How I Built a Live Event Art Business from Scratch in Melbourne

People ask me this a lot, especially at events while I'm painting them.

"How did you get into this?" "How did you land luxury brand clients?" "How do you even start something like this?"

So here's the honest answer. 

It started with zero.

Moving to a new country. No art degree. No industry connections. No portfolio of event work. No mentor who showed me the way.

I had a career in finance, a creative itch I'd been ignoring for years, and a stubborn refusal to believe those two things couldn't coexist.

In 2020 I left my corporate job at CBA with no business plan and no clear idea of what I was building. I just knew I couldn't stay any day longer.

The last time I'd picked up a paintbrush before that was art jamming in Hong Kong... for fun.

The first chapter was messy. I honestly didn't know what I was doing.

I had 0 artist friends so I started showing up to artist catch-ups in Melbourne, nervous and completely out of place.

That's where I met Olga, one of my closest artist friends to this day.

I started then connecting with other artists on Instagram. We formed a not-for-profit community group called Melbourne Artists Inc. We started putting art on the walls of cafes and wine bars because blank walls are always screaming for art and I wanted to do something about it.

I painted live at Northside food hall. I set up my easel at a sunflower field. I painted at Brighton Beach.

I was trying everything.

And the math wasn't mathing. Expenses going out. Almost nothing coming in.

So I went back to banking.

The second chapter started with a car accident.

I won't dramatise it. But it made me think.

Life is short. Too short to spend it doing something that doesn't light you up.

I went back to art. This time with more intention, more strategy, and the commercial instincts I'd spent a decade building in finance.

Because here's what I figured out: being creative and being business-minded are not opposites. In fact, the combination is rare. And it is extremely valuable.

Building the business, one yes at a time.

I started offering live illustration at events. Then calligraphy. Then engraving. Then workshops and fine art commissions.

Every service I added meant a client could come back to me with a different brief. I wasn't spreading myself thin. I was building a complete offering.

People told me to niche down. Do one thing. Do it well.

I respectfully disagreed. And I still do. I just can't do one thing. 

I said yes to things that scared but excites me. I showed up even when I didn't feel ready. I treated every single client, big or small, like they were the most important booking on my calendar, and I gave it my all on every single one.

Because each opportunity is important.

How the luxury brand work started.

Honestly? It started with showing up consistently and professionally every single time.

Luxury brands don't just hire talent. They hire reliability. They hire someone who will represent their brand in front of their most valued customers without making them nervous.

My background in finance actually helped enormously here. I knew how to communicate professionally. I knew how to manage expectations. How to work efficiently with the highest standard and quality possible. I knew how to make clients feel confident in their decision to book me.

The first luxury brand led to another. And another. Until one day I looked up and realised I had worked with Montblanc, Prada, Chaumet, Fendi, Dior, Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger, Tory Burch and over 35 others well-known luxury brands.

From zero. From a blank canvas. From a career in banking and a gut feeling that wouldn't go away.

What the business looks like now.

Today I run Candy Ng Art, offering live illustration, live engraving, and Western and Chinese calligraphy for events across Melbourne and Australia.

I also run Bonbon Creative Co., a creative agency that manage a selected teams of live artists for larger scale brand activations. When an event needs more than one artist, or at multiple locations on the same day, that's what Bonbon is for.

I exhibit fine art paintings, teach creative workshops, and in June 2026 I'm heading to Fukuoka, Japan for an artist residency at Studio Kura.

It looks nothing like what I imagined in 2020. My art income is almost double of my previous 6-figure day job. 

It's so much better than I could ever imagine.

What I'd tell someone starting from scratch today.

Start before you feel ready. You will never feel ready.

Say yes to the small bookings. Every booking each you something new.

Be so easy to work with that clients never have to think twice about booking you again.

Don't hide your background. Whatever you did before this, it's part of your advantage. Use it.

And if someone tells you that you can't build a luxury art business in Melbourne with no connections and no art degree...

Well. somehow I did it. 

If I can do it, you can too. 

📩 hello@candyngart.com 📱 +61 481 783 811 🌐 candyngart.com 📸 @candyngart

Fine Artist | Live Event Illustrator, Engraver & Calligrapher | Melbourne, Australia | Available internationally