Leveraging Location for Art Sales with Ashley Lucas (#69)

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