Carrie Waller

Watercolor Artist

Service Member's Branch - Air Force

Service Member's Status - Currently Serving - 24 years

What has been your military spouse career/entrepreneur journey so far?

My husband and I met in college, and were married during finals week of our senior year. We moved to Germany shortly after that for our first assignment. I quickly learned that on this military journey, I would have to reinvent myself every time we moved and create my own path. After not being able to put my college degree in interior design to use in our first overseas location, I began teaching art classes to all ages, from pre-K to adult. I continued to stay in a creative field for our first several years of marriage, between teaching art classes, painting murals, and faux finishes. After having children and during my husband's second deployment to the desert, I decided to start painting in watercolor professionally. I began entering professional exhibitions and contests. After establishing myself, I started teaching workshops for art organizations all over the world. I currently exhibit and teach in some amazing locations and online and am blessed to be a signature member of the most prestigious watercolor organizations and an ambassador for Daniel Smith Watercolors.

Tell us about yourself.

Hi, I'm Carrie Waller. I am a proud military spouse of 24 years, mom of two teenage boys and four fur babies, and a professional watercolor artist. We have spent almost half our military life overseas between Europe and Japan.

Tell us about a "typical" day in your professional life.

I'm not sure there is a "typical" day in my life. Some weeks I am out of town teaching workshops for watercolor societies all over the United States, other weeks I may be overseas lecturing, judging art shows, or demonstrating. Sometimes I am at home painting out of my studio or teaching Zoom classes. I also am the Awards Director for the National Watercolor Society and am responsible for raising funds for our International Open Exhibition and I am an ambassador for Daniel Smith Artist Materials and do online lives with them weekly.

If you've been stationed overseas, how did this affect your career and or business?

We started our military journey at Ramstein AFB in Germany. I had just graduated college and was not able to use my degree in interior design. It made me really pivot and learn to forge my own path. I vowed to always do something creative no matter where we lived and for 24 years, I have done just that. I have taught art classes and was in charge of the art program for Boys and Girls Club of America while we were in Germany. We spent almost a decade in Japan and I had really started to have a name in the watercolor world when we moved to Japan. I traveled back to the United States to teach during the summers and continued entering exhibitions. We were in Japan during COVID and this changed the world, everyone became Zoom proficient and I started teaching online workshops. I was busy teaching from 2am to 5am since most of my students were US based. Having the world pivot to a "Zoom" world really helped me in my career since I had been "geographically challenged" it enabled me to be in anyone's living room to teach.

What has been your biggest military spouse career struggle and how did you overcome it?

Having to change my entire career path immediately was my biggest struggle. Moving to an overseas location as soon as I graduated college and having to leave an architectural firm that had hired me was a shock to my system. It ended up teaching me that I would have to hit the ground running no matter where we were going to be stationed. I waste no time making new contacts and getting plugged into the art community. My career now can move anywhere that I move.

What role did mentors and sponsors play in your journey?

I met Sue Hoppin at my first assignment 24 years ago and I have watched her throughout the years make things happen and create her own world. I truly have looked up to her and when things get tough, I think to myself what would Sue do.

How does your career path differ from what you imagined for yourself?

My career is 100% not at all what I thought I would be doing. I spent so much of our military life not having anyone around who understood what I was doing and I didn't know any other military spouses with a career as a fine artist. I have done a tremendous amount of self-reflection and would get really down when people didn't take me seriously. I am finally at a point where I don't feel the need to explain myself any longer. I have a successful career and have made a name for myself in the art world. I am proud of what I have accomplished.

How did military life (PCSing, deployments, trainings, etc) factor into your career decisions?

The military is the reason I have the career I do. It has allowed me to live a dream I didn't know was my dream. It has 100% shaped who I am.

Final word: what are your top tips for other military spouses about navigating a career within the military lifestyle?

Roll with the punches. The more flexible you are, the easier life will be. I have been around all kinds of military spouse personalities and have learned that you can either make your life miserable or you can make your life a happy one; these are choices we make every day. I promise you that if you go in with a bad attitude, you will not enjoy your location or your career; it is all up to you and your mindset.

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