All About Art & Artists by D. L. Keur of zentao.com

Invited to view his work, the words of an artist gave me pause.  He was already defensive and apologetic.  “My art isn’t for everyone,” he said hesitantly. 

What I saw was marvelous.  But he didn’t know how I would take it.  Worried about a negative reaction, he was already making excuses and trying to steel himself for rejection…prepping himself to soften the blow.

Well, sure, not every picture made my mind thrill to the experience, but some of them not only brought up that warm feeling in my chest, and a zing within my brain, but actually had me itching to have more wall space. 

When I want to hang a picture, that’s the best compliment I can offer.  If I’m reaching for my checkbook, you can figure that you’ve done something I really like, even love.

I see “art by artist” everyday…except when on vacation or hiking in the wilderness (where I see art by Nature, and revel in it).  I render verdicts on a weekly, if not daily, basis on whether someone’s art is promotable.  And I have an open mind and open vision…mostly.  What I cannot abide is apology. 

Apology won’t get you through the tough times when all around you dismiss and castigate your vision mostly because they have none themselves.  (Listen to that because it’s truth.)

Shyness won’t land you that gallery owner’s confidence, or that agent’s second look and consideration.

Believe in your work, your art, yourself.  It’s important. 

If you like it, that’s what counts.  If you feel proud of the work, revel in the fact that it’s your brilliance there.  Remember, not everyone likes everything, and most things catch on, not because everyone who saw it instantly loved what they saw.  SOMEONE saw it and instantly loved what they saw, and they told others who looked and saw with fresh eyes…and then told more people who also looked with more open minds. 

Your vision — your art — is YOU.  And if you can stand there in the privacy of your room, stare at that painting, and find it worthy of your name, so will someone else…and then more somebodies.  But not if you shirk and shrink, fading away into the wall as if ashamed.

Don’t apologise.  Not ever.  Do your art.  And show it with pride.  All of it that you feel is worthy of your signature.  Now there’s a measure you can count on.

Perspective is necessary.  It allows one the luxury of effectively flattening out the landscape in art while retaining depth of experience, or of creating such a vividly real, deeply tangible image that viewers cannot believe its actually painted on canvas.  Perspective can level the playing field in life while retaining a clear vision of reality; it can allow you to reach heights in your career which once seemed unattainable.

Without knowing how to achieve perspective in art, the artist is missing tools critical to attaining mastery of medium.  The same is true in living and working.  For an artist, the use and application of perspective in both areas are needed for success.

Lack of knowledge, practice, and skill contribute to the failure in rendering a work on one’s canvas.  In life, the same is true.  But in life, more destructive to perspective is a thing called FRENZY.  You simply can’t maintain objectivity and, therefore, perspective if you are racing around and failing to perceive your surroundings and interactive environment. 

Sit back, slow down, and pay attention only to those things which are truly important to your goals in art and in life.

DLKeur

Vacations are wonderful if you’re an artist who takes advantage of getting away from clients and their needs.  Late, late summer is a great time to do it, too, since schedules slow just a tad for those of us who don’t have to worry about getting Johnny or Suzie back to school or over to college.  (For those who DO have to worry that, do that last fling the first two weeks of August instead of the last, though.  It still works, even though coming home becomes a double scramble.)

Artist SHOULD take vacations — getting completely away from marketing work, from doing promotional gigs, from answering the phone (LEAVE THE CELL PHONE OFF!).  They should take their favorite media with them and simply do art on inspiration…or do none at all.  But before the jaunt, it is always wisest to have all pending projects completed.  (Do be organized.  Makes life a bit easier.  It really does.)

Beware, though, when you, the artist, gets home.  Backed up emails, a loaded answering machine, and tons of snail mail await you.  Be prepared to spend one entire week catching up and calming the frayed nerves of your clients, your collectors, your fans, and your colleagues.  Email?  Well, figure at LEAST two days to wade through it and answer the imperatives.  

And don’t be like me and come home only to have one’s other half wind up with a broken foot.  Makes for an extended scramble.

Back to work with pointers for artists tomorrow…after breakfast with friends, of course.

Some of the most vocal art marketing gurus, on the Net and off, keep saying: Pick a style, a look, and focus on it if you want to be successful.

Well, yes.  That’s true.

But it’s also not true.

You can be successful doing several styles.  Of course, the gurus say: Do it under another name, which means you paint your abstracts under the name Horatio Harbinger, your realistic still-lifes under the name Harry Horatio, your animal paintings under the name Harold Harvey, and your landscapes done in New Age Impressionism under the name Jeneel Squiglio. 

OR.

Do your art, and don’t worry about it.  You can do periods of art…like most of the greats have; you can do series of art, like many modern artists do.  What you shouldn’t do is limit yourself.  Now, that’s just my opinion, but it’s a reasonable one considering that I do many different styles of art successfully in a wide range of mediums from sculpting to almost any real world and digital medium of visual art.

Each style of art has its own niche.  Know that niche.  Know who your customers, collectors, and investors might be for each style.  And, sometimes, realize that, right now, your cutting edge work might not have a consumer base.  That doesn’t mean that it won’t in the future. 

So what’s my point?  Don’t limit yourself.  Don’t narrow your art simply to satisfy some “guru’s” idea of how to make the bottom line profitable.  Profit isn’t the point in art.  True, passionate self-expression is the point of art — sharing yourself.  Do the art first; then let the market sort itself.  It works.  All you have to do is get the art out there…which means exposure…not being afraid of negative comments and failing to “win.”  Your work will grow on people as they experience YOU more and more.  And that’s the secret, folks.  You have to know who you are, and then express that you into your art.

So why do the “art gurus” say what they say?  Think about it.  They wanna make money.  Off you, and/or off your art.  And they can make it fastest and easiest if you listen to them, and play ball by their formulas.  Well, let the gurus work a little harder for their money, I say.  Screw their easy-on-them formulas.  Live and express that life experience and perspective, and don’t sweat the moneymen/women.

An artist posts a work for comment in a critique venue.  She/he is advised, gently, that one of the works is too suggestive, especially considering reactions pedophiles could have from viewing it.  And what happens?  The artist comes back all snippy, lecturing the reviewers about “it’s art, and I’m not here to debate sick minds.”

Really!?  So what is the point of putting a four-year-old’s head on the body of a child undergoing puberty and its associated changes, namely the growth and development of “baby boobs?”

“It’s a fairy,” replies s/he.

“I’m aware of that, but it’s still too suggestive. You need to change that.”

[INSERT PETULANT REACTION BY ARTIST]

And who is this snide and snippy creative type? Well, the name is stricken from my list of possible candidates for review on NakedGenius.com, and s/he will never be permitted to show on the Art Showcase.  Why?  Well, first off, because this isn’t the ONLY embossed leather work s/he has created that is suggestive in such a manner to be too attractive to pedophiles, the nipples on all of these sexually suggestive baby angels and baby fairies sculpted in fully enhanced, erect prominence such as a woman gets when she’s “turned on.”  Secondly, because I am completely tired of snippy attitudes from writers as well as artists who request critique, then, when they get them — gentle and fair ones, not “chew you a new one” reviews — they get their underwear all gathered in a knot because they got some suggestions for improvement, and didn’t just get all lauds and applause, never mind what they REALLY crave, which is rectal licking.

Pfffft! on them.

“If I Don’t Get My Way, I’ll Take My Art & Go to Hell.”

There seems to be a rising tide of this around artist venues on the Net these days.  Visualize a grown man throwing himself on the ground and screaming and kicking like a tot in tantrum frenzy.  And not just one or two, but more than several.  Arrogance?  Definitely.  Petulance?  Exactly. Shooting self in foot?  No.  More like the head, but that’s a good thing…for other artists.  ”Don’t let the door hit you on the hindmost as you leave, and please do take your art with you!”

Artists, be advised, please.  There are a million-million of you out there all wanting your chunk of the consumer’s dollars.  If you think for one minute that any company or dot com has to pay any attention to you as an individual, or even you as a group, you are mistaken.  These are not the days when the little guy or even a bunch of little guys can get their way by screaming and pounding their fists on the table.  And a class action suit is not going to net you ground within a decade of filing it, especially when the contract you agree to doesn’t expressly say you get what you are demanding.

Companies, domains and websites are owned.  It’s the owner’s name on the bottom line.   If they allow you to show in their gallery, in their venue, on their websites, you are there in accordance to their terms, which can change at any time.  You are not there on terms dictated by you.  You don’t own the real estate and the operation.  It runs by owner’s, organization’s, or corporation’s dictate, not yours.  Get used to that fact, and do, by all means, get your own operation going where you dictate the terms, too.  That way you can do it your way…and use what other services are around to enhance your enterprise.  Otherwise, you are just throwing yourself down the tube, and that tube heads “south.”

Time to debunk some fallacies.

Heard in passing: I am guessing… that dealers are amongst those checking out my site.

Umm…nope.  Guess again. Art dealers and art agents are not actively seeking your work.  Honest.

I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating, there are a million-million artists out there — a dime a dozen.  If you’re going to make a career out of art, you need:

• a plan,
• to work that plan,
• luck,
• talent,
• charisma.

Built in leverage helps, too. 

Art agents and dealers “find” artists in several ways:

• art majors from prestigious schools who get spot-lighted as having ”the right stuff”
• the sons and daughters of celebrity and wealth
• prestigious art shows
• prestigious art contest winners
• the choices promoted by art organizations (organizations sometimes funded by NEA grants)
• submissions of art portfolios by artists soliciting them by appointment and by snail mail

The best, most prestigious dealers and agents go after the cream of the crop as measured by themselves and others they trust to judge the trends and mark who’s exceptional.

Fallacy Two: In my experience there are always those folks monitoring new trends and looking to make money on the back of it.

Well, yeah. …If you’re a budding entrepreneur.  But if you’re a “mover and shaker,” you SET the trends…or try to.  Occasionally, some maverick artist will shove him or herself into the limelight from nowhere, upsetting the well-laid plans of everyone, but not very often.  When that happens, that’s when the dealers and agents get to work, dropping their business cards.  Once the maverick is rolled into the system, order returns.

What’s that you say? You want to be that maverick?  How’s your luck quotient?  Because the dice are loaded against you.  Odds are perhaps similar, maybe worse, than winning the New York Lottery.

There are some artists stirring the waters on various forums I keep an eye on.  Their pointed and caustic pursuits in these conversations are narrowly focused on…

“what YOU [insert various dot com names] should be doing for ME.”

What they want is that dot com to give them a formula and function that will allow them to reach the top of the heap of artists seeking recognition.  They specifically want the dot com to provide them the means to make a lot of money and get name recognition, all on the company’s dime, not theirs.

I keep pointing out that, no, X dot com is doing what they say they will do.  Your irritability and persistent pesky communication at and to them is not going to get them to do what you desire — to, on their own and on their dime, make you a “name” artist.  In fact, what you are doing could very well spell an end to everyone’s ability to use their services. 

And what I get via email or forum private messaging from several of these agitators is a scalding accusation that I don’t want them to “win,” or that I’m undermining their efforts to sway X dot com.  When I reply, I then receive remarks back similar to…

“I’m not going to speak with you in private by email because it is obvious that you’re working for [insert dot com name].” 

Excuse me?  I don’t work for anyone except myself, thank you, and, like I said, I don’t need more business…as I told yet another would-be client this morning.  What I am doing is pursuing a dialogue about something which I feel they…and you, as artists, are misconstruing and pursuing to your (and every other serious artist’s) detriment.

A business only maintains a client, a customer, a service or a product which is profitable for them.  Once overhead and/or effort overtake profitability, then the service, product, and/or customer/client is divested.  Effort in the form of greasing that squeaky wheel – the agitating artist — requires man-hours — paid man-hours — where busy employees must take the time to respond and sooth that artist, simultaneously doing damage control so other artists don’t jump on the bandwagon.  These “soothsayers” have to come up with just the right platitudes verses information.  They have to run their replies past management who makes very sure that they use double-speak to avoid compromising the business plan and its proprietary methods developed and instituted to achieve company success.  (Don’t want everybody’s dot com or brick and mortar store owning their ways and means if they want to get somewhere, you know.)

Artists, remember, please: If it pays a company to make you, the artist, believe they will “make your career,” they’ll infer it…lead you to believe it (but not say it outright).  In actuality, they will only do what is in their terms of service, and they can change those terms of service at any time.  (Yes, it’s legal for them to do so.  It’s their company, remember?  Not yours.)   Don’t irritate that company because they aren’t providing you with every other thing you think they should be doing to give you the “edge.”  You’ll just shoot yourself and everybody else in the head by chasing the company into closing its doors on you and others similar to you — in this  case, the self-representing artist.  Remember, artists like writers are a dime a dozen.  You’re worth less than a U.S. penny to them until and unless your work proves valuable enough or potentially valuable enough to make somebody else some serious money.

If you want a chance at a “name,” at money and fame, there are services and art agents out there who can “make” you.  Don’t bludgeon the dot com whose service provides you the means to help yourself, but refrains from promoting you to your satisfaction.  Stop trying to mold their business decisions based upon your persistent demands for them to provide you your desired service and result.  All you are doing is driving them closer to divesting you and other artists like you.  If it’s not specifically outlined in their terms of service, then it’s not their job.  Seek elsewhere.

BTW, for those seeking a promo venue, as of August 1st, 2007, I’ll be reopening http://www.zentao7.com as an art showcase and artist showcase, with free accounts as well as paid accounts.   

“Nobody I’ve talked to until now has ever told me any of this!  They all made it sound so easy and…er…bright.”

That’s because they have an agenda — to sell you on their services or product.  I don’t have an agenda.  I don’t need your business, thank you very much.  I pick and choose my clients, and I’m expensive…and sometimes free, but that’s another subject.  Back on track.

The simple truth is, as an artist, you have to identify your goals, then pursue them in a manner which will accomplish those goals.  Yet most artists, like most would-be website owners, have no idea whatsoever what their actual goals are, much less how to go about achieving them.

For all my writing, all my correspondence, all my replies via telephone, email, blog, and forum, the persistent delusions remain.

“The Internet will make me rich and famous.”

It can, but, chances are, it won’t.  Because you don’t have a goal and a plan. First the goal — identify it.  Then, with help and knowledge from people who have the means and method, learn the how-tos and build your plan.  Now, carry through.

Think about this before setting your prices to compete with every publisher dump of “fine art prints,” or painting canvasses in assembly-line fashion and auctioning your work at EBay. 

If you are a graphic artist or poster artist, you price your masters according to the income they potentially will prove to produce as net profit, but set your print prices comparable to the competition…and you’d better be good, because you’ve got a LOT of competition.

If you are a fine artist, however, you price yourself INTO the market, not OUT of it. You do this by pricing high, not low. There isn’t a legitimate gallery, collector, investor, or art agent out there interested in someone who gives their work away for pennies, yes, even their prints/reproductions of the originals.

Enough said.