Becoming an Artist can come about in many ways, for Ali, her artistry began to emerge as a teen when her mom suddenly passed away. Using art as an escape, she painted all over the walls and ceiling of her bedroom. Ali grew up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, she developed a foundation of painting skills working at a “paint your own pottery” studio, painting tiny details on mugs, bowls, and platters.
In 2010, Ali moved to Denali Park, Alaska after she gave college a try where she was earning a degree in Business Art. It turns out that her future had its own plan for her education with more of a “learn by doing” approach and it all began selling painted hats at Forest Fair in 2011. This hobby turned into a full time business which allows the flexibility, changes, and freedom this Artist needs to thrive.
Adventures are what brings her inspiration and why Alaska has held onto her heart for all of these years. When people ask what she does for a living, she still laughs because it seems so odd to say that painting hats is how she funds her daily life and her winter travels. You never know where she will be painting- it could be on her tailgate next to a lake, in her home while jamming to music, or somewhere out on her paddle board under the midnight sun. She has painted over 10,000 hats and continues to grow her skills, using every wearable canvas as practice for the next one, hoping that each hat owner finds a piece of themselves in her artwork.