Listen to my interview with Alex Blumberg of NPRs “This American Life” and “Planet Money.”

This week I was in Creative Live’s San Francisco recording studios as a student and not an instructor.

I enrolled in a storytelling course for podcasters taught by Alex Blumberg.

I’ve been listening to Alex for a decade and a half on “This American Life.” So when he chose to interview me, it was a bit surreal.

This disembodied voice was now embodied six inches away from me, holding a microphone, as we reviewed the most significant events in my life.

Examining turning points in my life, while being recorded in front of a worldwide audience, was not something I ever expected to do.

It felt like a life-review it’s said that we experience just after we die and just before we vanish back into stardust.

It was cathartic, therapeutic, and a complete affirmation of why I am so compelled to help other artists.

Down load and listen to this first generation American’s life as an artist.

Maybe you can relate?

If so, please share how. Leave a comment below and share with two friends.

Many artists dream of making their living from their art full time.

And they pine to be free of a boss or a “Team Leader.”

I get that. The last “Team Leader” I had was nick-named “Snotty Scotty.”

I did not dub him this. He earned this title all on his own from his long-standing colleagues, who wanted me to take his place.

Why? Because he was often dropping the ball.

He was a vector of evil that made it impossible for me to even think of returning to another corporate cubicle after I quit.

So in a way, he was actually an angel.

But guess what? Even though I have my own business, I still have a boss.

“I have met the enemy and sometimes she is me.”

Why? Because my boss:

• Doesn’t give me enough praise
• She barely lets me take a day off
• She will not give me a pay raise. She goes on and on about how we must invest profits back in the company. Jeez!

Why am I sharing this story?

Because I’m currently mentoring a self-employed jewelry designer from Canada who realized that not only does she have a crappy boss (herself), she’s got an unproductive employee (herself.)

Why? Her employee:

• often doesn’t show up to work
• comes and goes and she pleases
• treats her job as a hobby

The boss (herself) can’t fire her employee (herself).

Because if her boss looses her key employee, the company will fold.

Clearly it’s time to heal these working relationships to create a more productive work environment.

My recommendation was that her boss give her employee more praise and constructive feedback.

And that her employee get off her ass and stop taking her job for granted!

Clearly, they need to build mutual respect.

In her weekly mentoring update, she reported that she had done just that and had a much more productive work-week. She said,

“I now realize that daily praises work!!

They boost me to take extra steps!

So now I will continue with writing/creating praises for myself for my business to be my best cheerleader!!!”

-Denise Parenteau

Whether you are a full-time or a part-time artist:

• What kind of a boss are you?
• Would others want to work for you?
• What kind of an employee are you?
• What would your boss write in your annual review?
• Would others hire you?

Let us know in the comments below.

The truth will set you free!

 

 

Many artists see making art and selling art as separate and conflicting endeavors.

But making art and selling art are not in conflict.

They are part of a complete creative cycle, a positive feedback loop.

How do I know?

First, I know that creating innovative marketing strategies is just as creative as oil painting; I’m just using different mediums. And I LOVE both.

So much so that I create marketing strategies for other artists.

Marketing is about ideas and messaging.

Isn’t that what art is all about? It’s this the essence of art?

If you are an artist who has found someone to take care of all of the marketing and selling mumbo jumbo, good for you.

But mark my words; it’s only a matter of time before you fall out of favor with the art establishment.

Why? Because they have their own interests and you may or may not continue to support those interests.

And so for that reason, the art establishment does not owe us any apologies.

Why is making art and selling art part of a complete creative cycle?

Because art needs an audience.

Think about it. What if a talented pastry chef made amazing, locally sourced, organic creations? But no one ever tasted them.

That would leave the pastry chef feeling not so inspired or affirmed.

Plus, the pastry chef spent all that money on ingredients and kitchen supplies and has no way to recover the cost of goods.

How much are you spending on art supplies? Have you added it up? Are you generating a profit? How much?

Should all art be sold? Of course not!

Not all pastry should be sold either. That’s why chefs have test kitchens.

Should you think about selling art before or while you are making art? Of course not!

Does an attorney think about selling their services while they are preparing for a case?

No. They must focus on the task and hand.

There is nothing more inspiring to me as an artist than getting paid for what I joyfully make.

Selling my art ignites my creativity and affirms my talent.

My experience of artists who suggest that there is a conflict in making art and selling art, is that they are just not selling much art.

So they make up this story about their creative integrity and “selling out” and they stay stuck in frustration.

Here’s the thing. There is no mandate to sell your art.

Making art, in and of itself, is a very worthy pursuit and it doesn’t mean you should make a business of it.

But if you want to sell art, it will only happen if you are completely free of conflict about it.

And why should you feel conflicted? Every artist I know loves to selling their art.

Do you feel conflicted? Let’s hear it. The truth will set you free. Leave your comments here.

 

Money and art. It’s a very charged topic.

Money and auto repair, money and tax preparation services, money and household appliances, not so much.

So, why is this?

Because art is so damn personal.

And that is why a professional artist, more than most entrepreneurs, must have a very healthy relationship with money.

If they don’t, they will have a hard time making it or keeping it. I see it all the time with the artists who I mentor.

What’s your relationship with money?

It’s time to get very clear.

Your relationship with money often reflects your personal relationships.

• Lacking boundaries?
• Selfish?
• Scared?
• Hopeless?
• Unfocused?
• Feeling loved?

Examine the most painful memories you have around money and the lessons you’ve learned or that you need to learn.

Here. I’ll lead the way by sharing my own three most painful money memories and lessons.

Then, it’s your turn.

My 3 most painful money memories

1.) I was about to turn 12 and I was so excited to finally get my first 12-speed bike for my birthday.

Or so I thought.

Instead, my father went to the bike store, he negotiated for the price of the bike, and then he made me empty all of my savings, that I had slowly accumulated by baby-sitting and shoveling snow, and he actually made me pay for my own birthday gift.

How did I feel?

Betrayed. I felt powerless, disappointed, hurt, and confused.

I got the bike and a zero balance in my savings account and I never enjoyed riding that bike.

2.) When I was 25 I unconsciously married a man who possessed some of my father’s weaker traits.

I did not realize it at the time because my ex-husband, of less than two years, was a closet alcoholic who secretly secured joint credit cards in our name.

He had the monthly statements sent to an unknown PO box and then he racked up balances that we could not pay.

I lost my first new house and all of the brand new furnishings and appliances that I had paid for in hard earned cash.

How did I feel?

Betrayed.

I divorced him immediately to save my financial future.

3.) Two very famous major winery clients decided not to honor our contracts.

This prevented me from accessing productive venues to sell over 100 original oil paintings that I had created over two years.

I did not expect to sell all of them but it significantly reduced my projected sales resulting in a major financial tailspin.

How did I feel?

Betrayed.

I could not believe that such reputable wineries would do such a thing. But because they could, they did.

And a representative from the largest winery in the US, you know who you are, told me, “You should just be grateful for the exposure we have already given you. Other artists should be so lucky.”

I wanted to punch him. He deliberately violated our contract. Period.

What did I learn?

1.) This has been my toughest life lesson by far.

Lesson: We don’t choose our parents and not every parent is well equipped emotionally to be kind and loving to their children, particularly alcoholics.

However, as adults we don’t have to repeat these patterns and we not only have the opportunity to heal those injuries and take better care of ourselves, we have the responsibility.

2.) I found this out by making a routine check of my credit report.

I also learned that I was able to escape some of the debt because I could prove that I had no knowledge or benefit from it.

Lesson: Knowledge is power. If you live in a community property state you are on the hook for your spouse’s debt. We don’t expect our partners to be deceitful but it can happen.

I will always maintain financial independence and resources.

3.) I have since sold many of the paintings but I still have more in inventory than I would have if these wineries had kept their agreements.

Fortunately, I had money in savings.

Lesson: Ultimately, this lesson was a gift.

Why? It forced me to reexamine my initial art business model and to create a new Blue Ocean Strategy that is easier to sell and is more sustainable and profitable.

I had too many eggs in one basket with each failed contract. Now I…

• manage my risk
• examine the worst-case scenario
• prepare with contingencies
• diversify my income

We don’t succeed alone. Ask two friends to do this exercise with you.

 

Imagine. What if you were living in one of the most expensive cities in the United States with:

• over $100,000 worth of inescapable debt
• with no job
• no marketable skill set
• and no immediate prospects?

During my last live Mini-Marketing Makeover Seminar here in San Francisco, three young aspiring illustrators enrolled.

As did an older wealthy businessman, recently turned aspiring artist.

A striking contrast of circumstances sat before me.

These three young ladies had amassed an average of over $100,000 in student loan debt by attending the San Francisco Academy of Art.

One had not even yet received her BFA from the San Francisco Academy of Art.

These young art students where attending my class because they realize that there are no fine art illustration jobs awaiting them to cover their monthly student loan load.

The San Francisco Academy of Art is noted, not so much for its academic excellence, graduation rates, and stunning success of alumni, as it is for being the largest landlord in all of San Francisco.

The student loan debt of these three young artists, over $300,000, will service the San Francisco Academy of Art’s real estate portfolio quite nicely.

And their student loan debt, that can never be discharged by bankruptcy, will severely compromise their futures in ways they have yet to imagine.

The only possible way out for these artists is to master two essential practical skills.

1. Sales
2. Marketing

These vital life skills are not taught in art school or in business school. (Trust me. I have worked with several artists who majored in marketing and even those with an MBA.)

And it’s for good reason. Trying to master sales and marketing in an academic environment, is like going to a seminar to learn how to ride a bike.

The harsh reality that is awaiting these young ladies is that they will need to take whatever job they can get to pay their debt and to cover their basic living expenses, leaving little time and energy for making art.

So it is highly likely that they will abandon their art, just like I did for over seven years.

The wealthy successful businessman, on the other hand, has no concern of debt.

He is searching for more meaning.

He wanted to pursue art when he was young but he did what a real man does with a young family, he pursued a more profitable career to support them.

This is admirable.

He describes himself as an “abstract painter.”

Although not always, this is often code for “I’ve received little to no formal art training and I can’t draw.”

The wealthy man was excited and curious about the idea of being an “artist” as he recently had a couple of paintings “accepted” by a “prominent gallerist.”

What this man did not realize was that the reason his inexperience art was most likely “accepted” by this “prominent gallerist” was because of his wealthy personal network, one that will likely attend art openings and buy art.

It’s business. All business. The San Francisco Art Academy is a genius real estate play and the art gallery is an astute collector of collectors.

So. You can play their game and pay their price or you can play your game.

It’s your choice. I prefer not to be played.

I prefer to create value above and beyond my art that is of service to a target market, an in a way that I can be proud of.

The wealthy businessman urged the young aspiring artists to apply for my mentoring program.

As an astute business man, well versed in the upside and downside of risk, he could see the extraordinary cost of their inescapable debt and the likely negative rate of return on their current education investment.

So he advised them that an investment in working with me could yield them a significant and ongoing and measurable return on their investment.

I know that and he knows that.

But they won’t know that until the harsh reality of their debt repayment hits them.

And it is for this reason that I founded and that I maintain Artists Who THRIVE.

 

 

 

I very proud to say that my Creative LIVE course is the most popular business course in their current catalog, and I’m in the company of courses delivered by several NYT best selling business authors who I admire.

My experience with Creative LIVE is proof positive that we do not succeed alone.

It takes a tremendous amount of coordinated effort and cooperative talent to co-create this kind of quality broadcast.

One that reached a virtual stadium full of artists.

This success points directly to number seven of the eight-point credo for Artists Who THRIVE.

“7. RELATIONSHIPS equal revenue. Our success is shared.”  

Sometimes we are working so very hard on honing our creative talent or trying to grow our artistic enterprise that we forget two things.

1. We don’t have to go it alone.
2. We can ask for help.

So I’m inviting you to do a little exercise.

Engage the power of your imagination.

Celebrate your future success by counting all of the people who will be involved in helping you manifest it.

Have fun. Play with this.

I’ll lead with my most recent example at Creative LIVE.

Here’s a “partial” list of those who made a vital contribution to the success of “Make Money Making Art.”

• The drivers who picked me up and dropped me off on time.
• My Creative LIVE producer who brainstormed with me to help me craft the course, while having loads of fun.
• The sound guy who kept checking that my mike was still taped to me and wasn’t falling down my dress.
• The in-studio audience who where so open and vulnerable about their successes and struggles on live camera.
• The people who prepared and served our delicious meals and snacks.
• The Artists Who THRIVE who I have coached, who conferenced in from across the country to generously share all that they have learned.
• The hair and make up stylist who helped make me look my best.
• Artists around the globe who chimed in on the chat room to ask me questions.
• Two gracious and experienced hosts who helped the live broadcast flow seamlessly.
• The technical and production team whose various expertise I can’t even begin name.
• The social media facilitator who engaged the live online audience.
• The audience to purchased the course and who are now taking meaningful action.
• The host who helped while she interviewed me before the broadcast so that people could know more about me and why I created the course.
• The creative talent who crafted the course promotional graphics and copy.
• The audience who took the time to review the course.
• The artists who took the initiative to find an accountability partner, a mastermind, to complete the 50-Step Action Plan that comes with the course.
• The founders of Creative LIVE who had the courage and fortitude to pursue their vision to create a positive disruptive educational model.
• All of the creators of the social media channels and technology who made it possible, going back to before Thomas Edison.

There is no way I can name everyone who played a hand in this success.

As you can see, I could go on for days acknowledging and appreciating these direct and indirect collective contributions.

The point is that this. This is not my success. This is “our” success.

Take action now. Imagine a specific future success with your artistic enterprise and the relationships that will help you get there.

Who will you count on the list of people who are going to help you accomplish your specific success?

Make a list.

There is power in the present moment.

Energy and focus fades.

If you do this now, right now, you will plant the seeds for your success.  

(Ann Rea is a nationally recognized artist and the creator and instructor of an intimate, live, online, foundational eight-week business course for artists called MAKING Art Making MONEY. Rea’s book “SELL YOUR ART without Selling Out, 101 Rules” is now available on Amazon.)

 

 

Calling all Artists Who THRIVE!

If you’ve been sitting on your hands thinking about pulling the trigger on a one-on-one coaching application, applying for The MAKING Art Making MONEY Course, or thinking about booking a phone consultation but you have just not been ready to invest in yourself, I have something for you.

Over the past couple months I have been collaborating with the producers at Creative LIVE to deliver a two-day, live, on-line course for FREE. 

If you can’t make it or if you want to review it; no problem. Get anytime access for $79.

I’m spilling all the beans for two days straight. Those who enroll will be receiving an electronic copy of “SELL YOUR ART without Selling Out, 101 Rules.”

And those who purchase the course will receive an electronic copy of the course book called “Make MONEY Making Art, 50-Step Action Plan.”

Successful artists who I have coached will be appearing and talking about their successes, failures, and big fat lessons learned.

If you want to Make MONEY Making Art someday, let me tell you. Someday is today.

Enrollments are already off the charts.

So get on it. Buy the course. Find a friend and go through the exercises in the “Make MONEY Making Art, 50-Step Action Plan” together.

“We do not succeed alone.” That’s one of the things I share in my most recent interview with the lovely Kenna Klosterman, host at Creative LIVE. Tune in here…

 

 

Last December, Jonathan Fields interviewed me for the Good Life Project.

If you haven’t tuned into his inspiring series I highly recommend that you do.

You’ll enjoy deep-dive interviews with an amazing group of people who are living “a good life.”

“People who…have more fun, cultivate higher-levels of freedom, touch more lives, leave bigger legacies and, straight up, live better lives.”

After our Good Life Project shoot a number of us gathered for dinner.

During our lively dinner conversation something dawned on.

I felt something shift inside and I realized two things.

1. I am eager to take my art in a new creative direction that is much more grounded in my personal experience and values.

2. But before that, I have to first reach out and speak directly to a much bigger audience of artists to teach them what I have figured out about making art and making money.

So during that dinner last December, I silently made it my mission to eliminate the “starving artist” mythology by helping to empower artists through business savvy.

I was already doing some of this through my weekly blog, Artists Who THRIVE.

But I realized that I want to have a much bigger impact and so I need to reach a bigger audience of artists.

So in 2013, I created MAKING Art Making MONEY, an 8-week, initiate, live, online foundational business course for artists that teaches my 8-step methodology to building a creative enterprise.

This includes the proven process that I followed and that I have successfully taught other artists one on one.

Unlike typical web based tele-seminars, The MAKING Art Making MONEY Course allows a small group of artists, no more than 9, to actually connect with one another because we meets live via Google Hangouts.

Why? Because most artists exist largely in isolation.

I launched the pilot course and it was a great success.

Although The MAKING Art Making MONEY Course pays back significant dividends to those artists who invest in themselves, the course isn’t cheap.

However, I’m still committed to my mission.

So I’ve just partnered with Creative LIVE to offer a FREE two-day live course on March 10^th and 11^th, that will reach their more than 1 million students worldwide.

If artists can’t make the free live course on March 10^th and 11^th, they can buy  it at a very reasonable cost and go at it at their own pace.

Craig Swanson, co-founder of Creative LIVE, is very excited about our partnership so we spoke yesterday for quite some time.

It was such a pleasure to connect with Craig and to affirm that we share the same values and core belief.

“Every artist is an entrepreneur. Every entrepreneur is an artist.”

 

First things first. If you have reliable and productive art representation. Congratulations!

If art galleries and or art representatives are generating enough income for you, you should treasure and nurture that relationship and appreciate that you are in the rare minority.

That said. Artists should be aware of the hazards of representation.

I tried the conventional approach of art representation to sell my paintings but I soon discovered the hazards.

• Sometimes I could find representation or not
• Sometimes I got paid or not
• Sometimes I was able to show new work or not
• Sometimes I had a showing or not
• Sometimes my work was sold at the retail price I defined and not discounted or not
• Sometimes other artists were not jealous of my successes or not
• Sometimes my representative absorbed the discount or not
• Sometimes I was treated with professional respect or not
• Sometimes I got my paintings back or not
• Sometimes I got my paintings back undamaged or not
• Sometimes representatives encouraged my seeking additional representation or not
• Sometimes representatives encouraged my selling directly to collectors or not
• Sometimes representatives encouraged me to sell my paintings on my website or not
• Sometimes I would know who bought my paintings, as California law provides or not
• Sometimes my new artistic directions would be embraced or not
• Sometime gallery owners were frustrated artists themselves or not

I hear artists complain that a gallery takes 50% of the sale. This is a standard retail percentage and I have absolutely no qualms with representatives getting paid their due, as long as they pay artists in a timely manner.

The harsh reality is clear. The art market is over saturated with talent and it is a product for the luxury market that is difficult to reach.

Art schools do not prepare students for the business of art. In fact, they confuse them by leading them into thinking that they have a career.

There’s a big difference in the skills and knowledge required to be an entrepreneur versus building a career.

How do I know the difference? If you have a career you are an employee who receives a regular paycheck.

What’s an artist to do? Embrace business and celebrate innovative strategic marketing because that’s what selling art is. It’s a business, a big business.

If you don’t know where to start, start here by reading Artists Who THRIVE or apply to enroll in Making Art/Making Money.

 

 

 

If you are serious about building a creative enterprise, you must pay the minimum price of admission.

The minimum price will tap some financial resources because you’ll actually have to spend money to make money.

Besides investing in your businessa and yourself, you’ll spend much more with your internal resources.

1. Cohesive and unique body of talented work

First things first. If you want to sell art, you’ll need some to sell.

I’m amazed at the number of “artists” who consult me to help them sell their work.

When I ask, “How much art work do you have?”  I sometimes get, “Oh, only a few pieces right now.” If that’s the case, time to get you butt back into the studio.

There is an old adage in retail, “Stack ‘em high and watch ‘em buy.”

I’m not suggesting that you can sell art only because you have an overwhelming quantity of inventory.

I am emphasizing that you will need a credible amount of cohesive quality  inventory to take advantage of sales opportunities and to demonstrate your confident creative direction.

2. Productivity

You had better be productive. Once that inventory is sold you’ll need more to satisfy demand.

If you suffer from creative blocks you’ll need to up your EI, (Emotional Intelligence) before you embark on a business venture.

Note, there is nothing more motivating or inspiring to me than selling my art. I can’t wait to go make more.

3. Left-brain & right brain shifting ability

In Daniel Pink’s book a “Whole New Mind”, he breaks down our current economy, the “conceptual economy”, and he profiles the current rise of the creative class.

When you delve deeper into the book he explains that the economy actually belongs to those who can shift back and forth and integrate creativity and logic. You’ll need both.

A very left-brain colleague from my National Speaker’s Association chapter once said, “I’m not creative.”

My response, “That’s ridiculous, of course you are.  That’s like saying I’m not logical.”  It’s not an either or proposition, we each possess two hemispheres in our brains.

Next week, we’ll examine the other three elements.

Answer honestly.

• Do you have a cohesive body of work?
• Are you productive?
• Do you give away your power around basic left-brain focus and tasks like book keeping, time management, goal setting?