Artist Academy

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.com
Margaret'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.com
www.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.com
www.ArtistAcademy.co

I’m declaring this week "Up-and-Coming Young Artist Week." I recently sat down with a couple of relatively new muralists who have a lot of spirit, and I think you’ll enjoy hearing their stories.

This episode features 23-year-old muralist Ana Gabriele Honsowetz, aka Ana the Artist. She shares her journey into full-time creativity and the hoops she has to jump through to make muraling a profitable career. Hearing that this young artist is making five figures per mural kind of blew me away. We chat about her pricing strategies and where exactly Ana is getting jobs within her community.

One of the main takeaways is how her outgoing personality gives her a leg up when pitching ideas. She has this "I’ll just figure it out" attitude that has really served her well. It’s fun to see someone following their passion early in life, even if it’s not the easiest route. Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Ana the Artist.

www.MuralMoney.com
www.ArtistAcademy.co

This week’s episode is a coaching call with Artist Academy member Jessa Aber. She is one of the many artists I have met who are doing all the right things: sharing photos, making videos, pitching ideas, following up with potential customers, etc.

But even though her efforts are good, combined with working a full-time job, there’s little time to stretch past her current situation. Jessa lives in a very small town, surrounded by many tiny towns, which makes getting big, well-paid projects a very rare occasion, if at all. But not to worry, there are ways to make the most of your area and get those bigger projects by stepping out of your comfort zone. Listen to today’s episode to hear what I mean.

If you’d like to sign up for a 1-on-1 with me, you can do so within the ArtistAcademy.co. I offer these to members for a small fee at any time. Sometimes it helps to have someone experienced look at your business from the outside and tell you the exact next steps to take.

A mentor can see the future of your business more clearly than you can because they’ve already been where you are and have been through the hurdles to get to the other side. If you’re someone who could use some direction, I highly encourage you to seek out a mentor. Whether it’s me or someone who does the thing you want to do, it can make all the difference and get you to where you want to be faster.

Let me know what you think of this week’s sneak peek into a coaching call with Jessa Aber.

www.MuralMoney.com

This week’s episode of the Artist Academy Podcast features muralist Jolene Rose Russell. Jolene’s professionalism stood out to me when I first spoke with her, and in this interview, we dive into how that trait trickles into her mural business.

There’s such a fine line between being creative yet professional, a free-spirited artist yet someone who shows up on time and does what they say they’re going to do. Jolene shares her best practices for going through the mural process to ensure both the customer and her creativity are satisfied.

This chat is a look into the daily best business practices that make up the back end of the painting the public sees on the wall. Jolene backs up her advice with stories of lessons learned (the hard way). Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Jolene Rose Russell.

www.MuralMoney.com
www.ArtistAcademy.co

This week for a special May Mural Month episode I decided to bring back an interview I did 4 years ago with Mural Joe. You know how everybody has those *kinda famous* people they look up to in the industry? Mural Joe is one of those for me. His tutorial videos combined with his discipline to keep painting and making videos for so long in order to grow his business and better his skills at the same time… that combination is something I admire because it’s what I’m doing as well.

There’s a quote that says something like: “boredom is the death of an entrepreneur businesses.” Meaning, we tend to get bored and switch to something exciting which ultimately completely kills the idea we started in the first place and worked so hard to build. Discipline to keep learning, advancing, and even innovating the same idea is where the magic is. Look at any entrepreneur who has stuck it out in the same line of work for 10 years. They’re now sitting pretty because they kept with it. Kept marketing, growing, fixing, etc. until the product and pitch are both SOLID.

Mural Joe, at the time of this interview, had been making instructional videos for 10 years. Now it’s been 14 at the current date and if you check in with him he’s still doing the same thing, but better! Our businesses look slightly different from 4 years ago but, in general, it’s the same painting, learning, teaching, etc.

In this interview, we talk about Joe’s mural process and the lessons he’s learned along the way. One lesson in particular that I remember from this chat 4 years ago is how he plans out his paintings ahead of time. He paints it on canvas before painting it onsite. I’ll let him explain... Let me know what you think of this week’s episode with Mural Joe.

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 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