Artist Academy Andrea Ehrhardt

This week’s episode features muralist Chera Brooker. After we got off the interview, Chera and I both agreed that we would likely hang out if we lived in close proximity to each other. She’s my kind of creative personality. You’re going to get a lot of good vibes from this interview, along with hearing us geek out over creating videos to promote our painting.

Chera shares her process for creating high-quality videos that get attention, which ultimately results in more jobs. When it comes to promoting yourself as a muralist, I feel like we often forget how much of an incredible leg up we have with being able to turn a blank wall into a colorful, eye-catching masterpiece. The work we do in painting is what does the marketing for us, all we have to do is capture it with a short-form video.

Chera shares some great hooks to begin your reels with, and so many other tips. I’ll let you hear it from her, but let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Chera Brooker.

This week for a special May Mural Month episode I decided to bring back an interview from 3 years ago with muralist Pamela Kellough. I remember this being one of my most favorite interviews from 2021. Pamela has such a warmth about her which made talking with her such a delight. 

She is almost 70 now and still muraling. If anyone has ever tried painting large scale for any amount of time, you’ll quickly realize what a physical workout it is. Between being on your feet to unloading gallons of paint and climbing on ladders or even up into a lift. It’s tough on the body, which makes me even more impressed that Pamela is doing it with a smile on her face. This lets me know that I’ll be doing it until I’m nearing 70 as well!

Pamela has a very old-school way of working. There’s no iPad for sketches or Facetiming to see the site. She has a sketchbook and does in-person site inspections. I’ll let her explain the benefits of those methods, but it just goes to show that you don’t need to be techy with the latest tech trends to complete projects in a timely manner. 

Also, wait until you hear how much Pamela makes vs how much she works. Talk about a motivator to start painting on a large scale. She’s such a boss babe and I’m honored to have had her on the podcast. 

The quality of the audio on this interview is not as good as the interviews I do nowadays, so please excuse and look past that onto the actual content. Pamela has so much advice to give with a lifelong mural career backing her. Let me know what you think of this week’s interview with Pamela Kellough. Mural Pricing Training: www.artistacademy.co/pricingguide Mural Supply List: www.artistacademy.co/supply Join us for a Mural Meetup: www.artistacademy.co/meetup 

This week’s episode features multi-passionate business owner and creator Gretchen Leggitt. This woman has my heart with her multifaceted pursuits in business. I really enjoy talking with muralists, but give me a muralist with a thriving side business on top of it and I can feel the excitement bubbling within my brain. 

You know how when you paint a mural with dimensions that are much, much longer than it is tall, how annoying it is to film or photograph vertically. Taking a horizontal image and making it look cute on reels, which is a very tall, thin way of creating video… it’s less than ideal. 

However, Gretchen had the idea of taking her horizontal mural and making a sticker out of it to wrap around reusable water bottles. 

That idea grew into a full-blown business with entirely new manufacturing, shipping, and marketing components to make up what is now Hydrascape Stickers. This business now gives Gretchen passive income and, in turn, extra time to spend having fun with her outdoor adventures and community-based artistic endeavors. Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Gretchen Leggitt. Mural Pricing Training: www.artistacademy.co/pricingguide Mural Supply List: www.artistacademy.co/supply Join us for a Mural Meetup: www.artistacademy.co/meetup 

This week for a special May Mural Month episode I decided to bring back an interview I did 5 years ago with a muralist I started out working under. Melvin Lovejoy and I met on the job site of Bass Pro Shops.

The very first memory that pops into my head when I think of Melvin is when we were working together at a store near Vancouver, British Columbia. A really big wall needed to be painted with an underwater scene, and he suggested I do it. I quickly shot the opportunity back at him, assuring him that I in fact did not need to paint that large of a wall and that he could tackle it easily. He tossed it right back at me, assuring me that I could in fact paint this wall myself. 

I remember the feeling of panic setting in as I prepped to start painting the largest wall I had yet to tackle. It took a couple of days to get going, and a couple of weeks to complete, but I more than surprised myself with being able to complete the large underwater scene on my own. My confidence grew exponentially with a big thanks to Melvin for the push. 

Melvin later mentored me on a variety of painting techniques. He shared with me what he was earning per hour while painting and suggested I ask for a raise in my contract. I learned so much just being on the job site around artists like Melvin who had been painting for years longer than I had. It was both extremely intimidating and a great learning experience that I feel so fortunate to have experienced. 

When I started this podcast series over 5 years ago, I started out with the intent to just tell artist’s stories. It turned into more of a business podcast with tips on pricing and hustling to get those first jobs, but back then it was more just a chat about art life and how artists made their way into this creative industry. I hope you’ll enjoy this journey back in time with Melvin and hear all about how he got his start as a muralist. Mural Pricing Training: www.artistacademy.co/pricingguide Mural Supply List: www.artistacademy.co/supplyJoin us for a Mural Meetup: www.artistacademy.co/meetup

This week’s episode features international street artist Peachzz (aka Megan Russell). You’ll hear Megan tell her story of how she got started with murals (using spray paint) with a theme of birds and wildlife. Her style evolved into also painting the human form, and fast forward to today with one that blends into both human and nature.

Megan got her start by applying to mural/street art festivals and shares with us her tips on how to put your best foot forward when sending in an application. She has a template that she uses and, in this interview, goes over it page by page to give you a better idea of what kind of effort is needed to land these high-competition jobs.

Megan inspires me to create more of what I want to create, as opposed to just leaning into commissioned work, and apply for bigger opportunities. I think every artist will get something from this interview, no matter if you’re a muralist or not. Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Peachzz (Megan Russell).Mural Pricing Training: www.artistacademy.co/pricingguideMural Supply List: www.artistacademy.co/supply Join us for a Mural Meetup: www.artistacademy.co/meetup 

This week for a special May Mural Month episode I decided to bring back an interview I did 5 years ago with a muralist I started out working under. Susan Watkins is an Alaskan artist who paints beautiful nature scenes. We met on the job site of Bass Pro Shops and the memory pops in my head first is one where Susan and I were sharing a small lift while painting waves on an extremely tall wall. She showed me what colors to use when painting water and how making X and Z shapes will quickly make those top watermarks that indicate movement.

I learned so much just being on the job site around artists like Susan who had been painting for years longer than I had. It was both extremely intimidating and a great learning experience that I feel so fortunate to have experienced.

When I started this podcast series over 5 years ago, I started out with the intent to just tell artist’s stories. It turned into more of a business podcast with tips on pricing and hustling to get those first jobs, but back then it was more just a chat about art life and how artists made their way into this creative industry. I hope you’ll enjoy this journey back into time with Susan and I to hear all about how she got her start as a muralist.

Mural Pricing Training: www.artistacademy.co/pricingguide

Mural Supply List: www.artistacademy.co/supply

Join us for a Mural Meetup: www.artistacademy.co/meetup