I’m so excited by what just happened on the First Day of smARTist 2009 that I simply have to share some of it with you.

The five panel members…

as far afield from each other as Molly Gordon in Seattle, Guillermo Cuellar in New England, Nancy Marmalejo and Lucia Cappacionne in Southern California, and artist Shirley Williams in Ontario, Canada…

…seemed to be flowing from an interconnected river of knowledge as they responded to the questions that came straight from this year’s smARTist participants. 

I found the panel’s answers to be practical in their collective wisdom, that only when we…

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smARTist Resource Directory

Here’s a gift, no strings attached, from the smARTist Telesummit 2009:

Our brand spankin’ new smARTist Resource Directory.

You’ll find a clickable TOC. And, after the 2009 Keynote Speakers, there are categories for you to browse: Art Magazines, Art Organizations, Art Supplies, Blogs, Book Recommendations, Education, Displays, Trends…and much more.

All of these resources come straight from your fellow artists.

You can download and enjoy it here.
smARTist Resource Directory

The core of smARTist is pulling together, in one place, the best art career information that we can find.

So, on top of 7-Days of art career presentations and panel discussion, I decided to create a directory that would give you resources to explore at your convenience.

Since a spoonful of art makes the “learning” go down, I’ve sprinkled pieces from our illustrious smARTist alumni throughout the directory to soothe your artist eye.

I hope you like it. I had a lot of fun creating it.

Wishing you an abundant, joyful 2009!
Ariane 

Strawberries and Chinese Cup - Oil on Linen Panel - 12" x 9" by Michael Lynn Adams

One of the best ways to see how you and your art travel around the web is to sign up for Google Alerts. I’ve done this for my name and also for the smARTist Telesummit.

Now, every day I receive one or more “Google alerts” in my inbox. Not only can you see where your name and art are showing up, these alerts provide a link so you can click to find out more. Once in a while the link lands me on page where I can’t find any mention, but more often I end up…

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Over the years I’ve encountered two groups of artists. Those who embrace the “M” word with determined resignation. And those who turn away, mumbling something about not selling their souls to the devil, or I wouldn’t have a clue where to start, or I’m an artist, as if the very obviousness of that fact will save them from getting their hands dirty.

For that, after all, is the real story behind the “M” word…

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So often it’s easy for artists to feel “ripped off” by the cut that a gallery takes for showing and promoting their work. Acknowledging that there can be unethical galleries here and there, what’s missing from the “ripped off” perspective is knowing what it takes to pull off a successful gallery gig.

So I thought sharing this exchange between myself and another gallery owner might shed some light.

A New York gallery owner and artist wrote me for advice.  He was having a very hard time staying open, and wanted to know if I could provide a little guidance.  Not long after I sent him my suggestions…

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This is the first of three “story” posts, all of which happened within a three hour span of time.

It is February 2008, right after a major snow storm that buried large parts of the Northeast, and I snail my way over to our local tire dealer, Tire Warehouse.  (Hard to imagine any surprises with a name like that.)

I need studded snow tires so I can make it down to New York City without sliding into a semi on Interstate 91. The radio is on full blast and I’m humming.

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Many artists I’ve worked with are often caught in a common trap, one that seems to plague artists at a particular point in their careers…

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When I first started my art business in the basement of my house, in 1991, I had no public space for my artists. Did this mean that the work wasn’t any good? Of course not. I was happy with much of it, and grateful that these artists had entrusted me with their careers.

The challenge was to get them…

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Carol Steinberg on the set of "House"

This was just too kewl not to blog about: one of our very own smARTISTs has over a dozen of her paintings being used for “Adverse Events,” an episode of “House.”

It aired Tuesday (look at the end of this post if you missed it), Sept. 30, 2008.

The irony is: Carol Steinberg doesn’t even watch TV. But she has something else a lot more important than a TV, she has…

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Once upon a time, an artist I was working with spent a long time priming and polishing her artist statement for a very serious studio exhibition she was planning in Boston.

She had been working for over a year on a series of oil paintings that had taken her in new directions, and she was attending to every detail of the exhibit with loving care.

Her large, abstract work was engaging on its own. But when you got a chance to read about her process and her thoughts as she painted, the work took on an even larger presence.

Part of my job was to coach her on how to present her artist statement so it reflected the same attention to detail that her art did.

But, as the saying goes…you can lead a horse to water…

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Throughout the course of my a book tour, whether speaking in New York, Seattle or Oxford, Mississippi, one common refrain ran true: I constantly met artists who felt guilty about attempting to market, and sell, their work.

Where on earth does all this guilt come from?

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