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Alexandra Newbould is an artist whose work you know. As a classically trained Toronto based freelance courtroom sketch artist and fashion and architecture illustrator, her work has appeared all across North American on newscasts, in newspapers and print, online and in brand marketing campaigns. She’s also a happy mom and she just loves to draw.

Alexandra joins the show this week to talk about the challenges and rewards of being a freelance illustrator, tattoo artist and, her newest venture, working as an event artist who captures special moments in people's lives. (learn more about this at alexandranewbould.com!)

We talk about about the pressure of working in the courtroom and its impact on her work, how she has built a very successful business with minimal social media presence, the importance of in person networking and building connections, how delivering good work is its own networking tool and finding the balance between commercial success and artistic integrity.

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This Episode Is For…

This episode is for creatives who...

struggle with how to network offline - Alex has done some interesting things to get noticed!
wonder if it's possible to be successful without social media
have an inner battle happening between creating art from a place deep inside them and creating art for commercial purposes
have always wondered about the world of courtroom sketch artists

If you just want the links to the resources mentioned in this episode, scroll down to the bottom.

Listen To the Episode

Here’s a link to this week’s episode. You can also listen via the player below or on your favourite podcast app (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, I Heart Radio, Overcast and more). Just search for And She Looked Up!

Transcript & Chapter Markers

You can find a full transcript and chapter markers here. Just click on the episode title for all the juicy details!

go outside

you’ll find inspiration - and opportunities

In this episode we discuss:

Alex’s early life in a family that highly valued and loved art and artists
her early education as a classically trained artist at UVIC
her work as a courtroom sketch artist and how that came about (a great story on how to put yourself out there outside of social media)
the challenge of working on a very tight deadline - and the freedom of letting go of perfectionism as a result
learning to put aside your own emotions when doing client work and receiving client feedback
the difference between editorial (for news outlets) and doing brand work or commissioned artwork
learning to be a tattoo artist and illustrating in a completely different style from sketch work.
launching a new venture as an event sketch artist for weddings and special events
old fashioned networking and word of mouth
creating on demand vs creating because the mood has struck
what Alexandra creates when she’s not working
some other unique ways Alex markets herself (that aren’t social media)
being a mom to a young artist

Mentioned In This Episode:

Visit Alexandra's website alexandranewbould.com to learn more about her work and her new offerings as an event artist
Connect with Alexandra on social media: Instagram and her new venture @sketchmelikethis

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