Simple steps to starting out as an artist
I had a question in the DM’s where an artist asked about what an artist who is starting out needs to do to rise.
Let me lay it out.
Get my book, Show Your Art and implement what it says.
Get your artist statement in order so you know what your work is about, your unique perspective through which you create visual art, the ideas to which you have given visual form.
Know your story; your biography. Who you are, and how you arrived at what you do, the journey you took to get here. Make it interesting.
So, it is fine to have a resume as well. But this creates no personal connection. A resume alone will not have people talking about you, inviting you for interviews or podcasts or any wider media communication. A biography that is connects us to the human behind the artwork will serve you better if exposure and media reach is something you seek. A free guide to writing your statement and bio is here
Put it together on a website with great images of your art. Again, see the book, Show Your Art for details about this.
Build a social media profile that shares your work and your story including art you have made and are currently making. Post DAILY with content in all the different formats: text, video, images. If you need help with this - support is found here
Use social media to start conversations and engage your audience. See the post about call to actions here
Move people to a mailing list. Reasons to have a mailing list can be found here Do this ALL THE TIME
Now you have the basics in place you can join a community or membership to support you, provide feedback and fine tune the above to make it even more impactful. Details for my membership can be found here
Get yourself listed on some online galleries even if you have a shop or retail area on your website. Online galleries work closely with professionals working in interiors and design projects, and are actually a great resource for those parties. But oftentimes the artists profile page, quality of images and content on their profile pages lets them down. See how to do this well at this link
Find opportunities to exhibit by applying for open calls where people are looking for artists for their exhibitions and projects. You can choose whether you pay to apply or select only free calls for call. Your choice. Use the following hashtags to search for opportunities on your social media platforms #opencall #callforart #artistopportunities
Write to your mailing list regularly. Tell them about available work for sale, places you are exhibiting where they can see the art, the places you have been featured, interviewed, competitions you have been shortlisted for or won etc. It is a priority to tell people on your mailing list.
Once you have done all the above, you can think about having your own exhibition or taking part in an art fair. Details here on how to do this. Do not bypass the steps above as your exhibition / fair experience will not go great. You need that audience first.
In many ways the above are the basics which all artists are working at different levels. Over time, the quality of the places they submit to may change, or they may not submit to anywhere but invitations come their way as they have an audience, visibility, consistency etc. Nonetheless, pretty much all artists are working the above steps at a level that is appropriate for where they are in their art journey. For example, an artist who has gallery representation will still be sharing details with their mailing list, and showing up on social media. Another example, an artist who is selling regularly through an online gallery will also be updating their own website and social media or an artist who has created a new body of work may update their artist statement to reflect where they are in their development.
In summary, the steps remain the foundations of running an art business and raising your profile as an artist.