Get Your Art Out There

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Don’t Take It Personally

Somebody asked me during my weekend exhibit…

“How do you deal with criticism… like as in people who don’t like your art”?

My reply was …

“I am not my art, so I don’t really have to deal with anything. So because I don’t have to deal with it, I can concentrate on creating something better every time”.

Then the reply was…

“Oh ok, that’s cool. But I bet you perk up and feel great when people commend you on your work huh…”

My reply…

“The thing is… I have already assessed my work from an objective viewpoint. So I don’t really expect praise. I don’t need it in other words. But when I receive it I simply say thank you in respect to the person who has been BIG enough to see that I am merely trying to contribute something worthwhile.”

So my point is…

If you allow criticism to unsettle you, you allow fear to enter through the back door.

And if you allow this to happen you will be separated from your dedication to work.

So…

Don’t take failure personally – and certainly do not take criticism personally.

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Artist Toolbox

I have a two-day exhibit this week. Like always, I am so meticulous about making sure I am super organised  – I drive everyone crazy.

As I was getting organised this week I thought it might be a good idea to pop a few items that come in handy for when you are doing an outdoor exhibit on my blog:

Cable ties (come in handy to tie things down if the breeze picks up)

Camera (grab some snaps of the event and the people who buy your art)

Light chains (for extra strength – helps to stabilise your paintings better)

Packing materials (bubble wrap etc for the buyer who wants to take their painting right then and now)

Pens

Client contact book (keep a record of everyone who you talk to and bought your art)

Receipt book

Scissors

Masking tape

Table cloth’s

Drinks

Food

Painting description labels

Hand brush (nice to give your work a dust off)

Cloth for wiping dust

Business cards and business card tray holder

Fliers

Exhibit banner with your name

Hole puncher

Certificates of authenticity

Payment facility (if you don’t have a way to process credit cards grab a small deposit and use paypal to email an invoice to your customer)

Laptop

Blu tack

Easels (paintings look good on the equipment they were created on)

Stapler

Mints

Sunscreen

Promo CD’s (portfolio)

Personality (helps to express interest in people – after all they are buying your art)

Lighting (if you have power use lighting regardless of the natural sunlight – the sun is in and out throughout the day, but having reliable lighting on your work really helps your buyers see your work for what it really is).

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Missing Out

There is a popular art and music festival happening in my home town in December. Like always, I am so head on in my work I forget to arrange to have a spot in the festival.

Yeah… I have made notes so many times to contact the organisers… but missed the boat this time. In other words, I missed my spot as entries are now officially closed.

So I request the cancellation spot (it’s not the first time either).

Essentially, I am asking the organisers to “pick me” first should there be a cancellation from another artist.

I’m not betting on getting in, but I have glued my “huge interest” to the organisers consciousness at least… I think…I hope (gulp).

Things like this TRULY annoy me because I am generally punctual with most aspects of keeping my art biz pointing upwards. But I have to be honest and admit that I do sometimes drop the ball.

I have no one to blame but my self.

Yeah, I will swear at the walls for a day… but then I’ll encourage myself with, “Hey wait a minute, you may still get in… so don’t lose hope yet,” kind of talk.

It’s just the idea of not seeing my name on the “artists who are exhibiting list” that deflates the mood somewhat and leaves me feeling a bit like a like a waterlogged ball.

(sigh)

The big tip is… don’t let your work get in the way of your progress.

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Diversify

If you discover in the beginning that you are not getting the financial results you want from your art…

Or if nobody is buying from your niche…

Then diversify.

Listen… if you are happy to get along with NOT selling what you love to create, then that’s great.

After all you got into this game for the self-fulfilment huh.

Yeah

But…

If you are looking to receive a few cookies for your efforts (of course you are), then put what you do to the side NOW AND THEN and do this…

Create What People Want

“Egad! What is you saying man? Isn’t that like…SELLING OUT? OH MY… I think I hear the “purist” stampede approaching!”

But seriously…

I have received many emails from artists who have struggled to sell art in their niche.

If it is your desire to make some sales in the beginning, then one factor you may want to consider is being prepared to be a little flexible.

During some of my very first exhibits I had people approach me and tell me they loved my subject matter and texture, but didn’t really desire my use of colour.

How could I take their dislike for my use of colour personally when one particular lady was wearing a lime midriff jumper, purple corduroy pants and blue thongs (flip-flops). “What the…?”

But I digress…

So I then asked them questions about what colours they do like… or what kind of themes they like etc.

Through this type of conversation we often managed to meet somewhere in the middle.

And a result I often produced some work for them that didn’t go too much out of my creative category and yet suited what the buyer was looking for.

This is kind of like doing commission work.

Remember the key is not to go TOO far outside of your creative ward and into an area that doesn’t stimulate you.

But try to be flexible.

At the end of the day you are looking for your bread and butter…

The “cash flow” to get you moving.

So be a little diverse with your work to accommodate more people. The same goes with your pricing. Have some low cost entry pieces available. Make your art accessible to everyone without making it free (wink).

Later as you develop your craft, develop a following and build a reputation you can concentrate solely on your chosen niche.

But until then “diversify” a little.

For example…

If you only use charcoal to draw birds…try using some oil colours instead.

If you only do abstract textural paintings…try incorporating a subject theme.

If you paint water colour on board seascapes…try using oil colours on canvas and incorporating people (activity) on the beach.

If you paint portraits of celebrities…try painting everyday people who can actually sit for you.

Whatever you do, try to be diverse.

It’s worth exploring anyway.

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Bitter With Twitter?

Many artists are hesitant about using Twitter because they feel there is no real value in using it as a marketing tool to generate interest in their artwork.

“Just a lot of people waffling on,” as one artist put it.

The most effective way to make the most out of twitter is to point your followers to new content on your blog.

Keep it simple.

Many artists looking to get some momentum are not creating content that supports their work. So my suggestion is to create a running dialogue (regular blog posts) that intrigues, informs and inspires your visitor.

The whole idea of your site or blog, aside from showcasing your work, is to create content that SUPPORTS the curiosity your website visitor has in you and your work.

Twitter is merely a tool to re-direct additional traffic towards that content.

So create content to create a gathering…

Create content in order to EXCITE your suspect…

And then use twitter to direct traffic to that content.

In all honesty… you don’t need to purchase any twitter products (there are many available now to help you use twitter to its full potential) unless you are very keen to master twitter for serious marketing purposes.

But check out my twitter marketing link below. It will give you are very solid understanding as to what twitter is all about and how it may of good use to you.

Read this post on artists using twitter for marketing:

http://www.caku-art.com/twitter-marketing.html

At the end of the day, building legitimate relationships online is where the power is in terms of bringing attention to your artwork. Social media is a handy tool, but it really comes down to developing proper relationships with people.

Power to you and your art!

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Where’s The Artist?

I am amazed at how many artist websites and blogs I have seen and there is not even one picture of the artist. Not one photograph.

For me personally… it feels as though the artist is hiding behind his or her website. I can appreciate that many people are not always comfortable in front of the camera.

But if you are in the business of promoting and selling your art, you have to come out from behind the curtain at some stage.

“But people are buying my art, not a picture of me!”

That is true. But the Internet is a funny beast. The more transparent you can be, the more confident and trusting your potential buyers will be of you.

Being transparent doesn’t mean you have to go to extremes… it doesn’t mean you have to post your school reports on your blog or tell your readers how many times you have been arrested. But just one photo of you will help to provide the human aspect to your site.

One thing to remember is that your website visitor is asking questions about you from the moment they land on your site. So along with your artist bio information, provide a picture of yourself to make their evaluation of you a little more comforting.

Having a picture of yourself is the quickest way for people to read who you are.

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You Are Such An Amateur Artist

It doesn’t matter how far you go as an artist in your career…

You will always have that element of being an amateur.

“Gosh, how dare he condemn me like that” I just heard the guy at the back holler.

Sit down Restless Geoffrey… and allow me to explain.

There is nothing derogatory about being labelled an amateur artist.

Our modern culture is partly to blame for our misinterpretation of what amateur actually means or represents.

The word Amateur essentially comes from the Latin verb, “amare”

Which means, “to love”.

So… to be an amateur artist simply means…

“To do what you love doing”

It is actually a word to describe “experience”

Not “achievement”.

Slightly profound huh

I think so too.

Being amateur is not about how well you do it, but about how much you enjoy doing it (wink).

That’s called being an amateur.

Being amateur is based more on the quality of your experience…

Not the quality of your performance.

So what the difference between being an amateur And a pro?

A pro loves what she does MORE than an Amateur does…

Because a pro sits down and does all the Mundane stuff in order to uphold the inspiration and to maintain a routine.

A professional loves what she does, but also knows what she does.

An amateur only loves what she does.

Being an amateur is groovy to begin with

But think pro

Professionals don’t have to deal with criticism because They look at their work objectively.

They KNOW they are not their art

That’s a pro

A pro is patient

A pro contributes to her work EVERYDAY

An amateur waits till the weekend

A pro don’t make excuses

They make hay while the sun is shining

Think pro

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Lasting Impression Marketing

When I give out my business card to people, it’s merely as a follow up. It’s kind of like a small personal policy of mine to at least have had a conversation with the person in question before I hand over a business card.

I don’t see the point in handing out business cards indiscriminately.

A lot of people will simply take your card for the sake of taking it  – kind of similar to clicking the button that says “do you want to become my facebook friend?” – they do it so they wont offend you.

The whole purpose of a business card is to give the person you are dealing with a reference to contact you.

Chances are; they could have already taken a few business cards from other people within your industry.

So if you are going to use a business card then aim at making your mark. Make your business card stick out.

I like to create and use my own quotes on my cards. In my opinion, I don’t see the point in stipulating that I am an artist because people will pick up on that from having seen my art… and/or it would have been mentioned in our conversation. As I mentioned before, I don’t like giving out my cards for the sake of handing them out.

My motto is: if you are going to use a business card, then at least use one to get a giggle, a frown or a tear. Use it to get a response. Use it so your prospect will remember you.

As an artist, I don’t rely on using a business card to generate business. People either like your art or they don’t. A business card won’t really make a scrap of difference when it comes to making sales – In other words I don’t see it as a uselful promotional tool.  I see a business card in my industry as nothing more than a “stick-it-note”. It’s so the person who is genuinely interested in purchasing some of your work will have something on paper to remind them on how to go about contacting you.

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Don’t Get Too Personal

I was having coffee with a good friend of mine a few days ago. It’s because I’m an artist that he always brings up how he “saw some great paintings the other day”.

I appreciate his commentary when it comes to art, particularly because he is not an artist himself. But he knows what he likes (aint that all that matters? Gosh yeah).

Anyway, my friend went on to mention how he saw 5 or 6 paintings hanging in a local café recently. He explained how these paintings did not appeal to him at all.

“There was just something about them that really made me feel very disassociated with the work. I couldn’t relate to them”.

“Too personal perhaps,” I interjected.

He then looked at me with that frown  – the one where smalls rolls of skin cram together like miniature silkworms on the top of his nose and in between his eyes – and nodded his head, “That’s it mate. That’s why I didn’t dig them at all. They were too personal”.

I then raised my eyebrows, nodded my head and raised my bottom lip over my top lip, as if to indicate that my suggestion was just a lucky guess… so I wouldn’t come across as a “cocky know it all” guru type of dude.

The first time I ever signed up to exhibit my work the organiser spent twenty minutes explaining all the rules and regulations. But before she finished she said, “Oh and Carl, don’t bring your personal art. Nobody gives a shit. Bring your stuff that will match their sofa’s”.

Some artists may have taken what she told me that day as an insult. Not only did I think it was quite funny, I really appreciated her honesty.

I followed her advice and it paid off quite well.

I don’t really subscribe to the idea of producing art to match the sofa, but I don’t disagree with it either because after all – all art is essentially decorative.

But from a marketing point of view, my exhibit organiser’s advice was helpful because it immediately shifted my mindset from living inside my own art to realising that I had to open it up to the public.

In other words I knew that in order to build some foundation as a local artist, I had to come up with some pieces that appealed to majority. I did this not to conform, but to be able to communicate.

I found that folk were more receptive to my more personal pieces after a conversation with me. But what got a lot of them into my stall for a conversation in the first place was due to a piece that caught their eye.

There is nothing wrong with catering to the public now and then. Pablo Picasso used to paint portraits. Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin guitarist) use to do jingles for radio ads.

Not only did catering to what the public wanted help me with selling my paintings, the biggest benefit was what it did for my confidence.

So if you are about to exhibit your work for the first time, consider throwing a couple of pieces into the mix that will cater to the public on a “Oh that’s great, I gotta have it” level – and create a bit of instant cash-flow for you.

In other words, don’t get too personal to begin with.

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