TEN MYTHS ABOUT ARTISTS: A Segue

oooh, I’ve always wanted to use the word “segue” in an essay!
In my last “Myths About Artists” post, a reader said there are some people who , feeling entitled, simply want to simply “be” an artist, with all the fame and glory and controversy they think automatically comes with it.
Several themes [...]

TEN MYTHS ABOUT ARTISTS #5: My Art Speaks for Itself

Myth: My art speaks for itself. I don’t have to explain anything!”
Reality: Your art will sell better if you can tell your story, create an emotional connection with your audience, and inspire a desire for your work.
We all know the scene:
Artist’s work on display, artist standing off to the side, aloof [...]

ARTIST STATEMENT = MISSION STATEMENT

A quick thought and a short post today. (You folks in the back row heaving a sigh of relief, I HEARD THAT!!)
A lot of people have written to say they don’t think of their art/craft as “serious enough” to be worthy of an artist statement.
Would it make you feel better if we called [...]

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BABY IN THE WORLD

When you truly open your heart to possibility, you will find beauty, joy, compassion, love and other miracles.

It’s odd, but my hospice training experience is already crossing over into my artistic experience. Last week’s session made me think about the connections we form when we make our art from a powerful place in our [...]

25 RANDOM THINGS: Action Steps for Your Artist Statement #5

Our stories are already inside us, waiting to come out. All we need is a truly sympathetic listener who will allow that to happen.
Fifth in a series of how to use that 25 Random Things list to write your artist statement.
“They have ears, but hear not….” Psalms 115:6
I marvel every day [...]

25 RANDOM THINGS: Action Steps for Your Artist Statement #4

It’s okay to laugh. It’s okay to make other people laugh. And it’s okay to write an artist statement about art-that-makes-us-laugh, too.
Many people have left comments or emailed me with concerns about my artist statement series. They say they don’t make “heavy” or “serious” art. They make art that is funny, [...]

MARKETING IN A RECESSION

Here’s a nice little benefit to LinkedIn… I formed a new connection recently, which generated an invitation to connect from the person’s spouse, which led me to his blog, where I found this little gem today.
Ed Sucherman’s post is essentially, hard times come and go, and it can be scary….but people still desire, and [...]

25 RANDOM THINGS: Action Steps for Your Artist Statement #3

Continuing with my mini-series about how to use Facebook’s “25 Random Things About Me” to write promotional materials.
The next question is from an artist who wrote:
“Hi Luann,
I was intrigued by your letter today in the FAS newsletter. I just joined Facebook to find out more about the “list” of 25 things about yourself. After you [...]

25 RANDOM THINGS: Action Steps for Your Artist Statement #2

Why you need to jazz up that “perfectly good” artist statement of yours.
You say you have a perfectly good artist statement, thank you very much, and you’ve written it the way everybody else is writing theirs, so what’s wrong with your artist statement anyway?
Or you don’t know where to start, so do I have a [...]

25 RANDOM THINGS: Action Steps for Your Artist Statement #1

My article about using Facebook’s “25 Random Things About Me” exercise to create an artist statement appeared in the FineArtViews newsletter this week.
People are asking me exactly how to do that–turn that list into their statement. Should they just make 25 Random Things into their artist statement??
Well, you could, but [...]