A Little More Conversation

When I first started exhibiting my work, I didn’t really interact much. I didn’t completely engage myself in any real conversation with my prospective buyer.

Admittedly, I was a little preoccupied with making sure that I was organised. In other words, I was a little over anxious. A little nervous I guess.

So I was a preoccupied with…“does my stall look okay? Oh shit, I didn’t sign that painting properly! Oh no, I really shouldn’t have had that last coffee, as now I have no-one to relieve me while I go to the loo…”

But after a couple of showings I quickly loosened up and engaged in some great conversations. I remembered someone said to me long ago that people are not nearly as interested in you as they are interested in themselves.

So I simply put that piece of advice to good use and sold a bunch of paintings as a result.

Off course there were plenty of people I had conversations with that didn’t end up purchasing any of my work. But it was interesting to note that quite a few contacted me weeks, even months later about buying my art or wanting something commissioned for their home.

People will buy your art because they like what they see. But in some cases, if you are not receptive – as I wasn’t when I first started because I was futzing about and getting distracted – then it’s unlikely they will approach you to express interest in purchasing your work.

After I settled into the whole art of selling your art, I began approaching people with an emphasis on who they were, rather than the typical “Hey let’s talk about my painting” type of introduction.

I knew that if I could get someone talking about him or herself, they’d be more susceptible to wanting to know more about my art.

Essentially, I made the conversation all about my stall visitor and a lot less about my paintings.

While this is a good way to go about “not having to sell your work,” it is also a great technique for the shy artist, who is not yet completely confident with exhibiting their work. The answer is to talk less about your work and steer the conversation to being about your visitor.

It takes the spotlight off  you, makes you feel a little more comfortable and allows you to get to know more about the person you are dealing with.

The more you can get your potential buyer to open up about themselves, the more will be revealed about what they like and don’t like.

It’s through doing this I discovered many people actually wanted something that had not yet been created – so right there was an opportunity for suggesting commission work.

The main point is to talk to people without any expectation of a sale. I have spoken to so many people and never made a sale. But I have had some amazing conversations.

Some conversations have been absolutely hilarious. Some are sad. Some are truly weird. Some are a little confrontational. Some are too political. Some people are drunk, loud and talk a whole bunch of nothing. Some people are so quiet and incredibly difficult to engage in a conversation. Some conversations have been with some of the most interesting people I have ever met.

But it’s through these conversations that I have been able to understand the person who is interested in my art. It’s more inspiring to delve into the lives of your customer, client or collector than it is to talk about your art all day long.

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Stomping On Your Fear Of Failure

I once read a quote that said something along the lines of…

“An artist can’t really fail, because to be an artist is a success in itself”.

So in other words, the decision to be an artist is quite a brave one. It’s quite a bold move. It deserves admiration.

Some believe it’s not really their choice to be an artist anyway… it’s  an obsession that can’t be controlled.

In regards to failure…

It’s my belief; that you can only really fail if you stop doing what you do.

Energy V’s Profit

Let’s move our thoughts from the common goal that many artists wish to achieve for a moment, and that is to produce salable art.

I think the ultimate reason why an artist may quit is because they did not succeed in reaching a certain level of energy in their art – and not because they can’t sell their work.

I have tested this theory consciously. I discovered that my greatest frustration as an artist was in the struggle to develop a good level of energy when producing a piece of art. It was sometimes a battle because the piece wasn’t going in the direction that I wanted it to. It didn’t inspire me; therefore it had no real level of energy.

I think this is the biggest personal fight an artist has to contend with.

I also discovered something else; I was looking at my art, as I was producing it, through someone else’s eyes. Right there is the biggest cause of failure – trying to produce art in accordance to someone else’s expectations.

Working through some other persons expectations and not your own could well be likened to working with a fear of failure.

Note: Some commission work is based on the buyers input. But if it becomes the buyers project, then you have a real challenge. Avoid getting stuck in any project that does not inspire you. To produce something that doesn’t really have your heart in it, kind of goes against the whole philosophy of being an artist.

Don’t Fear Failure

So how do you remove this fear of failure?

It’s kind of simple really: Relentlessly work at maintaining your natural expression without expectation of applause, money or fame.

The problem for a lot of us artists is that we tend to complicate things. We live in a society that has raised us to believe; that if we don’t see an instant return on our efforts then we obviously aren’t doing it correctly or were simply not cut out for our chosen duty.

The thing is… you can’t really fail as an artist if what you are producing on the canvas matches the message in your heart. You can only really be measured by your commitment, not by how many trophies or ribbons you have.

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How To Stay Motivated

Determination + Desire = Motivated!

Back when I first started working with oils, I didn’t produce anything that was really impressive.

Some folk may have thought so, but I knew deep down that my work wasn’t that good.

In other words, I didn’t feel like I was showing much talent with my oil paintings – and knowing this could well have been enough to lose complete motivation as an artist.

But I had a real determination to one day produce work that I could look at and appreciate. I also had a desire to make art that could one day be sold.

I achieved both.

If you have a true hunger to be good at what you do, then you’ll discover that you’ll never really suffer from a lack of motivation.

If you have a real desire… a real fire in your stomach, then you’ll always be ready to move ahead.

The idea is to try and remove some of the unnecessary crap we tend to think about too much and simplify what we actually want.

Here are a few simple concepts I plant in my head and things I do to stay motivated with each new project:

1. Define the result I want
2. If I am a little apprehensive about how to go about it I have a couple of other pieces of work (physical or photo) on hand to refer to in order to maintain those “Ah-ha” moments I require now and then.
3. Have a working schedule. I have a set time for doing certain tasks. I sometimes almost yawn my head off when it comes to this kind of organising. But I really tend to slack off if I don’t have a system for doing things.
4. The whole time I am working I keep thinking about how good it will look when it is finished. Confident? Arrogant? Perhaps, but it sure as heck helps me to stay motivated (wink).
5. Play loud music that I really love.
6. Keep my studio modestly clean. Some artists are not fussed with messy studios. The problem I have is that if I walk into my studio and it is messy, I have tendency to walk right back out again and no work gets done.

All you really need to do in order to get or stay motivated is to define what it is you want. Then put a basic plan together to achieve it. Create a deadline and then simply go for it. It need not be any more complicated than that.

When I first started out I lacked motivation because I kept comparing what I was doing with other artists who had become quite successful. All this does is make you jaded. So what I recommend is work with your own purpose – it’s a great source of motivation.

Nobody can do what you do the way you do it.

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Have You Ever Been Experienced?

I have spoken to artists both personally and to those on my newsletter list via email about “experience”.

There seems to be this fear that some of them have not had enough experience as artists, therefore are hesitant about pushing themselves further into the public eye to showcase their work.

I don’t think you have to reach a certain point as an artist in order to start being validated as an artist. Experience is not really the “destination” you need to reach in order to make a start on getting your work out there.

There is no doubt that experience certainly gives you confidence. But I believe that experience is really no more than a word to sum up our mistakes.

And through experience we slowly become experts at what we do, because we slowly learn how to avoid doing it the wrong way.

So if you are an artist who believes that you can’t move forward because you do not yet have enough experience, keep in mind that you cannot really face experience any other way than by getting out there and doing what it is that you do.

You are going to make mistakes (get experience). We all do. But there really is no destination as an artist. In fact I believe it takes an entire lifetime to become really good at what it is that you do. So you should just start doing it.

As you progress as an artist your “experiences” will greatly enhance the depth of your work.

So the big tip is to go out there and start making mistakes. It’s the only way to truly gain experience.

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How To Create a Vision as an Artist

To put it in real simple terms, having a vision helps you to see another 20 to 1000 paintings ahead of the one you are currently working on.

Having a vision is what will ultimately inspire you to keep painting, keep drawing, keep working and believe in your ability as an artist.

Try To Avoid The Money Goal

One thing you should try to avoid is incorporating an economic barometer or some kind of financial goal into your vision for becoming a good artist. The problem with aligning your vision as an artist with monetary goals is that you will eventually become somewhat of a production line artist with not a lot to say in terms of what your art represents.

Another problem with incorporating the goal for money from your art into your vision is that you become less prone to take risks and explore avenues as an artist.

In other words, if you base your goals aspirations around money you will essentially be moving in the opposite direction to where you should be going in terms of becoming a good artist.

Branding and Marketing

Branding and marketing your work is nothing more than a process you need to become familiar with to make sales, but it should not be the purpose or the foundation of your vision as an artist.

The purpose of having a vision as an artist is so that you can see your journey working out step by step without any doubt or lack of confidence. It is also important because essentially a vision is what will keep your focused and motivated.

A vision evokes the whole adventure of being an artist. Just wanting to paint or create is really only paper thin in terms of commitment. A vision on the other hand is what moves and motivates you beyond just theories and good intentions; it moves you to take lots of action.

And when you begin to get this type of momentum as an artist, your spirit will soar and any issues you may have had in regards to doubting yourself and worrying about your ability to actually create good art will simply disappear.

The Challenge Of Creating a Vision

Now I know through my own experiences it can be a bit of a challenge to create a vision when you are just starting out. What you find yourself doing is referencing your work with other artists works that you admire.

We tend to look for familiarity or some kind rhythm that is close to our own. It’s only natural that we do that to develop as the beginner. But eventually we have to break away from seeking that type of creative guidance through other artists work and begin our search to discover our own voice.

You see… what gives you that clear idea, and that clarity on the canvas is directly influenced by the intensity of your creative vision.

Accessing Your Creative Rhythm

Let’s look at this equation:

Inner vision + ultimate expression = Creative Rhythm

Your inner vision is things like imaginative images, or images from your memory or images you have of the future, intense hallucinations, free flowing ideas,

Your inner vision is much like your sensitive eye, or your emotional sight if that makes sense. It’s that ability to see beyond what our physical eyes don’t see.

Now don’t worry too much if this doesn’t resinate with you straight away. Creating a vision can take time.

So don’t fret because you can’t see what you think you need to see in order to start creating good art. I am merely exposing you to the concept and not expecting you to be able to have a clear vision of what you want to create as an artist in the next 48 hours.

It could take you week’s, months or years to really embrace your vision. It is a journey; so don’t feel intimidated because you are operating without a clear vision. The purpose of this lesson is to explain to you how motivated and focused you can become as an artist when you have a vision to pursue.

Essentially it is what will give you a true purpose to keep working beyond your expectations.

Ultimate Expression

Now the second part of that equation is “Ultimate expression”

Well, I guess this part is probably best understood if you think of how much you love your partner or your son or daughter, or even a friend or a pet, and then think of how you express that love. It’s a very natural thing to do. It doesn’t require much thought or real effort to apply. And that ultimate expression is generated from the vision you have of that person or pet.

And so the same goes with art, if you have a solid vision then you will discover that breeds a sense of ultimate expression, which lead to the last part of the equation, Creative rhythm.

If you have seen any videos of me producing my own work, you might often see me moving about, as if I am working in time with the beat of the music, or may look like I am dancing a bit.

Well essentially I am giving myself completely to that creative rhythm. I have the inner vision of what I want to produce which lead to the freedom of being able to express it clearly on the canvas and that of course provides the creative rhythm or to put it another way, the power to fully charge the engine and keep in running in order to produce the piece without hesitation, accidents or doubts.

Vision: The Art Of Being…

Vision is the art of being able to see things that are not visible to the human eye.

Essentially, what people will be buying from you is not just a nice canvas painting, but also a part of your vision. Many people like the idea of being able to associate with an artist’s motivation and passion, because it helps to dispel their own doubts in life and add a sense of value to their life through the inspiration they receive from looking at and owning your artwork.

Sure, there are lots of people who just art to match the sofa – and that’s great, art is decor. But in many respects they are buying for the same reason as the person who sees a lot of depth in your work  – to feel good and have something they love to look at.

Personal Commitment

Having a vision authenticates your personal commitment to your journey as an artist.

Having a vision makes it easier to break down your goals into bight size pieces and give you the ability to create strategies that will ultimately generate results in regards to creating art beyond your greatest expectations.

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