Here are a few of the ways that I’ve found artists price their work: By being so traumatized by the very question of pricing that you decide to wait for posthumous fame and hide your work – lest anyone ask the price. By having angst about it until, fortified by chardonnay, you finally decide on a number. Any number. Just…
Emerging artists with little sales and exhibition experience often struggle to find doors that will open. It’s difficult to break into the art business! In a recent interview with art superstar William Wegman, I asked him how he was able to get into an art gallery when he started out? He said, “Other artists recommended me to their galleries. I…
An artist recently spoke with me about her work. She tearfully admitted that she’d been too busy to create new work of any substance. She was afraid. Afraid she won’t be able to connect with the muse again. Afraid she’d made a choice to have a family, a proper job, and now that part of herself; that wonderful, wild artist…
As she wiped away the tears, the artist told me her story. She’d applied for a project that was a perfect match for her work. She had all the right qualifications. She was certain that she’d get it. She even started to make plans for moving forward. But then she wasn’t chosen! It left her stunned, questioning herself and her talent. It…
Has anyone ever told you that your creative work sucks? If not, just wait. It’ll happen. And when it does, avoid the urge to hide in a hole. Instead, consider it a rite of passage. I’ve been told several times over my career that I’m not a good writer. And my photographs have been dismissed as well. Like most artists,…
In business school, they talk about The 6 Stages of Entrepreneurship. But in art school, they don’t even use the word entrepreneur. They should. Artists are entrepreneurs. That’s the truth. And it’s the difference between the old economy and the new. But artists have always been entrepreneurs; they’ve had to be. Though instead of The 6 Stages of Entrepreneurship, I…
I was taking a week-long Deep Writing workshop with the extraordinary creativity coach Dr. Eric Maisel. I’ve been writing for a long time now, so this wasn’t a how-to class, it was more about connecting with my work on a deeper level. What I learned about myself is that I was ready to fully embrace the writer’s life. What does…
So you’ve taken the jump and chosen to be an artist. Now what? Where’s the fabulous gallery opening in New York City? Where are the international collectors to lavish praise and money on you? Where’s the gallery to take care of all those pesky marketing tasks and details? Instead, you battle rejection. You wonder where the money is going to…
Have you got what it takes to be an ARTIST? Here’s my Top Ten List of what takes to succeed: 1. Failure. You’ve got to work through the bad in order to get to the good. Failure is an integral part of being an artist. 2. A website. Sorry, I know you didn’t want to hear this but it’s true.…
I recently learned an awful lot about the professional life of artists when I attended a conference that focused on arts graduates and how they’re faring in this changing economy. What I learned may surprise you. The conference itself was called 3 Million Stories, so titled for the 3 million art and design students in the USA. But the information…
