Bella McGoldrick and Tyler Rogers built a thriving art business by breaking every rule the traditional art world swears by.

As the duo behind Looks Pretty Good, Bella is a coloured pencil artist producing hyperrealistic works inspired by mementos from the places she's lived, and Ty, with a background in design and tech, keeps the wheels of their art business turning behind the scenes.

Ty's decision to join full-time only came about a few years ago, and since then the pair have doubled down harder than ever, stepping away from gallery representation to do it all themselves. Fiercely independent and headstrong, Bella and Ty are building a new way of working that challenges the traditional landscape of the art world.

In one of the most honest conversations we've had on Nitty Gritty, they laid it all on the table. From content strategy experiments and hard-won hypotheses about actually selling art, to the power imbalances and flat-out incompetence they encountered with galleries, and how that gave them the confidence that they could do a better job themselves. 

Dollar signs, hot takes, and niche references. This one's for every working artist trying to figure out if the traditional path is really the only one.

Find Bella on instagram here and the Looks Pretty Good studio here

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