Whilst the core of my business is vector art, which continues to grow and develop, I enjoy exploring other creative opportunities and leveraging my strong background in graphic design. It’s a sensible and necessary approach, with art being one of the most difficult professions to make a living from.
Most full-time artists balance creating original artwork and selling limited edition prints, alongside commissioned work – and usually teach or run workshops. There’s nearly always another income stream, and usually multiple streams to support the art practice. I realised quickly that I needed to support my vector art, especially in the early days, so graphic design and illustration was the natural fit.
My art emerged from more than 20 years in graphic design and marketing, and increasingly I’m finding that there’s a lot of overlaps commercially. Many famous artists like Andy Warhol and Peter Blake combined fine art and graphic design, with some of Warhol’s commercial work often exhibited in museums and galleries. It’s definitely a good approach for me and will help prevent stagnation in both disciplines.
This broadening of what I can do isn’t just from a visual perspective, my creativity can also be applied across many areas of a brand, including ideas around comms, marketing and the message. This is where the journey has led me to be a Creative Brand Partner on projects that need ideas, direction, and support making branding decisions, as well as graphic design. My creativity can help brands and campaigns stand out, and I’m not afraid to test the boundaries during the conception stage. When clients are looking for something new, I like to hear them say they weren’t expecting what I came up with.
What does this mean for me day-to-day?
Every day is different and varied. It’s rare I get chance to dedicate a full day to one thing, like working on a new landscape. I can start the day picking up a large print, then be making a frame and going on to working on a commission (which are usually done in numerous sessions), before ending the day by working on a poster design or flyer. Around this there’s the constant promotion, enquiries, meetings and the ideas to think about.
I have to plan activities and can’t afford to be laidback and leisurely about creating my art. One of my favourite phrases that stuck from an old friend is “fail to plan, plan to fail”. The advice was around my moderately successful running career and it worked. History has proven that all the best artists had a plan and worked extremely hard. To be the best version of myself and to get to where I want to be requires hard work. Days off are rare at the moment, but I’m looking forward to scheduling some downtime over Easter and hopefully some sunshine!