My name is Katherine Tyrrell and I live in London. 
I retired early in 2005 and since then I've been writing blogs, websites, books and articles
and advising artists - as well as making and exhibiting art 
​- with more than a little success.
​
MORE ABOUT ME

I'm probably best known for my very successful and very popular art blog Making A Mark. 

Below you can find out about 
  • what qualifies me to comment on the art business below - and my particular perspective below
  • this website
  • how I can help you - if you want help.
​You can find out more about me on my hub "Making A Mark" website​. This page has a very a brief summary of my other activities at the end.

You can:
  • contact me using a form via this website
  • contact me via email (that's an image not a clickable link). Please note if you spam me I will report you to Google as spam.
Katherine Tyrrell
Katherine Tyrrell standing on the Greenwich Meridien in Greenwich Park; in the background are (left) the City of London and (right) Canary Wharf

What qualifies me to comment on the Art Business
​

I come from a background of business and financial management, problem solving and performance analysis and improvement.  I bring the same perspectives to the art world and the business of being an artist and marketing and selling art.​
Education and professional qualifications
  • My first degree from Cambridge University is in Education and I'm a qualified teacher.
  • Next I qualified as an accountant
  • I also have an MBA from the London Business School - voted the #1 Business School in Europe. Analysis is in my DNA!
During my career, I used to
  • crunch numbers,
  • analyse business performance and
  • specialise in performance management and improvement at a senior level.​

My career involved working across the UK as
  • a senior finance manager in government,
  • a senior marketing manager (addressing dire recruitment shortages) for my professional institute,
  • a senior management consultant for KPMG and others based in London; and 
  • a government inspector of services for the public.

Prior to retirement I managed the professional support services (Finance, Human Resources, Estates and information management/technology) for a very large public service with a budget of more than £100 million.
Now I do the same - but for artists.
This website aims to address many of the issues which I found difficult to find information about when I started to become more serious about my art and wanted to exhibit and sell it.

It started out as a set of bookmarks for me - and then I decided to share. [​This site is now in its third reincarnation - and hopefully this ever developing compendium is the best yet!]​

I'm constantly focused on how to help people be better at their art business - and stay the right side of the law!
Since I retired
​
I now find it interesting and get a lot of satisfaction from being able to apply my expertise in financial and business management to help artists - in art schools, art groups, art societies - and just as individuals.
  • I've consistently written about the art business from a business management perspective for a number of years on Making A Mark and my topic websites
  • I've interviewed artists and asked a lot of questions - finding out the different ways people approach different art business activities
  • I conducted a number of surveys and polls relevant to the art business - which highlighted aspects of the art business which people found difficult
  • I've also mentored a select group of artists on an individual basis - and I now take on people I don't know as clients to work with them on specific aspects of their art business.
  • I am currently a Visiting Lecturer At The Heatherley School of Art - on various topics relating to the Art Business. Topics have included: 'How to get on - online'; 'Dos and Don'ts when writing an Artist Statement and CV'; 'Tax Tips for Artists' and most recently 'How to make money from your art'
  • Until 2015 I moderated the Art Marketing Discussion Group on LinkedIn (until the site owners made changes which killed the effectiveness of Groups on LinkedIn at which point I opted out).
  • During 2016, 'The Artist" magazine - commissioned and published a series of ten articles by me about different aspects of the business side of being an artist
  • I have also provided comments for the news media for those interested in how change is affecting the art market e.g. around GDPR
  • I'm also devoting my efforts to this site and hope to make it an important and valuable resource for artists.
  • Would you like me to help? summarises what I do and identifies what I can do for you.
I've also made and exhibited art - with art societies in the UK and art groups  - with some success. See my website
Picture
One of my lectures for The Heatherley School of Art
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I'm keeping good company!
Picture
On of my articles for my "Cost Effective Ideas for Artists" series for "The Artist" (April 2016)

About 'Art Business Info - for Artists'

This is the new home for all my 'Resources for Artists' sites relating to the art business.
How it developed

I've regularly highlighted art business issues on my blog 'Making A Mark'  - which I've been writing for over 12 years.

As I wrote about different art business topics on my blog it occurred to me that it might be useful, for both other artists and me, if I collated what I had written and, more importantly, compiled and organised all the other useful links to information and advice available online in one place.

I then developed topic websites on art business issues on a third party site which sadly no longer exists
The Third Incarnation

Art Business Info - for Artists (this site) is being released in stages due to the HUGE amount of content which needs to be transferred:
  • I'm moving content from individual topic sites on article platforms to my own websites.  
  • I'm providing updates via the new blog as and when a new content page is published.  
  • ​You can see the topics I've be covering by looking at the menus of topics on the home page for each of the main topics in the menu - or check the drop down menus under each item on the menu.

Brief summary of other writing activities
​

Blogs / Facebook
I've written a very popular art blog called 'Making A Mark for the last 12 years during which it has had
  • over 4.4 million visitors;
  • over 12.5 million page views in total
  • well in excess of 50,000 visitors a month. 
​Besides reviews of art, artists, art competitions and exhibitions I've consistently covered matters relating to the art business. 

​I also write other blogs and am developing other websites and associated Facebook Pages.

One of these is now arguably #1 in the world in relation to Botanical Art and Artists. This website now attracts monthly traffic of c.35,000 visitors and over 50,000 pageviews.
Articles
I've written a number of articles for artists' magazines and publications. 

​In 2016, the Editor of "The Artist" magazine commissioned a series of 10 articles by me about Cost Effective Ideas for Artists - as follows:
  • 20 tactics for buying art materials (February 2016)
  • How to avoid frames eating your profit (March 2016)
  • How to afford to exhibit your art (April 2016)
  • Display your art online - for free (May 2016)
  • How to protect your art online (June 2016)
  • Pack and ship efficient and effectively (July 2016)
  • How to price your work (Summer 2016)
  • Limit losses when you print your art (August 2016)
  • Business expenses and tax allowances for the artist (September 2016)
  • VAT for the artist (October 2016)

In June 2018, an article of mine with be published in Occasional Papers of the RHS Lindley Library.
Books
In 2014 I was commissioned to write my first book published January 2015 (30,000 words, 350 images, 172 pages)
My sketches have also appeared in various books about sketching by other artists and art publishers including:

Talks, articles and consultancy advice

READ a more in-depth version on my NEW PAGE Want to know more? Would you like me to help?

WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO GIVE A TALK......

Talks / Workshops
I am invited/commissioned to give talks to groups about art business matters - including websites and social media for artists.
  • How to book me for an Art Business Talk: If you like me to come and give a talk to your art school / group / society (for a fee plus travel expenses) please contact me (preferably via email) and tell me what you would like me to do
  • Previous clients include the Heatherley School of Art (where I am a Visiting Lecturer);  Cockpit Arts, Mall Galleries, and art societies.
At Heatherleys we recognise how important it is that our students receive quality professional development advice alongside their studio practice. To this end Katherine has provided us with an ongoing series of lectures covering everything from how to write an artist’s statement to how to pay your tax. This has been an invaluable resource for our students, and a rare one as few colleges offer this type of programme. The talks are always very well attended and manage to be both informative and entertaining. 
Heatherley School of Art
WOULD YOU LIKE AN ARTICLE FOR YOUR JOURNAL...?
  • You can ask me to write an article for you.
  • Fees vary depending on topic, journal and how long.
WOULD YOU LIKE A REVIEW......

Advice to Artists
I've provided formal (fee-paying) and informal business advice to artists for a significant period and have seen a number of them go on to make significant achievements as a result
Contact me if you'd like an honest opinion of how you represent yourself and your art online
(Fees start at £50 and are based on the nature of the site and whether I like your art!)
  • Review you artist statement / biography / CV - I don't write it for you. I review, make suggestions and edit to indicate the potential to make your statement clearer.  Fees depend on what's required and how successful you are.
  • Review your website and/or blog - I can highlight what sort of impression it creates, what omissions you need to correct and how you can improve how people view you as an artist.
If you want a more in-depth review
  • Review the art business aspects of what you do: - I'm an experienced management consultant and can be commissioned (for a fee plus travel expenses) to review what you are doing at present and prepare a report and action plan for your art business planning and marketing going forward. This is based on developing a realistic set of goals with you and your current levels of knowledge and competence. Contact me to tell me about what sort of help you need
CLICK A BUTTON - to go that topic on this website
​