Re: Ten Habits of Successful Artists

[Lauri Levanto]

Gary Waller wrote:
> Ten Principles of Successful Artists
>
>
> Written By Geoffrey Gorman - Art Career Advisor
>
> "The luck of having talent is not enough; one must also have a talent for
> luck" - Hector Berlioz
> During my many years as a gallery dealer, I got to know and observe a
> variety of successful artists from around the country. Many of these artists
> were emerging artists, others were in mid-career, and all of them were fast
> on their way to making not only national and international reputations but
> also impressive incomes. I often noticed that these successful artists all
> had similar traits, characteristics, and habits. It became startlingly clear
> to me that this framework of similar habits was the foundation for the
> continuing success of these artists.
>
> The artists who were truly professional would arrive in Santa Fe several
> days before their shows rather than on the day of the show. They arrived
> well in advance in order to meet local museum directors and curators, to
> hand deliver the show's invitation to other gallery dealers, and to visit
> their collectors before their openings. Out of their briefcases would come a
> copy of their mailing lists, which they would check against mine in order to
> make changes and updates. They would quiz me about the local and regional
> art scene; they would ask who the key art players were. These artists were
> the ones exhibiting their artwork around the country and they were the ones
> getting critical attention and a variety of exposure through art galleries,
> museums, newspapers, and art magazines. And what these artists had in common
> was a framework of habits and traits that translated into a solid approach
> to the business of marketing their art.
>
> 1. Know What You Want. This principle sounds easy and straightforward but,
> in fact, it takes a lot of introspection and work to know what you want. You
> have to have a good understanding of yourself and your situation in life
> before you can know what you want. Knowing yourself and having a realistic
> understanding of what you want means that you have looked at your past
> experiences and have learned from them. It also means you need to be
> realistic about what you can expect to achieve from your art career.
>
> 2. Know Who You Are. In knowing who you are, you need to be truthful about
> your artwork today rather than dreaming about what you want in the future or
> what you think you need. When you become clear about who you are as an
> artist you will be able to give an accurate description in several sentences
> of your work and your artistic message.
>
> 3. Maintain Your Focus. Maintaining your focus means being committed to your
> goals. It also means understanding clearly what will and will not help you
> along the way. Sometimes artists encounter situations that appear to be
> opportunities but, in fact, can take them in directions that drain energy
> away from their objectives. A simple, clear, realistic and achievable career
> strategy will be the one you can easily follow.
>
> 4. Do It Again. Just as name recognition is important for a politician, it
> is essential for an artist. One way to establish that recognition is to
> consistently stay in touch with your support system. This means setting up a
> yearly schedule of mailings, as well as other means of contact, that is easy
> to implement. Then follow the schedule with determination!
>
> 5. Be Prepared. In being prepared, you must have all aspects of your art
> career covered. First, you should be producing enough work so that you have
> at least two shows available at any time. You can see that this means a big
> commitment on your part to be in the studio and produce good work. You also
> must have your supporting material up to date. Resumes, publicity, and
> visuals must be well organized and on file so that they are easy to compile
> for any type of presentation.
>
> 6. Be Professional. Artists are in a profession that should maintain the
> same high standards as other kinds of businesses. If you can organize and
> run your career professionally, it will keep you on track to achieve your
> short- and long-term goals. Professional artists take the business of art
> seriously. They have different systems set up to handle everything from
> labeling slides to pricing work to maintaining mailing lists. They know the
> value of returning phone calls in a timely manner, keeping track of their
> inventory, having an organized filing system, and sending thank you notes to
> their collectors and supporters.
>
> 7. Maximize Your Opportunities. It is up to you to create opportunities to
> expose your work to the public. Be alert to any opportunities that arise and
> follow up on them. And when you have those opportunities, be sure to make
> the most of them, because they will invariably lead to the next one. You
> must always keep in mind that exposure of your artwork translates into
> success for your art career.
>
> 8. Be Persistent: Exposure Equals Success. One of the most important
> challenges of your career as a successful artist is to get and maintain
> exposure for your work. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to land that
> first show. You can't stop trying to exhibit your work just because
> galleries have turned you down. You have to get your work before the public
> and you must be creative about finding opportunities for exhibitions.
> Remember that the art world is filled with thousands of artists, and it
> quickly forgets those artists who are not visible.
>
> 9. Build Relationships. The art world, in fact, is a very small world
> composed of people who have developed comfortable relationships with one
> another. It is no different from any other business group in America. Once
> you realize how important relationships are to your career, the sooner you
> will move closer to realizing your ambitions. This means knowing who the key
> players are and then developing working relationships with them.
>
> 10. Understand Timing. An artist's career goes through many stages. One of
> the keys to successful marketing is determining exactly what particular
> stage your career is in before you target gallery dealers, museum curators,
> collectors, art critics, and/or art consultants. For example, for an
> emerging artist who is still defining an artistic vision, it would be a
> waste of time to approach a gallery that works only with mid-career artists.
>
> The 10 key principles I have identified are based on the traits I have
> noticed in successful artists. I believe them to be the foundation of a
> professional artist's career. Having a strong foundation is critical to
> further development for an artist. And as an artist expands his or her
> career, a solid foundation, though rarely visible to an observer, is what
> supports the artist's success.
>
> These ten principles are what separate the weekend artist from the serious
> artist. Start thinking about them. Ask yourself how they can fit into your
> career and marketing strategy. The sooner you incorporate them into your
> life, the sooner you will see your art career moving foreword.
>
> As you become more familiar with these ten principles of successful artists,
> you will adapt them to meet your specific needs. As your success builds,
> these principles will become as familiar as old friends.
>
>
>
>
>
>
Good points, all ten of them.
To make the picture more complete I like to add a counter example:
Meret Oppenheim was a muse. She did mix with the right people, however.
She did not intend an art career. She just happened to sip
a cup of tea that had cooled, and mentioned it needs a fur.
The she made a teacup lined with fur.

Of course she was an insider already, but her teacup stole the show.
*Then* she wanted to pursue her art career, live up the expectations.
That led to personal catastrophe.

An artist can be be a professional, like a shoemaker.
All artists are not attempting that career. For many
art is definitely an opening to an alternative lifestyle,
escape from the thread mill. That is most often a ticket for
non-success, at least economically.

On the other hand, if you want economical success first of all,
what on earth makes you think of art career. Plumbers do it
easier.

-lauri

[Ashley Clarke]

I`ll never be a success then :{
-------------------------------------------------------
Ashley Clarke
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[Billy Hiebert]

I wouldn't worry. They are talking about financial success. There are
other kinds.

--
Billy Hiebert
HIEBERT SCULPTURE WORKS
Small Part Injection Molding
http://www.hieberts.com