Drawing under a little bit of pressure is one of my favorite things. Get the gesture fast because that person is going to leave or move! It is a skill that enhances studio work greatly! However, here is something I’ve noticed over years of drawing in airports, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. People have stopped paying attention. I have been busted drawing someone many times in the past and it usually results in the end of that sketch because the person gets uncomfortable or leaves. This doesn’t happen much anymore because people have stopped looking around. The average person has stopped being an observer. They immediately look at their phone, iPad, computer, book, and the almost obsolete newspaper as soon as they sit down. They rarely notice me anymore so I get long drawing times on many of them. Excellent practice!
I have a recommendation for artists even if they are not drawing. Avoid burying yourself in a distraction. Open your eyes. Sit and observe! People are wonderful and you will see the most beautiful gestures and facial expressions that you will never see if you are staring at your phone.
And besides, staring down at your phone gives you a double chin. Remember that because even if you don’t notice it, I’m drawing your double chin while you sit in the airport!
THE TRICKY BUSINESS OF ART
I’ve been an artist since I was a child. I never knew how not to do it, but being an artist is not the same as being a professional artist. I embarked on this around 2006 or 7. I started to realize that it was my time to do what I had always wanted to do but didn’t allow myself to really pursue. What’s the difference between being an artist and being a professional artist? As an artist you are creative and passionate about what you do. As a professional artist, you are creative and passionate about what you do but you are also in the business of selling your art, for a living in most cases. This may be oversimplifying but you get the idea. There’s money involved and that’s when it gets serious for me. However, making real money for your art can be a ‘tricky’ business.
Trick Number One
The number one thing you should focus on is producing the best art that you can produce, whether it be porcelain dolls, illustrations, woodcarvings, or fine art oil paintings. Learn to do what you want to do to the best of your ability. This is an ongoing process with art. Good artists never stop learning so I don’t believe that you should wait until your art is perfect before you start selling it. For many artists, its never going to be perfect. That is how they come back to the easel or the workbench everyday to try again to get close. I do think there are buyers for art at every level of one’s professional career as long as it is priced right. Pricing is a different topic for a different day but, if you choose to be a professional artist, there are buyers out there for everyone.
Trick Number Two
They have to see it before they can buy it. I know many people who go through magazines and catalogs and say “I paint better than that” or “My friend so-and-so can make better ‘insert type of art piece here’ than that”. Well, are you or so-and-so making sure that people get a chance to see the work like the people that are in those marketing materials? You have to spend money to make money. Spring for the advertising when you get accepted to a show. Run ads in magazines that you respect in your industry. Do a Facebook marketing campaign occasionally. Do something to get your work seen by potential buyers.
Trick Number Three
Treat your business like a business. Art is my profession and it is my 9-5 and bread and butter. I show up every day to do something related to my business. I paint. I photograph the work. I keep my inventory software up to date. I keep my financial software up to date. I keep my inventory stocked. I keep my materials stocked. I know how much art I need to be producing each month in order to keep supplying my galleries and I keep detailed records of where all of my art is at any given time. Plenty of people try to run businesses in any field but if they don’t do these things, they fail very quickly. Just because you are an artist, it doesn’t mean you are exempt from these rules. Get a personal assistant if you can’t handle these things but somebody’s gotta do it.
Here are the quick plugs for the vendors I use: Quickbooks for financial software; ArtworkArchive.com for inventory, customer and show tracking; FineArtStudioOnline.com for my website; Meininger Art Materials for local supplies, RosemaryandCo.com for my brushes, Gamblincolors.com for mediums and varnish; Winsornewton.com for paint; local lumberyard for birch panels. I’ll try other things occasionally but I keep coming back to these.
Trick Number Four through …
Getting into galleries, getting accepted to shows, getting invited to invitationals, etc, etc. These things come after you do tricks 1 -3. The journey is different for everyone so there are some things you may not care about. Things can also change for you on a daily basis and you have to readjust the plan. I know that if you are focusing on 1-3, the rest will become more obvious and easier.
Thanks for reading! I hope that I have helped you in some way. Feel free to comment. I look forward to reading them.