If our environment is one that inspires and makes us happy it will show in the art we produce. Collectors buy art that makes their lives better and are, in essence, buying a piece of who we are. [...]

I'm tempted to say that every artist should choose the follow-up method that feels easiest and most comfortable for them, but in reality for many artists, no method of follow-up feels easy or "right" at first. Just like with learning to create art, learning to network effectively requires an investment of time and energy to get past that awkward beginning stage. [...]

Networking is as much about giving as it is about taking. It's about listening, not talking. It's not just about asking for help, it's about generosity of spirit and the willingness to commit to helping others. Networking is about valuing what you have to offer this world and not being afraid to share it. [...]

Over the course of this series of 3 blog posts, I'm going to dig in and break down the "why" and "how" of networking and why artists should get a grasp on just how beneficial genuine networking can be over the course of a long art career. [...]

The brushstrokes we leave on the lives of others never fade, but I didn’t know that was literal as well as figurative. It is time to put my fears aside and move forward with understanding and faltering confidence. It is not too late to follow a 30-year-old dream and to paint like there is no tomorrow until all my tomorrows are gone. [...]

I realized that the artists who managed to fight through this recession have a better shot at longevity than most. The recession was a test of your resolve and passion. I think as we come out of these rough times we will be more adept at survival and will have gained the skills necessary to make a long fruitful artistic career. There will still be those that fade away but we are more likely to grow and bend with the times and prosper. [...]

A word about unsuccessful paintings - yes they do happen, more times then I would like to admit. Artists do not allow themselves to practice. Every time we stand in front of our easels, we feel we must complete a masterpiece. If only we could. I take all those paintings of mine that just did not work, for whatever the reason, and I do not look at them as failures but just as practice, a learning experience. Artists are human and not perfect, so why do we expect our work to be perfect? [...]

These artists seem to think that they don’t know how to sell. While I will be the first to admit that selling art is not the same as selling hula-hoops, selling art is still selling and artists do know how to sell. After all, they’ve been selling their whole life. Let me repeat that and direct it toward you. You’ve been in sales your whole life. [...]

As a result of these strict guidelines, there is now a movement of artists turning their back on these accolades. In the artists of my generation, people rarely talk about how an award or one man show will make their artistic career. The conversations are all about how to build relationships with collectors and those who appreciate art. We believe these relationships will make our career more than anything else. And a lot of the most exciting work coming out today is originating from these artists. [...]

For years, I have written and modified descriptions of some my narrative paintings only to feel inadequate to the task. I finally understand that this is not an inadequacy on our part as visual artists. It is our responsibility to focus on the visual. We have passport to leave the art of words to writers and novelists. Certainly both means of communication are limited and I suppose it is those things that can't be easily captured that make any art form somewhat magical. I think I'll embrace that for awhile. [...]

I'm sure most of us complete a piece of artwork, make sure we have natural light and take digital photos, then load them to a computer, do some kind of cropping for clean edges, save the photo, go to FASO, to our Facebook fan page, our Facebook wall and upload the photos, write all the descriptions and move along to the next piece of artwork. For me, this process could take more than hour especially if the digital camera and I were not getting along and if the photos were blurred, I'd have to repeat part of this process at least once. The app ended a lot of this work. [...]

And it's what an artist must do to succeed. Put out little tendrils of hope - blog, enter a competition, update your website, give a workshop, join a great art group, give lessons, design a new business card, try a new technique, send out a press release, write an article, and: keep a running list of all these "ingredients." [...]

Since that day, I realized that so often we drum the creative spirit out of children and out of adults. When folks come into my booth at art fairs and tell me that they are not creative, I always disagree. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are creative. They simply have not found their medium nor have they been encouraged to try different mediums until one resonates with them. The bottom line is that we are all artistic. We are all creative. None of us are "those people." We need teachers, mentors and friends who care enough about us to not categorize us, to not put us in the "those people" category. [...]

Personally, I’m a bit old school. I like to focus on the task at hand and take care of business. I like being efficient and productive. I tend to apply this to most any activity that I am involved with, but I am especially rigorous about being on task in the studio. I don’t want distractions that will pull me out of the dialog with my work. Painting itself is a multitasking activity that demands doing and paying attention to many things at once. The required skills set becomes part of the necessary mindset, and there is no room for intrusions from the outside world. Focus is required to make everything work. [...]

Simply paint what moves you to paint. What do you see and love? What moves your soul? You cannot go wrong when you see and paint something that touches your soul. Stop glancing over to the side at what others are doing. Sure, you can learn from others - take the art classes or workshops, study other art works, go to museums, art exhibits, workshops, all that kind of thing - but learn to express what is in your own heart. Learn to appreciate what you can do. [...]

These days it is all up to the artist. In this economy, the galleries will rarely spend the money for print marketing unless you are a proven seller. The art organizations have lost their clout with the exponential growth of art groups. And the media has become so diversified that there is no longer one voice. The artist has to take responsibility for their own success. [...]

To enjoy art, is it really that necessary to have taken art history courses, to have visited some of the great European museums or to be or have been involved in creating something yourself? While these experiences may give you a head start, they certainly are not required to enjoy what someone else has created, today. [...]

A pet peeve of mine is when people dismissively say "You are just talented." They don't realize it but this negates all the hard work put into what I do. Would you tell a surgeon that? Would you tell a movie director that? [...]

I feel very honored that people from all over the world are looking at my artwork and reading my blogs. I won’t ever know the reason why they choose to view the paintings that they do, but just knowing that people want to take some of their precious time to share my vision of beauty is very humbling. [...]

Despite all the types of rejection, the most important part is to keep on moving forward and to not give up. If things are getting bad, take a break and seek out people for their opinion on what you may do to improve your presentation. In the end, it is all a numbers game and it does become a lot easier. It stops becoming this big ordeal and is just part of the job. [...]

I know the experts will say you should find a niche, a technique, a subject, a look, and then you can be a success. Galleries often only want in your painting what you had brought them before. I know it may make good business sense, maybe, but does it make good artistic sense? I guess each artist will have to make that judgment for themselves. [...]

Who doesn't love the look of freshly fallen snow? A good winter storm can turn even the most mundane scene into something spectacular to paint. But the first time I bundled up and hauled my gear out in winter conditions, I learned just how challenging painting in the snow can be. It's always tempting to just take a few photos and use those as reference to paint from in my warm, comfortable studio, but one thing's for certain: you have to get cold to paint snow convincingly. Almost more than any other subject matter, snow requires direct observation to help the artist convey its subtle beauty. [...]

There are lots of options to paint on. It is important that professional artists use the highest quality materials possible and to communicate to their galleries and collectors not only about the their artwork, but also about the materials they choose to use. [...]

The old 'shotgun' approach of splattering 60+ artists on the wall to see what sticks, is dead. They will have to choose artists who are honest, have long term business goals and some genuine skill. [...]

Never give up on yourself, I almost did and truly, that would of been the biggest regret of my life. [...]

Art is like making love - if you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong. [...]

I believe that when work is not well received it is 100% my fault. I failed in my part to connect with the viewer. There are reasons that it did not resonate with people. It is easy to say that people are not sophisticated enough to appreciate a piece. However in my opinion, people are a pretty good judge of authenticity. Even without any artistic training people know what they like and will not buy anything that does not speak to them. It is all feedback in the end and the best artists use this feedback to make the next piece something that will really touch people. [...]

When you look at a work of art, you've got about three options 1. you like it 2. you don't like it 3. you are completely ambivalent, which for all effects and purposes is just the same as #2 [...]

While it is very easy to envision the perfect world, it does nothing to help you in the world of today. The only way to survive is to intently focus on how the art world operates. Once you understand how things work, you can find a solution to the problems you are facing. [...]

42 life lessons to help us as we grow older and evolve into the person we're meant to be. [...]

Seven things learned from one artist's personal experience - remember this when having your next solo show. [...]

Drawing is a powerful tool for the artist, but photography and direct painting have reduced drawing’s role in the lives of many artists today. This is a shame since there is much to learn by utilizing this most direct form of artistic expression. [...]

Three simple tips for your art business. [...]

This was my shot at a custom piece - which I must say made me nervous. Custom work is not the easiest since you can never completely see what someone has in mind. [...]

Every sale takes an extraordinary amount of work and promotion. I am a product of the recession. I need to push constantly to move forward and think in new ways and make an effort to meet collectors to get out there. I think it is easy to resent the present state of the market, but I don't have any bitterness. I realize that this experience has really been a trial by fire where you must be strong and work hard to sell your work. I think I have gained skills I would have never learned in a strong market. [...]

When you’re working for a grade in a course, there is specific motivation to do what sometimes may seem to be mundane exercises. The truth is, though, to improve painting skills, anyone can create exercises that focus on specific areas where improvement may be needed. Singers do vocal exercises and drills to keep their voices in shape. Musicians practice difficult passages piecemeal and also in context in order to solve challenges with fingering or interpretation or timing. Painters, too, can work on specific techniques or skills through a wide range of activity that may not always result in a finished painting. The question is, what isn’t working? Next, how can that be improved? Certainly there are many options for moving forward. [...]

I say being wrong isn't a bad thing. Being wrong is healthy and we should not ridicule anyone for being wrong. I truly believe, for most of us, we are going to be wrong about half the time in all decisions we make. If we don't allow ourselves the luxury of being wrong, I fear learning will stop. For us to get to a reasonable conclusion about anything requires us to be wrong. How else will be able to strive to be right? Without the willingness to take a risk to be wrong, our future learning will be at stake. And we will achieve nothing of value because the fear of being wrong prevented us from striving for excellence. [...]

“If you don’t shoot for the stars, you will never even reach the moon” is a saying that I said over and over again to my students. What’s the worst that can happen if I fail in my attempt to make a great painting when trying something new? Nothing... I just throw the painting away. But before I do, I need to evaluate it to figure out what is wrong. Do I figure that out right away? No! Some of these failures stay with me quite a while until I can finally figure out what is wrong. Have I wasted time when I created paintings that I consider a failure? No, not if I have tried to learn from them. [...]

Over the years I've thought of different ways to get a targeted audience to my site. Some things worked, some didn't. Blogging about other artists is one way to do it. [...]

Place your energy into that more successful art work. You will discover, that the more you work at being creative each day, the more creative ideas come to mind. [...]