Join me for a few fun questions about myself and my little art print business!
Q: Do you use AI to create prints?
A: No! I still illustrate and design all prints by hand. Although competition from AI sellers has made it increasingly harder to be an artist.
Over the past few years, Etsy and other marketplaces have become flooded with AI art. Travel and landscape artists have been hit particularly hard, and chances are you'll have to browse through a dozen AI generated posters in the search results before finding handmade art. I don't want to contribute to this issue, and plan on continuing to create my own art without AI tools.
Q: Which destination is your best seller?
A: Rhosneigr in Anglesey, Wales.
I illustrated this beachy scene of Rhosneigr back in 2019, and it's continued to be a top seller and a popular choice for gifting since I first shared it. It's surreal to think of it being displayed in so many homes, holiday cottages, pubs and small businesses!
Q: Name something you accomplished this year!
A: I received my biggest website order to date, and my Venice artwork was spotted on Channel 4's Location, Location, Location!
Earlier this year, I received my largest non-wholesale Shopify order. It came at a time where I'd spent a solid month overhauling my website, and I began to feel disheartened that I was beginning to lose visitors, rather than gain them. Eventually the updates began to bring in new visitors, including my biggest sale yet (on any platform)!
Q: Have you visited every location that you draw?
A: Not yet, but hoping to visit every location in Wales that I've drawn. Our most recent first time visit was Aberdaron!
Many of the locations that I draw are places that I've visited and loved, or places that I hope to travel to one day. Last month I took a trip down to Aberdaron with my partner, as it was one of the Welsh coast illustrations I enjoyed drawing the most. Some of the destinations outside of the UK that I've visited and drawn include Paris, Italy, Austria and Crete.
Q: What's the first travel print you sold?
A: A Snowdonia Art Board back in 2017.
I launched my first items for sale on Etsy in 2017, where I started off selling digital downloads of design and typography prints. It took a lot of trial and error to make progress, with dozens of failed designs before I started drawing landscapes of my local area. 
Q: Which illustration took the longest to get right?
A: I almost gave up on my Tryfan illustration a few times. Although it's not a top seller, I'm glad I was able to finish this one.
When I sit down to work on a new drawing, it's difficult to know whether I'll finish in one long session that has me glued to the screen until 2am, or whether it will take a week of going back and forth, losing confidence and making small changes that nobody will notice in the final result!
If you made it this far, thanks for reading my Q&A! If you have any questions of your own, feel free to drop me a message.
