Artist Academy Andrea Ehrhardt

This year’s theme is all about figuring out ways to work less while making more. A few of the ways I’m doing that are… 🥁

Pricing myself higher. 🤑
That sounds like a no-brainer, right? Make more = charge more. I feel like I’ve been meaning to do this for a long time, but those low-budget projects seem to sneak on my calendar. Not anymore!

Using higher quality paint and investing in tools to speed things up.
Listen to hear what my paint store bill was for just 1 project. 😅 But hey, one coat paint takes half the time as spending more hours on two coats!

Continuing to hire so I’m not doing 100% of the work all the time.
Shoutout to the many Artist Academy artists for coming to lend a hand on projects, and my virtual assistant, Ann, for making my life easier and more organized. 🙌🏻

Investing in courses. 🤓
Yep, I drink my own Kool-aid when it comes to buying information and learning from those who have done it before me in order to speed up the learning curve.

Letting go of my least profitable income sources… and doubling down on my most profitable ones.
Listen to today’s episode to hear what exactly those are. I think one might surprise you!

www.ArtistAcademy.co
Mural Supply List Link: https://www.artistacademy.co/artsupplylist

This week’s episode features Missouri based artist and sculptor Susan Sommer.

This was a big interview for me because I’ve been hoping to connect with Susan for years now! She’s a big time artist in my area. Like, not just big on Instagram like me, but big in real life with charging $50,000+ for her original paintings.

She has several popular murals in my city of Springfield and her well established name has earned her the opportunity to be a featured artist for sports events like the Kentucky Derby and the Olympics. I told you, she’s a big deal!

Listen to hear how Susan got her start as an artist with a lot of hard work and no professional training. You know I ask about pricing and tips on how to open doors of opportunity as a working artist. Listen to hear her unique answers and perspective on an evolving art/sculpture/mural industry.

Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Susan Sommer.




Andrea

www.ArtistAcademy.co

The first mural I ever painted was for free and took me an entire summer to complete. Obviously, procrastination played a part in that, alongside using the wrong brushes, cheap paint, and having no actual idea how to apply paint (large scale). I learned a lot with that first one.

Fast forward to today... This week I’m painting a large mural for the local college where I earned my painting degree. I’m charging $5,000 and it will take me a whopping 2 days in total to complete. There’s a little more than 10 years difference between that first project and this one.

I share this to hopefully put into perspective the idea that everyone starts from the bottom and sometimes the climb is slow but always worth it. I’ve learned a few painting tips in between there and now, but also how important it is to go after what you want in the form of pitching yourself for the job you want, instead of waiting for it to come to you.

This week's episode of the Artist Academy Podcast is a snippet from my book: Mural Money. I wrote it last year and if you like this podcast, I know you’ll very much enjoy the Audible version of my book too. I explain in great detail how I built my business, from that first mural until now, and how you can grow yours too.

Pitching myself to possible customers has played a big part in that journey, and in this chapter, I’ll share some of those pitching tips with you. Enjoy!

This week’s episode features Pennsylvania-based artist Andrea Fairservice.

What I liked most about my chat with Andrea was how relatable she is. Aside from having the same name, she reminds me a lot of myself with all the different art things she has going on.

She does commissions and prints, live streams on Twitch, has subscribers on her Patreon, sends out email blasts and all the art marketing things combine together to make up her own unique art business.

I ask her about all the things including which method drives the most sales and I think her answers might surprise you.

Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Andrea Fairservice.




www.ArtistAcademy.co

Pricing art is a hot topic and one that I believe truly has no right or wrong answer. However, this pricing strategy is one that has helped me book more commissions and often increase the budget of my customer’s projects, as opposed to getting ghosted.

The strategy involves giving your customer 2 options…. Meaning, give a price and design that you think would fit the customer’s needs while not breaking the bank. Then give a second price and design that goes above and beyond what they asked for.

It’s amazing to me how people will miraculously find more room in the budget for a design they LOVE.

At the same time, giving two examples helps to explain why certain projects cost what they do. Taking time, space, final details, and all things into consideration.

Listen to today’s episode on the Artist Academy Podcast to hear how I’m using this strategy within my art business (with exact budget quotes)!

www.ArtistAcademy.co

This week’s episode features Victor Ving of the Greetings Tour.

Ya know, the “Greetings from…” murals we’ve all seen in various cities around the United States. I even replicated a version of the idea to paint in my own hometown of Springfield, Missouri and have gotten several jobs simply from the recognition of it.

I am a huge advocate of finding out what works, making it your own, and putting in the effort to make murals happen. This is exactly what Victor and his wife did to get his project started.

If your city is lacking in the mural department and does not currently have a “Greetings from” mural, I highly encourage you to take the initiative and create one! Obviously, don’t copy Victor’s style and always reference where you got the idea in the first place to give credit to the founder, but for every small-town artist out there who is looking for an idea to get your name out there, this is it!

Listen to hear how Victor got his project started, the hoops he has to jump through to make it happen, and take notes to make a plan of your own.

Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Victor Ving of the Greetings Tour.


www.ArtistAcademy.co
greetingstour.com/bio