“ Me, a celebrity Artist?”

 

Being invisible, you are controlled by fear and do all you can to fit in with the crowd.
Being courageous, you are controlled by self belief and determination and you will stand out like a celebrity.
So often I have heard in group Art shows, the invisible Artists see that one Artist who is out there mixing and talking with the collectors and strangers and they say,” Who do they think they are, the star of the show? 
This is a group show and we are all supposed to work together.”
In other words, they should be afraid like us.
They should be invisible and let the Art speak for itself?
No overcome the fear, be courageous and when the fear says,
“ Don’t talk to the strangers, they will laugh and criticise you.”
Immediately contradict the fear and go up and talk to the strangers like a celebrity Artist would.
You might not be a celebrity Artist yet, but better to act like one now than to be invisible.
This is not wrong, the reason I know it isn’t wrong is because the majority of Artists, “the crowd” say you should not do that, “it is show boating, it is being proud, you are trying to steal the show,” dam right I am, I might only ever get one opportunity to talk to these strangers about my Art and I do not want to miss this opportunity.
Because the fear says no, that is what controls the crowd, you must say “go” and speak to the stranger.
Be the celebrity Artist, you will have little competition, everyone else are trying to be invisible.
To be the celebrity Artist you will not only have to deny the thief but also walk against the crowd as well.
This is your Art career, you did not sign on for group think or to be controlled by the fear, so walk against both.
What will happen if you do this?
You will ignored and pushed away by the crowd.
You will be criticised by the crowd.
You will be hated by the crowd.
But once you are the successful Artist that you are, you will be loved and admired by the same “invisible” crowd.
The collectors and strangers, they will always love you, as they love a celebrity Artist.

Paint your life.

 

When we show our Art we must be ready for many different comments I remember someone saying to me at one of my openings that they did not want to buy my paintings because they were so different and they had never seen anything like that before.
I was not offend, I was amazed, because I thought original Art should not be like anyone else’s and I was also happy because I did not want my work to be like the rest of the Art crowd.
To many painting look like to many other paintings.
I always painted things differently to other Artists because I wanted my paintings to reflect me and be from me, I never wanted to paint like everyone else.
I certainly admire a lot of painters, like Picasso, Pollock, Fairweather but I have no interest in being them or painting like them.
Be different, discover what makes you the Artist produce your best work.
What inspires you?
What makes you need to put marks on a canvas?
You are on a journey to discover your Artist in you, the Art that reflects you and your personality, it is not just about your paintings, its about being yourself and painting life from your perspective, your vision.
So ignore what others are painting search out your muse and stay true to her and paint your life.
Remember if you are painting something that is very new, original and different and it has never been seen before, it will take time to be accepted, so be patient and always give your Art your best effort.
Be the best Artist that you can be and always be true to your own vision.

Question, “ Should I put prices on my FB posts of my paintings?”

 

To date I do not put prices on the Gallery Facebook posts.
The Gallery staff have once or twice but they have not had any response. We often get inquiries about paintings and their prices.
My feeling is that if the person who is looking at your painting and likes it and they go to the trouble of asking you the price, then you should pm them back the price and also ask them a question and try to get a conversation going.
Example PM, “ Thank you for inquiring about my painting “ Sunset over Small Bay ” it is priced at $100.
I did this painting on site over three days, catching the light and colours at that specific moment each day was both frustrating and wonderfully exciting. I feel I have caught the sunset at it’s peak time of colour and light, I am delighted with the result, it is impressive don’t you think?”
Getting them to answer a question will start the process of building something between you and the potential buyer, by doing this you are creating an opportunity for them get to know you better and then they may be more inclined to buy.
Whenever you respond to questions about your paintings on social, always try and finish your answer with a question, so you can keep the conversation going.
Sales are about building relationships

Living in the scary.

 

If we put prices on our Art then we need sales and this will be the reason we are able to go forward.
If you cannot sell what you make then you cannot survive, so this is a question I always wonder about.
Artists spend so much money on Art supplies, canvas, frames and all the other things they need to do what they love, then there is all the time involved to produce the work and it all needs to be sold.
Yet after out laying all this money and time, then they want a Gallery or dealer to sell the work for them?
Today there is not enough Galleries for all the Artists and as I keep saying the business is changing and the gatekeepers are disappearing because the internet is here to disrupt everything.
Selling is a skill that you have to learn, you can tell me that you are an Artist and you do not do that, that’s ok, but how will you sell your work?
Are you in a good Gallery?
Do you have a very proactive dealer?
If not then you will have to sell your paintings and that’s scary, because it’s strangers you have to deal with, they are the ones who will buy your paintings.
It is understanding the market that you are in and also realising that the world has now been opened for every Artist to sell into, your personal Art Gallery can now be open 24/7.
Because things are changing dramatically Artists must begin to think about the future when Galleries as we know them do not exist. The Gallery model is being forced to change in the west because of high overheads, many have closed and this will follow in Asia as well.
I know many think I am wrong when I say that future sales of most Artists will not come from the traditional methods, like Galleries, Art Fairs, dealers and auctions.
Artists will have to find new ways to market their work and that is both scary and exciting.
In their local areas it will be in Gorilla Galleries, weekend markets and malls and even on the street, consider the many possibilities that will be presented to the Artist, they will have to be very proactive and grasp every opportunity that comes along.
Most sales outside the Artists local area will come through the internet. This is the area where Artists will need to become very skilled at doing sales, selling online is taking off and Artists need to understand how to sell their Art around the world as more and more people look for Art online.
Selling online will also have to be creative and to get the attention of strangers, so take time to learn.
Commit to do one, one hour seminar each week about social network marketing on YouTube there is so much there to learn for free, so take the opportunity learn all you can and do it and experiment.
The winds of change are blowing and our business will change as well, I know it’s scary so be prepared, learn all you can about social network marketing, you owe it to yourself and the investment that you have already made in your Art business.
Living in the scary is the safest place to be.

Why do you paint?

 

Yes sales are important and we all have to earn a living so we must sell our Art.
Yet understand you are bringing more than just a sale to the table, you are adding value to another persons life through your Art.
Even if they don’t buy your painting but they look at it and find joy, hope and inspiration in your Art you have touched someone’s life and added something special to them and that is an extraordinary gift. 
Artists are called to create and through their creations they impact on the lives of others, so never underestimate the power of your paintings on others to inspire.
You may never know everyone who is moved by your Art but you will hear from enough to know that you are making a difference and your creative contribution is important no matter how alone you may feel sometimes.
Even if through your Art you only touch one special life and bring positive change into that life, how magical is that.
Imagine Artist you are called to make a difference in this world to create and bring joy, hope and inspiration into the lives of others.
Be encouraged, go forward you cannot give up.

The painting and painting.

No one knows how to do what you want to do because you have not done it yet.
No one knew how to paint a masterpiece before they did it the first time.
Picasso did not know how to paint “ Guernica” before he did it.
Nobody knew what “ Guernica” would look like.
Nobody knew what it should look like, before Picasso had painted it.
We start with an idea… “Fly to the moon.”
How do we do that?
Nobody knew how to do that, it had never been done before.
No instruction manual to follow.
Nobody had been to the moon before so they had to make it up as they went along.
There was no map, no instructions, just an idea that they had to turn into a reality and imagine they did it.
So with Art, before Jackson Pollock did “ Blue Poles” it had never been done before.
Before Monet painted the water lilies series, he had never done it before.
Art is a great adventure into the unknown doing things for the first time.
Art is about courage and stepping into the unknown and discovering you just painted your “ Guernica “ or “ Blue poles” and the exciting part is that they were not an end in themselves but a part of the journey defining a certain day, time, emotion and place in that journey.
It is never about painting a masterpiece it is always about painting. I am sure neither Picasso nor Pollock when they were painting their painting never thought to themselves that they were painting a masterpiece, they were just painting, working, because that is what they did.
The painting is a result of you painting, and it is not an end in itself it is just a part of the journey.
You the Artist are more important than the painting because without your creativity and all that makes up you, there would be no painting.
Rejoice in who you are all you are because that determines why you paint and what you paint..

Use your time wisely.

 

It takes time to build an Art career.
One of the keys to a successful Art career is good management of your time, we only have so much time we can work so make it efficient and deliberate.
Use your time efficiently, especially if you want to be successful in a shorter time than most.
Do seminars, read books that can help you learn what others have done before you and learn from their experience, their successes and initiate that into your life.
All you can learn from others, their success and experience you can compress into your life and this will cause things to happen quicker for you.
You can compress time, months into days, years into weeks, by studying hard and learning from the experience and success of others and applying it diligently into your life.
Always it is the inefficient use of time that delays so many from accomplishing so much.

Opportunity?

 

Every Artist today can take the opportunity to do something remarkable.
Imagine today like never before in history, I can watch Artists talk about and make their Art from all over the world.
What an amazing marketing tool.
I can watch Kelly in Australia talk to me about her marvellous abstract paintings.
I can then watch Katrina in her video from San Antonio Texas, show me her process for her beautiful fabric art pieces.
I can the watch Amy live from Meriden, Connecticut teaching me about her resin paintings and how to do it.
I can then read Mike Barr’s blog from Adelaide in South Australia and learn new ideas from an amazing talented Artist.
Isn’t that remarkable, that we can interact because of the internet and every Artist has the opportunity to do so.
We can all make a video of our Art work.
We can all write a blog and talk about our Art work and practice.
We all have the opportunity to interact and build relationships with people all over the world, I think that is remarkable.
What an awesome way to get out Art out there and market and sell it to new people.
What are you going to do with this amazing opportunity?

The Artist.

 

She understood what Art market she wanted to be in.
The Art market is diverse, find your niche and build there, know what you want.
She persevered for years to build her reputation.
Get attention and build a reputation of trust, honesty and integrity.
She protected herself against failure.
She was careful with expenses, always spending less than she earned each month, deliberate saving.
She did not waste her assets, managed her time well.
It’s not about how many hours you work, it’s about how much work you accomplish when you work.
She was pioneering in her attitude to create original, innovative artwork over a variety of price points.
She under promised and over delivered.
She brings value to the Art market.

Cannot be undervalued.

 

If we as Artists can make the sales process a good and memorable experience for the stranger and we can then give them excellent after sales service, we will be half way towards our next sale to our new friend and future collector.
Imagine the advantage we would gain if we were to do this, compared to those who could not be bothered or are not interested?
Excellence is hard work, and it cannot be undervalued.
Be the best Artist that you can be, excel.