I don't believe in making art for a market, I believe in making art from your soul and then finding the right audience for it. But sometimes we are lucky enough to make the art we want, then tweak it just a bit so we can broaden our audience. My guest today has found a way to do just that.

Ashley Lucas (aka Lady Lucas) is an artist whose work features smartly dressed animals and other sweet anthropomorphic characters. She has illustrated numerous children's books, coloring books, and other cute projects. By placing her characters in the local townscape Ashley has increased the appeal of her work to a specific audience that continues to grow.

In today's conversation, I talked with Ashley about how she came up with the idea to tap into people's love of a specific location and how she leverages it for her prints, products, and commissioned work.

We also discuss how she connected with a community even before moving there, how she juggles her life as an artist with that as a mother of a two-year-old, and which social media platform offers the greatest return for her work (it's not Instagram).

Even if you don't "do" cute or illustrations or location-specific art, you'll want to listen to ideas for connecting to new communities.

Highlights

• Ashley Lucas describes the inspiration behind her characters. (2:22)

• How COVID-19 and motherhood have affected Ashley's income streams. (6:22)

• Juggling a growing art business and a busy two-year-old. (9:18)

• The value that community connections bring to your art business. (13:18)

• Distinguishing between prints and commissioned pieces and how to price each. (19:01)

• Customizing standard city pieces without redrawing each one. (21:41)

• How Ashley connected with her new community before moving there. (25:25)

• How the pandemic has made a strong online presence more important than ever. (28:21)

• Marketing through TikTok and exploring current culture. (31:20)

• Curating email lists for artists and for promoting products. (34:13)

• Which social media platform generates the most work for Ashley? (35:25)

• Ashley's strategy for promoting her web stores. (37:14)

• The key to making your art appealing to buyers. (40:28)

• A look at Ashley's next project and the future of Lady Lucas. (43:00)

Mentioned

• Episode 21- Creating Opportunities for Your Art Career with Meg Black

• Lady Lucas

• Linzer Lane

• Ashley Lucas on Instagram

• Ashley Lucas on TikTok

• Willem de Kooning

Resources

• Photos and full show notes

• Art Career Success System

• Art Biz Success Community

• Art Biz Success Planning Sessions

• Intro and outro music by Wildermiss