"Asymmetric"

22" x 15" Watercolor



Tips for becoming a successful artist

Part Three

In the April newsletter we discussed the importance of developing a website to promote yourself and your art plus several ways to pull potential buyers to your website. In my opinion marketing is the key to success in any business regardless what you are selling. In the art world you are selling yourself as much as you are selling your art. People are always curious about artists and want to know all about you and what inspires you to create art. Most of the people that we meet are not artists and when we do meet someone who makes their living with their art it quite often becomes a topic of discussion and curiosity. Here are a few things that cater to that curiosity and have the potential to elevate you in your art career. On the front page of your website have a heading that reads "About the artist". When clicked it will take the viewer to another page(s) that has the following information to help educate to them about you and your art. Selling yourself is just as important as selling your art so you want the buying public to personally connect with you.

Keep an updated and brief biography...This is easy to do and answers most of the questions about your accomplishments throughout your career. It is a must on your website and it can be printed to pass out at shows and art galleries. Make sure that the biography has all of your contact information and a head shot of yourself. I recommend that you always write the biography in third person as though someone has written about you. It looks more professional and does not come across as braggadocios. Keep the biography relatively short and no more than one page. Usually two or three short paragraphs will do. Write it in narrative form so that it is easy to read. Make sure that everything in the biography is accurate and can be validated if someone were to research you.

Write an Artist Statement... An Artist Statement gives people a little insight as to how you view yourself and your art. Like the Biography, the Artist Statement should be written in narrative form but in first person as though you are having a conversation with the reader. Usually one or two short paragraphs are all it takes to explain what inspires you to create your art, and what, if anything, are you trying to say with your art. I recommend that you avoid using a lot of art terms that the general public would not understand. They already know that you are an artist so trying to sound too artsy can sometimes be interpreted as an over-sell. Keep the statement no longer than one page so that people will take the time to read it; if it's too long they probably won't read it. The Artist Statement can also be posted on your website as another way to educate your viewers and potential buyers.

Always keep and ongoing and up-to-date Resume... A lot of people do not bother to read a resume if it is long and time consuming. Nevertheless, it's a very important part of your marketing and those who do take the time to read it will gain more insight and respect for you as a professional artist. Your resume is essentially a chronological list of your accolades and accomplishments. It is a way to validate you as an artist and also validate the prices that ask for your artwork. Best of all, it is easy to maintain once you get started.

Your resume should have all of your contact information at the top. It is also a good idea to break the resume down into different categories such as Solo Exhibitions, Books and Publications, Awards, Corporate Collections, Affiliations, etc.

Over time as your career grows there will be additional categories added. List the most recent of each category with the date and if applicable the location of the event. Every time you have an opportunity to add something to the resume do it sooner rather than later so that you don't forget to include it. It takes time to build a good resume. Make sure that everything on the resume can be verified.

Again, if you have a website, which I highly recommend, make sure that there is a heading on the website that reads, "About the Artist". That page on your website should contain your Artist's Biography, Your Artist's Statement, and your Resume.

This information is not for the purpose of selling your art but rather it is how you sell yourself as a respectable and successful artist. Those who might consider purchasing your artwork will often hold you in higher esteem when they learn about your history.

Take good quality photographs of your artwork... I recommend that you ALWAYS take good photographs of your art when putting it on your website or on brochures, etc. It's that first impression thing. Show just the art, no mats, nothing in the background, no reflections on a piece of glass, no out of focus images, etc. I use the camera on my cell phone to photograph my paintings. I lay the painting on the floor and hover over it with my camera and try to center the painting in the camera's viewfinder. I do this in my garage in the daytime and I make sure that I have natural light. Opening the garage door allows natural light without the glare that you sometimes get in direct sunlight. Be sure that you are not casting a shadow on the painting. Once you have photographed the piece you can use the photo editor on your phone to further center the image and crop out any distractions.

After I have the photograph cleaned up I send myself an email with the image attached. From there I can go into my Adobe Photoshop program and further edit the image or change the resolution if necessary. Images that you post on your website DO NOT need to be high resolution images. I make sure that they are 72DPI. This low resolution helps prevent dishonest individuals from copying my images and making reproductions of my work or other pirated uses. Adobe Photoshop is a service that you have to pay for but it's not overly expensive and is very beneficial when doing professional photo editing.

The more professional you look the more admiration and respect you will receive from potential customers. There are not any magic formulas for being successful. It takes a well planned marketing approach, good quality merchandise, exposure, and a way to reach out to customers. This is the last editorial on my three part series on becoming a successful artist. I have condensed everything down that I have found works but each artist is different and it's up to you as to how you put all of the pieces together. If you have missed any of the previous editorials click on this link Newsletter Archive to see my complete list of newsletters.