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Fears you have of being a full-time artist (that aren’t true)
Since becoming a full-time artist in 2021, I hear a lot of other artists project their fears about it onto me. Many of these creatives also want to go full-time, but they’re simply afraid that something bad might happen if they do. Today I’m going to dispel a few of these fears so you can move forward with your art journey and know that it’s possible for you, too. “I won’t be able to keep up with demand” This fear is the equivalent to a physical trainer hearing someone say, “I just don’t want to get too bulky in my shoulders.” It assumes that it will be so quick and…
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Big 5 lessons from traveling full-time as a solopreneur
Running an art business while traveling full time is an absolute trip – figuratively and actually. I was on the road for over two years while operating A Cup of Cloudy as a solo entrepreneur, and I learned a few lessons with my traveling business that will be helpful for all artists. When I quit my day job, I focused on increasing revenue AND cutting expenses drastically. For us that meant selling all our belongings, leaving our rental house, and moving into a tiny home. My husband and our two dogs lived in a travel trailer and then transitioned into hotel-hopping in the second year. We saw so much of…
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Secrets for gaining a repeat collector
The repeat collector is someone who buys more than one piece of art from you. They love your artwork enough to start and grow a collection of it. Repeat collectors aren’t made overnight, however — there are a few key secrets to making someone who has bought your work before become interested in buying it again. Let’s go over the best ways to motivate that second, third, or fourth sale. ART STYLE At the most basic level, people buy art to look at it. They buy it to decorate their home, so that their home looks a certain way. Having a consistent art style means when they collect more than…
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Financial basics for your creative side hustle
Many artists begin making art as a hobby, which transitions into a creative side hustle after they hear, “could I buy that off you?” enough times. Once artists get comfortable with selling, the call of becoming a full time artist gets louder. This article is for artists anywhere on this spectrum – all of us must learn how to track the money we spend, make, and hold. Let’s get into financial basics. Revenue Revenue is the money that you receive from selling your art. It’s any income generated by your art business. This can include commissions, accessories, shipping fees, tax you collect from customers, etc. Any money that comes IN…
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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…
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Selling art at events: types of art shows
EVENT MARKETING AND COMMUNITY Selling art at events is the fastest way to advance your art business. But there are many different types of events for artists and they all seem to blend together. For every different type of artist, there’s a different type of show. So let’s get into the details of art event categories, what happens and where they take place. EXHIBITIONS Selling art at events labeled as exhibitions means it’s in a gallery setting. A nice one, usually. Typically how exhibitions work is you will not set up a table here, but your artwork will be framed and hung on the wall by a curator, whose job…
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Reviewing your art: 3 tips to get clarity
LOOK BACK TO MOVE FORWARD Everyone critiques their own artwork — or at least they spend a lot of time criticizing it. Any rough review can be discouraging. Adding a pinch of strategy when reviewing your art will take it from negative self-talk to constructive ideas. Today I’m gonna give you three big tips for analyzing your work so you can move forward and progress instead of wallowing at your current level of artistry. It’s time to move forward. It’s time to make better art. 1. ASK BETTER QUESTIONS Your brain is like a computer. When you ask it a question, it will answer that specific question. When you ask,…
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Compiling a body of work and repurposing content
NEW LIFE FOR OLD WORK Today we’re gonna talk about accumulating artwork into an official body of work and repurposing content to market this work. Making art is what being an artist is all about — obviously. But what you create isn’t always equal in quality, and it can serve different purposes. Some art is fit for your “body of work.” Others fit better into “promotional content” or scrap content. It gets deeper. Let’s dive in. Preparing to compile a body of work A lot of artists have a vague goal of building up a large body or collection of works. A body of work can define you as an artist,…
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SELL ART COMMISSIONS (THE RIGHT WAY)
The other day I was reading a blog post I wrote when I was just beginning to sell custom art commissions in my business. It was a venting article — one that got quite a bit of attention from artists who could relate with my inner turmoil about the stress of custom artwork. However, while reading it back to myself, I realized that I could no longer relate to it. Now, I know better. Now, I know how to reduce the stress by using systems, taking only jobs I like and following a set process. Read this article and you can know better too 🙂 ONLY CREATE CUSTOM WORK IF…
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Your first year as an artistpreneur
ARTISTPRENEURSHIP TIPS Whether you’re diving straight in as a full time artist or taking it slow as a part-time artistpreneur, there are a few strategies that can help you survive your first year. In this article, I’ll go over what you need to focus on to stick with it, make a profit, and expand your brand awareness. MY FIRST YEAR This month (Nov 2019) marks the first anniversary of my online shop! Hooray!! Before taking this leap, I sold my work at art shows for years and designed work for friends and family — basically I made just enough money to fund my painting hobby. I was content with this…
