I founded Artists Who THRIVE with a new paradigm, that of the artist as an entrepreneur. “Artist and entrepreneur?” Yes, that’s right. Define your market, own your platform, and keep all of your profits.
I did this very intentionally. I had ample access to traditional art representation but there was a problem. I needed to make a living, a good living, quickly. I just moved to the beach in San Francisco and it’s very expensive here.
So I had a different view. I wasn’t interested in showing my work. I was interested in selling it.
The fact is that there are many talented painters, and the art market is oversaturated, so I defined a target market, a passionate “tribe,” and created unique value. I “celebrated” the tribe, the food and wine enthusiasts of a particular ilk.
This is a blue ocean strategy; eliminating the competition by not competing. Why aren’t you competing? You’re offering unique value to a targeted market. And this is a lot more rewarding, profitable, and less exhausting than waiting in line for an art gallery to care more than you do about selling your work. They can’t and they just won’t.
Let’s take a look at one of my clients, Melissa McDaniel, another dog photographer. No, that’s not all. She is a dog photographer who aligns her work with a passionate cause, animal rescue, a distinct market. She leverages the internet and strategic alliances. Melissa has made it much more than just about Melissa. I advise my artist clients all the time. It’s not about you, it’s about your collectors. Make it bigger than you.
Now if you’re thinking, “I like dogs. I like animal rescue. I’m going to do that.” My advice? Did you hear what I just said? The challenge is to create “unique value.”
How do you that? Who is more unique than you? Start with your individual passions, values, and your particular creative inclinations. That is what artists must do. Then think who you can serve and how.
This is really not new. Michelangelo, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock all had unique value and a target market. The art historians just don’t talk about it much because they are historians not market analysts.
So you art Puritans might want to fire roast me at the stake but I say, “Make art for the love of it and for the money.”
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Amen! Artists can and do
THRIVE creatively and financially.
I always say ” How can you create your best art if you are stressed about not making enough money to pay your bills?” Art Puritans? Who cares what they have to say? Do they pay my bills?
Enough said.
Thank you Ann for being the voice of reason and sense and for sharing your beliefs with the world.
Thank you Dave. Like most people, my first market was my existing network.
Ann,
Thanks for this inspirational post. This mentality is key in overcoming all those limiting beliefs that keep artists poor.
Sounds like a great mantra: “Make art for the love of it and for the money.”
Who was your first market when you started?
Who said that you have to “stick to ONE target market” your “entire life….?!”
And let’s put this into perspective. Once you actually have a loyal target market who buys your work, you can worry about having more than one.
I hear and agree with a many points that you state above, but the one thing that isn’t settling is the creation of ONE unique value or selecting ONE target market. I know that focusing on one is effective, and I agree. But I also feel very uneasy when I envision sticking to just ONE target market my entire life….