Extra Paint: Kevin Bongang on playful experimentation

You have to work for your art. Odd jobs help a lot of people out along the way. If this has also been your experience of becoming an artist, that is okay.

Include your followers in the products you make because they are the ones who will buy the finished product. Create the art that makes you happy and at the same time remember who will buy your art. Utilize polls to get the best information if you need input!

Try not to simply follow the trends. Instead you can try to adapt or learn from a trend to your own style and audience.

First impressions are important. You can control the experience your customers have, if you run your own shop. Caring about the little details shows your customers you care about them. When you send something from an independent creator, your customer should feel like they are receiving a gift.

There is more than one way to stand up for what you believe in. Your skillset might lend itself well to making posters to help spread the message, while other people’s talents might be in organising or communicating. Standing up for what you believe in doesn’t just mean talking. Consider how you can use your art to show what you are passionate about and to help to make the world a better place.

Get social

Check out Steffi's shop

Follow Steffi on Instagram @haveanicedayy_

1. As an artist, consider the implications of the art you create. Make your art meaningful and intentional. As designers, artists, human beings - have a point of view. Share your point of view on what is happening around you through your work.
2. Products solve problems. Adam sees murals in this way. Murals are a way to start a conversation and get closer to solving a problem.
3. A lot of things aren’t comfortable to talk about but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about them. You might not feel comfortable painting or sharing a political mural but if the work is important to you, you will find a way to do it despite your discomfort.
4. On NFT - Anything that can give artists more agency is a good thing. For years people didn’t encourage their children to become artists because artists don’t have control of their work, they are at the mercy of the market and the buyer. NFT has the potential to give artists more control over how their work is sold and the price paid by the buyer. On the flip side, the possible environmental impact cannot be ignored.

Instagram: @adamfu 

Website: https://www.adamkfujita.com

1. Very Gay Paint began as an indoor mural project. When you put something up on a wall inside a home it is very different to a print or a piece on canvas. Consider the environment where your mural is going to live. Try to avoid a situation where your mural is fighting with the furniture in the room, or other art on the walls. Make the mural an extension of the interior design, the furniture and the architecture of the home.
2. There is a significant number of people creating murals. Reach out to the community for help and to collaborate with like minded people.
3. Unsure of how to present yourself on social media? Nick and Jenson use their comedy to stand out, but if you are shy, remember -  be yourself and follow your joy. Make content that makes you laugh and that makes you feel good.
4. Cultivate your relationships so that you have time with friends outside of your work. Value yourself as a complete person, not just as an artist.

Stay Social
Follow Very Gay Paint on Instagram @verygaypaint

Join the @muralists community on Instagram

Sign up for our newsletter here

1. Always be open to trying new things – you don’t know what new adventure might begin as a result. While living in Brooklyn after a long stint travelling, Brolga took some illustration classes and was pleasantly surprised by how much he liked it.
2. Illustrators and artists are versatile and have to have a lot of strings to their bow. Being able to work from basically anywhere is a very unique position to be in, how can you use this to your advantage?
3. Find your own path. The more people on the path you're on, the less chance you have of standing out.
4. Never forget where you started. and the journey you took to get to where you are today. Before taking commissions for murals, Brolga was out walking the streets always trying to find a wall to paint a character on. To earn a living from his artwork today is the result of passion, perseverance and determination.
5. If you don't have consistent work, you can always make your own projects. This allows you to shape your portfolio without waiting for permission, while also building demand for your skills.

Stay Social
Follow Brolga on Instagram @brolga

Check out Brolga's latest exhibition at the Outré gallery

Join the @muralists community on Instagram

Sign up for our newsletter here

1. Using your unique life experience to inspire you as an artist gives you a perspective no one else will have. For instance, Wyatt’s background in field ecology with a focus on birds clearly influences his art. Through his ‘day job’ and working with children in nature, he better understands people’s connection with the world around us and how it continues to evolve.
2. Don't be afraid to reach out to people who are a little further ahead of you in their career. Most are receptive to sharing their story, which you can learn from.
3. Listen to your gut about keeping your interests separate to your work. It can be tempting to combine everything you love in your art which might also feel overwhelming when you are starting out. Remember that as the artist, you decide what to share with the world through your art.
4. Keep a sketchbook with you, always. And keep drawing, even when you don't feel like it Is leading to a particular project. Some of your best work might come from an idea that was unexpected.

Stay Social
Check out Wyatt's store

Follow Wyatt on Instagram @wyatthersey

Join the @muralists community on Instagram

Sign up for our newsletter here

1. Figure out what is the core principle that inspires your work. This core principle is something that is close to your heart. When you know this, it becomes your focus, and it's not as tempting to compar your art to others.
2. Follow people that inspire you by how clearly they communicate their passion through their art. What do those people do every day that motivates and inspires them to create? You are the sum of your habits.
3. If you can learn from another artist, compliment them rather than copying from them. How does your style compliment theirs. Choose an inspiration that is no longer practising.
4. Use your artist’s voice to inspire and promote political change. You art can be the tool that communicates the message to many people at once.
5. Creative constraints can encourage you to create new and exciting work. Record your ideas, as something that doesn’t quite fit for your current project might be the basis for the next project

1. It is easy to think looking at the social media accounts of your favourite artists that they didn’t go through a period of growth and learning a the beginning of their careers, but that’s where you’re wrong. Every artist will tell you that the first 5-6 years of their career were filled with doubt, uncertainty and hard work. If you want to make a career out of it you have to persevere.
2. We’re at a place in history now where we can see people develop their skills in real time on social media. Consider the artists you have been following over the past number of years and how much they have improved by continually creating and sharing their work.
3. You have to dive into the abyss of  making shitty work until you can make better work. The only way to improve is to practice.
4. If you are feeling uninspired, think about what is weighing on you and let that be your inspiration. Maybe you don’t have any new ideas or motivation, allow that to be the starting point in your creative process.

This episode is the final episode of a series of interviews with artists of Co-Loop, an artist-forward agency built on the foundation of collaboration, community & diverse creative content." We hope you liked the last few conversations. If you haven't had a chance to listen to the previous episodes yet, here are direct links to each episode in the series.

Stay Social
Follow Lisa on Instagram @lisacongdon

Check out Lisa's website

Join the @muralists community on Instagram

Sign up for our newsletter here

1. It always seems that art and marketing are on opposite ends of a spectrum but it is possible to blend them. Make your work about things that you’ve experienced, that are relatable to other people and that make you laugh.
2. If you have a great idea that you can’t wait to get started with, ask yourself how you can create a series from this one idea? How can an idea that would result in one post, become twenty posts. Create larger series that help you to batch content and keep sharing with your audience.
3. Check in with yourself before accepting a client's offer. Lauren has a set of 10 questions that she asks herself before starting a project to make sure it fits in with her goals and values.  You will attract the kind of work that you share, make sure you are putting out work you feel good about.
4. Do you need to delegate more? Consider how hiring someone on a freelance basis could help you. The stepping stones to hiring can be small. Brainstorm your pain points to figure out how hiring someone can work best for you.
5. Everyone has a skill they can teach. Teach what you wish you had known 2-3 years ago. There will always be someone who is more of a beginner than you are and who wants to know what you wish you had known when you started out.
6. Just because you are a lettering artist doesn’t mean you have to incorporate lettering into everything that you do. Consider if lettering brings you closer to achieving your goals.

1. Does perfectionism  drive you crazy? One slightly off brush stroke, and it seems like a disaster when you’re up close, but as you take a step back you can see the whole picture coming together.
   Life can be thought of using the same metaphor. It is so easy to get lost in the busy-ness of every day. It's only when you take a step back and see how far you have come, you can focus on the most meaningful parts, and not sweat the small stuff.
2. Figure out your practice, not just how you make your art. What do you need to do before and after you create, to get yourself in the best headspace possible.
3. Art is less about the how and the what and more about the why. Ask yourself why you are creating this piece, where did the inspiration or motivation for this work come from.
4. Creativity is communication. It is a craft you can use to get people to listen to you for a minute. If you could write, sing or communicate the message you are passionate about in any other way - you would. But art is the tool you have, so that is what you use.

Today on the podcast we are joined by Meg Lewis (@yourbuddymeg) who is a designer and illustrator, podcaster, comedian, and educator. She has worked with over 100 brands and continues to create art that brings joy.

Meg talks abut spontaneity vs. structure, and how to create a productivity and lifestyle that works best for you. She also discusses how to give clients something unexpected and push their world view.

This episode is part of a series of interviews with "Co-Loop, an artist-forward agency built on the foundation of collaboration, community & diverse creative content." We will be sharing episodes from different makers who are a part of Co-Loop throughout the next month. That gives you a sneak preview into who our next guests will be!