Starting a Career as an Artist
Before getting serious about becoming an “Artrepreneur”, I was completely blind to all the groundwork necessary to get serious about starting and developing a career as an artist. In the past months I have taken in so much information and feel overwhelmed with excitement, nerves and motivation about this journey. This blog is really helping me to organize my thoughts along the way. These are the 3 major conclusions I’ve gathered thus far (Which are completely open to change and persuasion). `
Outline of This Blog
Different People have Different Concepts of What It Means to be an Artist
Artists Statements Are Hard
Marketing, Networking and Branding Make me Feel Gross but Are Necessary for a Career as an Artist
You could stop there because that’s basically what I talk about here but that wouldn’t be any fun! Read on for an adventure.
1. Different People have Different Concepts of What It Means to be an Artist
Since childhood I have identified as “an artist”. For years I have painted. For years I have maintained some kind of involvement in the arts. From the fourth grade to the eighth grade I attended a performing arts school (Miller South Alumni here!). In that time I even participated in a Summer art apprenticeship once. Throughout high school you could find me hiding in the art room during lunch (not socializing in the cafeteria). Most of my peers think of me and immediately associate me with my artwork. And that’s probably because of the many commissioned portraits I have done for them or for people they know. If you asked me to describe myself you would hear “Artist” within the first few sentences. And from those experiences I would have defined an artist simply as anyone who has an impulse and vision to create.
But it wasn’t until recently that I came to understand that there are people who would still not consider me “an artist” despite all of those experiences. (Weiirrdd, right?) And many of those people who would hold this view are important figures in the art community. This realization brought some mixed feelings which I will elaborate further but first I will give a backstory for my life experiences thus far and how this realization occured.
Trained Artists - Basically Artists with College Art Degrees or Experiences
My first exposure to the term Trained Artist was a situation of chance before my intentional research into an Arts career. At the time, I was working at a bakery which is right next door to a gallery. One day on my break I decided it would be nice to step in and take a look. There was a single employee present. This woman frequently comes to the bakery for her morning coffee where she is normally quiet. However, in this setting she was unusually chatty. With my current knowledge of the social customs of the art world I now realize that her chattiness was probably her attempts to professionally engage and connect after I confirmed that I was an artist. In the moment, however, I was taken aback. I just wanted to browse the art gallery, I didn’t really want to talk. To be courteous though I inquired if she was an artist. In response she said
“Yes I am a trained artist…”
She went on to say more but the change in her tone and demeanor was noted by the way she placed such emphasis on trained. I didn’t really know what that meant but she delivered it in a way that signaled it was important. For some reason, it bothered me for the rest of the visit. What did this lady think, she was better than me? Was it frowned upon that I stepped into this distinguished gallery with trained employees wearing my bakery uniform? Was it my appearance or the way I responded that let her know she was of a different league of “artist” that I am? What’s her deal?? It also didn’t help that I felt clueless on a lot of other things she mentioned. An Artist Statement? Artist Representation? Art Consulting? Um what? *blank stare*
Although I was bombarded with so much foreign information, the “trained” comment stuck with me the most. After I left I immediately pulled out my phone and googled “What is a Trained Artist?” The search results clarified that it is basically an individual who has attended a higher education program for art - either in a college or another institution such as a residency, arts organization or apprenticeship. So big whoop, she went to school for art, I thought. In the moment, I couldn’t fathom why her education mattered but as I began research for this new journey that entire interaction slowly began to make more sense.
MY Education
After high school I graduated with my bachelors degree from The University of Akron in 2016. In hindsight, I should have followed my passion and attended art school or had some kind of focus in visual arts. But I did not. I went to school for Psychology ( I only took one single art class in college). At the time, I reasoned:
“I can always maintain involvement in art. I don’t need a degree for that!”
Why an Education in Fine Art is Worthwhile
If I was going to invest money in school it should be for a career that required a degree, right? Right. But unfortunately that logic was not completely correct. Not only would my bachelors degree alone not qualify me for any well paying career in the field of Psychology anyway, a formal education in Fine Arts would have been a lot more substantial than I thought in pursuing an art career. Sure, it’s not required. Not at all. But, as I am now learning, it provides you with a priceless foundation needed to officially identify, live and thrive as a fine artist such as;
Introduction to and connections within the social arena of the art world (Very important)
Access to advice and constructive criticism from trained artists (Professors or other artists involved in your schools program) for recognized growth in your portfolio
Consistent inspiration and contact with a creative environment
Studio spaces and tools needed to build your portfolio
Access to student galleries and exhibitions to display your art
Information on how to establish your presence in your art community/build an audience
How to market yourself, not just as an artist but, as a business
Grants you the title of “Trained Artist” which MIGHT get you taken more seriously (As illustrated by my experience in the gallery)
So obviously a formal art education is not required to be a Fine Artist. There are many paths to achieving that goal. But beginning my art journey now, 3 years after an entire 4 years in college, I can see how individuals formally educated in art could feel as if they are more ahead in their journey.
On the flipside many people feel as though being “self taught” is better as it signifies an exceptional ability to acquire a level of professionalism completely of your own means and it keeps your style and creative mindset from being institutionalized. Which I thought was a great point as well!
Some other Labels
Furthermore you have labels for artists that distinguish where they are in their career progress. To put these very simply they are as followed:
Amateur - Just beginning the process of building your career as an Artist (where I am now)
Emerging - Someone who has caught the attention of few people in the art world, maybe a single gallery interest, but who has not developed a solid reputation amongst most galleries, critics and dealers.
Mid-career - An artist who has developed a solid body of work representing their artistry and gained regional or national recognition from their work through publication.
Established - An artist at a mature stage of their career with an extensive body of work and a sustainable record of their artwork being in demand, sold and displayed at galleries.
I’ve also ran into the identity of a “Professional Artist”. This is a term that I found a lot more ambiguity in regards to. Many artists do not agree with the term and some believe it should not be used at all. Some artists use the term to describe an individual who solely lives off their work with no “day job”. Others define it as someone merely committed to continuous improvement in their work.
My Thoughts on This
It made me a little sad that the art world has such divisive labels for artists. Initially it made me feel as though it created barriers for people to be taken seriously as artists. Which goes against what art should be in my opinion. Art should be accessible to all and everyone’s talents should be recognized despite how much they have achieved. I don’t like that an identity I have claimed for a lifetime now feels like a label I can’t wholly or rightfully identify with.
However, I realize the need for these labels. The art community runs on a certain culture and specific methods for selection in its workings. These labels quickly help people to maneuver who is what and assist in decision making. But as of now it still feels mean or unfair though (Yeah, yeah. I know stop being such a sensitive artist).
2.) Artist Statements Are Hard
The Artist Statement: A statement (of varying lengths depending on its purpose) identifying the how, what and why of your work. An Artist Statement is required for most gallery, exhibitions and art fair/competition submissions (as illustrated by the gallery lady) as well as applying for grants, fellowships, residencies and to have an officially complete website.
This has probably been the most difficult item to complete in my groundwork. The how and what of my art would be pretty easy to explain for me. But prior to 2 weeks before even learning the term, I barely considered any grand or overarching purpose for creating it. I knew that watching someone receive one of my creations and be overwhelmed with joy is one of the best feelings in the world for me. I knew that working at something and slowly seeing it come together before my eyes was always therapeutic. I knew that some days I just needed to create. But those reasons are more so for ME and satisfying MY wants or needs. Even the goal of bringing joy to others was directly linked to MY wants because it served my ego.
I currently don’t have a large selection of artwork that I created simply because I was moved to do so. I have never planned and strategically completed a series or body of work with some political or motivated purpose. I have never thought of my artwork in terms of what I wanted it to stir in others aside from joy. Much of my work has been commissions - portraits for people as gifts or as celebrations of their selves. I have a few pieces I’ve completed just for fun but all 3 of those were to celebrate the lives of other artists or minorities (Frida Kahlo, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and a groovy lady with a fro). Trying to work from that and identifying a consistent trend in the “why” has been difficult!
Artist Statement Before or After Portfolio?
So at this stage I realized I needed a better selection of my work, for many reasons but also, to identify a why. I should just start painting as I usually do and see what happens, right? Not sure. The thought immediately came to me that perhaps that was backwards. Maybe I needed to formulate a purpose BEFORE building my portfolio so that all of my work could be in sync with that mission. So for days now I’ve been stumped thinking of why I want to paint. I read through other artists' statements. And all of them either sound very complex and developed or very basic like it would not stand out to a reader. For example:
“I want to combine the concept of cyclical time and pop culture by using symbols from mythology as well as modern day memes. I also have a heavy Kimetic influence”
Um WOW?! Can you say deep? To the other end of the spectrum:
“I seek to celebrate human experience by capturing faces at different stages of development”
Not as impressive, am I right? Not to insult any artist with a statement similar to the latter example. I just don't want to represent MYSELF that way. There are many ideas that I’m passionate about and I feel like I can come up with a better purpose than that. I just don't want to come up with something so specific that I limit myself. I’m also not sure how to capture many of the passions in a painting. Also, do artists not get bored with the same purpose? It would be a lot easier if I was formulating a separate artist statement for each series/body of work versus ALL of my work.
Maybe I am viewing the entire concept wrong at this time or maybe I am overthinking it. Regardless, I will be very relieved when I have accomplished this task.
(As of right now I have a very vague artist statement developing , which can be pieced together from my bio. But I don’t consider it to be a complete statement quite yet).
3.) Marketing, Networking and Branding Make me Feel Gross but Are Necessary for a Career as an Artist
As an introvert the concept of Networking makes me cringe. The concepts of Marketing and Branding make me feel like I am commercializing or selling myself. But alas, I have accepted that these things are undeniably apart of the art world and, especially, the business world.
I know that the key here is to alter the way I think about it and so that is my new mission. Before I completely throw myself into the techniques of these skills I am first focused on intentionally adjusting the way I feel about them. I really wish I wrote down the place that I found this analogy so that I could credit them but I recently read an explanation for marketing that really resonated with me. Paraphrasing into 3 points is the following:
Marketing can be illustrated as a radio signal. Your brand’s message is the channel delivering information to viewers.
The more clear the signal is - recognizable, consistent, understandable, relatable to modern issues - the more likely people are to stay tuned.
The more staticky the signal is - inconsistency in your message, ambiguity in your purpose, lack of presence/accessibility, outdated issues - the more likely people are to change the channel.
This analogy resonated with me for 3 reasons. It showed me how simple marketing actually is, made me realize how we all market ourselves (as people) on a daily basis and it subsequently made it feel less gross.
We All Employ Marketing Skills
As human beings we usually care that people around us can trust us to be reliable, consistent, knowledgeable about current issues and to some degree transparent about our intentions (At least this is the case in Western culture). You simply want people to believe you are a good person. You accomplish this by staying true to your word, being a good friend and trying to be your personal best. The ultimate goal of this is to build healthy solid relationships with those around you which will lead to a satisfying life. To compare it to the analogy, people stay tuned with you when you succeed at this.
When you are an individual who is inconsistent in your behaviors or choices, ambiguous in your morals, frequently inaccessible to others and failing to show updated growth - people usually change the channel. That is not an individual who people want to stay tuned with.
When you do these same things with business, it’s called marketing because those healthy relationships with others are business partners or customers and the goal is profit (monetary or otherwise) for your business. Same concept, slightly different goal, equally moral.
Networking as a Daily Habit
The accessibility part as a person, also relates Networking. As an introvert, I am guilty of not always wanting to get out the house and socialize with friends and family. I’ve noticed that when it’s been awhile since I have socialized with people, they will either take it personally or simply forget about me. Not meeting with people and keeping them updated on my life is not a favored trait and it makes you invisible.
The same can be said for business. The basic component of business is that it is always human based. If you are not getting out and, in some way, having interactions with people viewing your business, it will simply disappear from people’s minds. However, maintaining social interaction with connections and thus forming new ones, i.e. Networking, will maintain your presence in people's minds.
In regards to art I have found overwhelming bits of information on the importance of being able to talk about your art during the practice of Networking. To refer back to my funny experience in the gallery, the employee heard I was an artist and was trying to network. She was talking about her work and providing openings for me to talk about mine, Ironically, having an Artist Statement would have been a great place to start. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the knowledge to connect with her in an adequate way. But perhaps I can revisit the gallery in the next few months with a renewed ability to engage.
Such simple concepts that, for some reason, have developed negative connotations in my perception.
That’s all folks!
Check out next week’s blog where, possibly among other things, I will highlight some books that have helped me immensely in these beginning stages.
I know this blog post was long. If you read to this point, you are amazing! The posts will probably get shorter and more focused as I continue. This is simply the best way that I have to organize my thoughts which are currently everywhere.
Thank you so much for reading.
Sylvia Sykes