Coaching is easy when you have great clients like Maria Scrivan. My job is to listen closely, ask questions and challenge my clients. My favorite clients are the ones who say ‘yes’ to the challenges. They are quickly rewarded.

One of Maria’s challenges, being the multi-talented woman she is, was determining how she wanted to represent herself. She’s been a successful web designer for 15 years and is ready to ‘come out’ as an artist in her own right. As she puts it, “It’s a deserving thing.” I remember how long it took me to stake my claim at networking events during my egg decorating days. “I am an artist.” The only one who needed convincing was me.

One look at Maria’s work substantiates her claim as an illustrator, which is ultimately how she defines herself. That meant peeling away the layers of photographer, fine arts painter and web designer–all of which are true, too. Once Maria let go of having to be ALL of those things she said, “I feel liberated.”

Maria recently sent me an illustration she created prior to Valentine’s Day. It touched me so deeply–the sensitive combination of 21st Century technology and the ancient need for love and connection. Not only is Maria a gifted illustrator, her work gets to your heart.