People have experience, information and advice to share with emerging artists and others who are starting out.

​If you want to save yourself time in the long run, avoid frustration and generally give your art a chance, take some time out, grab a hot drink and read on
READ ON If you want.....
  • to be a success as an artist
  • to avoid failing as an artist
  • to be successful selling 'daily paintings'
  • to sell your art online
  • to exhibit your work
  • to be more productive
  • to be an artist as well as a parent
  • to develop your career
  • to get representation by a gallery
  • talk about the art business online

If you want to be a success as an artist....
​

What are the characteristics of people who seem to do well as artists?
​

Successful artists
  • produce good quality and original work
  • ​produce art on a regular basis - it always helps you to become better at producing better quality art
  • present their artwork well - using good quality images and good design
  • display a consistent style - making their work very collectable
  • work hard - in a focused way which makes good and profitable use of their time
  • take charge of their career - other people may help you but YOU need to drive your career forward
  • manage time well - be clear about priorities, what needs to get done and make sure you make time for your art and art business by cutting down on any time-wasting activities 
  • have a business-like approach to their art business
  • make connections - in person and online - and keep a record of how to communicate with them
  • use technology - it helps to communicate art quickly, easily and to many more people
  • communicate clearly with customers - they explain what they're doing / say something about their work / say something about their life and how it relates to their art - on a blog/website/ecommerce site
  • sell direct so they (rather than a gallery) get the names and addresses of buyers which can potentially enable the marketing of other artwork through the development of a customer database.
  • build a personal relationship with their customers - many of whom go on to become repeat buyers
  • keep in touch with customers - understand what they want and know what sort of communication works best
  • make it easy for people to buy at least some of their work at reasonable prices (some sell small works; some sell prints etc)
  • make paying for art really easy - you can lose a sale right up to the point when they actually pay for it
  • package purchases properly - so art arrives in the same condition as it left your studio
  • make sure art arrives promptly due to the use of a reliable service - and generate few, if any, complaints about this aspect of business
  • remain customer-focused - and make sure all complaints are attended to promptly and positively
AND understand that
  • art also needs words - in relation to competitions, exhibitions, grants, press coverage etc
  • numbers are also important - successful artists understand which of their income streams make money
  • risks need to be managed - otherwise you might lose everything
  • it's essential to know how t0 make their art business profitable - so they can continue to be an artist and not just have a hobby
  • success rarely arrives fast - if you want to be a success, you need to commit to the long haul and learning new skills
​Extract from Will you be a success if you blog your paintings daily? PLUS extra TIPS
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Paul Klein believes in artists, art, personal growth, artistic growth, successful art careers, authenticity, creativity, the underdog, and bicycling. He delivers a 10-week online course that empowers artists by demystifying the artworld via a series of live webinars. (See also Paul Klein on How to Succeed as an Artist)

How to be an artist - this is what you "need to know"

Do the work and develop as an artist first - and develop a unique identity. Be distinctive. You need to be original and distinctive and never ever be a "me too" artist. Those who get attention and centre stage are those who display a new way of saying something with their art. 'Me too' artists are just amateur fans - who only promote the artist they are copying.

Enjoy your art - if you make it as an artist you could be doing this for a long time so find a medium or subject matter or a theme which motivates you to keep making art,

Art is about application and perspiration and not just passion and aspiration. It's hard work and you have to apply yourself - because there are no shortcuts and success often only comes after a long haul. You need to ask yourself very seriously whether you have the ability, commitment and wherewithal to stay the course...

Build your portfolio. Demonstrate that you can produce at least 20-30 good paintings not just 2-3. Produce enough for an exhibition. Nobody is going to take you seriously on the basis of a few paintings unless they are absolutely outstanding (and I have seen that happen - but it's very rare). What's most important is the ability to replicate early success and demonstrate consistency and the ability to keep going. That's what starts to make you look like an  investable proposition and worth exhibiting and/or collecting

Be disciplined and work on a regular basis. Those who make a commitment to their art and being a proper artist, turn up day after day and get on with the job of making art AND selling art. The more you work on your art and art career the easier it is to work on all aspects of becoming a successful artist all the time.

Keep looking at art and keep learning about art. You need to feed your creativity and there's no better way to do that then to look at art produced by other people. Make sure you pursue a path of constant self-development - try new media, learn new skills etc.

​Don't take failure personally, Learn to live with rejections. If you are going to work for yourself, you have to keep trying new things until you work out what works for you. Along the way you will get a lot of experience in what doesn't work and you'll find that failure and rejection happens quite a lot. That may mean you're not good enough yet. However, artists who make it are generally those who are persistent and who keep going - because they are not discouraged by the knockbacks.
You can't sell art if you don't show your art
Art that is kept in your studio will never ever sell. Think of ways to get your art seen. You MUST show it on your website / blog / instagram etc. / art fairs / art competitions / open exhibitions / online websites and/or all of these. No progress is made if you just make art and then put it away. You need to tackle any lack of skills relating to communicating your art and not let these hold you back. (see Marketing Art /  Sell Art)

Art doesn't sell itself - you have to make that happen. Expertise in marketing is at least as valuable as being able to paint well. Some would say it's even more important as there's a fair few artists making a good income with little talent because they're really good at marketing their art.
(see Marketing Art /  Sell Art)

​Develop your social and presentation skills - You are your own best salesman. You can't hide away in your studio. You have to be able to write about your art and talk about your art. You must be able to explain your art in 20 seconds. You must conquer any innate shyness or lack of experience. People who buy art want to know about you as well as your art and you need to be able to tell them about it (see Marketing)

Nobody is going to represent you until you have sold art and demonstrated demand. To start with, you need to make all the running. You need to raise your profile, find your market and make your art collectable. The era of galleries who do that for you is well and truly over. The reality is that you need to sell your art yourself before you can get others to sell your art for you. (see Sell Art)

Aim to sell most of your art most of the time. Selling your art is a function of whether people like it, whether enough people see it and the pricing it right. Raising your prices too early can mean pricing yourself out of your market. The best strategy is to sell consistently all the time and raise your prices slowly over time. (see How to Price Your Art)

Art is a business and you must keep an eye on the money if you want to make any! - By which I mean, keep proper records of both income and expenses and have a really good idea of what all your inputs to creating art and exhibiting art actually cost before you start deciding how to pitch your prices. Remember that you can only discount allowable expenses when calculating your pre-tax income - and it's always a good idea to work out your profit before AND after tax! Also, in the longer term you'll need to make realistic provision for a pension before you get to work out how much money you've made from your art.....
(See Money & Tax)
Art Money & Success:
A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind
by Maria Brophy
HUGELY POPULAR and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
A book which shares a lot of very useful information - described by some as "a goldmine".  Her overall principles are very sound but the tone of the book probably appeals more to an American audience. Plus Maria Brophy deals with the nature of the contemporary art market today - not one which was around in the past.
Learn how to find buyers, get paid ... nicely, deal with copycats and sell more art.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Probably a book which will appeal more to an American audience but the principles are sound.
​
​Rated an average of:
  • UK: 4.8 out of 5 stars by 217 customer reviews
  • USA: 4.9 out of 5 stars by 119 customer reviews​
A well organised book with a logical structure - focusing on
  • what sort of artist you want to be;
  • how to find your buyers for your kind of art;
  • what selling art involves;
  • how to present your work and sell it live - and online. I
  • working with galleries
  • self-promotion,
  • how to run an art business,
  • how to generate even more income through licensing and reproductions of your art
  • Copyright
  • contracts and paperwork
  • basic business systems that work
  • why you need to put your name on it
  • the value of testimonials
The author has been an art agent for her husband since 2001. Her approach to making money from art and having a successful art business is based on doing it for real.

​Paperback: 354 pages
Publisher: Son of the Sea, Inc.
1st edition
Publication date: May 21, 2017

BUY THIS BOOK
Art Money & Success from Amazon UK
Art Money & Success from Amazon.com

Some thoughts on becoming and being a successful artist

a career as an artist is actually a continuous cycle of failure and success, not simply a one-chance deal...... Your work may not be loved by everyone everywhere, but it may very well be loved by someone somewhere, and you should work at exhibiting in as many diverse venues as possible
Leslie Watts
Overall employment of craft and fine artists is projected to grow 8 percent from 2016 to 2026, about as fast as the average for all occupations. 
The Occupational Outlook Handbook - Assessment for Craft/Fine Artists - 2016 statistics for craft and fine artists in the USA
Many artists resist the word “career,” thinking it implies a trudge along a well-worn path, with signposts clearly marked, decisions made on a calculated basis, and a long-range business plan guiding every step.
Art careers look nothing like this, of course, yet they happen anyway. They meander and take detours and turn back on themselves, unfolding in unpredictable ways, often without conscious planning.
​How art careers happen | Mary Edwards | Professional Artist magazine 
​10 Free Life Lessons
on being a Professional Artist

  1. Paint or draw every day
  2. Sketch everything everywhere
  3. Keep a huge inventory of all sizes
  4. Get yourself out there and I don't mean group shows
  5. Forget the idea that an artist paints what moves him/ her and paints when he/she is moved
  6. Professional artists look professional
  7. Get yourself a website
  8. Don't give up during the slow months
  9. Specialize
  10. Be Nice
(courtesy of Maggie Stiefvater)
At age 27, Vincent Van Gogh failed as a missionary and decided to go to art school.
Stan Lee didn’t release his first big comic book until he was 38.
Grandma Moses didn’t begin her painting career until age 76.
Louise Bourgeois wasn't featured in the Museum of Modern Art until she was 71.

Whatever your dream is, it is not too late to achieve it. You aren’t a failure because you haven’t found fame and fortune by the age of 21. Hell, it’s okay if you don’t even know what your dream is yet. Even if you’re flipping burgers, waiting tables or answering phones today, you never know where you’ll end up tomorrow.
Never tell yourself you’re too old to make it.
Never tell yourself you missed your chance.
Never tell yourself that you aren’t good enough.
You can do it. Whatever it is.
an edited (artists only) version of Inspiring List Reveals Ages Famous People Got Their Big Break, Proves You're Never Too Old For Success | Huffington Post
Becoming a Successful Artist = Hard Work
You can read about how to be an artist.  You can study all the latest trends and try to emulate a style that seems to be working for someone.  You can attend a thousand workshops and lectures.  You can ask for advice and take a lot of notes.  You can pray, ask the universe, use the law of attraction or any other mystical force to try to guide your career to success but if you don't put in the hard work, you'll never get anywhere as an artist.  Ideas are great and plans are essential but never DOING anything to achieve these dreams is a huge problem for most artists.  Some believe that entering a juried show will land them their big break and when they fail to place, dreams are shattered. Some are prolific but are waiting for some gallerist to meander into their studio and offer them a show.  I'm here to be brutally honest, for 99% percent of us, sheer luck isn't going to bring us fame and recognition.  So please, for the sake of your future, let go of any fantasy that doesn't include hard work and a ton of disappointments. 
Never Underestimate the value of hard work by Eric Armusik
REFERENCE:

If you want to avoid failing as an artist....
​

You need to know all the ways you can promote your own  failure in the art world.
  • ask for feedback all the time - and listen to none of it
  • never ever put your name on your website
  • never ever have contact details anywhere your art appears online
  • be completely unable to articulate what you do
  • never talk about your art
  • don't make enough work
  • pitch your few pieces at galleries which are way beyond your competence / experience / marketability level
  • fail to recognise that art is a business as well as a calling (exemplified by those who are apt to say "it's all about the art")​
  • be completely unrealistic about the price of your art
  • don't have a business card
  • don't bring your business card to private views / exhibitions where your art is being shown
and on and on (I'll be adding more later!)
REFERENCE
  • How Not to Succeed in the Art World | Artbusiness.com - ESSENTIAL READ - Alan Bamberger explains all the different ways that artists sabotage their careers, compromise their reputations, make sure they never get shows, ignore the advice of dealers or advisors or coaches or consultants or anyone else knowledgeable
My mother: “If you have to be an artist, at least marry a doctor lawyer or architect so you can live off of their income.” -- Marina Abramovic 
Art is your Life. Make it your Living by Susan Mumford and Chris King

This is a book of bite sized stories providing an insight into the realities of the art world. 
This book is a great introduction for those who are "innocents abroad" in the world of art. It focuses on practical issues, challenges and problems and has lots of useful information and stories which make you stop and think.

Susan Mumford, the author writes Be Smart about Art (her partner takes the pics). She describes herself as a game-changer in the 21st Century art world. She’s an entrepreneur, mentor, speaker and author, born and raised in the USA and now based in London  

I found it ideal reading matter for travelling on the tube in London.
Paperback: 102 pages
Publisher: Be Smart About Art Publishing
Date: 15 April 2015

[Note It's not available on Amazon.com]

RECOMMENDED
Rated an average of 4.9 out of 5 stars by 7 customers in the UK

If you want to be successful selling "daily paintings"
​

For artists wanting to develop a following of collectors and sell art online direct to the buyer without the help of galleries or dealers
Using a makeshift easel made from a cigar box, he made a postcard-sized painting each day and posted them to his blog where collectors could bid on them via eBay 
​About Duane Keiser
Around about the time I started blogging, creating a painting each day and selling it became extremely popular due to the extreme success of:
There was an absolute frenzy of "Me Too" painters for some years afterwards.  Many sought to emulate their success in terms of sales and income - but few succeeded to the same extent - although a number have made respectable incomes and importantly made the transition into galleries and solo exhibitions - while others now teach workshops and educate painters.

Notable daily painters have included Carol Marine (see her book below), Karen Jurick, Lisa Daria, Qiang Huang and Stephen Magsig.
It's important to realise that those who succeeded were
  • skilled painters already - and not starting out.
  • possessed of the rigour to literally list a painting every day for what seemed like forever. Output is typically now less frequent - but still a lot more than other painters.
  • understood that this was a means to an end and worked at the longer terms prospects and transition while painting every day.

While "a painting a day" has not continued literally, the regular production of small works for auction has continued by both the leading proponents and their followers.  

Those who are successful produce good quality work on a regular basis and don't forget to work consistently at their marketing.
REFERENCE
​
Duane Keiser's "A Painting a Day" blog has been written about in numerous publications, including: Julian has also had articles written about him
Here are more articles relevant to those who would like to emulate what they have done
SITES FOR DAILY PAINTERS

Sites for daily painters seem to have come and gone. I've listed those still active in the next column.
  • The best site so far as I am concerned is the one run by Carol and David Marine - Daily Paintworks
Others include:
Savvy Painter interview with Carol Marine
Daily Painting - Paint Small and Often To Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Artist
by Carol Marine

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Rated an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars by 974 customer reviews on Amazon
This book is for
  • the artist who's in an artistic rut or otherwise blocked - who needs a way back to productive practice
  • the inexperienced painter who wants to develop; and
  • the more experienced painter who wants to understand more about producing daily paintings.
Importantly, although providing excellent advice about how to produce daily paintings, it's not just an instructional "how to paint" book. Rather it provides insight into why the practice of daily painting actually helps artists to improve what they produce - and avoid that artist block!
This inspirational book is about the art and business of painting daily.
​It covers:
  1. How daily painting changed my life (and can change yours too!)
  2. My materials
  3. Subject matters
  4. Value
  5. Color mixing
  6. Drawing and proportion
  7. Composition
  8. Staying fresh and loose with oil
  9. Fighting artist's block
  10. How to photograph and edit small paintings
  11. Tips for better online sales

The author, Carol Marine,  is one of the most successful of the daily painters and has been painting, blogging (on Carol Marine's Painting a Day) and auctioning her paintings since October 2006 - that's well over 10 years of very nearly daily painting!

Carol really knows what she's talking about and has a HUGE fan base.
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Watson-Guptill; Rare edition
Date: November 4, 2014)

BUY THIS BOOK

If you want to sell your art online....
​

MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS FIRST!
​e-Commerce for artists - the rules and the regulations - which relate both to selling online on your own account and via third parties
PLUS the guides to what you need to do
- including the OFFICIAL GUIDES
If you want to sell work online you need to work at it. Those who succeed are those who
  • regularly produce art that people want to buy
  • list work on a very regular basis - which helps create a following
  • select a good site for profiling what you have to offer
  • market it online - that means don't just list it, you also have to tell people about it and drive traffic to the listing - usually via social media
Haphazard production and listings which are not followed by fans will not do a lot for sales. 
That's why marketing is as important as production of the art.

You also need to know
  • what people actually want to buy in terms of art online. Some subjects are very popular, others less so. Online is a great place for finding out what sells and what doesn't.
  • which are the best websites for making sure your artwork gets seen. There's an awful lot of third party sites which promise a lot - but my main blog gets more traffic than they do!
REFERENCE
How to sell your art online by Cory Huff
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: ​The top book about selling art online in Amazon's art business books best seller list ​
The essence of the book is to teach you how to become effective and successful by developing a niche for your art and selling it.

​It pays particular attention to the requirements of marketing artwork online using email, blogging, social media and paid advertising - and how efforts online can lead to a payoff in terms of business offline.

​This is Cory Huff's first book and is published by the same people who published Austin Kleon's hugely popular Show your Work!
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Harper Design (June 28, 2016)

Rated an average of 4.4 out of 5 stars by 175 people

​BUY THIS BOOK

If you want to exhibit your art....
​

"You can't sell it if you don't show it!"
Dick Harrison
You can exhibit at
  • solo exhibitions - at home or a local venue
  • art group exhibitions
  • commercial galleries
  • art fairs

The easiest way to start exhibiting your art is in the group exhibitions run by art societies. These can also lead to opportunities for Open Studios.

I recommend you start with local art societies to learn the ropes and then start moving on to those which specialise in media or subject matter at a national level.

You can follow my regular reviews of national art society exhibitions in the UK on my Making A Mark blog. 

Art competitions - particularly the national and prestigious ones - are an excellent way of getting your art noticed. They're akin to the graduation shows at good art schools - they;re where art galleries go to find out who's producing good new original artwork.

Furthermore, being able to list that you've been selected for some of these exhibitions on your CV makes you a much more marketable artist from the perspective of a gallery (see below re "If you want representation by a gallery")
REFERENCE

To find out more about exhibiting art on this website, read 
ADVERTISEMENTS

If you want to be more productive....
​

I asked artists who read my blog two questions:
  1. What's the one thing you do which increases your artistic productivity - BUT you've never read about it in a 'how to' art book?
  2. Which recommendation for improving artistic productivity do you tend to ignore - because it doesn't work for you?

Factors which help improve productivity:
  • Goal/results oriented approach. You need to be disciplined and treat art as work.
  • Deadlines - and you can create these even if none are imposed
  • Good time management - Artists who treat their art as work as well as their passion understand that you need to look at ways of using time more efficiently and effectively. Such as gessoing 20 boards at the same time.
  • Rejuvenation of your wellbeing and visual brain
  • Studio environment which works for you
  • Reading art blogs can inspire and helps stimulate artistic productivity! Seriously! 

Things which inhibit artistic productivity
  • "The computer" - generally seen as a serious timewaster by some and to be avoided by others.
  • "Inspirational books" A number of people commented on the fact that "inspirational books" actually antagonised and irritated some artists. (as opposed to those providing practical 'real life' advice)
  • A lack of a balance in their life Trying too hard/too much painting can generate the the artist equivalent of 'burn-out' or writer's block and make some people stale. It also tends to be something which does not go away quickly or easily if it hits you hard.​
REFERENCE:
  • What increases your artistic productivity? | Making A Mark - I've been prompted by a couple of posts I read recently on a productivity blog about organisation and increasing productivity to ask all my readers two things: * What's the one thing you do which increases your artistic productivity - BUT you've neve
  • Feedback on what increases your artistic productivity | Making Mark - At the end of January, I did a post about What increases your artistic productivity - and invited people to comment on what they found helped them. It attracted a lot of comments and lots of really good insight into what works for other people!
  • Self Discipline for Artists | Nita Leland (author of The Creative Artist) - Ten steps to self discipline suggested by Nita Leland, author of The Creative Artist

This next reference article is for an artist who has a health condition 

If you're a parent and want to be an artist too
​

“I’ve never heard a male artist discuss whether or not they should have children.”
You Can Be a Mother and Still Be a Successful Artist
If the challenge of having a career as an artist while at the same time raising a child is proving to be a challenge - do not despair!

There are a number of people who have written on this topic and have some varied and generally informative and excellent advice on how to cope.

Of one thing you can be certain - you are going to be working differently in future - and valuing every minute you have for your art!
throughout this project, artist parents talked much more about time than money
Andrew Simonet | Artists Raising Kids
REFERENCE: Books
Organisations:
Plus in relation to making art about being a parent

If you want to develop your career....
​

To develop your career you need to:

Produce good work, that also:
  • people want to buy
  • gets seen in the right places
  • receives awards and.or good reviews

Generate art sales that can get you representation by a dealer or a gallery. They like people whose art is wanted by buyers. In other words in order to get your art sold in a gallery you have to sell your art.

Get exhibited in the places where your art is going to be noticed. A great place to start are the prestigious art competitions and the open exhibitions of national art societies

Get representation by having a good backstory relating to for example
  • selection by a prestigious art competition
  • showing work in a national art society exhibition
  • winning awards
REFERENCE

From time to time, there are audits of the actual reality of life as an artist
  • An audit of visual artists | Making A Mark - This report on an audit of visual artists in Scotland tells us about what sort of aspirations artists had in Scotland in 2003, what sort of challenges and difficulties they faced, and what opportunities artists identified and what their views were on

​

If you want to get representation by a gallery....
​

"Traditional galleries are never going to go away. You'll always need them, but the days of them being the gatekeepers are over,"
Duane Keiser
Getting representation by a gallery is not easy.

There's also no easy answer to the question of you get presented by a gallery.

That's because changes in the marketplace  are changing the economics of having a gallery and what sort of art sells via a gallery as opposed online

How you get representation has also changed over time as technology has changed the way the art market works. Once upon a time you'd send slides before turning up with a portfolio. Now galleries very often review images of artwork online via websites or iPads before looking at the real thing.

Things that haven't changed is that galleries like artists:
  • who have a proven following
  • who have a track record of making sales
  • who have wealthy friends and family
REFERENCE See also A Guide to Art Dealers and Art Galleries on this site

If you want to talk about the art business online

This is about the Online Forums which focus on the business issues relating to the visual arts

Want to ask a question or get some advice?
Try asking for help in some of the Forums listed here and/or read about other people's experiences.
Be aware that some of the answers may come from artists who may know (or think they know) only a little more than you.
​
I take no responsibility for and have no liability for your reliance on the information and advice offered. Please also read all relevant disclaimers on the sites listed.
Etsy :: Forums :: Business & Marketing
​Business and marketing matters - posting limited to Etsy members
Facebook Groups

Art Fair Buddies Group - is an invaluable place to find out about different art fairs
Wet Canvas

Art Business Forum
A long0-established forum for discussions about the business side of creating and sharing your art business queries and experience with others. Be aware that many using the forum are amateurs rather than seasoned professionals

Internet Sales Strategies - WetCanvas
A place to share your online sales stories, queries, tips, and strategies with fellow artists! Explore what venues (including auction sites and online galleries) have worked and which ones have not for some members. Discuss credit card sales, PayPal, eBay.