You dream of selling your artwork and making a great living as a full time artist.
You want to be successful, ditch the day job and exhibit at sought after exhibitions and art fairs. But you know you haven’t got a chance of seeing that happen unless you can truly make the right connections and start selling your work.
Of course, the big question is how?
Sure, you get the occasional sale but it’s not like people are raving about your art.
I totally get that feeling of frustration and uncertainty. When I first started out I had many shows and exhibitions with ZERO SALES and the excitement of being a professional artist turned into being disheartened, and deflated.
But there is a recipe for success.
Build your creative muscles by looking beyond your current skill set
Running has become my church, my therapist and my proof that it is OK to set new, seemingly impossible goals and just start aiming for them, head up, wings out, no limits. I made a promise to focus on improving my creative skills and learn everything there is to learn about selling art.
Dedicate yourself to your art and constant learning.
When I signed up for my first marathon, I thought marathon training would just be like starting out in the art world — all about persistence when the going gets tough, but that quickly proved untrue.
As my training progressed, I discovered that success would depend on much more than just logging the miles. Marathoners put in hard work, of course, but getting to the finish line takes deliberate planning and practice, building sophisticated support systems, and a willingness to keep running — even after crossing the finishing line. Most of all determination.
Marathon training is a serious thing and much like being an artist it takes you on a road of discovery full of unexpected twists and turns. To get to the end you have to put on your shoes and hit the pavement, even when it hurts, even when it rains, even when it’s so hot you can not imagine how you will get to the end. Remember how much you can do and how much you love it.
Creativity works the same way, it’s a skill and its practice should never end. It must be practiced constantly. Try to schedule daily practice time on your calendar and stick to it.
Be prepared to dedicate as much time and energy into specializing as you can. A lot of sectors in the art field are saturated, so it is important that you are one of the best in terms of the quality of work you produce.
Respect the distance by improving 10 % each week
Just like marathoners, artists need to have a plan. As a runner, the basic principle is very simple: you run manageable distances during the weekdays, add a longer run at the weekend and take a day rest. The way to improve is by setting consistent, incremental goals. Typically, whilst training for a marathon the distance increases by 10%.
For artist wanting to make a living from their art, growth is everything. Growing your audience. Growing your mailing list. Growing your body of work. Growing your list of sold pieces. Growing your resources. Growing your network.
Create a clear strategy
You will need to develop a plan to outline the action steps that will help you reach your goals.
Big goals can be overwhelming but breaking them down into small manageable chunks with specific deadlines takes away the enormity.
Block time in your calendar, even if you can free up only 15 minutes a day for your projects — make sure you protect that time from any interruptions and most importantly stick to it! I find it very useful to add my daily tasks in my calendar. This way I am always ready to go and don’t waste time establishing what needs to be done.
Get help if you are not sure which steps you will need to take to accomplish your goal.
There are many ways of to figure this out, for example:
· Ask fellow artists
· Consult with more experienced artists or industry experts who have already gone through this process, they may be able to help by sharing what steps they took
· Network, ask question on industry specific forums
· Purchase a book, or search online for a guide or manual
· Be open to learning new tasks and skills if needed and keep in mind that it’s impossible to know everything. Keep researching and asking until you can create a realistic action plan.
When you try new things and move towards your goal you will find opportunities, mentors and support you never expected.
Keep visualizing your long-term goals — You’ll be less likely to cave to temptation when you focus on the long-term gain. Visualize yourself meeting your goals and reaping the rewards that you’ll gain by practicing self-discipline on a daily basis.
A solitary venture is team work in disguise
Understand the importance of your support team. Marathon running, like being an artist, is often a solitary effort. But even a solo effort is often teamwork in disguise.
I went on most of my training runs alone, but towards the end, I had a few training sessions with a with a faster friend — I easily increased speed by more than 30% on that run. Whenever we teamed up, I got faster, lighter, stronger and happier. Running dust sparkle!
It is also impossible to underestimate the value of the people cheering you along the way. Your support team will push you out of your comfort zone to do better.
Being an artist is about collaborating and being inspired by others. The people who support you and cheer you on will help you grow by pushing you outside your conventional patterns of thought. You will achieve greater success if the people around you -your family, friends, and mentors know about your goals.
For artists, it is vital to make the right connections in the industry.
I was never a big fan of industry events or private views. But my attitude changed after I considered private views and other networking events as the equivalent to job hunting. A job search with less misery and more booze. Whether you are searching for commissions or trying to advance your career, networking gives you the change to meet industry professionals and expose yourself to new opportunities.
Private views had a profound impact on my art career, it’s the place where I made contacts and build my network which has grown and evolved with me over the last 20 years. It is the place where you can meet like minded spirits and bond with new found friends over a common love of art.
Private views are like tribes, you will see the same people over and over again. People will start recognizing you and eventually, people will know your name and what you do. Going to private views gets your face known and makes galleries more open when you approach them at a later stage.
Have the strength to continue when the road gets bumpy
Character is modeled in the face of adversity. Sometimes you just got to grit your teeth and persist. The marathon did present many of these moments for me. There was a mile 15 when my hamstring started to cramp up and was jogging with one hand holding it tightly. On mile 19–26 I was introduced to the infamous “wall”, the point where you wonder will it ever end and why does every mile seem like an eternity.
As a professional artist, I have experienced more of these moments than when I was running. You are met with never-ending problems, challenges, and rejections. Only a well-trained mind, large amount of grit and absolute stubbornness will get you through.
It is heart-breaking to meet artists who are incredibly talented and produce amazing works of art, yet lack the drive or ability to work hard and sustain the intensity of the industry.
Talent alone is not enough and there are only a fraction of artists who present themselves as a complete package with a convincing body of work that would stand a good chance in a very competitive market. Artists are required to be highly determent which is difficult if faced with financial pressure or otherwise.
A Dream doesn’t become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. — Colin Powell
Determination, self-discipline and really hard work are all components of success in any field, the good news is that we can increase our determination and learn to be more self-disciplined.
No one wakes up one day suddenly blessed with self discipline. Instead you need to stick to your plan and its daily action steps to reach your goals. No matter what.
Do you want a striving art career or one that’s barely surviving?
If you have an urge to make a living from your art, then you owe it to yourself to take it seriously and make it happen.
By pushing and challenging yourself, making full use of your talents and with dedication and determination your potential will not go to waste.
You are in charge of your career and the artists that get attention in the industry are the ones who constantly learn and generate a buzz from their own efforts. So, identify your goal and take your artistic venture to the next level. Growing 10% each week will get you there.
Thanks for reading:-)
