Put Yourself Out There

Suggestions on how to get your artwork out of your studio and into the world.

The Importance of Goal Setting

In the stage of life that I am in right now, I am balancing working a full time job, working on my masters degree, and wanting to pursue painting, friendships, and family relationships. Needless to say, sometimes studio time can be put off to the side in the midst of all of the other important areas of my life. In order to fit in the value of painting into my life, I made a personal goal of having a minimum of one art show per calendar year. Having a deadline motivates me to work in my studio, even during busy seasons of my life. I've found that the one-per-year goal keeps me in the studio to continue making work, but also allows me to flexibility to pursue and thrive in the other important areas of life. I have also found that this goal has made me more bold to ask to for shows. When I was looking for this year's show, a friend told me I should participate in a local event. I felt that I wasn't talented enough to participate, but because I set the goal, and knew I needed to find a venue and event to participate in, I followed up on my friends suggestion and ended up being able to participate a solo-show series for emerging artists. The lesson learned is set goals to discipline yourself to make new work, and embolden you to ask for shows you didn't think you were "good enough" to participate in.

The Importance of an Online Presence

Out all of all of the people who have viewed my work and expressed interest in it, only about 25% of them have actually seen the work in person and even less have expressed interest their interest in person. The remaining interested individuals has been through an online presence. I primarily use Instagram because of its ease of use. I can share new work and process photos without requiring professional photography experience. Instagram and other social media platforms can be a great way to get your work "out of the studio."

While Instagram is an easy way to stay up to date on a digital online presence, it is often not professional enough for a business interaction. Additionally, Instagram is not set up for online sales. Websites can help fill the gap of professionalism as well as allowing interested customers to purchase work without having to take the extra time to reach out to you directly. Personally, I have been using Wix as a website creator. Its greatest benefit for me is that it is free, and user friendly. Its greatest negative is that the photo uploading process can be difficult, the templates that were created to make Wix easy to use also make Wix difficult to personalize in order to get exactly what you want, and you CAN NOT sell your work! They offer an online store that would be great for a photographer or graphic designer selling digital files. If you choose to use this feature, note that they lock you into two selling options of your digital files: (1) selling digital files only, or (2) selling prints using their only approved third party "Order a Print." The negatives almost outweighed the cost effectiveness bonus, but ultimately until print sales increase my budget is keeping me here at Wix.

Digital media is certainly not my area of expertise, so take some time to research other website creators and domains that you might be interested in! As mentioned in a previous post, artist Catherine Freshley has some helpful tips for artists looking to set up an online presence. Here is a link to a few of her suggestions!

The Importance of Business Cards and a Physical Portfolio

An online presence is necessary for most of your business interactions, but there are going to be times that a physical representation of your work and contact info will be helpful! When I know I am going to be in an area with local coffee shops, restaurants, or bookstores, I bring my black plastic portfolio and a few business cards with me in my purse. If you are in the store, and notice that there are other pieces of local art, ask to speak with the manager and see if they would show some of your work! It is helpful in these exchanges to have physical representations of your work and contact information. Not all work has to be in a gallery, and sharing your work in other locations invites people outside of the artist bubble to interact with your work. I use Vistaprint to make affordable business cards, and I purchased the Itoya Art Portfolio from Hobby Lobby to showcase prints of my work.

#art #studio #outofthestudio #thrivingartist