Alissa Silvers, 30

Alissa Silvers is not feeding what she considers the myth of the starving artist.

That’s been a personal mission for most of her working life, going back to when she created post cards as a young girl, growing up in Munchwilen, Switzerland, northeast of Zurich. Her first, and best customer was her dad, Heinrich Grub. He was what Silvers calls a “suit-and-tie” businessman, who taught his daughter a lot about business. “I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset,” says Silvers, who adds one of her first paid chores was ironing her dad's pants and shirts. “I always tried to make money selling things I made growing up. I wanted to build something that keeps on growing.” 

Photo by Mark Wemple

Silvers seized on that mindset when she moved to the States in 2017, in her mid-20s. She launched her own art and graphic design firm, Liss Design. Her work has since been featured in public and private collections worldwide. Her work ranges from 10-foot pieces to live painting performances at philanthropic events to multiple murals in and around Sarasota. Her murals have been featured at the Art Center Sarasota, the Art Ovation Hotel in Sarasota, The Lighthouse and more, and her work has been showcased in galleries in Tampa, Longboat Key, jewelry stores and private homes. 

One theme throughout her career? To find a market for her work. “I don’t want to be a starving artist,” she says. “I want to show people that you can be creative and make art and also make money.”

Silvers has done that by a combination of word of mouth, marketing and repeat business. The methods seem to be working: in late September she noted she had projects that would take her through at least January 2026. “This is the first time I’ve been booked out for so long,” says Silvers. “So that’s really exciting.”

Silvers credits her mentor, Manasota Score counselor Jon Stuart with much of her recent success. Silvers met Stuart in 2020 through Score but turns out his wife is a fellow artist. With knowledge of the art world and his business acumen, Silvers says Stuart has been “the missing puzzle piece” to her business.

One key piece of advice, says Silvers, has been to set specific price points and structures, and to stop working for free or overcommitting to clients because this work is also her passion. That includes being OK with setting a high price point, even though Silvers has learned some people will walk away without hiring her. Stuart has coached Silvers to recognize that not every potential client is a good client, and Silvers does things, beyond art, like her cleanup process, that not every competitor does. “And that’s how I differentiate myself as an artist,” she says.