My life right now

I wrote the following on the 6th of July -  

Without sounding like a clickbait TikToker... this statement really has changed the way I live my life... imagine you couldn’t fail. What would you do? If you knew every shop you approached would say yes, every customer would buy your products, every gallery would say yes, every company would say yes to a collaboration?

The answer is easy, you would approach that shop, call that gallery with great confidence, get that collab and make those sales!

And it is exactly that delusional confidence that you need in life to succeed. It’s easier said than done but it is possible, you just need to reframe the way you see those challenges. (I’m going to have to do a whole post on this mantra because it really is very powerful!) "

And nearly one month later I find it very difficult to believe this statement because I'll be honest I haven't seen a monetary return in my fra.painted life which is becoming very difficult to deal with. I left an OK paying job to live a simpler life but I think that I am realising that I actually want a bit more than the simple life. So how do I get there?

I won't lie the past few weeks have not been easy for me. I'm not sure exactly why but I currently am going through a bit of an existential crisis. It's been nearly a year now that I left my old life and came to Italy and the negativity cloud is trying to take control! I'm trying to fight it but it's like a stubborn cold that won't go away. I have to remind myself every now and then on how I make it through these hard times, I'm not through it yet, but here's what's getting me through the days, I'll share just a few 5 to dos when the self belief bubble is about to burst.

1. First of all - define your emotion, you might know you are feeling down but you need to dive deeper, are you sad, angry, disappointed, overwhelmed? Google "emotional wheel" - that will help you define your emotion by first identifying the core emotion and then going into more detail on your specific issue. 
2. Remind yourself why you made this change in the first place. - this will centre you. For example, I wanted to be doing more creative things and enjoy my day to day work.
3. Make a list of all your achievements - sometimes you need to write these things down to see how well you have done.
4. This sounds silly, but draw a few balloons — max 10 — and write your fears and worries inside each one, just 4-5 words. Then, next to each one, write down why it's not actually as scary as it feels. For me, one fear is 'what if no one likes my art' — the answer is, that's not true — people have bought your products, and shops and galleries have asked to exhibit your work. Or it could be a health worry — 'what if I get unwell' → 'you manage it, go to the Dr, take care of yourself, you will be fine.' Then visually imagine letting go of all those balloons and releasing the worries out of your world.
5. Speak to a friend, and have an honest conversation with someone you trust — this helps a lot. Sometimes, being away from home, it feels like you have to prove yourself to the people you left behind, like you need everything to seem perfect. But if it's not, and you say it is anyway, you're not just lying to your friend — you're lying to yourself too.

So these are my 5 steps to finding your way back to positivity. It's not easy and certainly not instant, but I hope it helps you if you feel like I'm feeling. I hope it encourages you to be true to yourself because being honest with yourself is actually the most important thing to get your confidence back. 

How I manage to actually make some money out of this, is still something I need to figure out but I feel like stabilising my emotions is an important step to get there. 

If you have read this far, you are a true friend and fan - I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

xoxo Fra.painted :)

Once upon a time, there was a girl from London called Francesca. 

Francesca did not like her job, so much so that she decided to go far, far away on a little trip around South America.

She met people from all over the world, explored the Amazon rainforest, sambaed in the streets of Rio, hiked across the Andes, swam in the highest lakes, and stargazed in the most epic of deserts. She had the time of her life.

 But that time had to come to an end so, with glitter still in her hair from Carnival, she went back to London, to return that same job.

As you can imagine, it didn’t take long for her to decide that she did not want to be back in that office. Not one little bit.

She didn’t want to return to that repetitive routine. She wanted to feel free, be creative, live in nature, hear the birds chirping in the morning, and stargaze at night again. So, what did she do? She packed her bags and moved to a tiny little village in Tuscany.

That girl called Francesca is me…

Biting the Bullet

A year ago, I quit my job with nothing but a dream to finally use my creativity in a career and a desire to improve my lifestyle. It has been, and still is very difficult but, there is never a moment where I question my choice. I won’t lie, there are certainly moments where I think, “what on earth am I doing with my life right now?”. But I had that before anyways! So at least now I’m questioning my life much closer to getting to where I want to be. 

Looking back, I stayed at my company for five years too long. I spent seven years in a corporate marketing agency, and to be honest, I never quite fit into any role I had - constantly hoping the next role would feel more creative and more fulfilling. While I met some wonderful people along the way—including a boss and colleague I genuinely loved working with—the work itself never felt like me. I kept waiting for the perfect moment to leave, but that moment never arrived. I finally realised I just had to bite the bullet and prioritise my own happiness. Otherwise, I’d blink and suddenly another five years would pass.

Today instead of waking up to my 7am alarm and searching if there will be a tube strike and whether I need to take a brolly to work, my mornings are opening my green shutters to see beautiful mountains and hear bird song. Instead of having lunch under fluorescent lights, lunch might be eating tuscan prosciutto in the garden, with salad dressed with oil made by the local farmer who made it from their own olives. 

Where the Journey Led Me

I no longer have to fixate over what wording to use for the meeting minutes, I obsess over which paintbrush to use and what my next subject will be; spoilt for choice - will it be the sunrise, the rolling hills, or the lemon trees?

Leaving that world meant I could build fra.painted and I’m so happy to have stopped managing sandwich brands and feel so glad and lucky that I get to spend my days painting, creating unique pieces and be inspired by the nature around me and the memories of my travels around the world. Every painting is a reminder of the freedom I spent so long wishing I could have and for the first time my work feels like an extension of who I am.

Want to see what life looks like on the other side of the corporate world?

• 🌍 Visit my Shop to see the creative projects born from this bold decision.
• 📸 Follow me on Instagram to see the happiness I paint.
• 🎨 View my Portfolio to explore my full body of work and artistic evolution.

xoxo Fra.painted

Hey, thanks for coming to this page! I’ll be honest I’m feeling quite vulnerable, nervous and excited about all of this but here I go…I suppose I should start with introducing myself. 

So who am I? 

My name is Francesca Lawrence, I’m half Italian half Caribbean and I am artist, I was born in London but now live in a tiny village in the Tuscan mountains. I want to make people feel happy with my art and also inspire people to follow their passion. 

11 months ago I quit my corporate job to search for a better life and career. Since then I have painted over 50 paintings, sold over 40 prints and got my products selling in 3 stores; internationally! - In London, Florence, Pistoia, since this morning now have a website and will soon be launching a campaign that I genuinely believe is going to change the way people perceive art. 

I have learnt you need a delusional confidence that doesn’t let anyone’s opinions get to you, cause often that is just their own insecurity and lack of self belief.  

In these posts I want to talk about the experience of an artist, everything from the day to day feelings you experience, the practical obstacles, and the log the successes and milestones that I know will happen (thanks to my delusional confidence!) 

xoxo Fra.painted