Warhol in Heliczer's 1966 underground film, "Joan Of Arc"

1. Andy Warhol’s birth name was Andrew Warhola. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1928, his parents, Ondrej and Julia were immigrants from Miková in northeastern Slovakia.
2. His very first movie was called ‘Sleep’ and it was 6 hour long never ending masterpiece of his friend sleeping. Nine people attended premiere. Seven of them stayed and watched the movie. Two of them left within the first hour. He created at least 60 movies including Kiss, Blowjob, Eat, Shoulder, Couch, Face, Kitchen, Horse, Suicide, Drink, Closet, Sunset, and Bitch.
3. Andy almost died when he was shot three times in the chest by Valerie Solanis. Valerie was an ardent feminist and one of many who thought Warhol was abusive and controlling. She thought that he deserved to die. Warhol was at one point pronounced dead, but was revived and slowly recovered. Valerie was a founder of club called SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men) and she was the only member of the group.
4. He died in hospital on February 22nd, 1987 from a heart attack because hospital stuff overloaded him with fluids after his routine gallbladder surgery. Warhol is buried at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After his death the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts was founded.
5. Andy was the producer of the first record album by The Velvet Underground . He also painted the cover of their first album, entitled ‘The Velvet Underground and Nico’. Many of the songs were considered daring, shocking, and kinky.
6. In 1957 Warhol won the prestigious Art Director’s Club Medal for a shoe advertisement. Warhol went to New York City after earning a BFA degree from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, in 1949. He began designing in advertisements and went on to specialize in illustrating shoes.
7. Although he worked in a number of media his most famous works were created using silkscreen and lithography. When he had achieved some fame, Andy began to use silkscreen to create his art and to mass-produce images. His 1973 portrait of Mao is one of the best known examples of his use of this process.
8. After Warhol’s death a music album was made titled, “Songs for Drella”. This was a nickname coined by his music friends which was a combination of Dracula and Cinderella. After Andy’s death, Lou Reed’s band dedicated the “Songs for Drella” album to Andy, that he would never be forgotten. Bob Dylan’s song, “Like a Rolling Stone” is reputed to have been about Andy. Dylan blamed Warhol for drug use by Edie Sedgewicks, a love interest of Dylan’s at the time.
9. Andy would claim, “If you want to know all about me, just look at the surface of my paintings and me, and there I am. There’s nothing behind it.”
10. In addition to creating art, Warhol started Interview magazine, opened a night club and created two cable TV shows-Andy Warhol’s TV and Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes- for MTV.
11. Warhol had an interesting sense of style; he wore silver wigs and eventually dyed his hair silver. After having been told he had lazy eyes, he wore opaque glasses that had a tiny pinhole for him to see through.
12. In high school, the art club excluded Warhol because he was better than the other members.

Editor’s Note:

This article was researched from a number of online resources. If you would like to learn more about the chronology and details of Andy Warhol’s life there is a fantastic resource at warholstars.org. Flipping through this gave me a great background on some of the 60′s and 70′s art and music legends and how their lives intersected.

Hello. I am from a little town in Wyoming and I am wanting to ask a pretty simple question, Well my wife is a painter/sculptor. She is the best I have seen in my eyes but not only mine, my family, her family all our friends – and she has won art shows throughout Wyoming. She moved to California and tried the art program there but she had no luck. I am contacting all art areas to ask how I can get her work out there to be seen/ sold/ and admired by a massive verity. I know she has a chance at success but she has not taken the steps. If there is a chance you can e-mail me back to let me know I would be so thankful.

A couple of things struck me about this message. Firstly the love that this man has for his wife and her talent – this kind of moral support from friends and family is just priceless as one navigates the often challenging path to commercial success as a professional artist. In most cases it is a marathon run and your warm circle of friends cheer-leading you on may be the one thing that pushes you over the finish line.

The second thing that got my attention was how well this email describes the real challenges of how to get started. There is SO much advice around in many great books, blogs, forums, etc, but if you’re really starting out with art marketing what do you do first?

When I answered this email I pointed the gentleman to a number of articles on our site, in particular a collection of our best art marketing articles from 2009 which covers some important bases. But several days later his email was really bothering me because I didn’t feel I had addressed the core question.

Here’s what I honestly think – there is enough information online today for anyone to research any art marketing question that they could possibly think of between now and the year 5,000. A lack of information isn’t the challenge. What is typically lacking is an understanding of the overall process or a system to implement it. But there is something way more fundamental that this:

To sell art you need a market to sell to. To some extent there is an existing art market that can be tapped by emerging artists – but probably the bigger piece is the art market that you create yourself. And how do you do that?

A few years back while driving from New York to Los Angeles I listened to a truly fabulous audio book called “The Ultimate Anti Career Guide” by Rick Jarow. I won’t digress into its message here except to say that this book is a great inspiration with some very practical tools to help you find your life’s work. The reason I bring it up is because Rick mentioned something very powerful which hit me like a bolt of lightning. Here is what he said:

Another name for a Community is a Market

Sounds simple right? But think about the power of this statement. What Rick was referring to was that when you build a community around being yourself and doing the work that inspires you, that community can become the market that finances and fuels your ongoing career growth – a true symbiotic relationship in its most positive sense.

So, in  practical sense what does this mean for you, the artist seeking artistic and commercial success? It means to take the regular steps to nurture and build a community around the art that you create. One way I really encourage artists to get started with this is to have monthly open studios. One of my favorite articles on this subject is a 3-part series that I wrote myself called “How to Stage A Successful Artist Open Studio“. Encourage friends to come along – even if they’re not excited about art. Ask them to bring friends and send out postcards and written invitations regularly to galleries and other arts professionals.

What you’re doing is watering the little plant which is your art community and f you do this consistently every month it will grow into a big tree and eventually it may become a mighty oak. This is your art community AND your art market. When you have this foundation in place, all the other marketing steps and tools, and systems fall into place because you’re applying them to your known and trusted market.

I’m big on building strong foundations for success because to reach your objective may take every ounce of inspiration and energy you can muster for a long time. If you build those foundations strongly you’ll make life much easier for yourself in the future – and have a more meaningful and fun time of it. Your art community is a BIG foundation!

I’m normally fairly thick skinned on the odd occasion someone unsubscribes from one of our email lists – but this time I felt different. This was a person who had received some really great free information from us that would really help them to promote their art career if they actually used it. I wouldn’t have minded if they had simply clicked the “unsubscribe” button displayed visibly in the email – but to go the extra step of adding a rude little snipe like that really surprised me.

This got me wondering – do some artists really think that they should get everything free? Is it really too offensive to them that amongst all the free articles and information we and many other great art marketing and art career websites publish that we occasionally promote something we believe in that has a price tag? Surely not! But apparently so!

So, just for the record, here are a few thoughts from me on this topic. In a perfect world I would probably spend a good part of my weeks writing art marketing articles and books and teaching art marketing seminars. I have a genuine interest in helping artists bridge the gap that often exists between art and business and helping them to bring more beauty and creativity into the world. This is a world that really needs it!

That said, I and all the other art marketing writers out there run businesses – not charities. We have to run our businesses successfully because we need to eat and support our loved ones and communities. Money may not buy happiness but you can’t do a whole lot in this world without it. And I for one am several decades past being able to sleep on the sofa at my Mum and Dad’s place!

So, amongst all the volumes of free information we and many others provide, occasionally we promote products and services we believe in that are not free – and we make no apologies. If you as an artist are offended by a commercial offer then by all means feel free to unsubscribe. But before you do, think about what this might be telling you about your own relationship with art career success – because if you are uncomfortable with receiving an occasional promotion from us, how are you going to feel comfortable about asking for the sale with a new art collector? And you most certainly will have to do that!

Money is not a god to be worshiped but it is a big part of the world we live in. If you are uncomfortable with it, then it it will almost certainly feel uncomfortable with you. Think about that!

I first became aware of Jetsun Milarepa when I read The Golden Dream, a fictionalized account of his life story by Heather Hughes Calero. It is a fantastic read although I believe the book is out of print. I thoroughly recommend it.

The start of Milarepa’s life story goes like this (borrowing from Wikipedia):

Milarepa was born in the village of Kya Ngatsa – also known as Tsa – in Gungthang province of western Tibet to a prosperous family. He was named Mila Thöpaga (Thos-pa-dga’), which means “A joy to hear.”

When his father died, Milarepa’s uncle and aunt took all of the family’s wealth. At his mother’s request, Milarepa left home and studied sorcery. While his aunt and uncle were having a party to celebrate the impending marriage of their son, he took his revenge by summoning a giant hail storm to demolish their house, killing 35 people, although the uncle and aunt are supposed to have survived. The villagers were angry and set off to look for Milarepa, but his mother got word to him and he sent a hailstorm to destroy their crops.

So, as you can see, Milarepa was off to something of a bad start in his life! But he was aware enough to know that he needed to take responsibility for his misdeeds and make amends. How did he do this? In the story as told by Hughes-Calero, Milarepa set out to find a spiritual teacher and eventually found himself under the tutelage of the lama Marpa.

Marpa was a tough teacher and focused Milarepa’s training on building houses made with large stones. This was heavy exhausting work, especially for one man and especially given the harsh tibetan weather. Marpa was relentless! – but he also didn’t give up on Milarepa.

All told, Milarepa had to build 13 houses with his bare hands, collecting all the materials himself. Marpa would look at each one and find something that wasn’t right and then Milarepa would have to start all over again. Many times he was so proud of his latest building achievement and the lessons he had learned. But Marpa would again tell him that it wasn’t right and to start again. How incredibly frustrating! Can you imagine how he felt?

Eventually Milarepa did learn the lesson that Marpa was determined to teach him and the last house was completed! There are a number of opinions on how this happened but a general consensus is that Milarepa had surrendered his ego and balanced the karma he had created in the earlier part of his life. He had now achieved an elevated state of enlightenment. Some say that he is the only Tibetan Lama to have achieved this in a single lifetime of training.

Milarepa went on to become one of Tibet’s most famous Yogis and poets and he is revered by thousands today.

So – what can an artist or an art marketeer learn from the life of Milarepa? Here are 5 things that come to mind:

1. There is a good chance that your life is a lot easier than Milarepa’s – so feel happy and celebrate what you have!
2. Realize that you have to take responsibility for your life and your art career success.
3. Find yourself a good art marketing coach – a “Marpa of Art Marketing!” – someone who can demonstrate the kind of mastery you want to achieve. Do what they say.
4. When you’re feeling tired and can’t go on, ask yourself: “Do I feel like I’ve completed 13 houses yet?” If not, keep going – Milarepa did and he achieved something truly great – and so can you!
5. Surrender your ego. If something isn’t working don’t hang on to it. Let it go and start again. Start again 13 times if you need to. Just do it, learn what does work, and do more of that.

You will then have achieved Art Marketing Enlightenment!

The brain-child of Art Entrepreneur Ariane Goodwin, Ed.D., smARTist is the only professional-development art-career conference for visual artists that reaches around the globe – artists from more that 16 countries and 38 U.S. states have attended.

Currently in its fifth year this incredibly popular and successful virtual telesummit is structured to replicate a traditional brick and mortar conference and is the first such summit to include leading authorities from both inside and outside the art world

Are you and emerging artist? smARTist is geared toward YOU and you should seriously consider attending! Listen to a couple of testimonials from previous seminar participants:

I can’t believe the people you collected! I can’t believe the value! You know, if anyone is serious about trying to make it as an artist — particularly in this financial climate — it seems to me they’ve got to get the information you are offering or they’re just swimming in a storm — you and your crew are the lighthouse!   —Robert Girandola

I’m so glad I registered for the Telesummit. What a wonderful experience to have all this expertise and wisdom available to me “live” without having to leave home. Before I even registered for the smARTist Telesummit, I had dedicated 2010 as the year of putting myself on the map to financial success. smARTist has provided me an incredible springboard to do exactly that! —Tom Hlas

This week has been amazing…I don’t remember the last time I was so motivated and inspired. I have gotten so much from the keynote speaker’s presentations, the pre-events, even the panel days, and I am saddened that tomorrow will be the last day. Thank you so much for the time and effort that you have all put into this amazing resource for artists. I am feeling ready to re-emerge in my new locale with my confidence, inspiration, skills, and vision strong. —Julie Cooper Young

Sounds good yes? It is and if you’re serious about turning “making art” into “making a living”, smARTist may be one of the best value investments you ever make.

Want to learn more?

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We’ll be there – will you? Click on the image below for more info on smARTist:

FTC Disclosure: We are a proud partner of smARTist and highly recommend its value for emerging and mid-career artists! If you visit the SmARTist website via any of the links in this article and subsequently decide to purchase and participate in the telesummit we will receive a commission on your purchase.

Lets start with a premise that I hold true.

True art comes from somewhere. It is the result of an experience where the artist explored the worlds of beauty, spirit, terror, humanity, or the psyche – and brought back the experience for us to share. When you look at a painting or a sculpture created with that consciousness it has an impact and you can’t help but notice it.

When I saw one of Van Gogh’s self portraits (the green one!) in the Musee D’Orsay in 1996 I gasped after wandering through the rest of that art museum half asleep. I had similar experiences with a Rodin Sculpture in Amsterdam, several portraits by El Greco at a MET exhibition, and an original Georgia O’keeffe painting at a house I visited in Woodside, California. (Yes – someone actually had an original O’Keeffe in their house!)

I have similar experiences when I look at more recent work, like that of Rick Clarence, Ken Marshall, Zeph Farmby, or Latifah Shay. These artists are all explorers of experience and consciousness and it shows in their work. To me, that is the artistic consciousness and you can’t be an artist without it.

A great artist has that together with the technical skill and craftsmanship to execute the creation of the work. But the technical skill alone does not make an artist. I see this regularly at art fairs and exhibitions – technically excellent work that has nothing behind it. As such it is decoration and that is OK – but it is not art, at least in my personal universe.

Combining the artistic consciousness and technical skill is actually a lot of talent all wrapped into one human being. So then, is it realistic that this same human can also be a good business person?

The answer is: It depends on the person.

Van Gogh was immersed in his worlds of experience, so much so that he often spent all the money his brother Theo sent him on paints and canvasses when common sense would have suggested that some food might be a good idea! So Vincent probably wasn’t the ideal business person. My guess is that he may have lost some of his artistic intensity in becoming one!

Michelangelo's Pieta , sculptured in 1499, St Peter's Basilica Rome

My understanding of Michelangelo (which I admit is entirely based on a reading of Irving Stone’s “The Agony & The Ecstasy”) is that he was very much the great artist and the great business person. In the course of his life he had to manage budgets, difficult family and political situations, and a number of popes, all of whom seemed determined to undermine his success. And yet he did succeed and all those challenges impacted his work in a powerful way. You only have to glance sideways at the magnificent “Pieta” in St Peters Basilica to know what I mean.

Picasso was a consummate Marketer, Jackson Pollock wasn’t. Both were great artists. Andy Warhol was a business person and advocated the business of art. But honestly, I’ve seen a whole bunch of his original work in several museums and I have never been moved. It is certainly iconic work though. Basquiat’s work, on the other hand, grabs me by the throat, but my guess is that he explored the worlds of the psyche in his work and was less interested in business. (Just a guess).

Where does this all lead to? The answer I believe lies simply in the old saying:

Know Thyself

If you know that you can happily bridge the worlds of art and business, especially if you want to or even enjoy the challenge, then that is your path and you will be successful.

On the other hand, if you know, deep down, that you need to focus on the exploration and creation of your art at the expense of business, then do that. You then have choices:

You can choose to pursue your art as a hobby where you can put all your love and creative energy without the guilt of feeling that you have to sell to justify calling yourself an artist. (Hey – how much did Van Gogh sell while he was alive?)

Or, you can choose to look for family, friends and friendly business people to help you with the business aspects of your career. You can also outsource a lot of the repetitive marketing work at very low cost by being a little creative.

Can you be an artist and a business person? If you want to. But you don’t have to be. Build on your strengths and enlist help in the areas you need support. This is actually a principle all good businesses use!

Crossing the Delaware ~ Emanuel Leutze

As I watched Episode 2 of the  “America: The Story of Us” on the History Channel, my business brain started to kick in. Not only did I learn new things about the Revolutionary War that I didn’t know before, I started to see how the tactics used by the ‘rebels’ could serve business owners well.  I assure you many liberties are being taken in this comparison – I’m going on what I recall and my impressions – forgive me if they are skewed.  It’s the analogy that matters.

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Let me set the scene…

It’s 1773, there is a Tea Party in Boston (the original, not the remakes going on now) and we are tired of taxation without representation.  By 1776, the people of the colonies grab whatever weapon they can muster and decide they’re through and they want to be independent. (Pretend they are artists and they don’t want to ‘work for the man – they want to go into business for themselves.)

The Red Coats are highly trained soldiers.  They have systems, structure and certain ways things are done.  Battles are fought in fields. You don’t shoot the leaders. Certain protocol is followed.  The Red Coats are like big corporations.

Well the rebels, I’ll call them US soldiers, decide they can’t win if they play by the rules.  They have to make up their own rules. (Like we self-employed artists do.)

The US soldiers use new tactics: snipers and sharp shooters.  They kill the Indian guides so the red coats don’t know the terrain. Then they take out the leaders so there is chaos. They learn new techniques and train. Bayonettes come from France and change the way they can fight on the battlefield.

Most importantly, the US soldiers REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to be free.

They want it enough to survive crazy conditions. They want it more than the British want to keep paying for a war across the ocean. More than the soldiers want to be beat up by farmers.  They want it and they fight till Britain says UNCLE.

So what can artists learn from this?

You have to REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to succeed and be willing to do WHATEVER IT TAKES. No giving up because it’s easier to go sell coffee at the closest Starbucks and heck, they have benefits for part-time workers.

You have to know your strengths and how to capitalize on them.

You have to be willing to learn new things and adapt to what is going on in the present.

You have to be willing to try and fail – George Washington knew he had to lose many battles to win the war.  How much are you willing to lose and get back up again, fighting for your dream?

We should be grateful that no matter what is going on, we aren’t surviving Valley Forge in the dead of winter with no shoes, a smallpox outbreak and little shelter.

The US soldiers fighting for independence were willing to commit, adapt, learn and persevere.  Are you?

I am!  Here’s to your creative success and doing whatever it takes to get there!

– Tara Reed

About The Author

Guest Author Tara Reed has been licensing her art since 2004, working with over 40 different manufacturers in that time. Her designs can be found on everything from fabric to dishes to dish towels. Gift wrap to garden flags and much, much more.

In 2008 she began sharing her expertise in art licensing with artists wanting to learn more about the industry. With a degree in marketing and background in sales, Tara Reed has created the art and built her business from the ground up.

Learn more about Tara and her art business at Art Licensing Info

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Editors Note: This Article first appeared in the Art Licensing Blog in April 2010

Joan Rivers 2010 - Wikipedia Photo

Last week I found myself at the very artsy and wonderful Laemmle Cinema in Santa Monica. This is a regular haunt for me – it helps me stay connected to the beauty of great writing and film making in a time when most of our media is un-settlingly dumbed-down. What drew me there on this occasion was the new Joan Rivers documentary, Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work.

I have to be honest – I did not know a thing about Joan Rivers. I grew up in Australia and I was too young to ever really get into the Johnny Carson Show – and I don’t really remember being aware of it. As kids we were allowed only very limited time in front of the Television and that didn’t include Johnny!

I LOVED this documentary about Joan. To me it explodes many of the myths about fame and success and shows what that word SUCCESS is about. I always recommend that artists read Irving Stone’s “The Agony & The Ecstasy” (The life of Michelangelo) to get a grasp of what being a great artist might really entail. I’m not suggesting that Joan Rivers is in the same boat as Michelangelo but I think that we can all learn a great deal from her – so go see this doco!

Here are a few things that I learned from Joan:

Dare To Be Different! Right from the very start of her career, Joan was pushing the boundaries of what was considered normal or acceptable for performers and especially for women – and I doubt that she ever stopped pushing those boundaries. How can you be a great artist without the will to express the real you?

Say What You Want. Too often in life we accept less than we should or could. Many of us punish ourselves with meagre lives when we actually want more! There is a great line in the movie where Joan says something like, (I’m paraphrasing from memory) “If I was careful I would have enough to live a modest life without working – but I don’t want a modest life!”. That works on many levels too – we’re not just talking money here.

Don’t Be Too Proud To Stoop. “I’ll do anything”, says Joan at one point in the movie. She is sitting with her agent and they are on the speaker-phone with another agent. This is a point where Joan really needs some cashflow and she is not too proud to grab whatever is on the table. Why? Because it means that she can keep going for a little while longer and that will get her to the next big thing. Sometimes you get the sense that she has to endure a lot of these in between steps but she does it with a smile and a great sense of humor. Lesser artists would throw in the towel – and Joan is in her 70s!

Constantly Practice Your Craft. After a lifetime of performing, and a wall filled with index card files of all the jokes she has ever told you might think that Joan would just cruise for the rest of her career. No way! On evenings when she is not doing her regular gigs she can often be found in tiny off-broadway bars and performance-spaces trying out new material. And she is constantly writing new material – there is a great scene where she is on the floor of her bathroom writing out jokes on big sheets of paper as she giggles away!

Life (and Success) Runs In Cycles. Contrary to popular new age myth, life is not a straight line of constant success. Success and happiness come hand-in-hand with great challenges and many failures along the way – even at the heights of a career. Joan is a great example of someone who has learned to accept the journey with all its ups and downs and wins and losses. I got the sense that she loves and accepts life for what it is – and even when things get really tough she never stops working!

Love What You Do So Much That You Can’t Stop. This seems to be the essence of Joan River’s life. In her mid-seventies when most people are at least trying to take it easy, Joan is checking into a Minneapolis hotel at 4am and getting up at 6am to prepare for another show. Who would do that? Someone incredibly driven for sure – but only someone who also has an insatiable love for their craft!

The Joan Rivers documentary is very “real” – those principles I mentioned above are mixed in with plenty of true life grit and experience and a good dose of humor. A very real artist with a lot of life experience to share – we could all learn something from her.

Massai Herdsman (Selection) ~ Frances Simpson

One of the great pleasures of being in the art business is the chance to see the work of artists we’re not familiar with from all corners of the world. While there is a lot of good work out there, it is only occasionally we see art that causes us to stop and catch our breath. Such was the case when we first saw the watercolour and mixed media work of  this week’s featured artist, Frances Simpson of Kenya.

In answering one of our questions, Frances commented, “African paintings can be exciting ..not just as a perfect non-moving scene or landscape but in exciting colours showing a flash of life which is how one usually sees things here.” It was precisely that “flash of life” that got our attention with her work – I’ve never been to Kenya, but when I take in Frances’s art I know that I am right there – it is a holographic experience of light, sound, taste, and smell.

We invite you to take a few minutes to experience this beautiful work and feel the vibrant spirit of Africa. More work, and larger images can be found on Frances’s website.

Featured Work

Note: Use the slide-show controls to pause or go to a specific image. Mouse over the images to see details about the artwork.

Bio

Frances Simpson working on location

A Second generation Kenyan, born in the Great Rift Valley, Frances Simpson spent her childhood on a Cattle farm. After studying Music in England she returned to Africa to paint, and now works with her sculptor husband Hugh, from their Studio in Naivasha,Kenya.

Using the earth colours of the African bush, and the vivid pinks,reds ,oranges, and indigo of the Tribal fabrics, Simpson works in Watercolour and mixed media on paper, to represent the rural environment that she lives in. The immediacy of paint, charcoal, ink and natural sand on paper are essential to the movement and life in her paintings.

She is happy to take commissions and is looking forward to updating her Website into an online  worldwide Gallery.

The Art Marketing Secrets Signature 6 Questions

1. What led you to become an artist?

I wanted to return to my home country after studying abroad, and painting was a fantasic way of life and enabled me to earn a living.

2. What happens for you and what do you feel when you are in the creative process?

Time disappears..and yet there is a sense of immediacy and excitement where every actual minute counts in order for the ever changing scene to be transported onto paper..unlike oil painters who can change a painting over days… the watercolorist must make a statement where each emotion or observation captured in line or wash will show  through. Although after this process I will often wonder …”how did I do that?”

3. What is your favorite piece of your own art and why?

Flight In Green ~ Mixed Media On Paper ~ Frances Simpson

Often the newest piece I have painted or drawn.. because of the excitement of seeing it as a whole.. At the moment.. Flight in Green – because it captures the moment in true colour of the flamingo taking off over green water with the elusive flamingo pink randomly apperaing in the painting, and the boldness of the ink lines.

4. What would your perfect artist-life look like?

Painting from dawn to dusk with no interruptions of food or email/ telephone or organising others… probably out in the Bushveld! and a buyer turning up at the end of the day!

5. How are you marketing your art?

Exhibitions twice a year with a limited email list, and commissions in between to whoever turns up at my Studio – word of mouth.

6. What else are you busting to tell the world?

African paintings can be exciting ..not just as a perfect non-moving scene or landscape but in exciting colours showing a flash of life which is how one usually sees things here.

Contact Frances

Website: www.francessimpson.com

So – breathe in the beauty and life in Frances’s work! And if you have comments or just want to express support please do so below. Artists love feedback!

Vincent Van Gogh ~ Portrait of the Art Dealer Alexander Reid ~ 1887

Artists put their work out to the public at the risk of rejection. Galleries are continually being approached by waves of hopeful souls who want to reach out through their art. I found my self at the creative side of saying ‘no’ when I coordinated gallery shows. Juried show will turn out differently even with the same jurors, just on another day. These decisions are continually being made.

I believe Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting while alive! While not understood at the time, his work is now loved. Thirty-nine years ago, MoMA had turned Yoko Ono away but has now re-assessed their decision. Read her story…

In an unbelievable letter they decline a gift from Andy Warhol in 1956. View letter.

It is nothing new, but it still doesn’t feel good. As sensitive as artists are to be in order to bring their work to the world, they must have a disapproval-resistant skin. They need to develop their passion along with an attitude that will not look to others for their value.

I believe the gift we have is the fruit of the spirit. A favorite quote from Leonardo da Vinci expresses it…

Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art.

Success can have an altering effect as well. It can elevate us to unrealistic self-worth and pride. Therefore, in spite of success or failure, the artist must be faithful to the statement they are given, the message to their generation. It really doesn’t matter that it’s understood.

While we do not presume to put ourselves in the same league as the above mentioned artists, we can realize everyone faces this situation. We all will be rejected by someone, someday….let’s not have it discourage the creative force in us.

About the Guest Author

KC Moore is an award winning artist, collected nation-wide and has shown in galleries in Sacramento, Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Old Sacramento, Placerville, Lincoln, Roseville, New York, Ojai and many juried shows.  Her artwork is on display in many professional offices and public venues. You can learn more about KC on her website.

Interested in being a Guest Author for Art Marketing Secrets? Learn more about how to contribute on our Article Submission Page.