Four time, returning smARTist Alumni, Amadea Bailey, tells us exactly why she keeps coming back!
Is your art career sitting on the fence because you are?
Register for the smARTist Telesummit 2010. (It starts in 2 days!)
Your art career will thank you—and that’s a promise!
I’ve been talking to a lot of artists lately in a series of strategy sessions, and I’m watching a pattern replicate itself like an out-of-control virus.
I’ve come to call it the Business Bitters–that mouth puckering contrast to the sweet taste of creative flow.
The story is simple and timeless: artist paints or sculpts or weaves or throws or composes, experiencing a kind of…
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For two years now, I’ve had the illustrious Attorney DuBoff as an expert legal presenter at my professional art career conference, the smARTist Telesummit.
Not only can Attorney DuBoff hand you legalese in plain English, turns out that, as a young attorney with a yen for the arts in a firm that suddenly had a high profile artist client, he is the person who created the concept of Art Law as a field unto itself. (Amazing, isn’t it, to think someone could actually create a field of endeavor.) His book Art Law in a Nutshell is a classic.
When Facebook started getting in all our faces with changes that threatened protection of our images and brands, Attorney DuBoff was the first person …
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There are three reasons I’ve seen for why artists won’t ask for what they want:
1. They already expect rejection, so why waste the time.
2. They think asking is a kind of weakness; a lessing of individuality.
3. In some well-hidden corner of self, they secretly believe…
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It’s not unusual for me to hear the following artist lamentation:
“I love what I do. I could spend weeks in my studio and never miss the outside world. When I do come out, I have to face a mess of bills, call back an old collector I know, order supplies, figure out how to update my website, and I begin to feel like this other reality is crushing me. I don’t even know where to begin. Can you give me any suggestions?”
I understand this plight all too well. It’s like trying to get somewhere when you haven’t even figured out a destination, so you just keep driving around hoping some street corner of recognition will spontaneously pop into view.
In truth, though, business is no different than…
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Upwind Flames by Louis Copt
I was asked to speak before an influential group of retired businessmen and women this past summer. By “influential” I basically mean millionaires. But listen, not all rich folks are jerks. Many started with nothing, never forgot where they came from, and are…
After spending the last five months figuring out this Social Media thing, getting set up on Facebook, finding an expert for smARTist Telesummit 2009, and encouraging artists to jump into this vast and ever expanding ocean, the predictably unpredictable world of all things online has thrown me, and you, not just a curve ball, but…
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Being concerned for the safety of your work is just plain old good business sense.
Here’s a short discussion from one of my magazine column, where I answered the following question about galleries insuring your work.
All four galleries I’ve dealt with during my career have provided insurance. Is it commonplace for artists to…
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Artists love black. Love, love, love it. It has class. It engages. It draws you in.
Black is classy. It fairly screams “high end.” It dominates and holds our attention. Let’s face it: black has power.
And for years and years and years it has been the color of choice to lay the crown jewels on, as the backdrop for a brochure, in framing… the list goes on.
But let me tell you the one place where everything black does, and stands for, works completely against you.
And against your…
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As some artists know, but as many unfortunately do not, by law, you own copyright on every work of art you produce, regardless of whether you register the copyright, regardless if you sign the piece or not.
Because copyright belongs to you, I advise that you never allow a client, especially a corporate one, to reproduce one of your works without a written agreement signed by you.
Especially, do not allow a corporation to produce greeting cards, brochures, posters, or…
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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
When Shirley Williams came to smARTist last year, she had reached a plateau after 18 years of being a self-supporting artist. After the telesummit, she went on to win Canada’s National Portfolio contest. This started a series of events that have shot her career forward like a shooting star.
Her keynote presentation for the conference will be on Tuesday, January 20th. In her own words, here is what she has to say:
I’m usurping Paul’s post today, so I can show you a letter sent to me by a fellow artist who wants to make sure you don’t fall into the Insurance company fat trap, as he did.
Bless his heart. He took the time to pen the following. It reveals a little known loophole that insurance companies have created to keep from paying you what is right fully yours.
Thank you, Wm. Kelly Bailey. If even one artist pays attention to your story, you have won something back from all that you lost.
All right, how many of you print a Certificate of Authenticity each time you sell a work? 
Well if you don’t, and if no one ever told you what one should contain, here’s a simple example.
Please note that I list title, medium, size and current value.
Also note that I indicate to whom the copyright actually belongs, and how infringement is a VERY bad idea.
Do I ever have to enforce this with an attorney?
Nah; it’s better to stay on cool terms with everyone. The big artillary should always be a last resort.
Note: to enlarge the image so you can read the text, click on it.
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Paul will be one of 11 Keynote speakers at the smARTist Telesummit in January 2009.
His topic: Corporate Collectors: The New Medicis Where to find them and how to get in the door. Just click on “Click to learn more” under his photo for all the details.
