I wanted to talk with Tracey because every encounter I have ever had with her as a member of our Art Biz Connection community has been positive. She is funny, warm, and generous. And she knows how to live life to its fullest.
The post Thriving as an Artist While True to Your Rural Roots with Tracey Hewitt (192) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>What would your art business look like if you lived in a remote area?
The middle of nowhere. Farm country. Rural America.
Or any country for that matter.
Originally from a large metropolitan area, Tracey Hewitt married a rancher and, like Lisa Douglas in Green Acres, said goodbye to city life.
But she never said goodbye to her art.
I wanted to talk with Tracey because every encounter I have ever had with her as a member of our Art Biz Success community has been positive. She is funny, warm, and generous. And she knows how to live life to its fullest.
Tracey helps run the family cattle business in the Australian bush, which takes up a good hunk of her time. (I had to look up bush to make sure I was using it properly. We in the States would probably call it farmland or the middle of nowhere.)
Aside from her duties on the ranch, Tracey is and always has been an artist, though the label of “artist” wasn’t easy for her to adopt—a hurdle I have discovered many artists must overcome.
[ See How Do You Know When You’re an Artist? with James Holmes]
Today, through her teaching and life coaching practices, Tracey helps other artists get comfortable with their creativity and, if they like, with calling themselves artists. I hope you are inspired by her optimism.
Listen
In this episode of The Art Biz, I’m delighted to introduce you to a longtime, valued member of our artist community.
If you’re looking to grow or maintain your art business, being around like-minded artists who understand your journey is essential. Our Art Biz Success community is committed to personal and professional growth, offering structured programs led by experienced professionals.
Explore the different levels of support we offer through our community, classes, and coaching opportunities. Join us and connect with artists who are as dedicated to success as you are.
Mentioned
Martha Beck’s Wayfinder Life Coach Training
- Beef Week Australia
Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages from The Artist’s Way
Highlights
3:00 Tracey’s artist journey and teaching
6:00 Finding exhibition opportunities in her rural area
10:44 Balancing art and life coaching
12:29 Tracey’s training with Martha Beck’s Wayfinder life coaching program
18:30 Tracey’s practical outlook on balancing her time commitments
24:24 Though she is fortunate not to have to make money from her art, Tracey shares her income streams
34:56 The intersection of art, coaching, and agriculture
Tracey Hewitt Quotes
“I was going to be a high school art teacher until I discovered that 14 year old boys are way more interested in drawing penises on desks than they are in actually painting art.”
“I abandoned painting because painting with small children is like taking your own appendix out with a fork.”
“You have to create opportunities rather than just lamenting the fact that you are not in the capital city or an art capital of the world.”
“I am existing in perpetual creative response to whatever is present.”
Related Episodes
These are conversations with other teaching artists.
Also of note: I asked artists in rural markets for their insights
About My Guest
Tracey Hewitt is a visual artist, art teacher, and life coach with a special interest in the healing and therapeutic benefits of creativity.
She lives in the Aussie bush by a billabong, near Theodore in central Queensland, surrounded by her farming family. Together with her husband, she has raised three lively sons and grown a family farming business while honing her creative skills.
Driven by her purpose to know peace and to bring peace, her mixed media art explores themes of the things we sense but cannot see, and her coaching work is dedicated to supporting people to find their own well of inner peace while successfully navigating change.
Follow her on Instagram @traceyhewitt
In this episode of The Art Biz, I’m delighted to introduce you to a longtime, valued member of our artist community.
If you’re looking to grow or maintain your art business, being around like-minded artists who understand your journey is essential. Our Art Biz Success community is committed to personal and professional growth, offering structured programs led by experienced professionals.
Explore the different levels of support we offer through our community, classes, and coaching opportunities. Join us and connect with artists who are as dedicated to success as you are.
The post Thriving as an Artist While True to Your Rural Roots with Tracey Hewitt (192) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Marilyn and I talk about the work she does within her Afro-Carribean community in East London, including how it is funded and why her growing network is essential. We also discuss her studio rituals, leaning into the discomfort of rejection, and learning to let go.
The post Leaning Into Her Roots and Community Art with Marilyn Fontaine (ep. 185) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Some artists are fine working by themselves in their studios.
Other artists need to move their art beyond the studio walls and into the public in order to be fulfilled.
My guest for this episode of The Art Biz is one of those artists who finds gratification in involving others in her art.
[ See Multiply Your Audience and Expand Your Show’s Impact with Jill Powers ]
Marilyn Fontaine is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in East London.
Her work is spiritual with a strong foothold in feminine themes. She has begun marrying that work to the history of the local community—in particular, the stories of those who share her Afro-Caribbean roots.
Marilyn and I talk about the work she does within her community, including how it is funded and why her growing network is essential.
We also discuss:
- Her ritual upon entering the studio for a day’s work.
- Why she’s leaning into rejection and learning to be curious about negative reactions that some people have to her work.
- How she is learning to let go—to not hold too tight to the idea that she wants something so badly—and to allow it to come by creating that space.
Listen
Mentioned
A Proud Inheritance commission at the Tate & Lyle Sugar Refinery on Royal Docks in Newham
A Proud Inheritance exhibition and community photo album
London Docklands Development Corporation
Committed to Telling Native Stories Through Her Art and Activism with Danielle SeeWalker (The Art Biz ep. 153)
Book: The Sugar Girls: Tales of Hardship, Love and Happiness in Tate & Lyle’s East End
Marilyn Fontaine Quotes
“Whenever I went to [Catholic] church, I never saw images that reflected who I was, but I love the magical and the mystical aspects to religion—the iconography of the religious images with the halo.”
“I’m like the keeper of the stories that have been passed down.”
“I got these commissions because it’s not so much the resume, it’s because I’ve got a footprint of work.”
“I never sway what I’m doing. So whenever a commission comes, I always say, ‘How can my body of work fit in with this commission?’”
“My practice is always to stretch myself. As an artist, I’m trying to be a bit more disruptive.”
“It’s so funny because I think we can push for something and it never happens. And when we let go, these things come.”
“But the joy—and I always forget about this—is when I see the younger members of the public, especially sometimes Black children that haven’t been exposed to an artist, and they see me and their faces light up with a proud inheritance.”
Related Episodes
These episodes focus on artists who tell stories with their art.
About My Guest
Marilyn J Fontaine is an East London-based mixed-media artist who creates magical, intense narratives with mystical and cultural overtones.
Marilyn’s work is often intense, bold, juxtaposed and ironic with strong cultural references and an ethereal aesthetic. The artist feels strongly connected to nature, ritual, community, and the human experience.
Her work embodies esoteric and human cultural themes including human values, heritage and our connection and relationship to each other and something greater. Marilyn is currently exploring audio, film and larger-size paintings as part of her current artistic practice.
Follow her on Instagram @mjfontaineart
The post Leaning Into Her Roots and Community Art with Marilyn Fontaine (ep. 185) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>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 for this episode of the Art Biz Podcast 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 unapologetically 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. 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.
The post The Art Biz ep. 69: Leveraging Your Location with Ashley Lucas appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>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 for this episode of the Art Biz Podcast 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 unapologetically cute projects.
By placing her characters in local townscapes, Ashley’s work appeals to an audience that continues to grow. 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 2-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.
Music by Wildermiss
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 2-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)
Related
Ashley Lucas Quotes
“If you want to make money with your art, you have to appeal to somebody else and find what that person connects to.”
“I like to think of the art in my shop as real estate — if a file can be produced again then why not put it somewhere else?”
“I always have a little bit of a different strategy when I’m promoting each of my sites and stores.”
“Putting the price out there has really helped the custom work come through.”
About My Guest
Ashley Lucas (aka Lady Lucas) is the daughter of two artists and the mother of a budding artist, 2-year-old Leon Bay. Her art combines her two favorite things in the world: animals and children.
Her work, which is unapologetically cute, features smartly dressed animals and other sweet anthropomorphic characters. She has illustrated numerous children’s books, coloring books, and other projects, and has collaborated with such companies as West Elm, OOLY, and Meredith Publishing.
Instagram: ladylucasart
TikTok: linzerlane
Music by Wildermiss
The post The Art Biz ep. 69: Leveraging Your Location with Ashley Lucas appeared first on Art Biz Success.
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