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A First Look Inside My Upcoming Artist Business Workbook! Building an art business involves a lot more than making art. From organizing your finances and tracking expenses to polishing your artist statement and strengthening your online presence, it can be hard to know where to start—or what to tackle next. That’s why I’ve been working on something new: a practical workbook designed to help artists build the business side of their creative careers, one step at a time. This isn’t about complicated business plans or doing everything perfectly. It’s about getting organized, making informed decisions, and creating a foundation that supports the art you want [...]

Artists are constantly told to price their work based on certain factors.Size. Medium. Materials. Time. Experience. But pricing your art should reflect more than how much you like the work—or how much money you need to make from a sale.Your price needs to account for the business behind the artwork, your experience as an artist, and the market you're working in.And there are two things that often get left out of the pricing conversation that I think are critical: Intention and history. Start With the Real Cost of Making Art One of the easiest mistakes for artists to make is to think about pricing as:Materials [...]

In my last post, I wrote about jealousy in the creative world and how easy it is to compare ourselves to someone else's success. But it's also important to remember that we rarely know the story behind the accolade, the sale, or the opportunity we wish had been ours. Sometimes, what looks like overnight success has been years in the making. Last week, I attended Noah Kahan's (unfortunately, no relation!) sold-out concert at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. With more than 40,000 fans in attendance, the lines for everything were long—the bathrooms, the concession stands, and especially the official merchandise booths. One item caught [...]

You Never Know Where a Conversation Will Lead Get out into the world and you never know where it will lead. Even on vacation. While visiting the charming coastal town of Dingle in County Kerry, Ireland, my friend and I spent the morning bouncing across the Atlantic on a rib boat tour, spotting seals, seabirds, and some of Ireland's incredible marine life. Afterwards, we settled into a cozy café with a lovely outdoor patio for lunch. As we arrived, I noticed a woman sitting on a bench near the entrance with a sketchbook and watercolor palette. I smiled to myself, thinking how wonderful it [...]

There’s something funny about being an artist… people tend to imagine inspiration just floating down from the heavens while you sip coffee in a paint-splattered apron. In reality? A lot of art life is trial and error, awkward stages, second-guessing, community, persistence, and occasionally buying yet another tube of paint you absolutely did not need. (Looking at you, “hoping to be a hot pink.”) Over the years, I’ve realized there are a few things that consistently help artists grow — not just creatively, but mentally and professionally too. So here are my personal “Artist Musts.” Not hard rules… more like the things I [...]

Painting commissions are very much a long game—and this one proved it. I went back and forth with an interior designer in NYC for two years after her client saw my macaron stacks at the Affordable Art Fair NYC. She was redesigning her client’s kitchen and wanted a pair of paintings that would feel perfectly at home in the space. After plenty of thoughtful discussion (and patience), we landed on two macaron stacks—each featuring colors chosen to match the kitchen walls. One macaron of each painting needed to coordinate with Windy Sky 1639 by Benjamin Moore, and one of the others was to correspond to with Benjamin [...]

Artists often work in seclusion. We spend long hours in our studios, tucked away from supporters, fans, friends, and family. Without anyone nearby to bounce ideas off of—or to reassure us that what we’re creating will resonate with others—it’s easy to feel disconnected. That’s why I encourage every artist to step out of the studio, with their work in hand, at least once a year. The lessons you learn from doing so are truly invaluable. “Socializing with your artwork” can take many forms: exhibiting in a gallery, participating in an art association show, setting up at a market or art fair, or [...]

Two years ago, I wrote about the prevalence of art scams. Unfortunately, rather than disappearing, these scams have become more sophisticated. It is disheartening to see scammers exploiting innocent artists who only wish to share their art with the world. Presenting one’s creation takes immense courage and confidence, and when someone shows interest in purchasing their work, it brings immense joy. With this in mind, my goal is to educate and empower artists to identify scams and take appropriate action. Here are five common types of art scams to watch out for: 1. The “Too Good to Be True” Buyer An individual approaches you [...]

Art can be hung anywhere! These days, an artist doesn’t have to wait for a call from a prestigious gallery to exhibit their work. Opportunities abound in restaurants, art centers, banks, hospitals, places of worship, airports—you name it. For many artists, a solo exhibition is a career highlight. Having open wall space all to yourself to showcase your artwork is both empowering and exhilarating. But not all exhibition venues are created equal. Before committing your time, art, and potentially money, it’s worth asking some key questions to ensure the opportunity is truly a good fit.   16 Questions to Ask Before Saying Yes: Are there [...]

A few months ago, my non-artist friend Gail asked, "Where does one go to buy art locally? I only know Wentworth Gallery in the mall."  I sighed, took a deep breath, and said, "Oh! There are so many places—you just need someone to show you where to look." Not that I’m an art snob—art is deeply personal, and what speaks to you is what matters most. But as a local artist, I can’t help but be skeptical of large commercial galleries that churn out mass-produced work. At first, I was surprised by Gail’s question, but then I realized this isn’t a personal shortcoming—it’s a [...]

Creating artwork in a series offers numerous advantages for both the artist and the audience.    Not familiar with a series?  It's all about a cohesive unified body of art work that has similarities. The similarities could be the subject matter, size, similar techniques, connected colors, the use of mediums, or all the above. When viewing a series, it will be obvious that the paintings are a related family, according to Arrachme Art.     Creating a series of artworks can indeed be a fulfilling and impactful endeavor for multiple reasons: In-Depth Exploration: Working in a series allows artists to delve deeply into a particular theme, idea, or [...]

I was recently invited to judge the Baltimore Watercolor Society’s Signature Members exhibit.  I enjoyed spending the time to look, feel, and evaluate the artwork.  Judging an art exhibition is a nuanced process that involves evaluating various aspects of the artworks on display. It's not merely about the aesthetic appeal but encompasses a range of criteria to ensure a fair and comprehensive assessment of each piece.  With that in mind, I looked at here are the six different criteria: technical merit, originality, composition, presentation, color value, and its ability to elicit an emotion. Technical merit is a fundamental criterion. This involves examining how well the [...]

It’s almost impossible to be a professional artist.   You are so talented and so hardworking and it kills me that it is not enough.  Like we always have to be extraordinary.   You have to be talented and prolific, but also modest and humble.   You have to have something to say with your artwork, but make sure it fits within societal norms.   You have to show your work, but not over promote your art or yourself, because that is crass.   You have to have lots of followers on social, but you have to make it look easy and quick to gain all those likes.   You need to sell [...]

In my previous blog (click here to go back and catch up), I mentioned some changes in my efforts to be more authentic. After creating a new look for my website, I wanted to focus on my newsletter.  My newsletter, "The Artful Receipe" has run away from me.  The "Artful Recipe Club" was a bit to flashy for my lone-person art organization.  I was promising too much and could not deliver the way this perfectionist wanted it to.   ENTER the art of pivoting and rebranding...   Welcome:   While the title may sound french and pretentious, the aim is simple.  Miriam Webster's definition of amuse-bouche (n.) is [...]

It is so interesting how perspective changes from month to month and during different times of the year.  In December a person looks at the next year as their future, idealized self, in total denial that you will be the same person.   I was reviewing the art goals I had set for myself in December 2022 and WOW!  Not only were the unrealistic, but they were unauthentic. Clearly I have learned a thing or two over the past couple months, or have been listening to way too many self-help podcasts (Hidden Brain, The Happiness Lab, and We Can Do Hard Things are [...]

Even artists are not immune to constantly being solicited my scammers.  Honestly, it is endless and exhausting. A group of art friends and I have a text chain and we like to play a little game called "Real or Scam."  We play this game several times a week.   From our experience, here are the Top 13 Ways to Spot an Art Scammer:    1) On Instagram you get a message that says the person wants to buy your art but they have 1.3K followers with only 5 posts.  Something is fishy with that ratio. 2) Asks if you have anything for sale $5000 (or any large [...]

Modern life keeps becoming more and more complex.  The invention of the world wide web and social media has allowed artists to move WAY beyond their local markets and reach millions of potential collectors without leaving their studios.  The debate on whether the modern artist is better off than pre-internet artists is an interesting and complicated one; therefore, that I am going to focus on only one slice of the cake.  Today, modern artists have many more hats to wear, which detracts from the creation of good, thoughtful art. Today an artist is: creator of their art sales person social media content creator branding  and marketing [...]

Have you heard the myth of the artist with poor time management skills?  You know, the one with the artist that does not regard deadlines, works odd hours, acts flakey, and cares little for other's time?   I can't speak for ALL artists, but the most successful, brilliant, and talented artists I know have amazing time management skills and are Type A personalities.  The Type A personality is characterized as determined, driven, and hardworking, according to explorepsycology.com.  Honestly, It takes this driven personality to be successful artist.   There is no boss or corporate structure telling an artist when things are due, checking in on [...]

Over the New Year's holiday I joined a talk/workshop that Elizabeth Gilbert (yes, THE Elizabeth Gilbert of "Eat, Pray, Love" and "Big Magic") gave via The School of Life in Amsterdam.  My mind was blown by the way Elizabeth summed out our society, while simultaneously pointing out its flaws.   She stated that society teaches us, from a very early age, to seek out our gifts (whether it be art, theatre, athletics or academics).  Yet it is not enough to discover our gifts, we must then monetize them.  Once we monetize them, societal drive pushes us to be the BEST in that commercial [...]

GOAL - With any business, a year in review is just good practice.  Top executives do this exercise regularly, so how about artists? For my own benefit, I wrote down the top highlights from my art career this year, along with items I could improve and work towards in 2023.   {Remember vantage point is everything.  If you are just starting off in the art world or had a rough year, remembers everything ebbs and flows and it has taken me 10 years to get here.  If you are already a professional or highly accomplished business person - I am on my own path [...]

This morning I had the honor of judging the Potomac Valley Watercolorists St Andrew's Show and Sale. A difficult, yet fun task. Highly recommend stopping by this high quality show tomorrow (last day). My Judge's Statement: It has been an honor to judge this year’s Potomac Valley Watercolorists' St. Andrews Show and Sale. Judging this show was a challenging task, as the artwork was outstanding; however, as I was asked to award prizes, I used the following criteria: quality of artistic rendering, uniqueness, emotional response, in that order. While I am not formally a watercolor artist, I have been an artist and art student [...]

After viewing a painting of some luscious figs on an artist friend's newsletter I sent her the following message: "I gasped when I saw your cover image!  Several weeks ago I started a very similar painting.  It is still a WIP, but clearly great minds think alike! Just wanted to show you in case you saw it later…."   Her response really made me take pause.  She replied, "I  went into this fig painting knowing full well that I didn’t have a monopoly on figs. LOL."   I blatantly wrote so she would not think I was copying, but in return she gave me a gift: [...]

Artists typically have a home base where they feel comfortable and thrive.  For me, that place is an oil paint laden sweet still life.  For others the subject matter and art medium vary wildly from portraiture to abstract, from collage to sculpture.  So, what happens when an artist steps off that home base? At some point or another, the grass is greener, the colors are brighter, and there is a call to move beyond a repetitious art practice and mix it up a little.  The right-brain needs a break from the usual grind in order grow.  This is a normal and fantastic [...]

When was the last time you received a rejection letter?  When you applied to college, a new job, a grant?  It stung and made you question, perhaps everything.  Am I right?  Rejection is humbling.  It keeps you on your toes and gives you a little reality check. Consider that an artist applies to an average of 5-10 opportunities a year.  These opportunities run the gamut from juried art exhibitions, to grants, to artist residencies, to art fairs, to mentorship programs, to graduate programs, gallery represenation, and more.  Each one of these opportunities opens the artist up to the possibility of receiving a rejection letter [...]

We can not deny it - social media has been a positive and powerful tool for artists.  With just a photo upload, social media allows us to share our artwork with the world. Social media creates connections with artists all over the globe, helps one to easily research subject matter, shares artist opportunities, and facilitates learning from master living artists.  With so much positive, what could be the negative?  I will sum it up in one word: COMPARISON.   Last week I was scrolling through Instagram and came across many "look what I accomplished in 2021" posts.  For artists these are pretty standard, like [...]

Artists enter art shows for many different reasons.  Some reasons include sales, accolades, resume building, hopes of getting discovered, connecting with a particular judge, feedback, and even emotional connections.     Emotional connections?  Yes, you read that correctly. Emotional connections are want to expand on, as the rest are pretty straight forward.   For me, showing at certain venues is solely to tell my past self I did it.  These places typically include very personal, meaningful places from my history, places my past self would not believe I would show my artwork.   I got married in 2005 at the Glenview Mansion in Rockville, MD.  For those [...]

I saw a quote the other day and it really stuck with me: After a pandemic, we never thought we would ever have to live through in modern times, I think this is more true than ever.  We huddled in our homes for one and a half years, not knowing when the pandemic would end, what would happen next, and it took a toll on everyone.  I write this knowing it is not over yet, but hope is all around us.   With that hope we learned life is precious and not to be wasted on the "should nots."  So, order the dessert and [...]

I had the best time Saturday at DC's Art All Night in Tenleytown.  It was so fun to be out in public with other art lovers.  Despite Covid fears, I felt very safe and everyone was very respectful wearing their masks and keeping space.   Aside from the actual show, which was a blast to watch the public interact with my artwork (especially my more fantastical pieces like "Growing Macarons" where macarons are growing out of flowers), I learned a bit more about myself and my own interests.   While the show was fun, I think I had the best time getting ready for the [...]