We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Maldonado recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Quitting my job in 2021 was a terrifying decision. I didn’t know how it was going to work out, I didn’t have any work lined up yet, and I was just hoping that, given enough time, I’d figure it out. There was no guarantee, no security, no one to tell me I did a good job at the end of the day. But when someone asked me at the end of 2022 – “Do you miss your old job?” And my immediate was “Nope!” and somehow that made me feel a little bit better.

It’s so easy to get lost in the day to day, or the long term goals, or to keep setting that goal post further and further back because you want to demand more for yourself. But when someone holds up a mirror and shows you how strong you’ve become and what you’ve accomplished so far, it reminds you to take a moment and appreciate where you are right now. The fact that your world isn’t on fire and you can take an afternoon to celebrate being you.

At the beginning of 2023 I had decided to get a full time job so that I could start a family and give my husband a chance to quit his job follow his dreams as he’d so often done for me. I wanted so badly to give back that I hadn’t realized that I was actually making a decent income over the first 2 months of the year, with work lined up for the next month & a half. I thought finding a job would relieve some of the stress that I was feeling, but in the end, it just made me really sad. I wasn’t ready to give up the business I’d worked so hard for and the community that stood behind me on my 1yr anniversary party.

All this to say, I still can’t guarantee a paycheck tomorrow or next week, but I’m tired of worrying about it. I’m taking each day and week as it comes, appreciating what I have right now, and acknowledging that I’ll do what needs to be done if and when a fire does start and I need to start compromising. In the meantime, I’m hustling and putting a lot of myself into making Coy Ink a success and that means enjoying and immersing myself in the community the way I feel called to be. I feel so lucky to have been given this opportunity to pursue this lifestyle which wouldn’t have been possible without all the people in my life supporting me.

Amanda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hello! :) I’m Amanda – AKA Coy Ink Studio. I’m an artist, graphic designer, illustrator & art instructor. I love to teach, I love plein air, urban sketch, community, and connecting people.

I started Coy Ink in 2018 as an etsy page selling cute animal postcards & prints. That changed in 2020 after feeling so isolated and drawn to finding ways to feel more connected to friends and my Longmont creative community. That resulted in a where’s waldo themed map of the 300 block of downtown main street (check it out here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1061655662/seek-find-longmont-co-coloring-print-map) which launched a another phase of my art career. I will admit – it was scaring changing gears from what I knew was a marketable product to something that I felt drawn to but had no idea if anyone else would be interested in.

I will say, taking that leap of faith in myself – as in trusting what I’m feeling drawn to vs push it aside – has really paid off. It’s resulted in a much closer network of friends and relationships with community members that I never expected was possible. The more I felt connected, the more Longmont felt like home, and the more the people here felt like family the more it’s influenced my art. I don’t make a lot of finished pieces these days – unless it’s a commission – so most of what I do is urban sketch. Using my sketchbook to feel more deeply connected to the community, businesses, buildings, people and experiences around me. My sketchbook is my favorite thing. It’s so much apart of me that I can’t imagine going back to doing larger pieces unless it’s for a big idea or I’m getting paid.

So, you’re probably wondering “What exactly do you do in the community Amanda?” – considering how vague I’ve been. So let me tell you :) I volunteer for the Longmont Chamber, I work part time with Downtown Longmont to help provide more opportunities & resources for creatives in Longmont, I volunteer on the membership committee for Firehouse Art Center to help connect more creatives with the resources at Firehouse & scheduling social events to facilitate more connection between creatives, I teach a monthly business & marketing class to creatives, I teach art classes with Longmont Recreation, Longmont Museum, Firehouse Art Center & at various locations around town, I offer a handful of free art lessons per year to create more access to people who want to learn how to paint & draw but can’t afford to pay for a class (like myself), and I’m a member of Left Hand Artist Group, Longmont Artist Guild, and Longmont Public Media. I do my best to spread the word about the opportunities & resources available to creatives in our community. I honestly get so giddy when I meet someone new to Longmont or a creative that I haven’t met before. I get so excited it’s really hard to verbalize what cool things they should check out first because I just know to many things… and I don’t want to overwhelm people. That happens when I’m teaching too. I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it. :)

Anyway, those are some of the things I do in the community. As an artist & full time creative, I do a few different things to get a pay check every month: Graphic Design Freelance, Art & Business Classes, Paint & Sip Parties, Artwork Commissions. Wedding Commissions (Ceremony Portraits & Sketchbooks), Private Lessons, craft markets/popups, and I sell prints of my work on Etsy and several local shops. People often remark at how busy I am, but I try to remind them that this is a full time job. I do these things during working hours and being connected, showing up, and being seen all helps people remember that I exist and want to reach out to me.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I love when businesses take a chance and pay a creative for a commission or some sort of art piece that will benefit their business. It’s hard to really identify a return on investment with a commissioned art piece, but one thing I can say for sure – knowing that a business supports the arts will attract new and more customers to your door. I’d like to highlight Martinis Bistro.

Martinis Bistro recently hired me to create a 20×16 watercolor painting to capture their beautiful historical home that they use as a restaurant. Not a lot of businesses would jump on that or the price. But they chose to pay me a fair wage – allowing me to set my own price – and have been so respectful in treating me like a fellow business owner. I really appreciate when clients respect your time and don’t expect you to work at a lower price just because you’re excited that someone wants to buy your art. We all deserve to get paid for the time we put into the work we do.

How did you build your audience on social media?

There’s a lot of advice online about posting consistently or how to use the algorithms to your advantage, but I find that to be tedious and beside the point of using social media in the first place. You already know that I’m a community focused creative, so try to take this advice and tweak it to the way you like to connect with your community and other creatives (even if your community isn’t local).

Part 1 – In the community
I’m out in the community a lot, creating art – especially art highlighting local businesses & community members. I have my sketchbook on me at all times, and I love whipping it out to show people. I also have my artwork hanging and cards for sell at several locations in Boulder County. Both of these activities helps me grow my social following. I have my instagram handle on every postcard and business card, on all the name plaques next to hanging artwork. And I hand out my business card to a lot of people I meet when I’m hanging out with other creatives or sketching a person or local business. They get excited about what I’m doing and want to know how they can engage with me more, when I’m not around.

Part 2 – Making it fun!
So I mentioned drawing local businesses & people. I share those photos to Instagram in a very casual, let’s have fun & hang out sort of way. I hold up my sketchbook against the background of what I just drew and use that as my photo for social. This creates an atmosphere of adventure, play and an invitation to come make art with me sometime. That invitation makes people want to spend more time with me and they look forward to see what I get up to next on my Instagram feed or IG stories.

I post a lot to IG stories when I’m out and about. Not ever piece I create is something I want on my feed, but they’re often things that I want to share in my stories like – hey, look what I’m up to today! I often will add these to an IG Stories Highlight called “field trips” that up update whenever I get out on a new adventure.

Part 3 – Making Friends
Okay, so what I do next is go out to a lot of creative events. I meet a lot of really cool creative people that I want a chance to see more of their work and what they’re up to. I always ask for their social media accounts and give them a follow. I often check out what’s on their feed or their stories and give them some praise to let them know that I think they’re awesome and I hope the keep doing what they’re doing. This is genuine. I really do love this sort of thing. So if it’s not your jam, find other ways to make it into something you enjoy.

Another way that I do this is by looking up hashtags that I think will help me discover new people I want to hang out with on social media. For example #longmontartist #longmontcreative #longmont. And when I find something cool, I comment on their post, I might follow them, and I might send them a message saying “this is so awesome! I love your work!” People love praise and they deserve to receive it. If they think you’re awesome too, then you might’ve just made a new friend. :)

Rule #1 – it you hate doing it, don’t do it. No one wants to see you having a bad time on social media and they can tell if you’re just doing something because it’s what you think you’re supposed to do.
Rule # 2 – Don’t just advertise. Post what you’re up do, share something fun, behind the scenes. People want to know the person behind the brand or the artwork. If they don’t feel a connection to you beyond what you’re trying to sell, then they won’t have any investment, nor will they care, when you try to advertise something to them.

Part 4 – Misc
Lastly, a great way to get more people to know who you are is by showing up. Craft fairs, holiday markets, pop ups at local coffee shops, downtown, various stores, teaching classes, going to classes, scheduling social events, volunteering with your local creative district or creative community memberships, giving talks, talking to random strangers, making art in public, and more. These are all great ways to get noticed and grow your following.

You might be thinking, I just want people to follow me online, I don’t really want to grow a cult gathering in my community, and that’s fine too. I don’t really have any advice for that. But starting with that in person, human connection is a really great way to see quick results. There are so many talented people online and sometimes it can feel like screaming into the void when that’s the only way you try to get your name out there.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.coyinkstudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coy.ink/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Coy.ink
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-maldonado-bb908522a/

Image Credits
Matt Maenpaa – Foolish Endeavors (Ribbon Cutting Photo)