We were lucky to catch up with Molly Brahmer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Molly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a fun one – what’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

I think most artists will agree with me when I say, stop asking for free art.
Asking for free art comes in many forms – whether it would be asking an artist friend to whip up a custom design for you, a business offering to pay you in “word of mouth” or Requests for Proposals (RFPs) that ask for the design upfront.
RFPs are one of the most popular ways for companies to find artists for custom murals, sculptures and other pieces of artwork. RFPs are also one of the biggest culprits when it comes to asking for free art by asking for a mock up of the design in advance (without deposit). Many artists are pushing back against this practice because the design process is often the most time consuming part and we are tired of working for free.
When I first started my business, I didn’t really think anything of this but I have come to realize that this needs to change. As I mentioned, the design process is often the most time consuming part, a part that most people don’t see. It’s countless hours of brainstorming and sketching – it isn’t often that creatives hear a pitch and immediately have an idea, not to mention one that the client immediately likes. I can’t think of another industry that has a similar practice. Imagine a hospital asking a doctor to work for free for a few days, weeks or months before deciding if they’re a good fit for the job. Hiring for other jobs is based solely off of resume and references. This should be the same for artists – our previous work should speak volumes of our style and capability. Whether you’re a business, customer or even a friend of an artist, please stop asking for free art and stop perpetuating the starving artist stereotype.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Molly and I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. I officially started my business, Molly Brahmer Art, in 2019 with custom graphite portraits but expanded my business to murals after experiencing some very impactful public art in South America. While I still do custom portraits, my main focus is murals. I specialize in creating smile worthy walls and windows to attract customers to businesses. My clients are hire me because they are looking for a fun and affordable way to attract customers and boost sales that isn’t a stagnant sign. With these murals, we are able to showcase their brand with unique art that the community notices and talks about. The window murals are often temporary so when the people passing by become oblivious to their surroundings, we switch it up to draw people back in. These window murals have been especially helpful during times of sales and holidays.
Art can be a solo endeavor and I really love getting out into the community and chatting with people passing by and hearing how happy my work makes them. My primary focus when it comes to my work is to just make people feel good. Life is hard and I hope that my work will make people pause for a minute and smile.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

While I primarily keep in touch with clients via social media or email, I also take great pride in supporting the businesses that support me and I love to pop in to say hi when I am in the area! I think having time face to face is very important especially in these screen dominated era.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

When I started offering murals, many of my clients came from Linkedn or Nextdoor but now, just being out in the community painting has served as one of the best ways to get clients. Once while I was painting, a car drove by and then reversed back to me just for the driver to yell, “I need to hire you.” It’s little moments like that make it all worth it

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Mollybrahmerart.com
• Instagram: @mollybrahmerart
• Facebook: @mollybrahmerart
• Linkedin: Molly Brahmer
• Other: Tiktok: @mollybrahmerart
  Email: [email protected]

Image Credits

The personal photo is by Anna Carson