MOST ARTISTS LIVE EXTRAORDINARY LIVES. “Extraordinary” in the sense that they’re outside the norm, the “ordinary” of what other people do. In fact, many artists feel called to live their Truth no matter the cost. Some artists tell me they feel they were born to create. It’s not unusual for artists to feel that art is their Purpose. It’s what…
Artists all over the world rely on art fairs and festivals to promote their brand and sell their products. Many artists depend on these events for their livelihood, and many do very well. According to the TEFAF Art Marketing Report for 2018, over one million people attended the world’s top 20 art fairs last year. And projected sales for this year…
Have patience with all things unresolved and learn to love the questions themselves. – Rainier Maria Rilke Artists are endlessly curious. But in life, we spend a lot of our time running away from questions. We want to know everything right now. Yet it’s only by following the questions that we find where the true answers lie. Artists are often…
When I was in college, I had a favorite professor, who taught art history. He’d started out as a photographer, a career that had been his lifelong dream since mixing his own chemicals in a makeshift darkroom under his parents’ stairway. As a young man, he’d had an opportunity to show his portfolio to an established and highly celebrated photographer…
Artists struggle with self-confidence all the time. Do you? Seriously, as an artist, you are putting the most personal and vulnerable parts of yourself forward. Everybody has an opinion on your work and thinks they know better—and it’s easy to listen to them. It’s certainly much easier than keeping the faith. I know a photographer who recently showed his work…
“I used to have a band,” he told me. He had played lead guitar and sang. It was the 1980s, and he worked hard, touring the country and gaining a small following. But he never broke through. When he turned 30, he got a chance to play one of the biggest music festivals in Great Britain. His brother ran the…
Art is more than just pretty pictures. The best art explores ideas, and ideas need time to develop and to grow. In fact, they demand it. Respect the process and give yourself permission to take time for your work. Schedule it—or, better yet, make it a part of your daily routine. Each day I take an hour or so to…
Any artist worth his or her salt is part of a larger arts community. Other artists are not your competition; other artists are your colleagues—and, I think you’ll find, your best friends. I once lived in a town with lots of artists but no community. Everyone worked in their own frustrated little bubble. I tried to begin a monthly get-together,…
When I worked in the art business, I talked on the telephone constantly. So much for the glamorous life! Who knew that cauliflower ear was an occupational hazard for art dealers? But I was moving and shaking, baby! I needed to be on that phone. I couldn’t be disconnected! My phone defined my life. I recently read a study suggesting…
It happened again. An artist wrote to me about a project she was offered, excited by the opportunity. She wasn’t going to be paid, mind you, but it would be “good exposure.” Ah good exposure! The two words that should make every artist cringe. I get it. Trust me, I still do things for good exposure. And I find it…
