Interview with Artist Malcolm Dewey

Malcolm Dewey Bio

Having started in graphic design in the 1980’s  Malcolm was attracted to fine art through his love of landscape and nature. Contemporary Impressionism is the driving force behind Malcolm’s painting ideas. 

Together with a loose brushwork style Malcolm’s paintings are filled with light, color and movement.

His aim is to describe his painting with an economy of shape, but without compromising on paint and generous brushwork. He teaches this approach with equal generosity to his art students both online and in workshops.

Malcolm has written several books about the artist’s life. He is a dedicated blogger. He contributes regularly to publications like the South African Artist Magazine. His painting courses are popular worldwide and he is one of the top-rated art teachers online.

Malcolm lives in South Africa with his wife and family.

How did you get started as an artist?

Drawing became a necessary part of my life from as early as Grade 1. I recall that clearly and since then I always had a sketchbook and fineliner pens close at hand. Fortunately, my high school outsourced art lessons to a local art school. I attended this school through the last three years of high school. This made a huge impression on me as the teachers were very “artsy” but also hard workers. I studied graphic design at this school and commercial art was my aim.

After high school, I went to university, but studied law instead. A long story, but in 1985 this seemed like a wise decision. However, I kept creating art part-time. Eventually, after fifteen years in my own legal practice, I retired from law for full-time art. I believed my painting had matured into a fine art Impressionist style that was already popular with local collectors. This leap of faith was necessary for my personal development as an artist. But it was not reckless either. I had tested the market and studied in my own time. Another factor was the growing trend in blogging and video on the internet. Developments that suited my personality and enabled me to reach a wider audience.

Please tell us about your art business?

My art business has two aspects: creating paintings and teaching. I have sold paintings through craft and art markets, art galleries, online, and directly to visitors to my studio. Of all these approaches I prefer selling face to face at markets. This is not always practical so the second most effective has been via my website. I am not a fan of galleries for the most part as I believe that artists can be their best salesperson. This does mean learning about marketing yourself. Now the majority of my paintings are sold internationally and I fulfill these orders with couriers. 

The second aspect is teaching. This did not come naturally to me, as an introvert by nature, but persistence does pay off. A necessary quality for success as an artist (entrepreneur) is fierce persistence. I took several paths at once: hosting workshops, creating content like blogs, books, videos and also creating online courses. With Covid, the online courses saved my teaching business. I have added personal online coaching to cater to artists wanting in-depth teaching as well.

Is it difficult for artists to earn enough money from selling their art alone?

In my experience multiple streams of income are vital. This probably applies to any commercial venture and artists are no exception. I suspect most artists give up because they are tied to one thing only – selling their art. However you will see big-name artists covering many commercial opportunities such as teaching, selling various products, endorsements, collaborations, writing, and much more.

Only selling art results in a feast-and-famine state of existence. Amazing when sales are good and despair when you have a few dry months. By adding to my streams of income I could make a full-time living. Secondly, my art improved rapidly while teaching. Being generous with your skills makes others happy and this is extremely motivating to an artist’s spirit. This also paves the way for a growing business.

Please explain the difference between your art membership and art classes?

Art courses focus on a medium or set of skills. This is tied to a specific goal. The membership approach is for enthusiastic students who want to keep working with me. It is an open-ended system that is more interactive and basically a friendship with artists. There is a learning aspect, but also a strong community spirit too.

I find the two systems complement each other. From a pure business perspective, it is more important to have courses. Then add a membership when your teaching business is on a solid foundation. Membership does take commitment and I would recommend this approach only to someone very comfortable with their trade.

You have 25 thousand subscribers on YouTube, do those subscribers lead to many customers for your paid classes?

YouTube does attract business. It is a huge platform and can seem insurmountable at first. I started there not expecting to make money from it. Instead, YouTube forced me to gain confidence on camera. Learn video editing,  and improve my message. To find my voice you could say and build trust. I also learned what was popular and what artists wanted to learn.

Problems can happen when you try to spend too much time creating for YouTube. This is a race to burn-out in my opinion. For me one video a week is plenty. Remember that these are not your platforms. They can disappear or change their algorithm anytime. However, YouTube is good for marketing if you also encourage viewers to visit your website and sign up for your mailing list.

You also have a large Pinterest following, is Pinterest a good platform to advertise your classes?

Pinterest is my top social media platform although YouTube is more fun for me. Pinterest does drive a huge amount of traffic to my blog and courses. Perhaps the Pinterest platform has matured now and is a bit more difficult to get off the ground than it was five or more years ago. Overall Pinterest has been my most successful source of traffic. All unpaid too.

What else is working to promote your online art classes?

I am surprised by how committed podcast fans can be. I do get people contacting me about my podcast even though I do not have the time to really make podcasting big. If you love chatting on a podcast then consider that route.

I suggest repurposing content into other products like books, articles, free downloads, and so on. Also, consider collaborating with others. This could be artists and businesses linked to art. A paint shop may want to join in with a video, for example. We are all linked in many ways. Help others and they will help you too. Always keep the human element in mind.

What percentage of your time is spent promoting your work versus painting and teaching classes?

I would say two-thirds of my time is marketing and creating content. I can spend an hour creating a small painting. But it takes two hours to edit videos and upload that to my channel. That is one example. It does help that I have always enjoyed entrepreneurship. I used to sell things as a kid and that was fun. If you can channel that spirit into your art business then you will have fun too.

You do not need a business degree. I have learned all my online marketing tips through books, blogs, and videos. Then take action and try things out. Be curious. What is the worst that could happen? Ask for help too. For example, a good accountant saves you time, stress, and money.

Do you have any advice for artists early in their careers?

If you want to sell art professionally then work on improving your art every day. But do not wait until you are perfect either. That is fear. Focus, create, and put your work out there. Start selling even if your work is not amazing. Not everyone wants to buy a high-priced artwork. Start humble but start. Improve steadily for the rest of your life.

Marketing is a process that must become second nature. Build your mailing list from the get-go. Social media is one aspect of marketing, but not the most effective. Cut out the time-wasting on social media. Out of six channels on social media only two work for me: Pinterest and YouTube. Find what works for you. Focus there.

Take breaks. Think about what is working and what makes you happy. Go down that road.

Finally, do not ignore your loved ones. A happy artist with a good support structure will be successful.

Malcolm Dewey Artist Links

Malcolm Dewey’s Website

Malcolm Dewey YouTube

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Artist Bio

My name is Andy Griffiths. I was born in South Wales, UK. I’m 56 and I’ve worked as a
professional artist for over 30 years. I began my art career in 1990 as a trainee animator in
Cardiff, South Wales.

In 2004, I emigrated to New Zealand and continued my art career as a freelance illustrator producing illustrations and character designs for over 350 clients worldwide. I also regularly work as a teaching artist. I teach watercolour painting to adults and I also run comic and cartooning workshops for kids in my local area.

Please tell us about your art background.

I’ve always been fascinated with art. My first artistic obsessions were the Marvel comics my
dad bought me when I was about 7 years old. Artists like Jack Kirby and John Buscema
were my earliest influences. I left school with 3 A-Levels (Advanced Level) including A level
art. That was in the early 1980s. School art classes were my first exposure to watercolour.
I studied Architecture at the University of Plymouth, England, but after a year I realised
that it wasn’t what I wanted to do.

A few years later, after doing various jobs, including working in the claims department of an insurance company and backpacking around Australia and South East Asia. I ended up on a job training scheme in an animation studio. This led to an actual paid job as a trainee Inbetweener for Siriol, a small Welsh animation studio. (Inbetweeners do the fill-in drawings between the animator’s “Key” drawings).

I spent 8 years in the animation industry, eventually ending up at Warner Bros London
feature film studio working on the movie Space Jam. When Warner Bros merged with Turner
Media, they downsized and shut down the London studio. I moved out of London and spent
several years after that doing different jobs including web design and freelance illustration.

Please tell us about your business.

Over the years I’ve diversified my income streams and I currently earn an income from a
combination of freelance illustration, freelance web design, teaching watercolour painting,
teaching cartooning, selling original artwork and online courses.

Please tell us about your online art classes.

I currently sell two online watercolour courses available from my blog solvingwatercolour.com. These are “Successful watercolor landscapes” and “How to paint mountains in watercolour” and I’ve recently started to offer live online classes once a week via Zoom. My blog has lots of free content in addition to the premium courses. I also have a small but growing YouTube channel called Solving Watercolour.

How do you promote your classes?

I mainly promote my classes through my blog and email subscriber list. By offering a lot of
good quality free content and being savvy about SEO I’m able to attract a decent audience to a platform that I’m completely in control of. (It’s currently receiving about 20,000 page views a month and growing.)

Please tell us about the cartoon and comic drawing workshops you do.

In addition to the Watercolour painting classes, I also teach cartooning to kids aged 8 – 12.
My own kids are in this age range, so I have a pretty good understanding of what interests
them. I teach the principles of cartooning that I learned from my years working in animation.
Such as designing characters by combining basic shapes, visual storytelling and the
rudiments of perspective. I try and make the classes fun by including learning games such
as story prompts and a card game that helps you to invent your own original superheroes by
combining random character traits e.g. insect plus alien technology or Werewolf plus sword
fighting ability. Due to New Zealand’s Covid restrictions, I’m not currently running cartooning
workshops but it’s something I hope to start again at some point.

Not many artists do both digital illustration and watercolor painting, how did those two different directions come about?

Digital art has been around for a long time. But it wasn’t really until the mid 90s that the
technology became widely available to the public. It had been confined to TV networks and
animation studios with massively expensive digital workstations like the Quantel Paintbox.
Suddenly, that processing power was available to everyone for a relatively affordable price. I
immediately knew that it was going to revolutionize the illustration and animation industries.
As I felt very artistically constrained in the animation industry, I saw digital art as a way to
pivot into illustration. So I bought a PC with the software Fractal Painter 4, Photoshop 3,
Adobe Illustrator 7 and an A3 Wacom drawing tablet and started working on my own ideas
and built a website called Zen Grenade Graphics promoting myself as a
character designer. That began a journey that lasted for many years.

It took a long time but I gradually became dissatisfied with digital art. It really started to bug
me that none of my art really existed outside of a computer screen. You can print it out but
that’s not really your art, it’s just a facsimile of your art. I wanted to feel the excitement and
the loss of control that you only get from working with traditional art techniques and
materials. The highs and lows of happy accidents, disastrous failures and hard won
successes that don’t really happen in the safe, predictable, sterile environment of the digital
workflow. One of the reasons I chose to go towards watercolours is because it’s probably the
most difficult medium to simulate digitally. Also, it’s just in my nature to zig when everyone
else is zagging.

Nowadays I’ve reached a compromise of mostly traditional watercolour with some
occasional digital work for speed when required.

Is there much overlap between digital art skills and more traditional painting skills?

I look at art skills, especially illustration, as a combination of drawing ability, plus design, plus
colour theory, plus a thorough understanding of your chosen medium. In that sense there is
a huge overlap between digital and traditional art. For a traditional artist, the one massive
advantage that digital art has is speed. You can try multiple approaches without ever
worrying about ruining a piece of work as you can always go back to earlier iterations.

For online teaching, do you think there is more demand for digital art lessons versus watercolor or oil painting?

There is a big demand for digital art lessons but there is also an overabundance of digital art
and digital art teachers. I’m sorry to say it but things have probably never been worse for
illustrators than they are right now. The golden age of illustration was probably from the
1950s to the 1980s and I don’t see that ever coming back again. Unfortunately, the
combination of the ease of entry into digital art, combined with the rise of freelancer websites
like Upwork and Fiverr with their “Race to the bottom” bidding systems and cheap stock
illustration providers have driven the perceived value of illustration right into the ground.
That’s why it probably accounts for only about 5% of my work now whereas 6 or 7 years ago
I was incredibly busy and sometimes had to turn well-paid projects down.

How do illustration clients find you?

My illustration clients consist of a handful that I’ve been working with for years. They know
me well and trust me to deliver what they need.

Do you have any advice for artists early in their careers?

It’s very hard for young artists right now. I think the way forward for them is to focus on building a network of fans either through social media or locally and in person and offer something stunning and unique that can be sold directly to an audience. Take watercolour painting for example. Watercolour is one of the most difficult mediums to master. If something is difficult to do that means there is less
competition.

For reasons I’ve previously stated, the ease of production of digital artwork has resulted in its
total devaluation in my opinion. So niche down and don’t shy away from something just
because it’s hard to do. Embrace the challenge. If I was just starting out as an artist. My
strategy would be to do what no one else is doing. Maybe revive a dying art like stained
glass window making but give it a completely unique spin.

I believe that young artists should focus on their drawing skills above all else. Good drawing
underpins everything. That might mean finding an art school with a strong focus on
traditional drawing skills. I think a better approach might be to find a personal mentor who
can really take you under their wing. Easier said than done, I know. I was in my thirties
before I found my first true mentor, a great guy called Mark, who worked alongside me at
Warner Bros and helped me get to the next level so much faster than I would have done by
myself.

Regarding business skills, the most crucial thing you need to know as a freelance artist is to
just treat it like any other job. Work out how much money you need to live on and decide on
what your hourly rate would need to be just as if you were working in a McDonalds. Be
realistic about the amount of time it takes you to produce something and don’t get taken in
by empty promises of great “Exposure”. Don’t chase the unicorn of Illustration agencies
either, they’re struggling to survive too. I’m with three illustration agencies and they rarely, if
ever, provide me with any work. The thing to remember is, persistence pays off but you need
to combine it with adaptability and outside-the-box thinking.’

Andy Griffiths Artist Links

Andy Griffiths’ Website

Andy Griffiths’ YouTube

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Artist Bio

Liz Chaderton creates paintings which help people see the natural world in a fresh light. Her paintings are full of vitality and joie de vivre, capturing the beauty and energy of the flora and fauna we often take for granted. She creates special paintings which bring a sense of wonder into your life.

Liz lives and works in a small village in Berkshire, UK working mainly in watercolour and ink. A selection of her paintings are published in the UK, US and worldwide. She has written three practical art books all published by The Crowood Press, and a fourth is coming out in July 2022.

How did you get started as an artist?

My joyful watercolours reconnect you to nature, leaving space for your imagination to wander. I aim for them to bring a smile and a moment to pause no matter busy your life gets. They often depict everyday animals and flora.

I didn’t go to art college, I studied psychology and then moved into an industry where my career took me all over the place. I painted and created for leisure and started with watercolours when my children were small. I fell in love with this unpredictable medium.

After several years of juggling my art alongside my then freelance work, I had an ‘aha’ moment. In 2017 there was a total eclipse of the sun in North America and I heard the phrase ‘path of totality’ for the first time. It’s the area where the sun is totally obscured. I realised I needed to follow the path of totality. I knew I would regret not committing 100% to be a full-time artist and life is too short for regrets! 

I had been trying to balance things, but the reality was that nothing was getting my full attention and I wasn’t doing anything to the best of my ability. So overnight I told my clients I could no longer work for them and put all my energy into my art business.

Please tell us about your art business?

My aim is to bring the natural world back into busy lives through joyful watercolour paintings. So, as far as my business goes, I am a painter who loves to teach rather than a teacher who happens to paint. And yes, I do see my art as a business. I apply all the skills and experiences I learned from working in industry as well as freelancing. I am an artist entrepreneur; an artpreneur.

About 40% of my income is from painting sales, 40% from both workshops and online courses and the remaining 20% from books, writing, licensing and other activities. I thoroughly enjoy having the variety of income streams, but I recognise that sometimes these can be a distraction from my first love, which is painting. 

I am developing more passive income such as pre-recorded courses and merchandise, so that I can continue to grow creatively.

Is it difficult for artists to earn enough money from selling their art alone?

There isn’t a magic answer. It is challenging, but not impossible to earn enough from selling art. Partly that might depend on your definition of ‘enough’. It is rare that someone will knock on your door to demand a painting, so you need to work hard at marketing your work and treat your art as a business. 

I sell my work directly, through my newsletter and social media, through galleries and events. I like the mix. Galleries and events help you reach a new audience. In the case of galleries, of course, there is the 40%-50% commissions to be considered and buyers are the gallery’s clients, not yours. 

Events are a great way to get feedback on your work directly from clients, but there is the time and cost involved. And if you are introverted, events such as art trails, open studios and exhibitions will push you out of your comfort zone.

Direct marketing may be low cost, but it is intensely time-consuming to build an online following and community. 

I pursue all three routes to give a balance and I actively choose to teach, as I find it very rewarding.

You offer several art books for sale on Amazon, are there good opportunities for artists with traditional publishing?

I have always wanted to write a book and decided that the traditional publishing route was the one I would pursue if at all possible. If all the publishers told me to push off, I would have self-published, but luckily they didn’t. 

Traditional publishing means they take on the editing, design and distribution side. The writer’s income is restricted as the royalty percentage is low. Few authors make much money, unless you are J K Rowling or write cookery books! You should not see the book as a particular money earner, however, it brings other benefits. For me, it was more an itch I needed to scratch. I believe it is a great way to build awareness and reputation, which will spill over into other areas of my business. However, it is a long and intense process. Each book might be 30,000 words and at least 150 pictures. It is not a commitment to be undertaken lightly.

I carefully researched art publishers and tailored a detailed proposal explaining what the book would be about, who it would interest and why I was the person to write it. I was extremely fortunate to be accepted by the second publisher I approached. The publisher is investing a lot in you and your book, you need to convince them that this is a wise investment. Sadly, traditional publishers and booksellers are under threat from the internet and the likes of Amazon, so there will also be more people wanting to write a book, than publishers willing to publish.

Conversely, digital printing or ebooks make it easier than ever to go down a self-publishing route. It is no longer ‘vanity publishing’ and success lies entirely within your hands.

My first book was specialized ‘Painting Watercolours on Canvas’, the second was broader ‘Painting Animals in Watercolour’. The third was all about pen and wash ‘Line and Wash Painting’. A fourth is due out in July 2022 ‘Painting Birds in Watercolour’. Will there be a fifth? Probably!

I prepared myself by writing a blog and articles for art magazines. If you can show a track record in writing and meeting deadlines, you will be a step ahead in the eyes of publishers. If your art process is unique, then you might be lucky enough to be approached by a publisher. I do know a couple of artists who have been.

How do in-person workshops compare to teaching online courses?

The joy of in-person workshops for the student is that you have interaction, individual attention and the chance to ask burning questions. For the tutor, there is the reward of seeing the lightbulb come on in someone’s eyes.

Online courses offer the student greater flexibility. You can work at your own pace, at a time to suit, repeat modules and have access to artists you admire in far-flung countries.

For the teacher, once the intense effort of putting the course together is over, this is an evergreen income stream. However, I miss the feedback. In a class, you can see if people are confused, online you have to make sure you are ultra-clear and concise.

I feel both types of teaching work well together. You can try out new ideas in person and then make them available to a wider audience. It is up to you whether you wish to build the community and interaction side of things with webinars or FaceBook groups, for example.

I tested out the water and started to build an audience by making YouTube films. This helped me learn filming and editing skills, as well as how to clearly explain processes to the camera. If you are considering recording your own online courses, this is a great proving ground.

How do you attract students for your in-person workshops? 

Students should look for a workshop from an artist they admire, using a medium they enjoy. It’s worth considering the size of group and the teaching style. Some tutors will guide you very specifically and this may result in a pleasing painting at the end of the day. But potentially, you won’t have developed your own decision-making skills. Others encourage experimentation and skill-building, which might not result in a great painting but will serve you better long term (in my opinion). Personally, I much prefer the latter approach, but each student needs to identify what they are after.

I use a wide range of ways to communicate my workshops, from word of mouth to repeat bookings. I use specialist course websites such as CraftCourses.com in the UK, social media, newsletter, local art societies, events and pretty much anything else I can think on. Writing regular articles for leisure art magazines is another great way of getting your work known and you can always let slip that you are doing workshops…

What percentage of your business comes from teaching online classes?

This is only my second year of offering online courses and already the income is greater than for in-person workshops. The potential is virtually limitless. It was growing quickly and the pandemic has only accelerated the acceptance of online classes.

Working with Bundles for Good, was a super way of getting my classes in front of a new audience of interested painters. Many students end up taking a number of my online classes, so I hope that this new audience will become firm friends.

As I mentioned, I started a YouTube channel to polish my editing and teaching skills, before diving into the world of online classes. This has created a great community of artists and subscribers (nearly 6,000 at the moment). Though I do free weekly watercolour tips, many subscribers have started to take online courses for more in-depth training. 

Giveaways and live-streamed masterclasses are another way of attracting people, giving a taster of your teaching and painting style. But there is a danger of giving everything away for free. I may well use paid Facebook advertising in the future.

I wish I had started my online workshops ages ago!

Do you have any advice for someone interested in teaching art classes or workshops? 

Only do so if you have a passion for teaching. It is not fair to see enthusiastic students simply as an income source. Some artists say they do not wish to share their secrets. I am not convinced there are such things as secrets in art, but you shouldn’t be teaching if you aren’t prepared to share and give value. I think it is also best to underpromise and over-deliver so that students go away delighted. 

If you were starting today, what would you focus on?

My top tip would be to start building a mailing list and an audience now. Don’t wait until you are ready and don’t rely on social media. If a platform goes down, changes its algorithm or mistakenly kicks you off, you will be stuck. Effectively you are putting the success of your business in someone else’s hands… 

Then I would urge you to dream and to plan. If you don’t know where you want to go, it is very hard to find the path.

Ask yourself what you want to get out of your art business. Dream a little, dream a lot, say it out loud – where do you want to be in five or ten years’ time? What does success look like? For some, making a living doing what they love is more than enough. Others want to be recognised by the art world. Knowing where you want to get to, lets you set specific objectives and plan to get there. 

If you want your own art programme on TV, perhaps you need to start making reels on Instagram and teaching on YouTube…. If you want to have a solo exhibition at a certain gallery, you need to start building relationships, making your work the best it can be, submitting to juried shows etc. 

Planning and clear objectives put you in control of all the variants in your business.

Finally, find a community of like-minded artists. People with a bit of entrepreneurial flair, who are on the same path as you. You are not in competition. It can be lonely working for yourself and you may suffer from imposter syndrome. At these times being able to give and receive ideas and support will keep you going.

Liz Chaderton Artist Links

Liz Chaderton’s Website

Liz Chaderton Online Art Classes

Liz Chaderton YouTube

Liz Chaderton’s Books

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