Art Schools & Careers

Explore Art Schools and a Career in Arts

Art Careers Require Marketing

Your marketing should be like a dangling bit of yarn, leading the client, customer or collector to you.

Art careers require marketing, PR, and other administrative efforts.

Somewhere — I can’t recall where, right now — I read that an artist should spend about 50% of his or her time on marketing.

So, I was stunned to see a recent poll showing that some artists dedicate less than 10% of their time to marketing.

I’ll admit this is a case of “Do as I say, not as I do,” but really… 10%?  Are any of these people serious about their art careers?  Whether it’s a percent of your day, your week, or your month, 10% isn’t enough to achieve anything resembling success.

Here’s the poll and the article about it:

MAKING A MARK: Time spent on marketing by artists (poll results)

makingamark.blogspot.com12/1/11

Topics include: art news, art blogs, drawing, painting, visual artists, art competitions, art exhibitions, art history; art techniques and tips; art business and marketing; the art economy and making a mark with pastels, coloured …

Artist and writer Katherine Tyrrell tackles some fascinating topics in her blog.  This is just one of several excellent articles for people who have — or are considering — art careers.

Her poll results seem a little stunning.  I’m not sure if the numbers are so dramatic because she’s not well-enough known among professionals, yet.

(Of course, that’s one reason I’m talking about her and linking to her, here.)

Or, perhaps the poll isn’t truly representative of her full audience; after all, she has the #3 art blog in the UK.

You can follow her at Twitter as makingamark2.  Recommended!

Art Careers – For Love or for Money ?

Your art career – is it for love or for money, or both?

In today’s turbulent economy, everyone — not just artists — can feel as if they’re on a runaway roller coaster.

It’s easy to get sucked into the idea that everything has to be about income.  When money becomes 99% of your reason for working, you can lose sight of why you really chose your field of work.

This is especially true for people with art careers.  Especially at the beginning, it seems like artists are always running from the spectre of the “starving artist” image.  (Which, by the way, is not a valid stereotype… unless you choose it for the apparent romanticism of the imagery: Shabby clothes, unheated garret, circles under your eyes, and maybe a little Moulin Rouge thrown in for good measure.)

So, this Reason article — quoting the WSJ — caught my attention:

The Economics of Heavy Metal – Hit & Run : Reason Magazine

reason.com12/6/11

The Wall Street Journal reports that European politicians and business leaders aren’t the only ones making high-level decisions in response to the continent’s…

Metallica’s decisions based on the money involved… who knew?

Okay, I’m joking.  This isn’t a huge surprise, but to cancel their European 2013 concerts, more than a year out… that’s a little chilling.

I’m also looking at their “summer vacation” plans.

The point is: You’ll need to balance your drive for money, which is common sense, with the importance of sharing and devoting time to marketing.

In a tight economy, it’s easy to shift your focus to earning enough money to survive.  The problem is, how do you define “survive”?  Is it adding heat to your garret?  Is it having enough money to afford a bigger yacht than your neighbor owns?

For most people, the line is somewhere in-between.  Before you get caught up in a constant drive for money — cued by alarming financial headlines — decide the exact point that’s “enough” money.

Maybe it’s three times (3x) your basic monthly bills.  Maybe it’s owning a $150k house, outright, and having a one-year supply of food & necessities in your basement.  Maybe it’s being able to take your kids to Disney World for two weeks each year, and not pinch pennies the rest of the year to do that.

Whatever your goal is, write that down, so you don’t lose sight of it.

Then, go ahead and devote half your time to that.  (Okay, if you’re one overdue bill away from having your family in a homeless shelter or on the street, get past the emergency phase.)

However, as soon as you’re out of absolute danger, financially, dedicate the other half of your workday to sharing with the community, and alternative marketing.

In a tight economy, you have extraordinary opportunities to share — to do things, free of charge — which will be remembered far into your career, long after the economy has settled down.

Some things can be for love and money, particularly if you’re able to look at the long-term picture.

Sharing with the community, especially when people are so grateful for your efforts, needs to be a vital part of your art career.

What can you share, today?

Return of Photo-Realism ?

Photo-realism is in the news again.

The return of photo-realism?

A return of photo-realism?  I must have missed the memo, big time.  However, it’s a trend to be aware of, as you plot your path to success in your art career.

My discovery of this trend began when Robert Genn’s recent email mentioned the return of photo-realism.  (Genn’s free, twice-weekly emails are brilliant, if you’re pursuing an art career.)

I skimmed that article, nodded in agreement with a lot that he said, and then went looking for evidence to support (or refute) his views.  Is there really a photo realism movement in progress?

It didn’t take me long to find that Robert Genn is, indeed, exactly right: Photo realism is surging as an art trend.

Personally, I’m not a photo-realist and never will be.  Oh, I had my photo-realism phase.  Soon, I was bored out of my mind.  There’s a lot of technical skill involved, of course.  However, when I pursued a photo-realistic style of painting, I felt more clever than inspired.

That’s a pretty wide gap.

I found myself musing over comments by Terry Gilliam, an amazing artist in his own right.  In the L.A. Times, he was talking about the art of film making, and he said,

“…there’s this rush now for photorealism and it bothers me. There’s so much overt fantasy now that I don’t watch a lot of the films because everything is possible now. There’s no tension there. Where’s the tension?”  — Terry Gilliam in the L. A. Times

I think he’s hit on something, and it’s about the emotional impact.

For me, the extreme opposite of photo realism is non-representational, abstract works.  However, I can argue equally well that the opposite is Impressionism, Tonalism, Luminism, or any of the other -isms that begin with something real and photographic, and transform the subject into something with more emotional impact.

That’s what’s missing in my clever, photo-realistic works: The emotional impact.

Of course, I can argue equally well that the sterile nature and lack of emotions in photo-realism can be statements as well… and important ones.  The innate spectatorism of modern life cannot be ignored, and the more chilling photo-realistic works convey that nicely.

Somewhere in-between, there’s the wit of photo montages.  (Those are collages with interesting, sometimes quirky elements added.  Often, the viewer may not notice the additions for a few minutes.  That’s where the humor comes into the work.)

However, returning to the theme of photo-realism, the following article (and the art in it – do click the link) caught my attention:

Paul Cadden – Glasgow, UK Artist – Illustrators – Artistaday.com

www.artistaday.com12/4/11

Cadden regards his paintings as a departure from classic Photo-realism, chiefly since they contain emotional, cultural and political themes without visual reference. His work has been exhibited in Glasgow including at the …

For me, the key phrase in that article is why Cadden sees his work as a departure from classic Photo-realism.  His works — while technically superb — contain emotional statements I rarely see in purely photo-realistic works.  That’s why I keep going back to that article, and to Paul Cadden’s website.

I can’t imagine anything that would draw me back to a realistic style, even hyperrealism, which is what Cadden is creating.  Photo-realism doesn’t inspire me.  (That’s not a value judgment of photo-realism in general, just a personal reaction.)

Nevertheless, this trend towards photo-realism is important to note.  If you work in this style, it’s time to issue some press releases, online and locally.  Your photo-realistic artwork may be exactly what collectors and galleries are hungry for, right now.

At the moment: Photo-realism sells!

Success – Why do you deserve it?

What makes your art stand out in the crowd?

On a recent flight to California, I was seated next to a woman who makes homemade soap.  She was returning from a gift show and she said she’d been pretty successful.

I congratulated her, and asked about her soaps.  I explained that I wanted to link to her site. To give her a good, informative link, I wanted to know why to recommend her soaps… what makes them better, or at least unique?

She shrugged as she handed me her business card, and said, “I don’t know. To be honest, all soaps are pretty much alike.”

Whoa.  That’s her “elevator speech?”

There are so many reasons her soap might be different:

  • Baskets of soap that look like fruits.

    Ingredients.  Is her soap all-natural? Based on old-fashioned recipes? Does she consider aromatherapy when adding fragrances? Is it hypoallergenic?  Is it gentle enough for a baby?

  • How she makes the soap.  Is it cooked up in her kitchen or backyard? Does she use a cold-processed method?  Is the soap hard-milled to last a long time?
  • How the soap is packaged.  Does she wrap it in vintage newspapers, or a 100% organic cotton face towel? Does the soap come in a package you can reuse?  Is each bar hand-wrapped with love?  Does she work with stay-at-home moms who do the wrapping and shipping?
  • Other specialties:  Does she make soaps that can also be used as shampoos?  To wash dishes?  Wash pets?  Clean artists’ paint brushes? Leave a citronella fragrance to repel insects? Come from a town or neighborhood with a fascinating history? Is the soap stamped with the image of her illustrious ancestor?  (The majority of Americans are descended from either Britain’s William the Conqueror or an Irish king.)  Is the soap wrapped in limited edition wrappers with local artwork on them?

The list could go on & on.

No matter what your product is — art or crafts — there’s something unique about what you do and why you do it.

Give people a reason to buy your product instead of (or in addition to) someone else’s.

Give fellow professionals a reason to recommend you.

If you aren’t committed to you art, and you don’t believe it’s better than any other competitor in your niche… find another product, or maybe another career altogether.

Art Careers – Compromise or Hold Out?

Art careers are like many other careers.  Some artists don’t realize that.

In business, good advice includes, “Get your foot in the door.  Then, work or network your way to the top.”

However, when I talk with artists about their art careers, they often insist on the perfect job from the start.  It’s that, or nothing.

Unfortunately, that’s an unrealistic attitude.  Too often, it leads to the “nothing” side of the equation.

Sympathy may help you feel better as you’re working at a fast food counter or stocking merchandise in the back room of a store, but those jobs aren’t — and usually won’t lead to — art careers.

Recently, I mentioned some good art careers options in the UK and the EU.  Resources like those exist in most countries.

Moving to a new location may be necessary.  Art careers exist in almost every community, but there may not be any art jobs available when and where you’re job hunting.

Compromises are often necessary in pursuit of a successful art career.

  • It can be scary to move to an area where you know no one.
  • It may seem demeaning to take a janitorial or custodial job at an art gallery where you think your art should be.
  • You may not want to work as a journalist, reporting on art and people with art careers.
  • It’s not elegant, being the PA, nanny or gardener for the home of a famous artist, art critic, or other art professional.

However, all of those kinds of jobs keep you in contact with people who have art careers. Those people can help you once they see what an amazing artist you are.

The tricky part isn’t getting the job connected to art, but knowing how to play your cards so the person wants to help you.

It’s not unreasonable for someone to work for a year or two in a lesser job, before being “discovered.”

In that same period of time, the all-or-nothing artist will either wallow in his (or her) misery in a single, low-paying job.  Or, the artist will continue to shuffle from one minimum-wage job to the next, never working in a field connected to art careers.

My point is: If you can’t get the art job you want, it’s best to find a job that will lead to the art career you want.

After that, it’s a matter of politics and patience.

Art careers can be like any other career, in that respect.  It’s important to keep that in mind when you’re pursuing work in the arts.