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The Actual Price of Being a Freelancer
Ashley Chaw is a Brunei-born freelance artist who currently works from her home studio in Petaling Jaya (Image source: Ong Yi Lyn).
"After four years of working for that company, I realised that it’s just not satisfying to work in a nine to five job," says Ashley Chaw, 30, matter-of-factly. The Brunei-born artist behind the brand “Hsieying” has been freelancing for the past two years and has since made Malaysia her home base. Dressed in a casual t-shirt and shorts when met at her Petaling Jaya home, she cradled her miniature dachshund, Finn as she reminisced about her journey transitioning into a full-time freelance artist.
Just like her signature pop-art dreamscape paintings, Ashley’s home, which also doubles as her work studio exudes a vibrant and natural feel. There are numerous potted plants in various sizes scattered throughout the apartment unit she shares with her husband, a Malaysian working in the F&B industry; monstera leaves, devil’s ivy and more in hues of green are arranged alongside her personal art pieces, enlivening the interior with bright splashes of colour.
Ashley settled comfortably into her seat as she recounted the perpetual grind a freelancing life entail. She initially came over to Malaysia to further her studies and later stayed for work. Deciding she needed a change in direction, she went back to Brunei in 2014 to contemplate her future and to accumulate more savings to sustain herself. Ashley recalls how she took up a job as a teacher at an international school. "It was very ironic because I actually went back to a nine to five,” she quips. “I took up painting that year itself as a hobby. Throughout that two and a half years, I kept painting all the time, even after work. I just wanted to save enough money to become a full-time painter.”
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Ashley displaying some of her past practice paintings using gouache, a type of opaque-watercolour medium (Image source: Ong Yi Lyn).
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The ability to pursue a lifestyle where one is free to make their own business decisions within a flexible schedule are elements that continuously attract individuals, especially from the millennial generation to shun the standard nine to five. An article by Open Sourced Workplace touts freelancers as the workforce of the future and that as of January 2019, “freelancing is growing at three times the size of the traditional workforce.”
Unfortunately, contrary to popular belief, the “flexible” lifestyle is not always as idealistic as it is made out to be. Ashley eventually came back to Malaysia in 2017, but as she dove head first into managing her own creative and business components, the struggle continues. Moreover, artists community for knowledge-sharing and networking is still scarce in Malaysia, hindering growth within the art scene. “Regardless of how skilful you are as a painter, there’s not much of a community for artists to gather together in Malaysia,” she explains. “It is hard to make a living as an artist, and you need networking to be able to make it out there.”
Despite that, Ashley persevered and now looks toward other collaborative opportunities such as placing her products with retailers to help increase sales. She also joins Singaporean trade shows and creative festivals, and posts her art on public forums like Reddit to diversify her target market. Notably, a cat painting she posted on Reddit garnered over 10k votes (likes) and subsequently, earned her several international clients.
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The cat painting which Ashley shared onto Reddit and garnered her more than 10k votes (Image source: Hsieying.com).
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Ashley’s current colour obsession is pastel pink and turquoise blue, a combination that has been featured prominently in some of her recent paintings. In fact, a customer who is very fond of her style has become a collector. “She wants me to paint the monkey emoji once a year. Same monkey, but different settings,” says Ashley, noting that this was one of the quirkier requests she receives.
Presently, Ashley’s range of products such as postcards, sticker sheets, prints and original pieces could be found at shops like Stickerrific and Salt x Paper. Interested customers are also able to purchase or commission her directly from her website at hsieying.com or Instagram page. Additionally, those living up north would be able to find Hsieying at the Creative Market on the 20 and 21 July as part of Georgetown Festival.
Ashley has certainly come a long way since she first started painting. “After two years, it made me realise there are so many challenges out there to be a full-time artist in Malaysia,” she says, commenting wistfully on her initial naivety. Nevertheless, these challenges only serve to motivate Ashley, driving her to work twice as hard “towards what I want, instead of working for someone I don’t want to.”
Paintings are an expression that can help transport you to another realm. For more of Ashley’s painted immersive experiences, check out hsieying.com or look up @hsieying on Instagram and Facebook.
“It is hard to make a living as an artist, and you need networking to be able to make it out there.”
- Ashley Chaw