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Andrea Kaiser rises in popularity on TikTok through art

Andrea+says+this+is+her+favorite+art+piece.+Her+art+style+is+unique+and+abstract.+Andrea+often+does+not+make+self+portraits%2C+yet+her+skills+prove+she+is+able+to+create+any+piece+of+art+beautifully.+
Photo submitted by Andrea Kaiser
Andrea says this is her favorite art piece. Her art style is unique and abstract. Andrea often does not make self portraits, yet her skills prove she is able to create any piece of art beautifully.

As she presses the publish button, senior Andrea Kaiser smiles and relaxes. A new TikTok video will help boost her following and her rising art business. Although her new video is only half a minute, her heart and soul went into the creation of the video, and even more of her went into her art. Andrea is on a rise towards fame. 

The beginning of Andrea’s art

Andrea’s business started off of one encounter with another person. This encounter was so meaningful that it led her to gaining over 190 thousand followers on TikTok and a strong passion towards creating meaningful pieces of art. 

“In tenth grade I had one of my paintings hanging up in the school hallway. A teacher liked it so much she bought it from me. For some reason, that sparked confidence and motivation for me to sell art,” Andrea said.

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Usually, art for the first time starts out with crayons and lined paper. In kindergarten, Andrea’s parents noticed her doodling all over her homework. First it’d be an eye, then an ear, next, she started drawing detailed faces and heads. Her art started to progress over the years until she became a very talented artist.

“I really didn’t start noticing Andrea painting until around eighth or ninth grade. Since then, her passion for art has significantly increased,” Andrea’s father Charlie Kaiser said. 

After becoming interested in art, Andrea sought out ways to sell her art locally. Smith and Trade Mercantile in Downtown Stillwater hosted her art and showed it to potential buyers and other artists.

“I had my paintings in a store Downtown Stillwater that tenth grade summer. It honestly didn’t do well. I only sold around eight paintings. By the end of that summer, I left the store,” Andrea said. 

Both Andrea’s mother and father said she was reserved as a child. Yet now, her TikToks are shown to thousands of people every day.

“Andrea was very shy when she was little, even if it’s hard to believe now,” Andrea’s mother Robin Kaiser said.

As a child, Andrea was shy and kind hearted. She is definitely still as kind as she is today, however, she has thrown out her shy habits and embraces herself through her art. It took a few years for her to show her passions, but when she did, she started gaining traction towards being an outgoing and popular girl.

“Andrea was polite, shy, and a great kid who loved playing outside. I never would have thought that she would have sold art in stores or have an Etsy account selling things or having 192 thousand followers on TikTok!” Charlie said.

An inspiration: Bob Ross

“Andrea was definitely influenced by Bob Ross,” Robin said.

Bob Ross was an American painter, art instructor and television host. He was the creator and host of The Joy of Painting. In each episode, Ross taught techniques for landscape oil painting, and in every episode, he completed a painting.

“From what I can tell, I think watching Bob Ross videos is what really influenced her passion for art,” Charlie said.

Although Ross was the main inspiration for Andrea’s art style, her art now takes on some of her own interests. Now, she incorporates the style of Ross with her own style and ideas. 

“When I first started painting, I got almost all my inspiration from Bob Ross. Now, I get all my ideas from memes or weird thoughts I have late at night,” Andrea said.

Accelerating her career through TikTok

After leaving the store, Andrea took on as a freelancer. She painted beautiful landscapes and portraits for her own enjoyment. However, her passion surged inside. She wanted to show the world what she was capable of, and eventually, she managed to get her name out through TikTok.

“It wasn’t until my TikTok gained followers when I started to sell art again. People were actually asking me to sell my art. I started an Etsy account around May of this year. I advertise everything I sell by making videos on TikTok. I use photoshop and my friend’s scanner to make prints and stickers of my art. I’ve also made birdhouses and painted hearts that sold out in a day,” Andrea said.

Andrea isn’t only inspired by Ross. Her family also plays a big role in her motivation to pursue art.

“It’s kind of cliche but my family is my biggest supporter, especially my brother. My dad runs his own business, too, so he helped me a lot when I got mine going,” Andrea said. “We love spit-balling new product ideas with each other. He also made a TikTok just to watch my videos – and stalks my account frequently.”

It’s kind of cliche but my family is my biggest supporter

— Andrea Kaiser

Andreas’ dad made a TikTok account just to watch her videos. Her dad is one of her biggest supporters – along with her mother and brother – and makes that known by liking every video and staying up to date with her recent posts.

“I have seen every video of Andreas. Andreas’ videos are funny, good spirited, and always positive. Andrea is very good at marketing herself,” Charlie said.

Charlie added he could not have been more proud of Andrea and her videos.

Andreas mom also says positive things about her videos. Both of her parents support her TikTok.

“I have watched a couple of her videos and they are very witty. She seems to always be entertaining and original,” Robin said.

TikTok videos can range from a few seconds to a minute. These videos are short, yet a lot of effort is put into them to make these videos good. Andrea takes a long period of time to film, voiceover and put everything into her videos.

“I love making TikToks, especially editing them. Sometimes it can get stressful if i don’t have any new ideas. Sometimes I get down on myself if I don’t have a popular video in a long period of time. I start to over analyze my videos and my paintings. But I’m working on that,” Andrea explained. “I film all my videos on my phone. Sometimes a video will take me hours or even days to film. My video where I painted 20 birdhouses took me a week to film. I then edit them in the app Videoshop where I do my weird signature voiceovers.”

Andrea’s TikTok isn’t solely for selling art. She created a strong community of followers who support her art and her silly videos. Her community is inspired by her and loves her for who she is. 

“When my videos started to get popular it almost felt like an addiction. I would literally check my phone every 10 minutes to see if I got any more comments or followers. I had some negative comments saying things like ‘girls aren’t funny’ but honestly, they just make me laugh. Most of the comments are positive though. Honestly I’ve cried happy tears reading some comments. People say I’ve inspired them to paint or that my video made their day, it’s so surreal to me,” Andrea said.

Andrea’s art in the future

Andrea has two plans for her future. The first is to go to the University of Wisconsin River Falls and the next is to focus on her TikTok and Etsy and create as strong of a business as possible. 

“Next year I am going to the University of Wisconsin River Falls. However, the last thing I want is a boring degree with a boring job at the end of it. If I had it my way, I’d want to sell art and make stupid videos on the internet for a living. If my account continues to grow, that could be the case. Honestly, the second I have the chance to make art my job, I’m going to go for it. Even if that means dropping out of college,” Andrea said.

“My business is something I want to always be working on. It would be amazing if it became a full time job, but if not, it’s something I’d like to do on the side. I have a lot of big ideas, like making my own oil paints or making a coloring book. However, I think the only way for my business to grow big enough for me to do bigger ideas is if my TikTok grew. Hands down, all of my customers are from TikTok. Without them, my business would be nothing,” Andrea said.

Selling art is hard. Very few people are successful in the art business, this is why Andrea is pursuing college while not forgetting her passion for art. However, she is so passionate and is gaining popularity so quickly that she is capable of being a successful painter.

“I think she would rather skip college and travel the country and sell her art,” Robin said.

“The possibilities for Andreas’ future are endless due to all of her different interests. She is hard working, dedicated, and not afraid to take risks which are all good traits to be successful,” Charlie said about his daughter.

This story was originally published on The Pony Express on November 28, 2020.