Artist Academy Andrea Ehrhardt

 

This episode was done a bit differently with Ekaterina Sky taking over the interviewer position to ask me questions about podcasting. She is starting a podcast of her own, so this is mostly an episode where you get to be a fly on the wall to hear how I started/grew/promoted this podcast in the early days and now. You’ll get a lot of surprise behind-the-scenes facts!

If you’re not interested in starting a podcast, but are interested in starting something on the side, I know you’ll find this conversation enlightening. I talk about what it takes to add a side job on top of full time muraling. It was A LOT to get used to, but I’ve fell into a groove nowadays that makes podcasting feel *easy.* However, the organization, processes, mindset, and consistent work habits that it took to get there were a journey.

It’s easy to look at something like a podcast, course, painting style, or something you know very little about and say: “That looks easy enough. I think I’ll try it!” Gotta love optimism. But the reality of exactly how many hoops there are to jump through to get something off the ground is what I bright to light in this episode. Take a listen!

www.MuralMoney.comwww.ArtistAcademy.co

This week’s episode of the Artist Academy Podcast shines a light on the negative side of owning your own art business. We often chat about how AMAZING working for yourself is, but nobody can argue that entrepreneurship comes with a heavy mental load at times.

The 3 things that led me to reeeally dislike my art business (and at times still do) are:

1. OverbookingI would schedule every weekday (and most weekends) back to back with projects to fit in as much work as possible! This led to an overly crammed schedule as soon as one project went over, or the weather didn’t cooperate, or a personal matter came up.

FIX: I only schedule 1 project per week nowadays even though I have half the week open. Why? Because life happens. Customers ask for more details, rain days cause the schedule to be flip-flopped, kids get sick, etc… But with a semi-open schedule, when life happens, it’s okay.

2. The “Should-To-Do” ListThere are endless amounts of things on my list of business improvement ideas.I should be posting more reels.I should be learning something new.I should be focusing more on YouTube.I should be adding things to my website.I should be making more/updated tutorials.

FIX: I finish the things I started before starting yet another new thing. I created a baseline of “things to get done this week” to feel productive, instead of focusing on the things I haven’t done or need to do.

Listen to today’s episode to hear the 3 things I make sure to get done every single week!

3. UncertaintyThere are so many ways to go about creating an art career. Which decision will make me the happiest, and most fulfilled, all while being the most profitable??Will I have work next week/month/quarter/year?How do I grow my business? What is the right next step?

FIX: Go on a walk to help my brain think more clearly. Get real with myself about what would make me happy and not contribute to a survival mode mentality. Listen to this week’s episode to hear exactly how I talk myself out of overwhelm and uncertainty!

www.MuralMoney.comwww.ArtistAcademy.co

This week’s episode is yet another addition to the Quit Your Day Job series, where I interview current members of the Artist Academy to discuss how they recently quit their day jobs to pursue art full-time.

Making that leap into full-time creativity after spending years working for someone else can be a rollercoaster of emotions, but Summer Paradiso is handling it with supreme optimism. Summer joined the Academy around a year and a half ago and started absorbing all of the art+business content to get a full understanding of what it would take to sell her art and promote her business to the point of supporting her family with a paintbrush.

With two toddlers at her side and a full-time teaching position to fill her day, Summer made some free time in the early morning hours to devote to commissions and growing her business. Listen as she shares what the journey has been like so far in terms of what she’s temporarily giving up in order to gain a new life with flexibility, more family time, and the ability to create meaningful art for her newfound customers.

Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Summer Paradiso.www.MuralMoney.comwww.ArtistAcademy.co

This week’s episode features professional calligrapher, author, and educator Margaret Shepherd.

Throughout her 55-year career, Margaret’s calligraphy is currently in the collection of the Smithsonian Museum, the Rare Books Department of the Boston Public Library, along with freelance work for multiple colleges and law firms. She has taught workshops and given live calligraphy demonstrations to artists across the world, stemming from Boston all the way to Uzbekistan. Margaret has written 20 calligraphy books in her lifelong career and has a lot of information behind what it takes to make a career out of lettering.

This interview is like talking with my grandmother about the stories of her early art career. Even though I have no interest in switching from murals to calligraphy, Margaret’s advice made a few light bulbs go off in my head of ways to incorporate lettering even more into niche painting. For example, she talks about lettering envelopes for weddings, which would be a great addition for wedding portrait painters to add as a package deal.

There’s so much value in talking with artists who have made a FULL career in the arts because they’ve seen it all. I’d like to have a cup of tea with Margaret one day to chat more about some of the ways she’s made a name for herself in her niche, written so many books, and overall has had a very fulfilling career with calligraphy.

Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Margaret Shepherd.

Margaret's website: https://margaretshepherd.comMargaret's new book: Learn American Calligraphy

We are ending our two-month-long mural podcast theme by saving two of the best for last. Christian Stanley is the artist behind CStanleyCreative, and his wife, Jessica Stanley, is the marketing mind behind it all.

In this interview, we chat about the specific roles both Christian and Jessica take on to grow their mural business. From getting a jumpstart in 2021 to now, just a few years later, they are able to set a $20k minimum on most jobs. If you take a peek at their social media, I think you’ll see why that’s possible. It’s not about their follower numbers but rather the quality of their craft.

Christian’s murals are eye-catching, to say the least. This interview inspires me to do things a little bit differently, perhaps by applying for more artist calls rather than just waiting for customers to come to me. Jessica shares the process she uses to apply for and land spots at mural festivals and contracts for big projects all over the States, and even some abroad.

Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Christian and Jessica Stanley.www.MuralMoney.comwww.ArtistAcademy.co

I’m declaring this week Up-and-Coming Young Artist Week. I sat down with a couple of relatively young muralists recently who have a lot of spirit, and I think you’ll enjoy hearing their stories. This episode features 17-year-old Maddie Deiters. Despite being only 17, Maddie has painted thousands of square feet of murals in multiple states. She’s a go-getter! What I took from this is that there is no minimum age to start painting and making art into a profitable career. Maddie applied and was accepted into her first mural job at 13. This chat made me think of how much supportive family and friends play a part in those early years of creating. External influences either push you into or out of the art world. This is a very real look into what can happen when we support our children’s interests early on. Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Maddie Deiters.www.MuralMoney.comwww.ArtistAcademy.co