Creativity in everyday life – 20 Tips that make you a better artist

 20 tips or tricks that can make you a better artist

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Being a good artist is not just talent or luck. There are a lot of to do if you want to become a better artist. Here are just a few points to consider.

1. Choose a topic you love. You will produce good work only if you love what you do. So produce good work.

2.Work on your topic as often as you can. If you can only work on your art 15 minutes a day, do it. Set the timer and go!

3.Have a special spot where you can work on your art. Creating work is easier if you don’t have to set up and clean up every time. Find a spot you can leave your work so that when you are free, you can work on it right away.

4.Buy your supplies on sale and in bulk to save money. This way when you are working, you will not be as stressed at the cost of the art supplies. Most art supply stores have annual sales where they have supplies at a greatly reduced rate. Find out when that is at your local shop.

5.Find art friends or other artists to share your work with. Start creating a network of artists where you can help each other.

6.Attend art galleries. You can see new work and meet people who love art just like you do.

7.Set time aside to do work where you just play. This can be experimenting with new materials that you will add to your repertoire or this can be experimenting with style techniques that you may add to your own work.

8.Buy the best materials you can afford. Good materials really help. Like any other professional, good tools help you create work more easily.

9.If you are a beginner, stick to one style until you have mastered all the skills needed to create that work. If you decide this is not your style, change. But, master your skills first.

10.Studies show that 10,000 hours is needed to master a skill. Be willing to put in the hours.

11.When you are working, focus only on what you are doing. Concentrate. This will shorten the time needed to learn a skill.

12.Limit the amount of colors that you use. A limited palette will lead to more success for you.

13.Get yourself into ‘Google my business’ There are a surprisingly large amount of people that will find you and your website this way.

14. Get a website. This is your visual business card. People will look at your work here and then come to your art shows.

15.Invite as many people to your art shows as you can. Statistics say that only 10% of invitees actually come.

16. Don’t have too many shows in a year. People are more likely to come if it is an annual event as opposed to 4–5 times a year.

17.Apply to group shows. They bring in different people (ones that have never seen your work) that will end up seeing your artwork and possibly purchasing it.

18.Learn to use social media. That is the way of the times and most people use social media now for advertising and marketing.

19.Plan your art projects before you actually start creating. Plan a whole series of works. This will lead to you creating a series of works that give your audience a lot to look at.

20. Enjoy the process. Creating has to be fun for us to continue doing it.

I hope this helps you .

Doris’ website: www.dorischarest.ca

I have creativity courses and art courses online at: https://www.udemy.com/user/dorischarest/

For more information on mixed media by Doris Charest:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCltBfqSMAK0OOWeXaKGud6Q?view_as=subscriber

https://www.facebook.com/dorischarest

https://www.pinterest.ca/dalinec/

https://www.instagram.com/dorischarest/

https://www.udemy.com/user/edit-profile/

https://www.skillshare.com/user/dorischarest

All photography and artwork by Doris Charest

Thanks for reading, and please do recommend, like, share, comment, etc. Thanks.

Till next time …

Creativity in everyday life – The ugly truths about being an artist

Creativity in everyday life- 7 Ugly truths about being an artist

Artist get a lot of bad publicity. Living as an artist takes a lot perseverance and drive. You need to do a lot of work by yourself. Delegating work is difficult since you are the creator and owner of the business. Here are some basic truths about being an artist. If you think that what I list below is something you can do and are willing to do, then you will have a head start as an artist. Go through each point carefully and find ways you can overcome the obstacles in your artistic practice. 

If you are a realistic painter or an abstract artist, the struggles are the same. These points are the unavoidable points that you need to master as an artist. 

1. Success is not based on skill. You can be a wonderful painter, for example, and the best portraitist in the whole country but you will not succeed if no one knows about you. You need to get out there and show your work so people know how good you are. Really good publicists in the artworld were Dali, Georgia O’Keefe, Chris Cran and Picasso. 

2. Marketing is not easy. There are many ways you can market your work. Do your homework for your particular niche and find the best way to show your work. An artist that really worked their niche is Yayoi Kusama. She is a Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in sculpture and installation, but is also active in painting, performance, film, fashion, poetry, fiction, and other arts. For more information about her go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yayoi_Kusama

3. Create! You will not succeed if you do not create work. Get to that studio and build your collection of artwork. You need to do work that you can show. No work-no shows. The more prolific artists are everywhere. Picasso and Monet were well known for the quantity of work they produced. One current artist to look at is: Kara Walker. She is an American contemporary painter, silhouettist, print-maker, installation artist, and film-maker who explores racegendersexuality, violence, and identityin her work. She is best known for her room-size tableaux of black cut-paper silhouettes. For more information, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_Walker

4. Fellow artists are both your biggest promoter and your biggest competition. This is a fine balance. My fellow artists have sent people to my art shows because those buyers were interested in my style. At the same time, I have had other artists say negative things about my work in hopes that the buyers not look at my work. What can I say? Choose your friends carefully.

5. Taking the time to practice your skill without the pressure of sales is essential. You need to take time to just work at perfecting your skills. Not all works should be put up for sale. Most artists need ‘down’ time. One podcast that I listen to is ‘Savvy Painter’. https://savvypainter.club/join-savvy-painter-waitlist/. She interviews different artists from all walks of life. Regularly, the artists say that they take time to work on pieces that are not related to their current series. They continue to explore and find new ways to hone their craft. If you like podcasts, here is an article on other podcasts on art: https://www.artistsnetwork.com/artist-life/12-art-podcasts-inspiration/

6. You will need to learn social media skills. Most artists prefer being in the studio and ignore other skills. This is one skill you cannot avoid. You need to learn Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and whatever new media that applies to art. Use them. One online class that helped me was by Alun Hill. You can find out more about him and his classes at: https://www.tetmo.com/p/how-to-use-pinterest-to-make-money. He has sales regularly so wait for one of his sales. He explains social media really well.

7. Earned income is irregular. You will have months where you make a lot and other months where not a dime comes in. You need to save for those lean months. Keep account books and a balanced budget. There are hundreds of advice columns on this topic but it all boils down to keeping your costs down and not overspending. Find a local accountant that specializes in small businesses and ask him/her for help. They are often generous with their time, in my experience. 

I hope this helps you.

Doris’ website: www.dorischarest.ca

I have creativity courses and art courses online at: https://www.udemy.com/user/dorischarest/

For more information on mixed media by Doris Charest:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCltBfqSMAK0OOWeXaKGud6Q?view_as=subscriber

https://www.facebook.com/dorischarest

https://www.pinterest.ca/dalinec/

https://www.instagram.com/dorischarest/

https://www.udemy.com/user/edit-profile/

https://www.skillshare.com/user/dorischarest

All photography and artwork by Doris Charest

Thanks for reading, and please do recommend, like, share, comment, etc. Thanks.

Till next time …

Marketing SOS – Christmas giveaway and sale

The Shack 19 8 xx 10 in. sm IMG_2625 Marketing is a chore to most visual artists.  I have made a resolution to beat this problem.  My first step is writing this blog and committing to the project.

Here is a quote from someone good at marketing (M. Hernandez); The perfect marketer is someone that loves challenges, thrives in uncertainty, can think outside the box, likes to take risks (calculated ones), has boat loads of resilience, patience and energy.

The question is ‘Can I do it?’.  Yes, because I want to get my work known and I want to send my  painting babies to ‘nice homes’ so I can create more.  I love being in the studio and time away is painful.  Marketing is part of the away time.  All the advice says to make a plan.  Break it down into manageable sections and do it!  My plan includes two or three marketing/sales events a year, applying for at least three shows a year and promoting my website more.

Step 1.   My first marketing plan

Marketing strategies say that you need to give in order to receive.  Since it is the giving season, I will be giving away what? That is the question.  I have an idea!  The title will be:  The twelve days of Christmas giveaway.   Since it is near xmas, I am going to do a seasonal sale and giveaway.For twelve days, I will give away something that I have created. Twelve days equals 12 items.

 I do not want to spend a lot on shipping away free products.  I have several online classes, so that is inexpensive to give away.  What else?  Prints.  If the prints can be put in an envelope, that is reasonable.  Cards also.  I have a large supply.  Ideas, ideas…..please come to me………Anyone reading this column, please let me know your ideas.  I could use some help.  

 

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