says. “In fact it failed; basically for economic reasons. Anyone who wants to pursue a creative project has to be prepared for the financial stress. You can go forward and risk losing things along way or give it up to make sure the bills are paid. I decided to keep going. When I ignored my passion I was unhappy, life was grey. When I paint I am happy.” Paquette has since remarried and is thrilled with his new life. “Now that time of my life has passed and I am more stable. Not only can I be creative, I can go to schools and communities and share with people the reality that if they believe in themselves and they take the time to learn whatever they need to learn; anything is possible.” Paquette also credits the Internet for some of his success. He started blogging in 2004 and before that he had a website where he would post items about his paintings and what he was working on. It was an informal online resume of what he did as an artist. Today he has a Facebook page and a Twitter account. “It is one thing to go out and speak to people face to face, which I do, but you can only reach a limited amount of people,” he says. “Because of online interests I have
people from all over the world buying my paintings. I now have clients in Europe, Australia, Asia, North America, South America. I’ve even had a few hits from Antarctica, but no sales yet.” Asked about the biggest change in his life Paquette says, “Being an established artist now gives me the ability to have a roof over my head, a nice car to drive, and a vacation once a year. Most importantly I can now afford the supplies I need to create my work. Every artist wants to try new mediums and techniques. Now that I am established it is just a dream to do this without worrying and rationing out paint like I used to.” You can view Aaron Paquette’s artwork at www.aaronpaquette.deviantart.com or on Facebook. Photos contributed NATIVE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MAGAZINE • DECEMBER 2010 31