This is the final post in the Seeking the Hidden Path of the Artist Career series. You can read the first post here.
When people start getting excited about your work, you may find yourself in an unfamiliar situation: that of being a leader.
But if you don’t realize it’s time to be a leader, it may end up killing your art career. Let me explain.
You see, you’re not the only one who is looking for a path. Most of us are. And most people are looking for someone who can guide them down the path, or at least see a little bit further. In ancient Greece, the birthplace of modern theater, the actors were priests of Dionysus. The Greeks experienced theatre as part of religious ceremonies, and the cathartic release of seeing someone go through emotional experiences on stage could be considered a religious exercise.
In that context, the actor-priests were seen as having the vision to guide the audience through that catharsis.
In the same way, modern day artists are often seen as having a vision that others don’t have. This is your artistic voice. This is that part of you that perhaps you can’t articulate, but which drives all of your artistic choices and lets you be who you are as an artist.
Once you’ve had a little bit of success as an artist it becomes ever more imperative that you pay attention to that voice in your work. If you stay true to your artistic voice, while at the same time honoring the connection you have with your audience, your career will grow. This is when you make a living from your art.
Leverage Better Tools
Learning to use marketing tools becomes necessary at this point because you simply can’t reach everyone on a one-to-one basis.
Using a professional email marketing system will become helpful. A customer database to track sales, prospects, and inventory movement. Tracking traffic on your website. Learning to be thoroughly proficient with the tracking and data tools that your social media accounts give you. All of these tools will allow you to grow your online presence, and remind people that saw you in shows and galleries that you still exist.
At the same time, this stage in your career is sometimes when the media comes calling, or, more likely, when you can draw their attention to you. If you have a show coming up, and you have had significant numbers of people out to your shows before, then reaching out to local news organizations can be a great way of bringing even more people to your shows.
At the same time, you don’t want to forget the bloggers. The face, and power, of news has changed tremendously. There are independent bloggers and journalists with enormous reach and power. Most small cities, and even many large towns, have a blogger or two who is absolutely in touch with the heartbeat of the city.
In addition, there will be bloggers and media organizations that aren’t geographically oriented, but instead oriented around subject matter. If you live in a touristy area, reach out to travel magazines and blogs. If you are making art that is related to a current event, find organizations that are covering those events.
If your art is selling for high prices, say $5,000 and up, you will also start attracting the attention of some higher-end art galleries. Since you’re not just out of art school, these galleries will recognize that they don’t have to develop you, but the same traps apply. It’s a wonderful thrill of validation to be approached by one of the big local art galleries. But pay attention to what your instincts tell you.
Many mid and upper-tier galleries can be great business partners. They can introduce you to veteran artists, new partners, high net worth collectors, and offer management services that most artists dream about.
Some gallery owners will treat you like you don’t know anything about business, or they’ll tell you not to worry about it. Remember that you have all of the power.
Demand a contract that spells out everyone’s responsibility. What will the gallery do for you? What does their marketing entail? Flyers? Private parties for high net worth collectors? Solo shows? Emails?
What about insurance? Security? Payment terms?
Ask for specifics and get it in writing.
By the same token, be a good business partner in return. Honor your commitments. Communicate regularly. Never undercut your gallery or they will drop you immediately and you probably won’t get another gallery deal ever again.
Being an Established Artist
The nice thing about being an established artist is that there are endless opportunities. The frustrating thing is that there are so many opportunities. The hard part about the path here is that there are literally so many paths that lead in some direction that it’s hard to find the path that leads in the direction you want to go.
Established artists will be invited to participate in calls for public art. You’ll be approached for licensing deals. Various galleries will vie for opportunities to sell your work. Collectors will demand new pieces. The noise becomes deafening.
In order to deal with the noise, it’s common to hire people to help you. You might have a studio assistant who handles packaging and shipping pieces, email correspondence, and your social media accounts.
But you still have to be the one that conceptualizes, and probably executes, the art that you want to make.
It becomes a mental game. How tough are you, and how well do you manage delegation? More than anything else, how often can you say no?
Saying no is what will allow you to focus on the path in front of you. Saying no gives you space to hear your artistic voice speaking again.
Saying no is what makes you a leader.
image credit: Samiul Huda
Oops! I really identify with this post.… It’s scary reading it especially as it is so pertinent to whenre I am now. At this very moment. Patricularly, the end bit about knowing when I’m making a mistake. I’m about to make a mistake and I know it. Having just being ready to quit last spring, I then found myself in a position of winning 2 awards and getting selected for the most select juried art show in my country (a big deal), and selling my work there as well. After that, I got invited to exhibit at another elite gallery.
Parallel to all of this exciting and unbelievable success, I also have an opportunity to show – to kind of create my own show in a local arts centre. I like the people, but my concern is that it looks very unprofessional.… And is a real gamble. I would need to do a lot of the invigilating, and yet the gallery want a big “fee” from my participation.
Every two years I create an art calendar of my work covering 24 months and this opportunity allows me to distribute them and sell them. I don’t make them from money, but I do hope to sell enough to cover my costs. So at this point this post is very relevant to me. I am being pushed to do a media interview tomorrow and at this point I haven’t even written a press release. Panic. Panic. Panic.
Do I say no and focus on my work? Or do I say yes and use it as a marketing opportunity as best I can?
Moll, ultimately the decision is yours. What guides that is your ultimate goal. Do you know what that is? You said that you’re not selling the art to make money. Will that always be your goal, or are you working toward a professional career?
Thanks Corey. You are spot on and some parts of this post I had not considered. I’m chipping away at my homework. I find it what you are asking me to do, is exactly what I have been avoiding doing. So, I’m working my way through it. Thanks again!
Hello,
My Art Sales are in the tank. My prices are $2-10K. I do large pieces mainly around 40X60. Some of my pieces take a 6 months to a year, so I don’t want to charge less. I have had bloggers write articles, I have been in a neighborhood magazine that goes to 1000 homes. I don’t do Art Shows because of the wear and tear on my back carting and setting up.
I have licensed some of my designs for cloth iPad covers in the past by MEdge- that were beautiful but I only got $5 per sale of a $40-50 cover, so I quit.
I have over 2000 LinkedIn contacts that are in my industry and have reached out to many. But my sales are still in the tank… Any advice?
Hi Terri, I’m sure Cory will give you better and more accurate advice than me, but I hope the little tidbit I share can be of help to you.
I too, when I’m doing works for exhibition, create larger and very detailed works that make it hard to put a lower price tag on. Some of the pieces that have sold best for me at shows are in the 11 x 14-16 x 20 size. I can price them in the hundreds, instead of thousands, and still make a good wage per hour for the time I spent on them.
I would suggest doing some smaller, simpler works that are easy on the budget for the average person. They may turn into a big collector for you, and in turn, either save up to purchase the masterpiece from you or lead you to a friend of theirs who will.
It is wise to use your large masterpieces as leverage to sell smaller works. People will walk into your studio or show and see your amazing masterpiece, and the big price tag. And it will make sense. It’s big, it’s impressive, and it must have taken a lot of time and skill to create. They may express interest, but most likely will move on. That’s okay.
Then, when they see your smaller, more affordable works, by comparison, the lower price will suddenly seem much more appealing. Don’t be surprised if they just say, “I’ll take that one!”
That’s a great answer Matt. In marketing psychology, we call it price anchoring. Showing someone a much higher price makes the lower-priced work seem like a great deal.
Then when someone buys smaller pieces, you get revenue, and if you capture their contact info, you can market to them again at a later date.
Thank you so much for all your input, your voice is always so helpful and full of valuable information.
My Best,
Heidi
Thanks for the kind words Heidi.
This is a great article, Cory. I couldn’t agree more with what you are saying. Thank you for being a leader for us leaders-in-training!
Since I’ve been following you I’ve come to see that having my work in galleries helps them, but not me. The same could be said for shows, particularly ones that are also tied to a cause of some sort. Saying “no” has been an important lesson for me.
Melissa
NO!!
😉
Great post, Cory.
I like the part you wrote about saying no. It reminds me of the idea of essentialism (Greg McKeown)–the disciplined pursuit of less.
I am in a place where I have steady portrait commissions coming in from a repeat client in Brooklyn (who found me on the internet). I’m blessed that I’m making consistent money doing what I love doing, whereas two years ago I was working 30 hours a week at a scrapyard to cover the bills.
However, I’d like to transition to doing more of my own original work for exhibition, and so I can’t say yes to every commission opportunity that comes my way. I have to leave enough time to pursue my goals of getting my message of comfort, encouragement, and inspiration out there through the medium of art. But this is a much more pleasant transition than “working a regular job” to that of doing art.
Having that singular focus is what separates the mediocre from extraordinary. Thanks for another great post.
Friends don’t let friends get stuck in their art careers. 😉
Fabulous article Cory! It has given me the confidence to know that saying no is ok. Thank you 🙂 I love your articles.
Interesting post. A few months ago I volunteered to help my wife (the artist) market her art. Since then she has more or less permanent space for her work in a local gallery and a number of sales through the gallery, a website to sell prints, and has gotten a big commission with prospects for couple more commissions. (Note that I’m not saying my novice marketing efforts are responsible for any of this ‘cuz I think her art would have done well without me.) Your post has given me and Teresa, the artist, plenty to think about. Thanks!
Question about commissions: Are commissions considered a work-for-hire? And as a work-for-hire, does copyright go to the person who pays the commission? Or does the artist retain the copyright?
You should specify in your commission agreement that you retain copyright. This is standard practice for artists.
Hi Cory
I have been following you for a very long time. This path series and in particular this post are the best so far in my opinion. Glad to see you addressing the issues that a more established artist faces. Thank you!!! Anita
Thanks Anita. I appreciate it. It’s an idea that’s been bouncing around in my head for a while, so I’m glad to get it out. I’m looking forward to addressing more concerns that more advanced artists have. Are there other specific issues you’d like to see written about?
“Saying no is what makes you a leader.”
It’s amazing how true this really is. It’s also amazing just how hard it is to say no! It’s something I’ve struggled with my whole life – I’ve always been a “people pleaser”, and there have been so many times that not being able to say no has put me in a tough situation. It’s something I’ve needed to work on for a long time, and have been working on as of late.
It seems like being able to say no and sticking to my guns should have been something I learned when I was a child, but I just never did for some reason. Oh well.