-
What is a skills gap in art?
GOING THE DISTANCE IN ART Ever heard of a “skills gap?” A skills gap is the distance between the art you actually make and your taste in art. It’s mostly psychological, and can be the reason why artists are stereotyped as being the harshest critics of their own work. When you loooove hyperrealism and want to make artwork that looks ultra detailed, but you can only manage to draw basic outlines of a person and a few wrinkles around their eyes, you may be disappointed with your work. It doesn’t look how you want it to. Not because you don’t have the vision, the taste, the style — but because…
-
When to raise your prices: How do you know?
YOU’RE WORTH MORE Pricing your artwork as a new artistpreneur is one of the first challenges to hit you. It seems like this one factor will determine if people buy your work at all or if you’ll fall flat on your face. Frankly, this isn’t true. In fact, the beginning price doesn’t matter that much at all. As long as you begin selling in general — THAT really matters. But your prices will inevitably change over time. As you grow, your prices will grow. If you’re pricing your art for the first time, make sure to read this pricing article here. After you’ve been selling for a while, the next…
-
My creative process and how to find your own routine
THE CREATIVE PROCESS One of the most special parts of being an artist is your creative process. It’s like the ingredient that makes the meal extra yummy, so the chef keeps it a secret. Your process can be personal, intimate, or something that just feels good to do while making. Maybe you haven’t figured your recipe out yet. That’s okay. A lot of people overcomplicate the beginning of the creative process — “it has to be warm and rainy when I wake up at the crack of dawn, I have to clean my entire studio, and then I can sit down to paint. If I wake up a minute late,…
-
Rethinking 2020: Changing your goals in changing times
FLEXIBLE ARTISTS WIN Unless you’re a global researcher or a stickler for following speculative world news, I don’t think anybody was expecting this to happen. 2020 is looking wildly different than 2019, or any year of our lifetimes. That means what we thought our goals for this year would be are certainly changing. If you recall, my major goal was to increase my outreach efforts. I wanted to really put myself out there and be heard. I wanted to travel further with my art shows, get published in a newspaper or magazine, and team up with other artists on cool new projects. But it looks like social distancing is changing all…
-
Create multiple income streams in your art business
SAFEGUARD YOUR REVENUE If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this pandemic, it’s that diversifying your income is very important! Having multiple income streams in your art business brings safety and stability to your financial well-being. If your entire business relies on one thing, what happens when something goes wrong with that one thing? For instance, if you only sell artwork online, what happens when there’s a mass power outage? What happens when you have trouble with your personal internet connection for a whole week? In another example, if you only sell at art shows, what happens when suddenly all events are canceled and people are not leaving their houses?…
-
Start an art account on Instagram with these steps
BECOME A SOCIAL MEDIA SWEETHEART So you’re ready to begin sharing your work online. Sweet. But how do you start an art account on Instagram? Instagram is the biggest platform for artists right now. One BILLION people use Instagram each month and creatives have been using this platform to reach new people every day. There is so much potential waiting for artists on Instagram as long as you know how to utilize it, where the boundaries are, and how to grow your reach. Let’s get into it. THE VERY FIRST STEP You probably already have a personal account. That’s fine. But first and foremost you must decide on whether to…
