Delivering Your Unique Message

If you’ve been dreading writing your artist statement, you’re not alone. Although you love working on your artwork, coming up with an artist statement isn’t always easy.



Getting your unique message out into the world is more important than ever with so many places calling on you to share your intentions, your history, and your work.

Your artist statement explains to the viewer what makes your work yours, what sets your work apart, and what makes you different from everyone else—even from artists whose work is similar. 

You need a statement on your website, for social media, when giving a talk, being interviewed on a podcast, requesting funding, or showing your artwork at an exhibition.

Even if you are happy with your current artist statement, you and your work are always evolving, growing, and changing and your statement should evolve along with you. 

Ideally you will have a 10 second “elevator pitch” that will identify what makes you an interesting artist. My ten second pitch is “I am an artist, teacher and workshop leader who collaborates with others to cultivate their creativity and develop their abilities."

An artist statement invites the viewer to look closer and re-examine first impressions. You, the artist, talking and writing about your work, are in a position to provide language that shapes perception. If you have spent time in the contemporary art world you know that art can be hard to understand even for experienced artists. Your words can help your audience “see” and give them a compelling reason to look closer.

Your art reflects your unique point of view, life experiences, identity, values, and what matters to you.

What you create is part of your DNA and there will never be anyone else on earth exactly like you. Your choice of style, skill, subject matter, and medium is yours alone.

Your artist statement is an opportunity for you to connect with your audience and convey what you do and who you are as an artist.

It should be written in first person and be no longer than two paragraphs.

Begin your writing process by defining your audience. Who are you writing for?; someone who might buy your art? art show judges? social media? sponsors? museum boards? teachers? Students?

I always recommend using the active voice as it comes across as more confident and powerful. Avoid wishy-washy phrases like:

• I try to
• I want to … in my work

Instead, switch to active voice. Instantly, you’ll have a more interesting and captivating statement.

Active voice is when the subject performs the action of the verb, while passive voice is when the subject is acted upon by the verb. For example, in active voice: “I painted a landscape," and in passive voice: "The landscape was painted by me."

Imagine yourself as the viewer of your artwork. What things would you like to know about how it was made? Consider the following questions:

How:

• How did you make this?
• How did you use the medium or combine mediums?
• How did you physically engage with the creation?
• How is it constructed?
• How are you uniquely presenting the subject?
• How did accidents or discoveries lead you to the finished work?

Explain your process:

What:

• What is the viewer looking at?
• What is it made of?
• What were the steps in your process?
• What does it represent?
• What are you investigating?
• What was the initial inspiration?
• What could you say that would encourage looking closer?

Explain your thinking. These questions can refer to a single artwork or to an entire body of work.

Why:

• What do you believe in?
• What belief are you investigating?
• How does personal belief/viewpoint/conviction come through your art?
• Which emotion was primary while you made this artwork?

I highly recommend consulting the book “Art-Write” by Vicki Krohn Amorose for her many sample sentences, jump-off questions, and sage advice. I featured several of her ideas here.

Amorose suggests that after you write your first draft, you should ask yourself the questions below and then re-write and revise your work again:

• Do my words explain what people are seeing?
• Is there a sentence I could translate from “artspeak” to plain language?
• Is this the truth?
• Do I fully understand what I wrote?
• What words might create a better understanding for the reader?
• What is my tone? Am I boring myself?
• What can I eliminate to be more concise?
• Does my statement encourage closer examination of the artwork?

The statement above has too much jargon for my taste. It sounds like the artist is trying to impress and confuse us with his fancy words and phrases. His range of influences is so broad it is essentially meaningless - UFOs, synesthesia, Camus, Francis Bacon, a dialectic of lust, dread, a new world order….I prefer to use easily understood language that encourages any viewer to look again at my artwork.

All of the essays and newsletters I write are really opportunities for me to explore art topics that interest me. I investigate them and share them with you. When I prepare to teach others something I’ve learned I discover all the areas I might have skimmed or misunderstood. So I am sharing my process as I write a new artist statement for myself.

These are the notes I made before starting a first draft:

• Susan Convery
• Ambassador for Joy
• artist, teacher and workshop leader
• collaborates with others to cultivate their creativity and expand their abilities.
• Let’s create something beautiful together
• Community
• Collaboration
• Passionate art
• Watercolor!
• Art is Play - Art is Life
• Process over result
• Problem solving
• Self Expression is essential to human health and happiness
• Susan Convery coaches artists in cultivating their authentic artistic voice.
• She is a Florida-certified art teacher who taught advanced drawing and painting to high school students at American Heritage in Plantation for 8 years. Susan now guides her private students in portfolio development online and from home.   
• Susan's students win top awards at national, state, and regional competitions Her student's art portfolios enable them to be accepted, and earn significant scholarships,

This is an excellent example of an artist statement that makes you want to see the artwork and probably explore the whole body of work.

First Draft my new artist statement:

I believe creating art is essential to human health and happiness. Without self expression our light dims. As an artist, teacher and workshop leader I collaborate with others to cultivate their creativity and expand their joy in their own capabilities. Working with me is about process, play and problem solving in any media so my students feel empowered and free to explore their own creativity. The art I create by myself applies the same enjoyment of process, play and problem solving to inspirations that come to me in meditation or in my travels. Each scene or setting reminds me of a sweet memory or emotion.

Revision:

I believe self expression is essential to human health and happiness. As an artist, teacher and workshop leader I collaborate with others to expand their confidence in their own capabilities. Together we explore process, play and problem solving in any media. It has taken me a lifetime of study to learn the many tips, shortcuts, and techniques I employ to speed their progress. My students win many awards and scholarships and I often hear them say, “I never knew I could do that!".

The art I create for myself begins with inspirations that come to me in meditation or in my travels. Each painting recreates a sweet memory or emotion and communicates the joy I felt in that experience. With every painting I stretch myself beyond my comfort level. The process involved in transforming a challenging idea into a final artwork engages all my skills and rewards me in a way I only find in art.

Only you can write your artist statement.

Your art reflects your unique point of view, life experiences, identity, values, and what matters to you - you deserve to be heard.  

Your artist statement explains to the viewer what makes your work yours, what sets your work apart, and what makes you different from everyone else—even from artists whose work is similar.  

If you would like to delve more deeply into your own inner questions and clarify your thoughts as you create an artist statement for your website, a gallery show, a sponsor, or another project, please reach out, and let’s talk. I have helped many students write compelling statements for AP Art, college applications, and competitions.

If you’d like to learn more about design or you need help with technique to level up to your taste and the type of painting you admire, I welcome the opportunity to share what I’ve learned over the years in private classes, and/or workshops.

Notice how the designer uses furniture shapes and color to tell us the period of this performance

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I welcome the opportunity for connection, conversation, cooperation, collaboration, and commissions.

Live heARTfully

Susan Convery

P.S. If you didn't get the chance to download your free gift from me: Here are annual collections of my newsletters from September 2022 through December 2025.

Sources:



my own December 2021 Newsletter

“Art-Write” by Vicki Krohn Amorose

https://artincontext.org/artist-statement-examples/

https://www.theartleague.org/blog/2015/08/24/8-artist-statements-we-love/

https://proactivecreative.com/powerful-artist-statement-examples/

Quote:

Sketchbook Prompt:

Favorites Grid: Make a grid in your sketchbook. Lines of neat boxes outlined in black marker that are waiting to be filled. Create a theme for your page by thinking of your favorite breakfast foods, cars, book characters, hats, footwear, animal, or type of flower. Now draw a little thumbnail sketch in each box according to the theme. 

I have six new watercolor paintings to introduce to you!

In honor of this month’s newsletter I am including a statement for each piece.

Title: Seixo Convent

Media: Watercolor

Size: 35"x 27"

Frame: Gold

Price:$1212

Statement:

While visiting Portugal last winter I stayed in a lovely convent that’s been converted into a luxury hotel. The cold stone walls of the inner courtyard contrasted beautifully with the warmth of these fabulous hanging lanterns. I love how the circular shape of the tables and banquette bubble up into the lamps and balconies in a joyous way.

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Want to see past issues of my newsletters? Visit this link on my website.