Successful Online Sellers – Natasha Newton

Hi there Natasha! Tell us about yourself and how you got into art.

I’m a full-time artist and illustrator from Suffolk, England. I can’t really remember a time when I didn’t draw or paint. Even when I was very young I always seemed to be creating something. I remember the excitement of receiving colouring books and huge packs of felt-tip pens as presents – to me, these were the best presents ever! I also think I’ve always had a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit. I remember making bookmarks and little gift tags and so on and trying to sell them to relatives. I also used to design and make a little newspaper called ‘Newton News’ – I’m sure there must still be a copy floating around somewhere, but it’s probably terribly embarrassing!

I think I was destined to be an artist. I really can’t imagine doing anything else, and nor would I want to.

Your landscapes are instantly recognisable – what inspired them?

This is quite a hard question for me to answer because my inspiration comes from so many different sources. I guess you could say that they are inspired to a certain extent by the landscape that surrounds me – Suffolk is a beautiful place to live and inspiration is everywhere. The open spaces, the countryside, the forests, the coast. Some of my paintings are directly inspired by Suffolk. But then there are many that aren’t, and for these I would say that my inspiration comes from places I’ve visited, the work of other artists, magazines, photography, books, films…sometimes even dreams. It all goes in to my brain, gets filtered, and comes out on the canvas!

You seem to be moving away from landscapes towards the forest and trees as your main source of inspiration. Was there anything in particular that brought about this change?

It’s funny you should say that, as I noticed that about my work the other week! It was purely unintentional, and I have a feeling that even though I’m concentrating mainly on trees at the moment, the landscapes will make more of a return. I’m still painting landscapes, and in fact I’m working on several at the moment for my upcoming show ‘The Silent Landscape’, which will be held in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, at the end of May. Trees have always been a major part of many of my landscapes and so I suppose it was natural to want to concentrate more on those at some point. They fascinate me and I never get tired of painting them. So many varieties and shapes, and so many ways of portraying them – the possibilities seem infinite!

We share a love of birds – do they represent anything in particular in your work?

I originally started painting birds about 6 or 7 years ago, and they were very stylised – usually white, with long necks and crescent moon-shaped bodies! They were very popular and sold really well, but I tired of painting them. I even started turning down commissions for them as I just couldn’t face painting them any more! So I gave the birds a rest for a few years, and then last year decided to come back to them, but in a completely new way. I found that I was excited to paint birds again, and I love how each one has his own distinct character! They are a symbol of hope to me, and I love to listen to them outside my studio window while I work. There’s even a bird who visits at night for the past few weeks and sings a beautiful song in the early hours of the morning! I’ve tried to incorporate birdsong into my paintings and illustrations this time around – it’s interesting to find ways of interpreting a sound in visual form and I’m having fun with that.

You seem to have carved out a very successful online persona, and you are successfully selling a lot of work online. Have you got any tips or hints for people starting to show their work online, and selling their work on sites such as Coriandr?

Well, I have to say that initially I never thought that the internet would be such a brilliant way of selling my work! I’d always sold through galleries, exhibitions, word-of-mouth and commissions. Then I discovered the internet! I could see that some artists had a huge online presence, and I slowly began to realise that this was one of the best marketing tools I had ever seen. I love the way that I can connect directly with my buyers and collectors – they can see what I’m up to, find out when new work is available, be kept informed of upcoming shows, and I can share little bits and pieces of my everyday life and work in a way that would have just been impossible before the internet.

I know how much I love to follow the blogs and websites of the artists I admire – they’re an endless source of inspiration to me, as well as giving me ideas on how to market and promote my work, and an insight into the artist’s life – so I try to offer my ‘followers’ the same experience. It’s been a wonderful way of getting my work known worldwide, which in turn is excellent for business.

I feel I’m still learning all the time, but the advice I would give to anyone thinking of selling their work online is to always be yourself and let your personality come through in your blogs and websites as well as in your work. Don’t copy others just because you see that they’re popular and their work is selling well – by all means, learn from them and get new ideas, but adapt these ideas to suit yourself. The most successful people are the ones who have a very unique style, and I think it’s important to carry this style and quality throughout everything which represents your work – from the work itself, to the design of your sites, to your photography of your work, and even your packaging! Having a recognisable ‘brand’ is really important even for a small art or craft business.

Other than that, if you have an online shop, list new items often, offer excellent customer service, always keep in touch with your collectors (having an email mailing list is a great idea), and make sure you update your sites regularly with new work and information – because how are people going to know about new work or exhibitions if you never tell them?! Don’t expect success overnight – it takes a lot of hard work, perseverance and dedication, as well as a little bit of luck – but gradually you’ll start to gain a following for your work. Then you have to keep things fresh and keep building on your success. Never rest on your laurels.

Thankyou for your time Natasha! You can see more of Natasha’s work on her website http://www.natasha-newton.co.uk .

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