How will you be Remarkably Different?

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I have a coaching client whose expertise is watercolor.  In fact she’s earned several awards and she loves it.  But her sales declined in recent years and she thought that she should change her medium to oils.  This is a medium that she has little experience with and that she struggles with.

It’s a bit like a piano player, who’s not getting any gigs, thinking that it would be better to switch to guitar because some rock and roll guitar players make big money.  Or a fashion designer thinking that they should covert their summer line of dresses from linen to silk, because they think that they could charge more for silk dresses.

Scarcity can spur some skewed thinking.  The value art does not come from the medium it comes from the unique value to a specific market.

What’s the “unique value” of this artist’s expression?  She is a 70-year-old woman who has survived many challenges in life, including managing Lupus on a daily basis.  She has many stories to tell that could inspire and teach life lessons.  “I’m 70 years old!” she said regretfully.  “Great! Flip it.”  I replied.  “Your  age is an asset that could offer wisdom and perspective.  You have stories to tell and a depth of human experience to express through your art.”

A marketing strategy that could benefit her is forming strategic alliances with the community which serves the cause of Lupus.  Cause marketing is an effective way to penetrate the luxury market.  What if portions of the sales proceeds supported a Lupus organization? What if she shared information and inspiration online each day about how she is overcoming Lupus?  Do you think she’d build a platform?  Yes!  And this strategy could benefit her business and actually her own health.

I encouraged her to embrace her medium and her wisdom so that she can lead and inspire by sharing her unique stories and watercolors. Then her paintings are not just more watercolors in a saturated market, no pun intended, but objects of inspiration.

Successful artists don’t follow the herd.  They express their remarkable and unique selves and they lead.

Are you Targeting your Art Market?

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Are you targeting a market for your art?  What is your unique value and what very specific target market does it serve?

Have you ever walked by a Chinese restaurant that also had an “American” menu?  I have.  And guess what?  I kept walking.

Yes, I know why the restaurant’s owners decided to do this.  They thought, “let’s give everyone something to eat!”

Unless it’s sophisticated Asian fusion, it’s not targeted marketing, and so, it’s a bad idea.

Why? Because most people are just not going to believe that not only have you mastered dim sum but you can also cook a mean meatloaf, just like their mother.

If you want to sell your art, your prospects must trust you.  So don’t give them any reasons not to by confusing them about your expertize.

I came across an artist’s site today that advertised the following four categories. And, all on one site.

  1. “fine art”
  2. “pet art”
  3. “decorative art”
  4. and last but not least, “leather restoration”

Strike one. Do you see the problem?  The artist needs to draw the line somewhere.  No pun intended. He should devote a separate website to each product category.  Better yet.  He should just pick one category and develop a message and a market around it.

This homemade low, or no, budget site screams “I’ll do anything. I’m desperate.  I can’t, or I won’t, invest in a professional website, but trust me, I’ll be professional with you.”

Here’s the thing.  If you’re an artist and you’re selling your art, you’re in business. And the rules of marketing apply.

It’s not just artists who don’t think through their marketing messages.  I saw a plastic surgeon’s site who actually proudly displays his distorted Modigliani-like female figure paintings on the very same site that he advertises his cosmetic surgery services.  Yikes!

Are you unfamiliar with basic marketing principles? So what!  We all have to learn a thing or two.  I’m a constant student of marketing.

Go get books on the subject and or go to the nearest Small Business Development Center in a major city near you.  These centers are privately and publicly funded and they are in place to help small businesses thrive.  The cost is low cost or no cost for classes and one on one counseling.

Ann Rea (Inc)

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Many people ask me, “Who’s your representative?”  The answer is that Ann Rea, Inc. is the legal entity that represents the artist Ann Rea.

How did this come about?  Well, while I was being mentored by American art icons Wayne Thiebaud and Gregory Kondos they encouraged me to make a go of it and to explore my talent full time, and to quit that boring and unrelated day job that I wanted quit.  “It’s not too late” they both advised.  But each of them began their careers as academics.

“How do I make a living?” I asked of Wayne Thiebaud.  Mr. Thiebaud replied, “I don’t know, I’m not a business man. But I can give you a letter of recommendation and refer you to some galleries, one in particular. You can use my name, you’ll probably get in. But the owner, I’ll warn you, she’s a pill.”   A pill, that was a very polite understatement.

Wayne Thiebaud’s letter did get me an entrance into that gallery to review my work.  But when the gallery owner revealed her terms, actually illegal but common terms, it was no wonder  why artists are starving.  The gallery owner insisted on geographic market exclusivity, and demanded that the best of my painting inventory was left on consignment.  The art gallery may never sell a thing and I was handcuffed from selling my own work through other galleries.

It gets better.  I would be paid 50% of the sale price or less because the gallery owner wanted the right to negotiate a discount to patrons, a discount that I would have to eat.  I could not work with any other galleries in Northern California even though this gallery may or may not sell a thing and they could give me the boot at any time they pleased. The gallery also wanted to be listed as the single representative on my website and she really didn’t want me selling from my own site.

And the art galleries illegal demands are common terms demanded by many galleries.

So I thought, “Oh, I don’t think so!  I want to make a living.”  And no profitable business would agree to these terms.  “I’ll make my own market, thank you very much. I don’t know how, but I’ll figure it out.”

I was advised by the successful artist Donna Billick, yes the sister of the famed football coach, “Take the reins, it’s the only way you’ll succeed.”  How true!

So I reflected on the lack of business advice from Wayne Thiebaud, and from my brother, the Dean of a business school, and my sister, a self made multi-millionaire.  Then I decided to write a business plan and a marketing plan anyway.  I sat with a dear friend to do this.  I didn’t have experience in writing business plans but realized that it was an unconventional approach for an artist that could offer a distinct advantage.  Why not try?

They all thought that she I crazy.  But then, they always did think she I crazy.

So in 2005, I launched my business as a sole proprietorship. And without the benefit of a PR agent my business was profiled by the national media, including, “Fortune”,  “The Wine Enthusiast”, “Practical Winery and Vineyard Management” magazines, and the “Fine Living” channel.

So I’m is happy to work with art galleries and art consultants but only if the terms are profitable and mutually beneficial, like any good business owner.

In late 2008, I learned more about our federal tax structure and the IRS code and with my CPA’s advise I changed my business structure to a corporation.

Now you know the history of Ann Rea, Inc. and you have a little insight into the art market.

And hopefully this story has encouraged you to support independent artists just like Ann Rea, who have decided to “take the reins.”

Artists Investing in their Businesses

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CIAI was pondering the investment required for my one-on-one artist consulting and coaching services.  Recently it has been suggested to me that the cost of these services are too low for the value that’s provided.  Although every one of my artist clients is different, and so are their results, most artists increase their sales to cover the fee during the time we’re working together.  If they don’t, artists can see clearly how they will increase their sales the near future.

This got me thinking and I decided to examine the current annual cost of the fine art education that I received. I attended the Cleveland Institute of Art, established in 1882, a prestigious member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.  This year the annual tuition is $47,780! The investment for my services? They’re a small fraction of the current annual tuition.

In 1987, the bachelors program I attended required five years.  I can’t imagine taking on that investment of money and time at this point in my life without a clear path to success in mind.  But for those students who have, I wish them the very best.  Because the odds are not good, even with the finest education from a prestigious art school.

Part of the artist dropout is simply unavoidable but tragically much of this is avoidable.  Even the very best art schools do not adequately prepare their graduates for the realities of the art market. If a student wants to become, and remain, a professional artist they’re going to have to make an additional investment.  That is an investment of time, money, and effort in learning and applying business and marketing principles to their art career, or rather, their art “business.”  If there’s no employer involved, we’re talking about a business, not a career.

I’ve said before that I believe that becoming a top artistic talent is much more of a challenge than learning about marketing and the business of art.  Evidence of this abounds.  We see mediocre talent in the art and music industries everyday. What’s happening?  A lot of mediocre does well when it is effectively targeted to a well-defined market.

Besides instruction, just think of what we must invest in art supplies, photography, framing, or show fees, etc.  Now why is it that are we not investing more in our businesses?

So you want to publish a book of your art?

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-guest post by Ralph James, an Artist Who THRIVE community member (We welcome your submissions.)

A published collection of an artist’s work can be a powerful marketing tool. But only when the publishing process is carefully planned well ahead of the actual design and printing. Lacking adequate information and a good strategy, it can be a colossal waste of time and money, time better spent on your art.

This is intended to be a brief overview of where to begin. For a more complete description of design, materials, and printing, I would like to direct you to my web site for a more extensive article I wrote on these subjects.

Learn more at…

https://ralphgradyjames.com/PrintingYourBook.html.

Your first consideration should be, why do you want to print a book and what is the end use of your book? Is it to showcase your art, or maybe to teach art technique and theory? You may think these are silly questions, but they are foundational in your planning and often overlooked or ignored. The reason they are important is because the design, the narrative, the marketing of your book, and even the type of binding and materials used should reflect and agree with these objectives.

If you plan on selling your book, what compelling reason does a customer have for purchasing your book? Let’s face it: you may be a great artist, but unless you are nationally or internationally known, basing your sales only on displaying images of your work will limit your sales. Consider designing your publication with several levels of appeal. For instance, if you also teach something new about technique or business, or share beautiful places to create art, then you’ve increased your potential market.

The last critical thing to ask is do you have the funds to finish your project? Take the time to think through your project from beginning to end and make sure not only to include design and printing cost but also think about any associated costs, such as advertising, shipping, or storage. Also, remember, because of the time required in design and print production, it may be a while before your book is ready to start returning your investment.

I want to encourage anyone interested in publishing a book to go for it! It can be a wonderful and fulfilling experience if you are willing to invest a little time and thought before beginning. It will also leave a legacy for the future, which is priceless.

What was your worst ever gallery experience? or one that you know of?

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All right, I’ll go first.  I have a few experiences with art galleries and let me just say they are not all bad.  But I’ll share the first one that pops into my mind. A  gallery owner asked if I would participate in a fund raising auction.  I was to receive one half of the sales price and I set the starting bid.  This is the only way to go (if) you are going to participate in a charity auction, which generally I do NOT recommend.

Anyway, one of the two framed paintings I offered sold and fetched a good price.  The other painting was actually returned to me in a perfectly sound and stable box.  But when I opened it, I discovered the frame had been shattered into smithereens and the oil painting was just laying on top of the frame fragments.  No note, no call, nothing from the gallery owner who sent it. I think the gallery owner was just being hateful and to this day, I honestly don’t know why. I wrote him emails, I left him messages, and I sent him letters trying to get an explanation and payment for the broken frame.  Again, nothing, no response.

So I contacted the Executive Director of the charity and I let her know what had happened, and I shared my obvious displeasure.   She was appropriately horrified about the way I had been treated and the charity promptly reimbursed me for the frame.  The gallery owner, I’ve never heard from him.

Needless to say, this gallery may offer excellent representation to some artists.  But just in case, I’m happy to offer fair warning below and to a provide a blog that  explores profitable alternatives.

https://www.efgallery.com/

https://www.artistswhothrive.com/

Biggest Mistake Artists make in their Careers

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I was recently interviewed for an article profiling successful artists.  The interviewer asked, “What are the biggest mistakes that you see artists making in planning their careers?”

That was easy to answer.  The biggest mistake that I see an artist making early, and sometimes too late, is that they do not recognize and or respect the fact that they are “in business”.  It’s not a career!

Artists are not sure how to even start to be savvy entrepreneurs.  They are trying, often without much success, to follow a prescribed career model of working solely with art galleries and keeping their fingers crossed that one day that this tired formula will work.  The problem is that this scarcity and permission based model does not work 99.9% of the time.  And if it does, too many art galleries fold.  Those are not good odds and this does not make for sound risk management.

Part of this mindset is ingrained by a cultural stereotype that artists should not, or could not, be concerned with money and business.  I can’t tell you how much I hear this disrespectful crap. So I purposely have my full title on my business cards and the footer of my emails, “Ann Rea, Artist, CEO, Ann Rea, Inc.”

One of my favorite quotes by Oscar Wilde is “When bankers get together they talk about art. When artists get together, they talk about money.”

The good news is that there’s a lot of money changing hands in the art industry, and artists can get their piece of the pie.

I’ll remind artists that I consult with that no one is going to “discover” them, no one is coming to save them.   But once an artist recognizes, respects, and embraces their business, we’re ready to work together.

And those artists who I work with have surprised and delighted me with the leaps of progress that they make.  And they even inspire me to up my game, to dream bigger, make a plan, and move into planned action.

Academy of Art University of San Francisco – Ending an Artist’s Career Before it Starts?

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The Academy of Art University of San Francisco was founded in 1929 and it currently has almost 16,000 students enrolled.  The Art Academy is a for-profit (not a dirty word) institution and a Hasbro Monopoly-like landlord of San Francisco.

I’ve hired several eager and capable interns from the Academy of Art and I have to say that I’m concerned that they will, like so many graduates with a fine art degree, never be full time artists.

I’ve got no doubt that they have received capable art instruction or the Academy of Art couldn’t possibly enroll so many students.  However, it puzzled me to learn that the Academy of Art has no admission requirements.  Prospective art students do not have to have “any art experience.”  They don’t even have to show a portfolio of their work.

Can you imagine applying for Julliard and not having to audition?  Images of American Idol come to mind.  We all know that the arts are a tough business so stacking the odds in your favor with the best education available is a minimal strategy.

It also appears that the Academy of Art University pays little to no attention to teaching the business and marketing aspects of selling one’s art.  This is mission critical and this missing piece of education could end an artist’s career before it starts.

Like it or not, art school graduates had better be good at something else besides creativity or they’re not going to make it.

The good news, in my opinion, is that developing a “marketing mindset” is not that difficult nor is it beyond the capability of a reasonably intelligent person.  So why not make business and marketing a cornerstone of the standard curriculum?  One reason?  Because generally professors are academics, not entrepreneurs.  And so there’s no need for them to fuss about unique value propositions and target markets, or even respect these basic business concepts.  But guess what?! A thriving full time artist is an entrepreneur extraordinaire.