The good news is that in spite of the economic woes that are obviously world wide, we find that “having” to sell to pay bills makes us more creative, taps into set aside skills and opens the door to continued creativity!  IF you want guarantees, a magic bullet, a secret to success…well there are plenty of people out there professing to know the answers-go see them!

But if you have figured out that maybe, just maybe, success in what you do is down to hard work and that there is no ONE answer or secret, then everything we have written so far has made an impression on you! And we have done our job:-)

So are you a problem solver? Or are you still blaming everyone but yourself for your lack of what you consider to be success? Do you meet every suggestion with a whiny voice “But I tried that and it didn’t work!”? Things are changing daily. Look at what was available 20 years ago, 10 years ago and look what is available electronically today! How are you sending mail? How are you communicating?  But marketing means you are marketing not just your art product but your skills as a communicator.  Can’t communicate well? Then FIND someone to help you!  Seriously folks…when I make a suggestion and get a bunch of whiners who say “But, but, but…..” then I am speaking to the wrong entrepreneur and you need to keep your day job! Plain and simple. An entrepreneurial artist FINDS solutions and answers and does not offer up excuses as to why something will not or did not work. I have heard EVERY problem imaginable from artists concerning their careers and when my every suggestion is met with a negative, I am wasting my time. You fall down, you get up. You get lost, find a map. You need sympathy? Go to your mom.  Honestly artists, if you want success in your area of expertise, forget everything you ever learned in art school about selling your art and start listening to artists who sell.

Having said that, guess what? We have tried to help you-Don’t try to stab us in the back! We have had artists post on our Facebook pages, show up  where we are, steal our articles to promote their own “how to sell your art” sites, try to monopolize our time at a show for free advice (surely worth a cup of coffee?) Seriously? Get your own life!  I solved many of the unethical problems by simply slowing down my postings, not giving our locations or specifics and in general, spending more time in the areas in which we do ourselves the most good!

Art is all about problem solving-from creating your art to how to sell it. There are NO shortcuts. If, after all these years you are still waiting for me to give you the key to success, well you’re too late. You could have been there by now. So today you have to make a decision-re-think your goals and get to work or  not.  Yes. It’s that simple.   BUT, if you decide that maybe the life of a full time artist is not for you, have the courtesy and maturity to accept that decision as one that YOU have made and not “blame” your spouse, your job, your kids or life in general for your decision!

Enjoy what you have and be happy!

I’ll try to keep up the newsletters but honestly, only those art gurus NOT creating art are the ones who go on and on about how YOU too can be an artist . I like to think that those of us who do live our lives as self employed artists, share the same highs and lows that artists from every previous century have faced. None of them had the time nor was it even an ideal, to wonder about “what is art?” They worked at the craft they were best suited to and that helped them make a living. Period.

So in keeping with evaluating the ROI on our time writing articles on making a living as an artist, it will be easier and more cost effective to share a few things here and there via Facebook. Because honestly, if you have not taken up the challenges to become an artist in the 5 years we have been sharing our knowledge, then you simply aren’t going to.  This lifestyle is not for the faint of heart.

SO pop over, add your comments, get inspired.

Theresa and Steve

This past year I have made more of a transition to  our Facebook page …and that’s to help me out. I pretty much work all the blogs, newsletters, etc.  single handed. So if there are far fewer posts that is the reason! Of course all of you are all welcome to add your comments, recommendations, etc here and on our FB page!

The other reason I have not posted as much is, yes, you guessed it, work!. As artists whose every bill is paid solely from the sales of our art, our priority is creating and selling our art.

So I have about 20 minutes this morning, here in front of the fire with hot coffee on a cold rainy (and not sure why it’s not snowing!) 37 degree morning here in NC. We plan to leave to see family in Pennsylvania tomorrow where I KNOW there is snow and return just after New Years.

We worked our tails off this month! Steve painted enough to need ice on his shoulder each night a week before Christmas and I kept just as busy with the portraits, the deliveries , the art classes and the displays. We both were zapped with some creeping crud around Thanksgiving and hacked our way through the studio for two weeks…but hey, we got through it!  There is an old saying “Make hay while the sun shines” and for every month where the sales are overwhelming, there are two months where they are so so and 1, sometimes  2 during the year where I wonder what a regular paycheck would feel like! Then I remember the days where I did not want to work and drove through the countryside at random, walked wooded trails or took out a kayak or spent the day working in my herb and flower garden or just messed about with random art for the fun of it….and I think “Nah-h-h!”

So we’ll be sending out Jan newsletter when we return and I will share just HOW we are able to “live the life of an artist”.  SO if that doesn’t keep you on pins and needles, nothing will
To see that Steve and I are real people, below is a list of our FB pages. Don’t like or use FB? You should…many of our collectors respond quicker to our messaging through FB than even the phone!

Happy NEW Year!

Theresa    www.facebook.com/MTheresaBrown
Steve         http://www.facebook.com/stephen.filarsky

www.facebook.com/artcareerexperts

I could go on and on but you get the picture.  Make a list. Make it detailed and make it thorough.  Use ours as a beginning guide (all art forms are different) and life as an artist on the road will be easier, calmer and far less stressful when you know that you checked everything off on your list!

ART SHOW CHECKLIST coutesy of www.ArtCareerExperts.com
Use our list and add to it as needed for your partciular situation/art product. Make as detailed a checklist as necessary to make it easier to zip through your list for each show. For multiple day shows, have an idea of what you will wear each day and make sure that you bring those items.
Your personal list may be separate but it too should be itemized to prevent hyperventilating situations!

The following is divided into Outdoor and Indoor shows.

OUTDOOR Set up Tent or Canopy  (Always know if your tent is UV protected and what winds/rain it can withstand. Be prepared!) All art shows tents should be 10′ x 10′. Booth display designs are built to accomodate that size.

One day or multi day shows

Tent

• Weights and Stakes and ratchet tie downs

• Carpet or Mat (RV Patio Mat or Indoor/Outdoor Carpet)

• Hand truck / luggage cart (can be critical)

• Rope and bungee cords

• Cable ties

• Booth SIGN

Display

• Display Walls

• Wall covers and hardware

• Hooks and Hangers, velcro

• Display Cases

• Display Stands

• Print Rack/prints

• Table (4, 6 or 8 ft)

• Table cloth/cover

• Business Signs

• Plastic drop cloths or tarps

• Artwork!

• Prints or Cards

• Price tags / labels

• Stool or chair

• Extension cords

• 1 or 2 fans

• Easels

• Any art supplies needed if demonstrating on site

• bungee cords

Tools

• Hammer
• Pliers
• Screwdrivers
• Cable/electrical ties
• Duct tape
• Spring clamps
• Glass Cleaner
• Paper towels
• Towel

Office/Sales Supplies

• Calculator
• Money
• Money box/fanny pack
• Sales/receipt book
• Pens/Pencil/Marker
• Scissors
• Stapler and staples
• Price tags/labels
• Credit card signs/logos
• Square credit card processor/your cell phone
• Boxes and/or Bags
• Promotional items
• Business Cards
• Business Card Holders
• Guest Book
• Guest book pages
• Portfolio of past work
• Post Cards
• Brochures
• Name tag

Personal

• Cooler / thermos
• Paper towels
• Sunscreen
• Hat (optional)
• Sweater
• Insect Repellant
• Towel
• Breath mints/gum
• Baby wipes
• Hand sanitizer
• Comfortable shoes

Medicines

• aspirin/tylenol/ibuprofen
• anti-nausea anti-diarrheal
• hayfever/allergy

Cooler
Bottled Water
ice/drinks
Coffee
Food – sandwiches/ snacks

Not to do!
NO READING BOOKS
NO CELL PHONE CONVERSATIONS
NO WEB BROWSING/EMAIL CHECKING
NO NEWSPAPERS
NO FAMILY REUNIONS OR NEIGHBORHOOD GET TOGETHERS
__________________________________________________________
ART SHOW CHECKLIST ArtCareerExperts.com
INDOOR Set up  (No tent)

With the exception of no tent, everything stays the same EXCEPT yo will need many lights. ALWAYS have lights in an indoor booth. Put up more than you think you need! Using the energy efficient bulbs will keep your booth cool and not blow electrical circuits!

Lights LOTS of LIGHTS for indoor shows!

• Extension Cords
• Power Strip
• Extra Light bulbs/energy savings bulbs (to not blow circuits)
• Carpet or Mat RV Patio Mat or Indoor/Outdoor Carpet or Foam tiles, gel mats
• Stool or chair
• electrical ties-lots of them

Follow the list above from this point on for the outdoor shows. You may not need sunscreen but you may need a sweater. Be prepared!

Guest post by Valeria Bornstein of Fame House

Pinterest has quickly become one of the fastest growing social media sites, now boasting over 11.7 million unique visitors per month and 17.8 million registered users. Pinterest’s rapid growth is the result of a few key factors. First, their platform is visually appealing. Users select items of interest based primarily on imagery, so there is very little text to read, ultimately retaining a user’s attention for much longer.

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/05/using-pinterest-for-artist-marketing.html

I have already received some orders from having  done this BUT that was not my original intent. Some publicity? Well sure but this article was written quietly, after the presentation (and lol-bad photos from it) and my first inkling was a call from a collector who clued me in on the article

I am happy to have been a part of securing memories and we made prints available to the firefighters themselves.:-)

News – Raleigh

Angus was the beloved firedog at the Durham Highway fire station.

Kellner: 919-829-4802

I confess to not being much into psychiatrists  and further confess that I think half of them are full of BS. (my apologies to those who think otherwise) but I think this guy has a good handle on reality and so many artists need a bit of positive reinforcement that they may not be getting elsewhere!

Furthermore, many artists are NOT doing well in this current economy judging from my emails, so branching out and adding new elements to what you already do involves a commitment (There’s that word) of a new type!

<This (following) is not a popular concept, just a true one:

Anything worth doing (e.g., living a mentally healthy life) takes commitment.

When I refer to work I mean a real commitment — not just involvement. You may be wondering about how these are different. This was explained to me once by a salesman I met years ago — I’ll try to get his accent just right for full effect:

“Sunn [sic], the difference ‘tween involvement and commitment is the same as the difference ‘tween eggs and bacon. The chicken is involved. The pig is committed.” It’s hard to argue with that.

Commitment is key for making and sustaining real change in your emotional life. I don’t expect you to go ahead and turn yourself into bacon, but what’s needed is not just a wish to change in five sessions or less, or to have a therapist “fix” you, but an actual commitment to do something different — to push through when the going gets tough, because unfortunately it does.

A true commitment to personal change requires three things:

1. Vision
2. Promise
3. Energy

Let’s look at each of these things in turn.

Vision: It’s wonderful if you know exactly what you’d like the New You to look like, but it’s not necessary. All that that you need is to be open to imagining yourself and your life as different than they are now. You can explore the particulars along the way.

Promise: When you commit to change you implicitly make a promise. The promise is not to your husband, your sister, your kids, or even your Labradoodle. The promise you make is to yourself. It’s like writing a check with your mind. The way you cash that check is with work.

Work: Yes, work is a four-letter word, blah, blah, blah… But when you truly believe in something, when you are moving with purpose, work is not just not bad — it’s good. Work means throwing your energy at something you believe in to make a change — to make it the way you want it to be.

Commitment is the recipe for change. When you commit with your vision, promise, and work, it pays off in something better than bacon (if there is such a thing)… real change.>

The new thinking is that the word “committee” is no longer in vogue and perhaps it conjures up Congress or the PTA.  Whereas TEAM conjure up teamwork, or the “go get ‘em” mentality. Corporate worlds have replaced the old words with the new for awhile now. But the question is : Has anything changed? Or is it still just one or two people looking for their little moment of authority?

We found it interesting when our county art council, funded by the state and memberships, began to shift towards the team mentality. Oddly enough that mentality was already there in the form of common good as a group of hardworking, unpaid volunteer Board members gave up many a Saturday to bring an obselete building and dying membership back into  the light. There was that “just roll up your shirtsleeves and get it done” mentality and comraderie that did not need to be enhanced or clarified  by a “committee” or “Team” tagline. The work got done in amazing time with amazing results.

Fast forward to a few new members fresh from corporate America (oh my we know how that works), with a Napoleon syndrome, and all of a sudden we are looking at charts and graphs that look like a family ancestry page and new papers to sign, rights squelched and TEAMS.   And now, nothing is getting done but a lot of talk.

What just happened? How could someone take a good idea, a working grass roots plan and  indoctrinate it with corporate laws, bylaws, adendums, control intellectual rights, muzzle  ideas and smother creativity-all in the name of “TEAM growth?” Worse of all, only we saw and spoke up about the “emperor’s clothes.” How could sane people not see this for what it was….and is?  There is always a danger in removing the checks and balances in a democratic art environment….

Oh wait, we’re taking about Art right?

OK. It’s been a tough couple of years. We all admit it. Everyone and every business has felt it to some degree.   As working artists, whose total income comes from the sales of our art,  we have had to improvise, expand,tweak, adjust, invent, add and scramble to live a comfortable lifestyle and pay our bills!  To us, making a business plan has always been a call to action and we have done it successfully for over twenty years but never so much as the past two years!
So, IF you have heard enough of all the artist whining that has been going on about the economy and how no one is buying art  and how no artist should have to sell or market and where is the guaranteed way and place to sell one’s art, then this article is for you.   The economy is what it is and to achieve your goals in your plan of action, you simply have to make a few adjustments in your thinking and decide to work within the framework of what is here and now.
And as you can tell, at Art Career Experts, when it comes to selling your art,  we have always felt that there is WAY  too much emphasis on “making the artist feel good” talk and not enough on action. In a world where people feel it is their right and duty to  “feel good” about everything,  the fantasy world of expectations of what being an artist is all about has led to many thousands not realizing a dream. The reality is that all successful artists have had to work hard.  Developing a strong work ethic has never stunted any artist’s creativity.  And whoever thinks that is simply looking for an easy out!

So with that in mind, if you need your ego stroked and your hand held, and my “get ‘er done” directness offends you, there are plenty of other bloggers making big money soft peddling the “artist life fantasy!”  So I won’t apologize for skipping the feel good stuff because if you are serious about making a living with your art, you will be more interested, and won’t mind, getting down to brass tacks and making a  Plan of Action for the year.   Your mindset needs to be on getting it done and turning it into your reality. The one guarantee is that once a plan is written out and put into effect, it is a record of each quarter and each year of your art business and shows you exactly where your ideas are or are not working.
1. Start with what you accomplished last year. It does not matter how you felt your year should have been-  look at all the positive events and accomplishments.
2.  Look at how these accomplishments helped you realize or move toward your goals. Look at what you planned to do and didn’t get done. Did that hinder you or did you end up taking another path toward your goals?   Everyone has a goal whether they wrote it down or not.  Let’s assume for the sake of this article, that you are a visual artist and that your goal is to make  $50,000 in art sales income this year.
Let me digress as I am going to assume that you have the ACE  marketing book  or audio or workbook or even the basic business plan. To have and have read or listened to them indicates your decision to get serious. Because the basics are in them all and you will already know the over 75 places online and offline to sell your art! To not have any of our marketing tools means you’re not  ready to  commit to ANY plan as you are still seaching for the one that suits your needs.  Be truthful and know yourself
Now, what you want to do is look at how what you did or didn’t do last year moved you towards or away from this goal. This is what you need to know to be able to make this year’s Plan of Action and make it work.
The Goal: Earn $50,000 this year in art sales. That is approximately $4200.00 monthly. It is a figure that needs to stay in the back of your mind.
The Action Plan: So how are you going to do that?
1. List every place or way that you sold a piece of art last year or recently and decide that you will improve on it!
2. Look at every place on the ACE list of where YOU can sell your art in public.
a. Narrow the list to 2 places that you can actively pursue
3. Commit to either Etsy or Ebay for your online store.
a. Set up the store
b. Monitor it daily
4. Look at WHO else can help you sell your art.
a. local Gallery
1. contact them with portfolio of work
2. see what they do that will help you
b. Friends, co-workers, family
c. art groups, co-ops, businesses
5. Art Shows
a. which ones will support your kind of art?
b. use common sense and decide if local or distance is the way to go
6. Newsletters-monthly
7. postcards/snail mail-quarterly
8. emails, phone calls, follow ups
9. What else can you do with your art? Multiple “streams of art income” WORK!
a. classes/workshops
1. online and/or offline
b. new products
1. online/offline and where
c. reproductions in all forms-same thing
d. etc.
10. Social Media
a. commit to Facebook and develop your page or your friends
1. Hint: stay away from controversy on your business page!
b. Linked or Twitter-you can survive fine without them-work them if you want
11. Website-
a. This is all in the ACE books -you need one
b. Blogs-yes and keep it up
c. Youtubecan be a good thing for traffic-no experience required-simple
12. Cut your losses-eliminate or cut back your time and effort on anything that is not giving you some return for your investment in time and money!
13. ALWAYS know where you are financially! And which one of your streams of income is falling behind or not working!
14. Plan your marketing using all the free outlets-be very selective with paid advertising.
15.  The five words that will stop you from being successful are “I don’t feel like it.” Decide to change the way you are working and stop complaining! It’s too negative.

Remember the 80/20 rule. Twenty percent of your effort leads to eighty percent of your results. Look at what worked last year. Build on that. Look at what MIGHT work this year. Build on that.  Nothing works if you don’t try.
We want to work smarter not harder. It’s hard enough already. If you didn’t love doing it, you probably wouldn’t.  Keep you eye on the ultimate goal. Think of it as a destination. Your action plan is your ACTION PLAN.  It is way past time dreaming that past artists had it easier or that an artist should not have to market or that marketing is a “necessary evil.”
Does it really matter if you get to your destination by a different route than you planned?  No. What matters is your attitude. Stop blaming others.  Then add your determination to roll up your shirtsleeve, work with what you have and start making your goal a reality.
“Even a kick in the rear is a step forward.”