Artist interview prep: guide to publicity

Artists thrive on press. Half the work is creating, and the other half is marketing. That’s why so many folks try to pay artists in exposure – it IS valuable (just not as valuable as money). But when a genuine opportunity comes around for publicity, press, exposure, or free advertising, you’ve got to accept it. But what happens after that? You land an interview. Great! Now how to prepare?

This could be a written interview, a podcast interview, or maybe a journalist will interview you and pick out the good bits to publish. 

In any case, there are a few necessary prep steps for any type of artist interview.

Get clear on your come up story

Origin stories are the hardest when you feel like you’re still originating. But they become a different type of hard when you’ve got so many pathways to explain for how you ended up at your current point. 

But every interviewer will ask some version of, “How did you start out?” or “What did your career look like in the early days?” that will prompt you into this come up story.

It’s okay to make it short and sweet. Actually, that’s the best way a backstory could be for an interview. 

An interview is not a memoir, it’s not a biography, and if you give all the details some of it WILL get cut during the editing process. So it’s best if you as the artist are the one deciding what information makes the cut. 

The best come up stories have four points: the beginning inspiration, a challenge, how you overcame the challenge, and where you are today. 

For me it sounds like this: my beginning inspiration was always there. I never lost that childhood spark of drawing, coloring, sketching, and visual curiosity. The challenge was that I had no focus — I loved children’s book illustrations and collage and abstract marker drawings and graffiti and poetry and anything else I could get my hands on. Because of my lack of direction, I also had no faith that my work could become a career. I overcame this challenge by intentionally focusing on my art style, my deeper personal brand, and marketing that in a way that people could understand. When they understood my art, they loved it, then they bought it. Now I’m a full time artist who sells my illustrations on all types of gift and decor items for a living and I teach other artists how to do the same. 

Obviously there are a million little details that I could add into that story for extra flavor. Depending on the platform you’re being interviewed on, you can choose to emphasize one piece or another to suit the audience that will be addressed. Or you can let the interviewer guide you into the details they know their audience wants to hear about. Follow up questions from the interviewer are your friend.

Map out the quickest version of your come up story using those four points. Then, you can add in the juicy details of your struggle afterward.

Briefly highlight past accomplishments

You’ll get asked questions such as, “When did you know you really made it?” or “What are you most proud of?” that will prompt you to talk about your accomplishments. Don’t be shy. People want to hear your highlights. Especially after that grueling come up story.

Pick out a few favorites intentionally. Think about what the audience will learn about you through your favorite accomplishments.

Some that I bring up are:

• Reaching one year as an artist full time. This highlights that the first year was hard and I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. It also marks a milestone for my faith in my career, which was a big part of my come up story. Once I made it to one year without going back to a “real job,” I KNEW I could make it a lifetime.

I use this to inspire the other creatives in the room. It acknowledges how difficult the path is for everyone and how impossible it seems, yet it is possible. Everyone at the beginning craves that “I made it!!!” feeling, and this milestone is when I got mine. It’s a good segway into the strategies I used to stay afloat financially, creatively, and mentally.

• Hearing a customer tell me that my poetry made them cry. I am constantly in a state of refinement with my art style, and though I cut away a lot of mediums to produce my cute-but-dark watercolor and digital illustrations, I couldn’t seem to leave behind poetry. So I would write secret poems on the back of prints for customers to find. I knew when she told me how moved she was that I should keep the poetry, and not cut it out of my style. It’s okay to incorporate opposites – sometimes it’s the best. 

I use this to plug that I’m also a writer, which can lead the conversation to this blog, to my email list, to the book I someday hope to write. It’s a good segway into how I teach art style, or into the deeper meanings of my work. 

Choose high points that are actually emotional for you. Try to avoid successes that you’re only proud of because society says you should be. For instance, getting an exhibition in a high end world-renowned gallery may be a huge accomplishment in the scheme of the art world, but if it didn’t feel like this grand mountaintop to you, don’t bring it up. People can see the fact sheet when they look at your website. They want juicy stories when they hear the interview.

Focus on what makes your artwork interesting to others

Use the opportunity of an artist interview to emphasize what people already think about your art. Chances are, you landed the interview because your work is worth talking about. Don’t change the subject to concentrate on aspects of the work people aren’t seeing. Dive deeper into what people are interested in.

Don’t worry about being controversial, problematic, or unskilled. Like the saying goes, “no publicity is bad publicity,” and I think that’s absolutely true. Anything worth talking about usually has two sides to be argued about, is visually surprising, or otherwise remarkable. Instead focus on what actually intrigues people when they see your work. 

Here are some questions to get your brain going if you’re unsure:

• What topics do they bring up about your art when they think you’re not listening? 
• What points do you make that string a theme around all your pieces?
• Do the colors or techniques have a deeper role than aesthetics?
• What emotions are brought up when looking at or making the art?
• How are people reacting in the comment section?
• What questions do people ask when looking at your art?

A common response I hear is about the mood of my paintings. It’s very children’s book illustration in appearance, with dreamy, cool tones and simple textures. But the subject matter often involves heavy topics like death, the afterlife, grief, soulmates, introspection, and the concept of home. People often tell me it’s “sad but comforting,” or “cute but dark.” The mood is mixed. The emotions are contrasting, but complimenting. Like hugging a loved one’s sweater after they’ve moved far away.

If you haven’t been able to eavesdrop on folks at an art show or haven’t gotten a lot of comments on your art posts online, you might not know what makes your artwork interesting to others. In this case it’s okay to fish for comments. 

Post your artwork and directly ask people to comment with what comes to mind when they see it. Make new accounts on platforms you don’t normally use and ask there. Request that your artsy friend takes it with them to an art show and props it up with a sign that asks, “what do you think this picture is about? Free prize to whoever guesses correctly” with a comment slip box underneath. 

Get creative about how you fish for these reactions. Knowing how people are reacting to your work is crucial information that you can use to your advantage during your interview. 

What’s your vision for the future?

Interviews often come to a head with questions geared at the future. Time is constantly passing, and the future is being changed by us now, so it makes sense to ask what direction these change-makers (you) are taking us in. So where are you headed?

Ten years from now, what impact do you want to have had on the world? How does your artwork propel that impact forward?

Artists can change the world through messaging. The messages and ideas you spread shape culture. Ripple effects are strong when the message is strong.

Artists also change the world through money. Donating a portion of your profits to certain causes you care about makes a difference. Choosing to purchase ethically-made materials to create your work makes a difference. 

Artists can cause change by creating community around their work. People who connect over your art can likely connect over other aspects of life, and that’s how friendships, marriages, business partners and groups are born.

At A Cup of Cloudy, we focus on encouraging introspection and self-sourcing. We also donate 20 percent of the revenue from the Michigan Parks and Places print series to Michigan State Parks. We love nature and thinking deeply — which are undoubtedly intertwined.

For the sake of the interview, choose one central goal you’re headed for in this regard. What impact is the most important to you right now OR what will impact the current audience the most? 

Mention current projects and where to learn more about you

Any good interviewer will ask where to find more information. Be prepared to provide! 

Know the best resources for buying your art, for hearing your full story, for meeting you at your next show. Provide links, dates, and addresses to the interviewer with correct spelling.

I usually direct people to A Cup of Cloudy, since you can find everything there. Sometimes I’ll plug my socials, which is simple since it’s always my maiden name. Make it easy on yourself by having fewer account name variations.

This is the most simple step, but extremely important. People may love what they hear in the interview, but if there’s no way to connect with you afterward, their interest in you stops at a dead end. 

SPECIFIC PLATFORM INTERVIEW PREP

Some prep steps are more specific depending on the type of interview. It can get even more specific depending on what platform, network, news agency, or magazine is doing the interview. Let’s cover a few basics.

Podcasts: Work on your public speaking skills. Practice articulating your point with confidence and clarity. Practice remembering what you were going to say even when you’re super nervous (and not going blank suddenly). Practice answering questions without going too far off topic. Your public speaking muscle can only be worked by — you guessed it — public speaking. I practiced this by doing it online.

Vlog channel: For video you need public speaking skills AND body language skills AND confidence in what you wear. For body language, the best tip is to relax and forget about it. Your natural healthy posture and gestures are best because it’s the genuine you. For fashion, wear what fits your body type, and matches your brand. It might help to bring pieces of art to show, for the sake of an entertaining video.

Journalist interview: Ask which mediums this will be published in. They may use an audio recorder and only print it in text. They may take a photo for the magazine. Get clarity on the details before the interview. Give them clarity, too: Tell them up front what angle you want highlighted. (I’ve been a feature reporter in a previous career. They won’t think you’re bossy, they just want a good story. Tell them what talking points are most important to you!) 

Written interview: These involve the least of all prep for artists. It’s nice to have a word document with all your notes from this blog post to reference for the interview template. You could almost copy and paste your artist statement – but make sure to tweak it so it seems like you didn’t. 

Always research the platform that will be interviewing you ahead of time if possible. Know what topics they usually cover and think of how you can hit the same topics from a new angle as it relates to your art.

Artist interviews can be easy

Luck is where preparedness and opportunity meet. Be prepared for your artist interviews, press, and guest appearances so that when opportunity strikes, you get lucky.

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