her so much at that age. We painted together constantly, and by the time I was in elementary school, we were taking on commissioned paintings together. I also began selling my work at local farmers markets when I was 8. I took private art classes all the way through high school, and when my school didn’t offer AP Art, I decided to complete the AP Art portfolio independently. I have always known that I would dedicate my life to art.
Pursuing my BFA from California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo completely transformed the way I approached my work. While my subject matter has changed dramatically over the years, the foundation of my work has remained the same: a fascination with color relationships, repetition and illusion. College gave me the space to refine those interests, and since graduating, I’ve continued to build a body of work centered around them.
Shortly after graduating, I moved to Austin, Texas and made the decision to pursue art full time. It was a scary leap to take at such a young age but I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Since being in Austin, I’ve built an incredible community and I’ve had the opportunity to work with several galleries, build a network of collectors, set and complete huge goals, and collaborate with so many inspiring people. The city has become a place where both my work and I have grown tremendously.
My style continues to evolve with every painting I create, but the core of my practice has remained consistent. My work is rooted in exploring color relationships and pattern, and each new piece is another opportunity to discover a different way those two elements can interact, create movement, and transform the way we experience the world around us.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No path is ever completely smooth. I’ve faced many obstacles, and I know there will be many more ahead. For me, as an artist, my life is extremely unpredictable. There are high highs, and low lows, but everything balances itself out as I move forward. I view everything as a learning experience. Every artist’s path is different, and no two careers play out the same way. I value the advice and support of mentors, fellow artists, and people around me, but I also know that there are lessons I can only learn through my own experiences. Each challenge makes me a better artist and a stronger person.
One of the biggest challenges I face has been doubt- not my own- but the doubt of others. Choosing an unconventional career is something that many people applaud and many people question. I’ve learned that I can’t let other people’s opinions determine the direction of my life. I trust myself, my work, and what I’m capable of achieving. Proving people wrong has never been the reason I create, but it has added fuel (in a healthy way) to my determination to keep showing up, keep improving, and never giving up.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a painter and muralist who specializes in colorful geometric abstract paintings centered around color relationships, illusion, and repetition.
I’m probably best known for my circles. I have painted thousands of freehand circles in both my paintings and murals and people definitely know when they come across one of these works. There’s something incredibly calming and meditative about the repetition of painting these and I hope that same feeling carries over to the viewer.
One of the things I’m most proud of is adding murals into my practice. I painted my first mural in September 2025, and since then I’ve completed many more, including some out of state projects. Murals have challenged me in entirely new ways. They’re physically demanding, technically difficult, and require an enormous amount of planning and time, but they’re also extremely rewarding. There’s something so special about creating work at a scale that people can experience every day.
What sets my work apart is the balance between precision and humanity. At first glance, my paintings are often mistaken for digital artwork when viewed on a screen. But when you see them in person they take on a completely different life. You begin to notice that every line, every circle, and every gradient has been painted entirely by hand. The edges aren’t perfectly uniform, the circles aren’t exactly perfect, and those subtle imperfections become an essential part of the work. I intentionally create compositions that require an incredible amount of patience and precision, but I never try to erase the evidence of the human hand. Those small variations bring movement and energy to the painting. They’re a reminder that every mark was made by a person, and I believe that’s what gives the work its life.
How do you think about luck?
I don’t really like attributing success or failure to luck. When I think about where I’ve gotten in my career, I think about hard work and showing up every single day. Of course timing matters and there are moments where being in the right place at the right time creates an opportunity, but I don’t think opportunity alone is what gets you where you want to go. You have to be prepared for it.
I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities that have been presented to me and for the people who have believed in me. Galleries have trusted me with my work, clients have commissioned me for paintings and murals, and so many people have supported my career from the very beginning. I don’t take any of that for granted. I’ve built a life that I genuinely love and I’m thankful every day that I get to wake up and make art for a living. I don’t see those opportunities as simply as luck. They’ve come from years of working, putting myself out there, and continuing even when things didn’t happen the first time. I believe that preparation and persistence create more opportunities over time.
I feel the same way about failure. I don’t blame setbacks on bad luck. Not everything is going to go the way I planned and that’s just part of life. When something doesn’t work out, I try to understand why. If I make a mistake, I learn from it. If I notice the same problem happening repeatedly, I see it as a sign that I need to change something, whether that’s my process, habits, or my approach to a situation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sophiacroasdale.com
- Instagram: sophiacroasdale
