Meet Amber Malom | Artist & Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amber Malom and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Amber, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
An artist, a creative, or just with a small business will tell you that they are constantly working toward their dream. Especially when it is not their full time income yet. My schedule consists of my full time job but then every free moment I have outside of that I am working on my art. What am I posting next to Instagram? What product am I making next? What clients do I need to respond to today? When is my next market and what am I preparing for it? Does my website need updating? What new stuff can I do on social media to grow my accounts? I am thinking about these questions every day of every week and it can be very exhausting at times. Being a successful artist means that you are very self motivated and focused on you goals. Half of the success is talent and the other half (or more) is the consistency of your work. It is not the best artists that always succeed, it is the ones that also have a good business mindset.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I struggled for a long time with what my style would be and what I wanted my art to say. I had talent and could draw anything put in front of me but I didn’t have a voice, arguably one of the most important parts of an artist’s work. In my senior thesis, I finally found a style and voice I could be proud of and I have been continuing to work on it from there. Style is always something that is in flux and I feel as though I am continuing to narrow in on that but I am happy to have come closer than I ever have before. Through this struggle, I learned that it is different to take inspiration versus straight up copy. It is okay to look at art you admire and critically think about what specifically you like about it and draw inspiration from it, while combining with other aspects. For the longest time I thought that my style had to be 100% authentic and original but that is not realistic in our world where art is being created from the same collective consciousness and we have the same inspirations. I still struggle with this thought but when I step away from those anxieties I find it easier to create in a more personal way.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There’s always a lot to do around the city, especially in the summer, but I would take a friend to the Museum of Contemporary Art or Meow Wolf and scooter around Rino to look at the murals and get some brews and good eats. A good place for dinner would be Watercourse foods for some great vegan choices. If we wanted to spend some time in nature, I would take them on a hike at Mt. Falcon Park for a great view of the city and Red Rocks then stop at Mac Nation for some delicious, well deserved mac n cheese.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Even though I have been a creative person my entire life, I didn’t understand how to be a successful illustrator and artist until I met my professor, Lily Williams, who guided my last couple years in college. She showed through her own success and examples of others, how you could actually be profitable off of your art. I didn’t understand until then that it was actually a viable option. Lily is a kind and talented soul who guided me through my illustration classes with thoughtful critiques and compassion for her students. It was especially appreciated through the pandemic when we only had classes through Zoom and it was hard to connect in a normal way. Lily being my teacher was the first time I truly felt hope and opportunity for myself and my talents. She also guided my through finding a style that was unique to myself, whereas I was struggling with that before. Many people stand behind one artist’s success, including my friends and family, but I am so happy that Lily came into my life when she did.
Website: amberameliaart.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amberameliaart/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambermalom/