Do This!
Artist Marketing Newsletter Focusing on Action Steps

What's Going On: Announcements /Classes
>>>Do This: Rethink Your Habits
Tip / Find of the Week:  Colour Scheme Chooser

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WHAT'S GOING ON

: : CLASS: SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION : :
Begins December 6
No one cares about your career more than you and no one believes in your work more than you. No one can promote your work better than you. Get fired up and start making a name for yourself with this online class (available either as weekly or every-other-day lessons). http://www.artbizcoach.com/classes/selfpromo.shtml

: : CLASS: CHOOSING THE RIGHT CAREER PATH : :
Begins November 29
The online artist class Choosing the Right Career Path begins today and you're not too late to enroll. If you want to learn more about the choices available to you as an artist, read about the class at http://www.artbizcoach.com/classes/path.shtml

If an old habit isn't working for you--and you have applied its tenets consciously and regularly over an appropriate amount of time--acquire a new one. Don't wait for the roof to cave in. Change it, fix it, bend it, mend it, or just throw it out the window. But don't ignore it and hope things will get better.

Mike Hammer, Changeling, 2003. Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 36". ©The Artist http://www.mikehammer.org

Here are four examples of old habits you might want to break:

1. Sending your slide packets to galleries.
Sending out slide packets to dealers and curators who haven't heard of you rarely, if ever, works for artists. And it costs a small fortune! While it requires considerably more effort on your part, you'll get much further by getting out of your studio and meeting the right people who can introduce you to gallery dealers and museum curators. You can also add galleries to your mailing list for postcards and exhibit announcements. By the time they actually see your slide packet, you'll be much more familiar to them.

2. Exhibiting at the same places without (m)any sales.
Unless it's a non-retail, prestigious venue, such as a museum, what good is it doing you to tie up your inventory in venues that aren't advancing your career? It's unnecessary paperwork, phone calls, emails, and headaches. Wouldn't it be better to devote time to finding new venues that will work on your behalf?

3. Entering juried shows without ever getting in.
If you haven't had much success with these, you're entering the wrong shows or you have lousy slides and presentation materials. Regroup and rethink your strategy.

4. Entering too many juried shows.
Juried exhibits (not art festivals) are fine in the beginning of one's career, but do little to advance your career or make sales for you. Know when it's time to move on.

5. Feeling sorry for yourself.
It's easy to get down and feel unappreciated--especially when you are trying to sell work that is so personal to you. But wallowing in self-pity for too long will get you absolutely nowhere. If you want an art business (which is simply making money to support yourself and family), you have to behave like a businessperson. That means picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and starting all over again.

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TIP / FIND OF THE WEEK: Colour Scheme Chooser  

Djibril N'Doye Firêkou (Unbraiding). Pen and Ink. ©The Artist  http://www.djibrilndoye.com

For all of you who design your own Web sites (or for those of you who just enjoy playing with color), try this online Colour Scheme Chooser:

http://www.siteprocentral.com/html_color_code.html

It's a great tool! Select a color and then find out how to use it in monochromatic, complimentary, triadic, and other harmonious combinations. It even gives you the source code for each color.

As always, I caution you not to use anything on your site or promotional materials that will detract from the artworks themselves.

 Note: See the menu in the upper left of this page to view popular topics from past issues. 

Copyright © 2004 Alyson B. Stanfield, Stanfield Art Associates. All rights reserved. 

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Please forward this to your artist-friends. Internet Explorer users can forward this page by selecting "File," then "Send" then "Page by E-mail." 

The Do This! newsletter is sent only to subscribers. You can subscribe using the instructions in the column at left. Instructions for unsubscribing and changing your email address are at the bottom of each issue delivered to your inbox.