We were lucky to catch up with Becca Dwyer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Becca, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

One of the first wall murals I did was a mashup of Star Wars / Harry Potter / Lord of the Rings for a friend’s nursery room. This was the first time I took a project from conception to completion all by myself, and to do it all in one weekend was exhilarating. As part of my practice, I also like to make videos and blog posts about my projects to share with other creatives or those generally interested in the arts. That night I took two clips of me painting the mural and set them to a trending sound on TikTok. By the next morning, it had reached over 500,000 views – my first video to ever go viral! Over the next few weeks, it reached over 2 million people which still blows my mind. This moment was really helpful in letting me know that I was on the right path in pursuing mural work. It also gave me the boost I needed to post consistently online and am very proud to have built a small community of people interested in painting and creative projects.

As I mentioned, I also try to write blog posts about all of my painting projects. I want these to act as resources for other creatives and try to include what I’ve learned, what I would change for next time, and also a list of all the materials I used. My philosophy is that anyone can paint what I painted, so I encourage the use of stencils, a projector, or whatever tools you need to transfer your idea onto the wall. Because of this approach, I was able to inspire others to try painting their own mashup murals! It’s been so fulfilling to receive messages (and photos!) of the wonderful murals people have created and I’m so glad this project lives forever as an inspiration to others.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve always been creative. When I was younger, I used this energy to make all of my family and friends their birthday or holiday cards and gifts. I’d always be doodling during class or any other place where I had to sit still, but my mind needed to wonder. Then in college, I leaned toward graphic design and marketing. Although not directly related to what I do now, this knowledge has helped me start and run my own art business. I was doing freelance work on the side while also working a “typical office job” until, like many others, I was laid off during the pandemic. This really launched my creative career as I took the time to build my own website, complete custom paintings, and apply to community projects. I began posting more about my art and became a volunteer mural artist for a nonprofit called ArtReach. Their mission is to provide equitable arts access to youth in San Diego, and I loved being able to impact my community in a positive way.

While volunteering, I continued to pursue my own artistic ventures like painting on utility boxes and creating custom nursery murals. Time during the pandemic made me realize that I wanted to pursue a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies, so I began that in the Fall of 2022. Then, after painting on objects like electric guitars, vinyl records, shoes, and bicycles for ArtReach’s charity art auctions, I decided to leave my office job and join their team as the Communications & Design Coordinator. I now work there part-time and spend the rest of my time on schoolwork and various painting projects.

My work is primarily inspired by nature, and I always want what I do to bring people joy. I’m all about collaboration and problem-solving, so I think one of my strengths is being able to make my paintings look like they belong in the space they’re in or on whatever uniquely shaped object I chose. I also like to prepare as much as I can before I get to the mural site, so I like to think that I’m pretty quick at the painting part. What sets me apart from others is my attention to detail and ability to translate ideas into a fun and refreshing design.

Although sharing my work on social media is fun, it’s most rewarding for me when I see that I’ve inspired someone else to be creative. I believe we all have something to contribute in this space, so the more the merrier!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I’m definitely not a social media expert, but I have been able to build a small audience across several platforms. When I started sharing videos, I wasn’t comfortable showing myself or using my voice to narrate anything. So I just began by filming my brushstrokes and using trending sounds to share my art. Once I got more comfortable I started doing voiceovers and that’s when I really began to gain traction. I honestly didn’t think I had anything new to share in the art arena, but people began connecting to my content once I began sharing my thoughts and behind-the-scenes content of projects I used to just post pictures of. My advice to someone starting to build their presence is to remember that the amount of likes you do or don’t get isn’t a reflection of your value. It can be very discouraging to spend time painting something, editing the footage, and posting the video for it to not get seen by many people. You have to remember that algorithms exist and the same video you posted with minimal likes could perform much differently weeks or even months from now. Try to think of everything you post as a building block towards reaching the audience you’re after and over time, you’ll get more comfortable with your voice and posting content.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When I first started freelancing, I took on projects ranging from business cards to logos, pet portraits, websites, custom illustrations, painting projects, and more. I went into it with the spirit of “if you need it, I can probably do it”. While I still think this is mostly true, I quickly found out that I didn’t enjoy all of the projects that I was doing. As a creative, I know that art will always be in my life, so I spent time figuring out what brings me the most joy and that’s when I decided to focus on painting. This is a medium that I feel is very versatile and something I could do every day without feeling bored. I also knew that chasing several artistic ventures at once meant that I wasn’t really getting better at any particular one so I was excited to spend my time focusing on just painting.

Since then I’ve painted on so many objects and am continuously searching for new opportunities. It still remains something that I can do every day without getting bored, and I love to be able to translate my ideas into large wall murals. Custom painting shoes also seems to be popular, so I hope to incorporate more of that into my practice once I’m finished with grad school! It can be hard to know when to pivot, but I don’t miss my days of logos and websites so I definitely think I did the right thing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.beccadwyer.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccadwyerdesign/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@beccadwyer
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beccadwyerdesign?lang=en

Image Credits
all images are owned by beccadwyerdesign (me).