Create Web Sites

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Monday, 16 July 2012

The Secret

Posted on 02:30 by Unknown
-By Arnie Fenner




A common question students ask is, "How do I become a better artist?"



The answer is easy, even if it sounds flip: "Work. Study. Experiment. Think. Try to connect with an audience. Work harder."



The other most common question, whether asked directly or in a round-about way, is "What is the secret to being a successful artist?" Success meaning, for the sake of this post, being able to make a living creating art.



And that answer, too, is easy:



There isn't one.



Muddy Colors has run some absolutely stellar posts in the past about portfolio construction or social media promotion or expanded educational opportunities. Read this, experience that, try this approach, discard that one: all of the advice is solid and worthwhile.



But there is no single formula for success: there's no list that, once checked off, ensures...anything.



The hard truth is that it's an extremely competitive market for painters, designers, illustrators, and sculptors, with lots of people with similar skill sets vying for the same jobs or gallery space. Technology has had both a positive and negative impact on the arts, on the one hand broadening exposure opportunities for creators and on the other devaluing art by making it seem both common and "free" (at least when it comes to the Internet). Societal shifts have impacted the retail environment which often can (and does, as we're seeing now) translate into less work for artists: many traditional avenues for creatives have either constricted or disappeared entirely while those that do remain have increasingly used price as a deciding factor in who and what they use for their goods, not quality. Political strife and economic uncertainty cause corporations to sit on their wallets rather than open them for new employees or for more experimental work or for sponsorship of the arts in general. Andy Warhol once said, “An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need to have.” I don't agree: I believe that art (and thus the artists), regardless of the myriad forms it takes, is important to a more rounded, more fulfilled life. (That's a conversation for another day.) But even as I don't agree with Warhol (who made significantly more money in his lifetime than I ever will, which means he must've known something), I know from having worked in the corporate world for over 35 years that when times are tough, the artists (and the work they produce) are among the first the bean-counters deem expendable. (Partly because the business execs don't understand how we artsy fartsy folk think, partly because they're too dim to value what they themselves can't do. If you see a corporation struggling or failing outright, much of their problem has to do with an inability to appreciate creativity and the creative thinkers who work for them. The more polite term for them is "Philistines." The impolite, but more apt term is "Dumbshits.")



It's a tough world. And there's no such thing as "fair." I know artists that struggle to pay their bills and secure work who ideally should be courted and revered by clients and the public; I know other artists that have so much work they're booked years in advance. Why is this guy hot and the other guy with similar abilities not? Oh, I'm sure with some thinking and sussing, some things might be pointed out or some opinions offered, but really...there's no predicting who gets invited to the feast and who is left on the outside looking in. And for those who do achieve a measure of success...it's not always easy to maintain. Styles and trends and tastes change without notice and the artist (while remaining true to themselves) has to change with them.



Because there's no single secret to becoming a successful artist—or staying one.



Truthfully, when it comes right down to it, it should be obvious. Success hinges on the answer to the question opening this post: Work. Study. Experiment. Think. Try to connect with an audience. Work harder.



Plus one other important thing to mix in: Network. Talk to people. Don't hole up in your studio and not interact with your fellow artists. Art can not created in a vacuum. Reading and maybe posting on a blog or website or on Facebook or Twitter are not substitutes for sitting across from your peers, looking in their eyes, and sharing experiences over drinks. Get the hell out of the house every so often and meet the people you respect and admire and who are doing the same things that you want to be doing. Don't avoid conventions or classes or workshops because they're "too far away" or "cost too much" or "I don't fit in." Any expense may result in some temporary belt-tightening, but it almost inevitably pays off in the long term. Don't be a wallflower when social opportunities arise. Don't wait for others (and this includes art directors, publishers, patrons, and gallery owners) to come to you: reach out to them. Grow your circle—in person—just as you grow your skill set. The more people you know, the more people will know what you do and what you're able to bring to the table. And the more experiences you have, the more you interact with others, the more your artistic sensibility will grow and, in a perfect world, the more unique and, possibly, in demand your work will be.



Hmmm. Maybe that is a secret. If so...consider that cat has been let out of the bag.
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to Facebook
Posted in | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Frank McCarthy
    -by Arnie Fenner While putting together my previous post about movie posters, scratching my head and trying to remember who did what, I a...
  • Art Might - online art museum
    Just a quick post this time around... I’m spending the remaining time trying to track down Spectrum entries! D'oh! Plan on spending a co...
  • How to Draw the Head From Any Angle: Part 2
    Thanks to the great reception his first video received, Stan Prokopenko , has decided to do a follow up to his ' How To Draw the Head fr...
  • Paja Jovanović ( Vršac 1859 – Vienna 1957)
    by Petar Meseldžija Paja Jovanović is one of the greatest Serbian painters. Uroš Predić, another great painter, is perhaps the only artist f...
  • Painting Spider-Man
    By Paolo Rivera Mythos: Spider-Man, Page 22 . 2007. Gouache and acrylic on bristol board, 11 × 17″. Just a quick post today (but with lots o...
  • Sketchbook 2012 Shipping Out!
    by Justin Gerard Sketchbook 2012: Ents & Orcs  ships out today!    The first 50 are individually numbered and have a personal drawing in...
  • Virtual Sistine Chapel
    Virtual Sistine Chapel Tour and others... The Vatican has released virtual tours of their various churches and chapels. Please use the below...
  • Paleo-Illustration Into Creature Design, A Natural Partnership
    -By Terryl Whitlatch I am first and foremost, a paleo illustrator specializing in vertebrate, or back-boned, animal anatomy.  When I observe...
  • The History of Dragons in Art
    -By William O'Connor 'Flight of the Paladin', by William O'Connor, ©2012 The most iconic image in all of fantasy art is the ...
  • Appreciating Rembrandt
    -Justin Sweet Here's a couple of my favorite Rembrandt's. Great pictorially in every way...

Categories

  • Dan dos Santos
  • Justin Gerard
  • Paolo Rivera

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2012 (266)
    • ►  September (4)
    • ►  August (36)
    • ▼  July (33)
      • Kim Jong Gi
      • BIG Bucks
      • Eric Fortune Mentorship
      • It Ain’t Easy Being 3D
      • Guest Blogger – Vanja Todoric
      • Inspiration
      • San Diego Comic-Con 2012
      • 10 Things I Remember...About Tracing
      • New Work for DragonCon 2012
      • 'White Trash Zombie' Prints
      • Painting the X-Men
      • Muddy Colors Welcomes, Paolo Rivera!
      • Summertime, Savannah, and some Toile Tails
      • I Think the Internet Broke My Brain
      • WIREZ PLZ
      • Du-da-du-da-du-da-du-da: BATMAN!
      • Physiognomy
      • Kalimpura
      • The Secret
      • I'm Too Dumb to be an Artist
      • The Golden Apple-tree and the Nine Peahens
      • Gallery Opening
      • Auction to benefit Cyril Van der Haegen
      • The Mongolian Wizard Series
      • The Digital Silmarillion: Joining the Dark Side
      • The History of Dragons in Art
      • To “People” a Planet — The Age of the Styrah
      • Interview with Ian mcQue
      • ARC Awards
      • Harbor Bandit
      • Happy 4th!
      • 2012 IlluXcon Scholarship
      • Summer Vacation
    • ►  June (36)
    • ►  May (36)
    • ►  April (26)
    • ►  March (31)
    • ►  February (30)
    • ►  January (34)
  • ►  2011 (234)
    • ►  December (25)
    • ►  November (34)
    • ►  October (36)
    • ►  September (27)
    • ►  August (29)
    • ►  July (35)
    • ►  June (31)
    • ►  May (17)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile