Meet Karen Chang: Student Success Story

From Waiting to Die to Painting for a Living

Trading a tech career I hated for a life as a full-time artist . When I started the Milan Mastery Program in 2023, I was still working a full-time job in tech that paid well but that I hated. I had spent the last ten years working toward a PhD, following the practical route — the one I was supposed to like, the one I was supposed to think was successful. I didn’t have any other career paths modeled for me. There was the tough one in academia, or the boring one in the corporate world, and that was it. I had no hope. I felt like I was just waiting to die.

I knew I loved painting, but I had no examples of how to actually make a living from it, and I couldn’t see that it was even possible. I’d resigned myself to the idea that artists don’t make money, or that it was too late for me to go back to a four-year art school — so art could only ever be a side hobby while I made my money some other way. I’d never shown my work, let alone sold it. My skills were mediocre at best.

Fast forward three years. I’ve been a full-time professional artist for a year now. I finished the Mastery Program in September 2025, and I actually started showing and selling my work that April, before I even graduated.

In my first year:

• $55,000 earned from art alone
• Multiple awards won
• Two solo gallery exhibitions
• Gallery representation in Seattle
• A thriving artist community

I have full confidence and a real, realistic path forward. Now it’s just a matter of hard work and persistence — but I finally know the life I want is possible.

The Starting Point

I was burnt out. I’d been working a job I didn’t love for six years, and honestly, I was burnt out before that too, back in grad school — I just kept going because it was the expected path. It was the prestigious one, the one that made my parents proud. But six years in, I knew my body couldn’t take it much longer. My soul was dying, and I was deep in a depression.

I started painting after work as a way to avoid drinking, because painting was the only thing I knew I really loved doing. Time didn’t exist when I was painting. I’d start at 6 pm, exhausted from a full day of work, and come out of it at 11 pm completely refreshed and re-energized. That’s when I knew: life didn’t have to be such a drag, if only I could paint for a living.

So I started looking. I watched YouTube, I took classes online and through the community college to improve my skills. At that point, I was only painting in acrylics or watercolors for fun — photos I’d taken, pictures of my dog, still lifes of flowers I’d bought. The images were fine, but kind of boring. Just representational.

But I am a practical person with a real mortgage to pay. There was almost no information anywhere on actually making a living as an artist. It was a mysterious world, and I had no idea how to get into it.

And there was a second gap. Most of the skill-building classes don’t teach you to be creative. They teach you to paint what you see. There was almost nothing on developing your own voice as an artist.

Two things felt completely opaque to me:

• How to make a living as an artist
• How to develop a unique artistic voice

Both were essential. And I could only go so far on my own.

[ART EXAMPLE 1 — Before the Mastery Program, 2022]

The Turning Point

Then I kept seeing ads on YouTube for the Milan Mastery Program.

Honestly, it sounded too good to be true. I was very skeptical — it seemed really “market”-y and gimmicky and pushy, and I wasn’t sure if there was real substance behind it or if it was all just a sales tactic.

But the curriculum was exactly what I’d been looking for. It covered discovering your voice and the business side of being an artist. No other school I could find covered both of those things.

So I did the research. I started watching their YouTube videos and was blown away by how much value they gave away for free, and by the fact that they tackled things from a practical viewpoint, not just an artistic one.

There was genuinely no alternative to evaluate against for the kind of training I wanted — it was them or nothing.

“I had no idea how much I would actually get from this program. It is not just an art school. It teaches mindset, and belief, and the value of doing, and persistence, and working toward a vision.”

Growth as an artist and growth as a person came hand in hand. I’m finally on a path worth fighting for, and I never would have believed it was possible if it weren’t for this program.

The Process and the Journey

I struggled. That was part of the learning.

Before, I was doing easy work. Now I had to:

• Stretch beyond my comfort zone
• Learn new materials and methods
• Let go of perfection
• Embrace the mess
• Produce bad work

It was humbling, and there were many times I wanted to give up.

What Kept Me Going

1 - The Community

Posting my art — as scary as it was — became the first safe place I had to practice being seen. The support, vulnerability, and encouragement from other artists made it possible for me to eventually share my work with the world.

2 - Group Coaching (accessed through the Milan Art App after signing up for the Mastery Program)

The coaches helped me zoom out when I couldn’t see clearly. They reassured me that growth takes time and helped me recognize my voice even when I couldn’t.

3 - Mentorship - The Game Changer (accessed and purchased through the Mastery Program)

I waited too long to get a mentor — and that’s my only regret.

My mentor, Elmira Solo, helped me:

• Refine my artistic process
• Align my work with my personality
• Build a sustainable business model
• Improve my paintings at a deeper level

“Signing up for a mentor was one of the best decisions I’ve made for my art career. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.”

One painting she helped me refine went on to win a $4,000 Grand Prize.

[ART EXAMPLE 2 — 2 tries of the Monster portrait in Part 1, 2023: The Monster portrait really challenged my perfectionism, pushed me to “embrace the mess”. It was my first portrait ever and took me 3 tries and 2 weeks to finish, but because I didn’t give up, I was a stronger painter on the other side of it, which was evident in the works that followed. The Fat over Lean assignment was my first time being more loose and expressive.]

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The Results

Skills & Artistic Voice

I had never painted a portrait before the program. Now I’m known for painting faces. My work is emotional, colorful, and expressive. I have a recognizable voice and style.

Confidence & Identity

I’m no longer hiding. I’m more open, expressive, and confident — not just in art, but in life.

Achievements

• $55,000 in first year
• Paintings sold for up to $8,700
• Multiple awards
• Gallery representation in Seattle
• Two solo exhibitions
• Teaching workshops
• Running my own art business
• Booths at major art fairs

But the biggest win:

I’m living a life I’m not ashamed of.

[ART EXAMPLE 3 — "Awakening” - 2025, 24”x30 oil on canvas, the grand prize award winner of the Society of Professional Artists’ Fresh Edge contest]

What I’d Tell Someone in My Old Position

You have to go for it. You have to fight for the life you want.

Making a living from art is possible — people are doing it. And now there’s a structured path toward it.

If you’re not ready to make the leap yet, take one step every day. Build your skills. Prepare yourself.

And one specific piece of advice:

Get a mentor earlier than I did.

Take the Mastery Program as a gift to your future self. It will transform you as a person — because art is life, and this program understands that.

Connect with Karen

Website: www.karenchangart.com
Studio Letters: https://karen-chang-art.myklpages.com/l/Sa5c44
Instagram: @karenchangart