Artist Academy Andrea Ehrhardt

About once a week or more I’ll get an inquiry in my inbox that goes something like this:

“Hi! I’m a new artist trying to get my start in the art world and could really use some advice. Could you please let me know how you are able to make art your full-time career? How are customers finding you? If you have any tips for me I would greatly appreciate it!”

Not to be mean in any way, but I give a good chuckle at these messages every single time I receive one. As if I could give anyone a quality answer to that very loaded question in a simple email or direct message response.

There’s sooo much more to it than any one suggestion I could give. In fact, that’s why I started this podcast and wrote an entire book on the subject of getting started in the art world. Also, that book ended up being over 400 pages and a 15-hour audible because I couldn’t stop myself from including a variety of stories and strategies that worked for me in order to “make it” as a full-time artist. If you’re finding yourself asking any version of that question, or wanting to, then I highly encourage you to check out my book: www.MuralMoney.com

This episode is a chapter torn out of it that highlights how you can attract customers. For all of those artists out there who have already read the book, THANK YOU! It was published almost exactly 1 year ago, so I think listening to this one chapter again might help jumpstart your memory of my crazy long book. If I find something I like, I’ll revisit it a year or so later because more often than not, I’m in a completely different place in my business/life and can think about the subject in a new way. For all of you rereaders, I hope that’s the case for you.

For anyone just hearing about this for the first time, I want to encourage you to give yourself a holiday present by purchasing the Audible version. I recorded the entire 15-hour book myself with added highlights you won’t find in the paperback version. Plus, you can listen while you paint! It’s a win/win.

www.ArtistAcademy.co

This week’s episode features Washington-based muralist Glynn Rosenburg.

Glynn’s journey is yet another one of those artists made by the pandemic stories we love to hear when a good thing happens from an unlikely circumstance. She’s been growing her mural business since and already has a record $7,000 month under her belt!

I’m switching things up a bit with this one and interviewing an artist who is fairly new in her career because I think you will be able to relate to her journey a bit better than some of the 20-year veteran artists we’ve had in the past. Glynn is currently in the thick of it and shares what methods she’s using to gain new customers as a new artist.

Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Glynn Rosenburg.


www.ArtistAcademy.co

This week’s episode features traveling muralist Carmen MacLeod. Carmen joined the Artist Academy about a year or so ago after listening to the podcast for a while, and now has found herself in Vietnam on a workaway program creating murals in exchange for free housing and food.

She reminds me of myself 10 years ago. She’s doing the thing that most of us think would be fun to do but might not have the balls to do it. Or the thing that we all wished we did back when we were young and had nothing tying us down, right?

She’s living the solo female traveler life while building her art brand and gaining new experiences all at the same time. Carmen is another one of those people I like to follow out of curiosity about what they’ll do next and where they’ll end up next year. If you’re interested in signing up for Workaway, I have the link posted here in the notes.

In this episode, we’re going to talk about how she prepared to quit her day job, how she saved up for this adventure, and the experiences she’s been having thus far.

Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Carmen MacLeod.

Workaway Link: https://www.workaway.info
You can also listen to her podcast through this link: 👇 https://open.spotify.com/show/4HXOWmenji3nJDcAYEszZj?si=H8Citg5-RfqEa4gAcca83w&nd=1

www.ArtistAcademy.co

I just finished my last mural project of the year in preparation for maternity leave. Talk about waiting until the last minute. I’m taking time off to have a BABY… is this real life?!

My idea for painting while pregnant this year did not go as planned…

I thought I would hustle hard during the summer and then take the last few months off, assuming a time would come when I wouldn’t be able to physically paint murals anymore… But that is NOT what happened.

In the best way, my plans changed.

August came around (the start of my third trimester) aaaand I still felt fine. Same with September, October, and now November. Actually, I found that keeping my body moving and my mind busy was the best possible thing for me. I kept moving so much that I ended up earning a whopping $65k in my third trimester! And the cherry on top of that statement is that I did it without sacrificing my rest, social schedule, or mental peace. Basically, I didn’t work myself to burnout, or even close to it, like I’ve been known to do in years past.

In this episode of the Artist Academy Podcast I take a look back at how I earned $65k in 3 months by sharing where my customers came from, pricing strategies, etc..

I’ll also be sharing what I really felt like carrying a baby in my belly while muraling, how I did my best to avoid paint chemicals, made a schedule that worked around my physical limitations, and a few other common questions I’ve been getting this year.


www.ArtistAcademy.co.

This week’s episode features British Columbia-based artist and adventurer Jessa Gilbert.

Jessa creates these giant, stylized nature murals and sells her canvas originals and prints through local shops. Also, she’s a wilderness guide for part of the year. Talk about integrating your work life with your nature-adventure life. Jessa is the ideal example of someone who stays true to the specific art style she wants to create and builds an art career around her own niche.

You’ll hear us chat about Jessa’s first-ever giant mural experience and how intimidating it was. Fast forwarding to today, she’s an open book about how having multiple revenue streams keeps her business going no matter what season she’s in.

Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Jessa Gilbert.


www.ArtistAcademy.co

In this week’s episode, I’m celebrating finally hitting the big 100,000 follower mark on Instagram after a little over 5 years of effort creating 1,700 posts. The majority of those shared posts over the last couple of years were in the form of videos, more specifically Instagram Reels.

Reels are THE main way I have grown a following recently, so today I wanted to share my top video ideas plus editing tips in hopes of inspiring you to create and grow right along with me.

Get the downloadable guide with links to the video examples I explain in this episode here: https://www.artistacademy.co/video