Mystery of Making It: Reveals the Secrets of Marketing Art-How Artist Senkarik Sold the First Piece in 1980 and has Exceeded $7 Million in Sales

By Jack White

Mystery of Making IT destroys all the myths learned in art school that have been passed down from generation to generation and will transform your career. Written for the seasoned pro as well as those just starting to market their art. Over a thousand artists have read this book and say it has dramatically changed their lives. Learn the secrets guarded by the professionals and find the path to your own success. Jack White has been a successful artist for over 40 years and freely shares his experience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 25, 2011
• ISBN: 9781257151936

Book preview

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Mystery of Making It

Reveals the Secrets of Marketing Art-How Artist Senkarik Sold the First Piece in 1990 and has Exceeded $7 Million in Sales

Jack White

Copyright 2002, 2010 by Senkarik Publishing

All rights reserved by Senkarik Publishing. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems.

9781257151936

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Introduction

Chapter One - The Beginning

Chapter Two - Do Your Own Thing

Chapter Three - Voice

Chapter Four - Which Way to Go

Chapter Five - Pricing Your Art

Chapter Six - Dealing With Galleries

Chapter Seven - Struggling

Chapter Eight - Good Gallery, Bad Gallery

Chapter Nine - Keeping the Chickens Flying

Chapter Ten - Exposure and Success

Chapter Eleven - Artist Representative

Chapter Twelve - Amateur or Real

Chapter Thirteen - Signature

Chapter Fourteen - Selling Art

Chapter Fifteen - Color

Chapter Sixteen - Helpful Studio Hints

Chapter Seventeen - Attitude: The Keystone of Success

Chapter Eighteen - Reproductions, Framing, Shipping and Supplies

Chapter Nineteen - Grants and Awards

Chapter Twenty - WWW and Websites

Chapter Twenty-One - Self Promotion If You Don’t, Who Will?

Chapter Twenty-Two - Guerrilla Marketing

Conclusion

Introduction

A word of caution: Don’t skip ahead in the book, start with page one and work your way to the end. Follow the trail and it will lead you to Making IT.

You oughta write a book.

If I have been told that once, someone in some way or another has said it to me five hundred times, You need to put down on paper what you know about marketing art and building art careers. This theme has resonated with me since I first took my own career much further and faster than my talents should have ever gone. I reached heights only a few dream of with no art training, just a raw determination to Make IT. I sold my first piece of art on Valentines Day 1970 for $10, and never looked back. Then I sold my mate’s first painting April 1990 for $200 framed, taught her to paint, and in just over fifteen years directed her retail sales to almost six million dollars. The more her career grew, the greater the demands for me to write a book. People wanted to know what magic I was performing to shoot her to the top so rapidly and keep her career growing.

There were problems with me writing a book. First I have what is fondly called, a football diploma. The more touchdowns I scored, the better my grade in English 101. I scored enough touchdowns to give me a 4.0 grade average, but even a supportive English professor would not dare risk getting caught for being so far off base. He gave me a generous C. I graduated thinking a colon and semicolon were part of the human anatomy. I speak Texan, a foreign language outside the Lone Star State. I had thought about hiring an editor to change my wording to comply with Ivy League standards; however, I finally decided not to change my writing voice. The overwhelming majority tell me the thing they like best is my style of writing. Artists say they can hear my accent in the words and feel as though I’m speaking directly to them. So for you purists, please endure my colloquial doublespeak, euphemisms, slang, regional language and tolerate my fragmented sentences. Just dig out the gems of wisdom tucked in the pages of my labor of love. This and each one of my books are from my heart to yours.

The turning point came when my mate and I were visiting a small art-craft show and stopped in a booth manned by a good artist with no clue where to go or how to get there. We made small talk…he pressed. We finally admitted we both make art full time for our living. His eyes opened wide and I could see the hope of possibility glow in his face. That is my dream…I am sick and tired of working a day job to allow me to do the one thing I have always wanted to do. Since I can remember I have wanted to be a full-time painter. I fumbled in my boot for my wallet and found a card with both of our Websites on it. The artist stuck it in his shirt pocket without any acknowledgment. It was about two weeks before we heard from him. The tone of his email made it sound like we had graced his booth by simply being nice. He knew of my mate’s work. He had seen dozens of ads in national publications advertising her. It just didn’t connect when we were in his booth who we were. I have since teased him, saying, If you had been on your feet instead of being perched on your lawn chair, you may have had enough blood flowing in your brain to have remembered.

Will you help me? The same week he made that request three other artists asked the same question. The questions they were asking me to answer were based on myths and half-truths that had been taught to them in the academic art world. I began writing emails to one and sending carbon copies to several others. The list grew. Soon I had forty-five artists getting my myth-slaying emails. This was before the blog craze hit. Probably if blogging would have been popular I would have ended up blogging instead of writing books. The common thread that coursed through all the return emails was, We love the in-your-face, direct, and unvarnished approach. I noticed none were complaining about my mangled grammar, double negatives or Texas vocabulary. They were starved for information. They wanted a road map to lead them out of the darkness and into a successful art career. I was a voice crying in the wilderness and my words were being received with excitement.

Since I have started writing books I have corresponded with several thousand fellow travelers from all over the world. At least 95% of those work full time and only make art part time. Some may be mothers with small children trying to find time for their art, others are holding down two jobs to support a family and stealing a few hours a week to make their art. It is for those I am most concerned. I want to help those brave and dedicated artists find a way to work full time in the field of their dreams. I want you to Make IT.

Therefore, before I even get into the body of the book, I have a few points to make up front for those working full time at a day job so they can make their art part time. Find a spot in your home where you can leave your work set up. I recall reading about Frank Frazetta, one of the better-known fantasy illustrators, and how he used a corner of his bedroom for years as his studio. Even after he became financially successful his wife didn’t want him cluttering the house with his art stuff. If you have a basement, garage, attic, workshop outback, spare bedroom, or any extra space available then designate it as your studio. If none is available, then do like Frank Frazetta and put your studio in the corner of a room. I have seen studios in a garage, carport, tool shed and in the attic. The location or size is not important, what is important is to have your art materials out and available. Every minute you spend setting up your temporary studio is time you could be making art. As an oil painter it is difficult not to say paints, yet I realize there are artists using a myriad of mediums who will read this book looking for answers. It does not matter what medium you use—have your studio set up so you can work when you get time without having to start from scratch every time. If your stuff is ready and waiting, you will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in two or three hours a night, then eight hours on Saturday and a few on Sunday. You can slip in thirty hours a week with a little planning. Some things will have to go; telephone, television and talking to anyone who stumbles into your studio area. Let your husband/wife, children, or answering machine grab the intrusive telephone. Weaning yourself of these time-consuming monsters may be your greatest challenge. Talking to neighbors and kids…now this is a different challenge. Your friends will think you are pulling away when you don’t drop your carver, can of paste, or brush to chat. Your children may feel ignored. Make the children a part of what you are doing. If they are small, give them crayons and let them paint along. Older kids, lock in the closet until you are ready to stop painting. (Just kidding, but it is a good idea.) Your husband/wife should understand when you explain your goal and that it is an opportunity to bring in additional income. Now with eBay, even if you don’t have time to travel to shows or seek gallery presentation, you can earn a nice living out of your home.

Communication is the key. Explain what you are doing and why. I have found most problems can be avoided if explained up front. What was it the warden said to Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke? What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Set up a permanent studio area, leaving your supplies available and you have solved the biggest stumbling block to becoming a full-time artist. Then follow my plan and in one year from starting this program, you will be earning enough money to tell your day-job boss goodbye.

I want to acknowledge the thousands of artists who have written me more than a jillion (I hope jillion is a word) emails making wonderful suggestions, telling of new myths, challenging my position on things, and questioning the why and the why not of my books. In my effort to provide the best books possible I read every email and do my best to answer all who write. I want to thank you, my fellow travelers, for your valuable input. You are my eyes and ears. You are the ONLY reason I am working such long, early hours and ignoring the pain in my right shoulder. I know the majority of you may not follow my advice but those who have are seeing outstanding results. One artist told me he has doubled his best year and another will earn over $80,000 his first year as a full-time artist. Jason went from getting ready to work at Home Depot to now earning over $150,000 a year using the advice he found in my art marketing books.

The phone was picked up before the first ring finished its cycle. The lady calling, not expecting such a quick answer, spoke in a startled tone, Hello. Her voice was unsure because never before when she phoned her best friend had the answer been so prompt.

A tiny whisper came from the other end of the line, Yes.

Is that you, Craig? she asked with some hesitancy. In an even more faint reply the muffled words answered, Yes ma’am.

Is your mother home? she asked.

Again little Craig replied in his soft tone. Yes ma’am.

May I speak to her? The lady replied. It seemed like an eternity before young Craig responded. She could barely hear what he was saying. No ma’am.

Well, is your father home? she asked as confusion began to set in. Again, the same faint answer, Yes ma’am.

May I speak with him? Craig’s whisper was even softer, No ma’am.

A little frustration began to build. She asked, Why not? Once more the small boy waited to speak, his words just hanging on his end of the receiver. After what seemed an eternity he replied, They are busy.

She was not sure she wanted to know the next answer, knowing the father had been away on business. She waited a moment, but curiosity got the best of her. What are they doing?

This time young Craig whispered immediately. The policeman and the fireman are here talking to them. His voice was so faint she was not sure she heard him correctly. Did you say the police and firemen are in your house? Is there a fire? What are they doing? A sense of urgency came through in her speech pattern.

When her heart got still enough to listen, Craig said in his patented whisper, They are looking for me.

In North America (Panama, Canada and the Countries in between) there are an estimated 22 million plus people who, by definition, are called artists. Less than 8% of those earn $1,000 or more a year from the proceeds of their art. Are you one of the millions earning less than $1,000 a year? Are you hiding?

There are many reasons artists remain in the group earning less than $1,000 a year. Following are a few:

1. No one can find you. You are like little Craig, hiding in the closet, whispering. People who care are looking, but you are so well camouflaged not even those closest to you can find your location. You do busy work and play artist, but you have yet to lift the cover and expose your ability. One of the things I hope to do in my books is show you how to let people see your talent. Many of you are hiding in broad daylight and you have done such a wonderful job, you have managed to escape selling enough of your art to pay for your supplies. I want you to move past the masses earning under $1,000 a year; thus, affording you the opportunity to walk among the top 8% in your field, nay I want you to walk with the .05% who earn over $50,000 a year. No one plans to reach in and grab you by the nape of the neck. I will show you the route, only you can decide to travel this path.

2. Focus. More artists fail for lack of focus than any other reason. I know a wonderful artist who changes styles with the flip of the calendar. He tries contemporary, representational, impressionistic and trompe l’oiel. He cannot stay focused long enough for any one style/voice to be heard. He ends up whispering like little Craig in the family closet. Until an artist can find a voice/style that connects with the buying public and stay with it long enough for it to take root, he will always be way back in the pack, frustrated and angry because he has not been discovered. Many begin the course, find a medium they love and a style/voice people are willing to pay to own. Just about the time the noise from their hiding place is being heard they get bored and literally go back into hiding by changing mediums, style/voice and subjects. The most negative statement I hear from artists is, I get bored. Then my suggestion to you is get a day job. Earning a living as an artist is not something you should try to do. The reason is this: you must be able to remain focused and stay the course to reach the other shore. No sailor would start a trans-Atlantic voyage and get bored about half way there because of the doldrums. He would hoist canvas and keep plodding along until a fresh wind filled his sails. Focus or fail; you cannot serve a multitude of masters.

Whiteism: You will face boredom and frustration your entire career. You will be very frustrated seeking a voice/style that collectors can connect with. Once you accomplish that voice/style people are clamoring for, you will become bored doing it.

3. Distractions. Artists see movies of fellow travelers sitting around sipping wine and breaking bread, exchanging ideas. The great ones barricade themselves in their studio and work. Those who fail find excuse after excuse not to produce work. If only I had a larger studio, is an enormous excuse for distraction. I often tell the story of how Bonnard had to paint in his bathroom, because it was the only blank wall with enough light and large enough to thumb tack his un-stretched canvases on. I remember in our travels, living in a condo on the twenty-fifth floor in downtown Honolulu. My mate painted a one-artist show and I completed a life-sized portrait, where we both painted and lived. Our entire space, including a tiny lanai, was only 590 square feet. We met a local painter who was complaining he could do nothing in his cramped quarters. When we asked him how large his apartment was he sighed, Only 1900 square feet. My mate blurted out, How many people do you live with? He said, with sadness, wanting sympathy, Me and my cat. We jumped on him with both feet. We hired a taxi and took him immediately to our home/studio. A month later he was a happy camper talking about what a wonderful space he had to work in. Our space was so small I had to crawl under my vertical piece to get from the painting side to the eating side. Before we started traveling, my artist loft was over 6,000 square feet, with 18-foot ceilings, hardwood floors and wonderful north light. The portrait I executed in Honolulu was equal to any I had ever painted in my Masters-sized artist loft. If artists are not complaining about where they work, they are out chasing rabbits. The one thing a foxhunter does not want in his dogs are those who chase rabbits instead of the fox. Too often, artists let the telephone, friends, family, children, excuses, depression, substance abuse, addictions, and things I could never think of distract them from working on their craft. I call it running all over looking for Mars Orange. (Later in the book I will tell you my Mars Orange story.)

4. Business knowledge or the lack thereof. The one thing I admire about those artists who do crafts for a living is they see their art as a product. They understand they are in business to earn a living from what they produce with their hands. They have no problem being commercial. Those, whose minds are warped by the art-talk schools, see selling what they make as prostituting themselves. Another big reason artists remain in the less than $1,000 per year income bracket is they never build a business plan. No business plan means certain failure. They get hung up on creating, not figuring how they will sell all the stuff they make. Unless you can see your art as a product and yourself as a businessperson selling that product, you will forever remain at the bottom. Art is a business, just the same as clock making. The only difference: there is a need for clocks. There is no need for what we make; we are selling wants not needs.

5. Jealousy. I read where Picasso was jealous of Braque and Braque was jealous of Othon Friez. For those of you who have never heard of Othon Friez (1879–1949), he never reached much fame; however, when he and Braque painted together for a few years, he had a much easier time executing his skill than Braque, thus the jealousy. I heard an artist say one time that he was jealous of the young children artists becoming so famous. I explained he only knew part of the story. One of the young superstars I know came to America with her parents from the war-torn country of Bosnia. Alexandra Nechita was eight years old when they got her books on the above named painters, put her in the basement and told her to paint. They found a promoter who decided to market this child as a prodigy. He invested $200,000 and began the process of setting up a marketing plan. Then he took 75% of all the money earned. The young lady became a star and the promoter got filthy rich. I ask you, Why be jealous of a child who has been robbed of her youth? We have met her on two occasions and find she has sadness in her eyes. The only person who is hurt by jealousy is you. We harbor no jealousy. Eliminate that word from your life…it may not make you unsuccessful selling your art, but it will destroy your happiness. Happiness is more important than money. I talk a lot about money in my books but only to show you it can be earned, I don’t suggest you covet the green stuff.

6. Pricing. Art is only worth what people will pay to own it. Art is not something you do by the hour. We received an email from an artist who told us she had done two paintings. People were telling her to charge $50,000 for the larger one. My thoughts were, she should be able to paint 12 of those a year. If so, then she could be earning some serious money. The only problem I could see with that program is, where in the deuce will she sell the first one? We look at our art as something we do where people are paying us to learn a trade. Every time a piece sells we need to replace it. We can use the money received from that sale to live to paint another one. Collectors are paying for our education by purchasing our art. So, the price we sell things for, really is not important. What is important is we sell art that has to be replaced. You become good in art by making art. The more you sell, the more you must produce. Artists fail because they get a skewed idea of their worth. As long as your art is selling too cheap, then you will be selling. I suspect the lady who had the price at $50,000 may have been wiser to reduce it to $500 so it would sell.

7. No direction. Let me pose a question to you, How are you going to know when you get there, if you don’t know where you are going? Successful artists just don’t get up and think because they hang that tag around their necks one day, they will make it. I write in great detail in my books about a marketing plan spelling out where you want to go and how you plan to get there. Failure to set goals on where you plan to go is at the foundation of most failures.

8. Attitude. How you think about things is more important than the events happening around you. Artists develop a syndrome taught in art schools. It is a malady titled, "Artistic Temperament. With this temperament follows rudeness, excuses, slovenliness, laziness, clutter, addictions, non-commercial attitudes, un-professionalism and a good reason for failure. I do spend a great deal of time addressing attitude and the pseudosickness of Artistic Temperament" in my art marketing books.

9. Art that Connects? What sells is art that connects. There is an exception: When art gets to the level of auction houses (like Christies or Sotheby), it then has more to do with ego-of-ownership rather than the art making a connection. At that level art is a commode to collect as an investment. Artists whose work does not sell are simply not producing a product that connects. If you want to do your own thing, then keep your day job and fill your garage with your creations. Who knows, you may become famous fifty to a hundred years after you are dead. People will praise you for not compromising your artistic integrity. Your great grandchildren will have loads of funds to live it up on. On the other hand, if you would like to enjoy some of the fruits of your labor while you are living, then you need to pay particular attention to what I am saying in this paragraph. Those who do not make art that connects with people will not earn a living with their craft. At an outdoor show I once saw a man making a chicken call out of a paper cup and a rubber band. He had people lined up to buy his creation. He had a product he made that connected to people. I recall a couple drilling a hole in a big rock, sticking in some flowers and selling out the first day of their shows. Their stuff connected. When we send a painting to one of our galleries and it does not immediately sell, we know we did not make one that connected to the buyers. The reason people buy art is because they feel connected to the piece. It may just be one color in a painting or the feel of the alabaster in the sculpture, but there is a connection. Make art that connects or fail…this is the reality of our business.

10. Failure to produce. This sounds on the surface like something you would not have to tell artists. Yet, the failures never have artwork to sell. Isn’t this amazing? As we say in Texas, You cannot sell out of an empty wagon. Failures suffer from an ailment known as I’m going to. Another one is I plan to. This is not like cramming for a history exam the night before. Artists must produce if they plan to earn any semblance of a living from their craft. Two eBay artists I’m helping, one makes fourteen paintings a week and the other two or three. Guess which one will earn $40,000 this year.

11. No fun. Fun is one of the keys to success. If you cannot have fun, then this is not where you need to be. Great work comes from great joy. Leave the angst for the movies; do art that is fun. This life is not a dress rehearsal. It’s the real thing. Select art you enjoy. If you love what you are doing, there is a good chance others will feel your happiness and connect with what you are producing. We purchased a clay pot from an artist at a craft festival because she was telling everyone who entered her booth how much joy she got feeling the clay. We later gave the art piece to an admirer who commented how warm inside it made them feel. The clay artist was able to project her joy into the clay and it remained locked in the hardened dirt so strongly that it was still present when our friends saw it. They connected to her happiness and fun.

12. Artistic Suicide. I’m not talking about putting a rope around your neck and jumping off the balcony, nor am I referring to leaping off the Golden Gate Bridge. I am talking about things like this: we were helping direct an artist’s career, and we were seeing some nice results. In one of our emails to him, instead of sending it Bcc, we sent it with all the names and addresses exposed. Frankly I didn’t know how to Bcc back then. He took our mailing list and began an aggressive marketing program. What he failed to realize was two different parties on our list are dying of cancer and three others are in recovery. As a result, he lost a marketing coach because he wanted to commit artistic suicide. We ceased helping him succeed. In another instance, I know one artist who has continued to try to develop an art form and use oddball mediums at the expense of producing a product he could earn money from. He has done all he can in his power to sabotage his own career. We never tell anyone directly what to do. We gave him suggestions, but they were never heard. He had a mind-lock on doing something different instead of making a product that would connect with the buyers. Once we saw he was not going to take our suggestions, we tried to help him develop a program to make what he had in mind work. There are times we must abandon the sinking ship and jump into the dinghy. At least the little dinghy will stay afloat. Some further examples: Artists start selling well and then start changing styles or subjects or they cheat the gallery by selling art directly to customers who first saw their work there to avoid paying the gallery commission. When the gallery finds out, they are dead—thus, Artistic Suicide. Professionals will produce and failures make excuses. The list of myths developing the artist’s self-destructive mindset is endless. Negativity reigns in the art world. Earning less than $1,000 per year off your talent is in itself murder at your own hands.

There is a story I want to share. A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit saw the crow and asked, Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day?

The crow answered, Sure, why not? So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow and rested. Suddenly, a bobcat grabbed the rabbit and ate it. The moral of this story: To sit and do nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

A word of caution: You will be tempted to skip ahead to a chapter you think is more interesting…please resist the temptation. This is a road map not a flight plan.

Chapter One

The Beginning

My art marketing books are step-by-step road maps showing you how the two of us made the myth Starving Artists, an oxymoron. If you are into art for art’s sake, then my books are not for you. I write about earning a living selling what we make and how to work full time in the field we have chosen to toil in.

The Myth is: Oh, I’m not a real artist…I am only a self taught artist. I only do crafts. I am just learning. I’m not very good. I’m only an amateur. I’m just a student, I don’t sell much or, I am not a professional.

When I hear any artist saying these things, my blood begins to boil. Who are the gods that say you have to reach a certain level of proficiency to be called an artist? Who says you must sell a certain dollar amount to be called an artist or win X amount of ribbons to be a real artist? Who says you have to attend such and such school, be trained in a certain style or technique to be handed the title, artist? You either are one or you are not. Some of the greatest artists to ever paint in America were self-taught. Many never attended any art school, sat in a workshop or had a private tutor. I could write you a long list of splendid artists. I don’t consider my work chopped liver so I use myself as an example. I’m self-taught. Do you think folks thought the first things they saw by Grandma Moses were REAL ART, done by a REAL ARTIST? Yet she became more famous than any of us reading this little book could ever dream of becoming.

Whiteism: Eliminate from your vocabulary such words as emerging artist, aspiring artist, beginning artist, and amateur artist…from this day forward…just be an ARTIST.

If you think you dabble and dabble and one day suddenly become an artist, then you are wrong. Being an artist is an attitude. You do, therefore you are. The moment you decide to start in art, you became an artist. Little League baseball players are baseball players, even if they are not earning 225 million dollars like the young man who recently signed to play for the Texas Rangers. Each of us develops at a different pace. Many will not reach the heights some of the more gifted do. Academic training does not make you a great artist. Your own determination to be the very best you can be is what will propel you as far as you want to go. If you only half-heartedly work, then don’t expect much progress. With a dedication to excellence, even those of you who considered yourselves not real artists can reach levels you never dreamed possible.

Art degrees will not make you any better than someone who daily works at the craft of their choice. I read a sad story a few weeks ago about several artists living in New York City. All of them had MBAs and none of them were able to earn a living working as full-time artists. That same week I read an article about a man in the swamps of Florida making angels on shingles and that dude is selling all he can do. He has people beating his door down to buy his folk art pieces. He is earning well into the five figures. He is just as much an artist as those with a litany of degrees. There is a difference; he is earning a good living doing what he loves. The others are in New York huddled together complaining.

Let’s slay dragon NUMBER ONE right now: Never again say you are not a real artist no matter what medium or style you work in. Say, I am an artist. Stick out your chest, and with pride in your voice, exclaim to the world you are a special person. You are one of the few who can call themselves ARTIST.

The Myth is: I don’t do Fine Art.

Well, I am an artist, but I am not a fine art artist. Dawg gone, this also cuts into the quick of my psyche. What in the heck is fine art anyway? Was Claude Monet a Fine Art artist? What about Eugéne Delacoix? What about Pierre Bonnard? Would you be so bold as to say Paul Gauguin was a fine art artist?

Paul Gauguin said, All art is decorative. How does that grab you?

Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, and other members of the Nabis (Hebrew for prophets) did several exhibitions of their decorative art including a huge one in Chicago just after the turn of the Century. In 1911 Bonnard showed a Mediterranean three-door folding screen. Others in the show displayed various things they had made to help decorate homes and buildings. Monet made small paintings where he rendered subjects featuring doors and flowers. He also did huge art panels for commercial buildings. Does one have to become deceased to have what they produced be labeled by the majesties of the art world as Fine Art? As I said, Bonnard tacked his canvases to the bathroom wall because it was the only room with light enough to paint in. Could art produced in a toilet be Fine Art?

Who sets the standards for what is Fine Art and what is not? Ask the collector of Senkarik who has hung her painting between a $22 million Picasso and a $36 million dollar Rembrandt, Which one is fine art? Between the two of us we have approximately 18,000 people who own our originals. I hope no one tells them they don’t own Fine Art because they believe what they are hanging is.

Fine Art is a term used to fit the situation. If the snobs want to intimidate, then they resort to looking down their noses over their half glasses and saying. My, my, how sad they are showing this junk in a Fine Art Gallery. I am convinced it is a term invented by the academic world to keep the peasants in line.

One day check out just how many of the art dealers call their shops a Fine Art Gallery or Gallery of Fine Art. In those galleries you will find a lot of art is not all that good. In fact you will see a lot of junk. You will see trinkets, posters, glass, gifts and some originals. Who are the gods that say they are not selling Fine Art? For years I have been searching for that omnipotent, omniscient person that is able to discern the difference. I have seen tons of articles written condemning art as not being Fine Art, but none that adequately defines what makes one piece Fine Art and another not. It cannot be price…it cannot be style…it cannot be medium…so what is it? Is the standard that whatever matches your drapery can not be fine art?

Set this myth aside and leave it where Bonnard painted. No collector will refuse to purchase what you are producing because someone who has appointed himself as the Police of Fine Art has not given you his stamp of approval. Never again be concerned with this unnecessary myth…just do your thing and find joy in the process.

Fine Art in itself is a Myth: It’s nothing more than a label given by a few to control the thinking of the masses. You want to know something? Over a billion dollars a year is spent on art that does not have their seal of approval. Forget the term and just be what you are…a very important person who has something to say through what you do.

Remember: ART-SPEAK is nothing more than some garbled words to confuse the masses. I will endeavor to eliminate that from the pages of my books. Remember the language written by the early computer geeks? It was an encrypted message for the insiders. The geeks didn’t want common folks to understand without their help. So it is with Art-Speak.

I felt it important to kill these myths before we could proceed, because if you are not a real artist, then what I have to say in the following chapters will be of no worth to you. I want you to realize you are as important as anyone carrying the moniker of ARTIST. I plan for you to become very successful after reading the following pages along with many of my fellow travelers who have followed my simple plan, and are currently earning some serious money.

The mystery of Making IT as an artist is just like all other myths. Webster’s says a myth is "1. A traditional or legendary story, especially one that involves gods and heroes and explains a cultural practice of natural objects or phenomenon. 2. An invented story, fictitious. 3. Beliefs often unproven or false set around something without foundation." I will attempt to shatter the myths of becoming successful in the field of art—all the untruths you have either been taught in art school, workshops or by well-meaning friends. Frankly there are so many myths, this has turned into a five-volume set. I will only deal with the more critical untruths in this book and give you some pertinent direction on marketing, selling, subject matter, galleries, pricing, color, and voice. If your medium is other than painting, the information still applies, with the exception of a few studio tricks used in that medium.

To my knowledge there are three proven ways of becoming financially successful as an artist. I am sure there are others, but these are the only three that I know to have 100% success. I have seen them work like a well-oiled machine over and over. Well, maybe not Number One…it is the exception to the rule.

Have an affair with Peggy Guggenheim, like Jackson Pollock. She made him into an international personality. There is some argument if they did actually marry, but it is a published fact Jackson and Peggy lived as man and wife for an extended period of time. It is amazing how a so-so talent, combined with one of the most famous museums in the world can translate into a major player. One word of caution…a small art gallery owner will not do. You must find the owner of one of the best-known museums in the world. So start looking for an elderly woman or man who owns a major museum or the best art gallery in the world.

Raw luck. Be already working in a subject range or medium that gets popular and sells like hotcakes for a decade or so. I can’t give you any help on this. I am not a seer; neither do I possess any clairvoyant powers. The Cowboy Artists of America come to mind. Most of these artists were painting western genre when the steaming eighties arrived. None of them could supply the overwhelming demand for Cowboys and Indians. The Russell and Remington clones were in prodigious demand. I call this RAW LUCK. So bless you if you happen to be painting widgets when the widget craze hits. Ride the crest of the wave until the storm is past; however, this is not the way most of us make it. You cannot plan Raw Luck. Raw Luck is just that. Your Karma places you in the perfect position to be rich and famous. Now, most of you men will not have access to a Peggy Guggenheim. Bill Gates is married, so you ladies won’t be able to use him as your vehicle to ride the yellow brick road to riches. Raw Luck is just that…it is unpredictable luck.

Do it my way, through careful planning and a lot of hard work. Start with baby steps and move from point A to point B and then on to C. I sold my first piece for $10 and went from there. Be willing to have people say no…then move on to the next person. If you understand where your plan is leading you, each day brings you closer to your stated goal. Success is a decision. Don’t despise starting on the bottom rung; it is your first step up the ladder of success.

Being at the right place at the right time. It’s the story of Jean-Michel Basquiat, the homeless artist, who painted graffiti on the building adjoining one of the top gallery owner’s New York City apartments. Rather than becoming enraged, the dealer saw an opportunity for a lot of publicity and the chance to make millions off the liberal art community in their market. Had Basquiat chosen another building, he may have died on the streets, without anyone ever knowing his name. I remember an artist in the early eighties whose wife went to work for a huge Savings and Loan Organization. She by chance was given the job as assistant to the art buyer for the entire chain. Until the Savings and Loans all failed she directed her boss to purchase thousands of dollars worth of her husband’s art. Since we cannot determine when the blue bird of chance is going to land on our shoulders, let’s explore the only sure way I know that works for the rest of us less fortunate who don’t have a Peggy Patron or Lady Luck.

I would like to begin by telling you that I believe there is nothing accidental about becoming a successful artist. I don’t believe in the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, Big Bad Wolf or the State Lotteries. Neither do I believe there is some magical Big Break just waiting to fall into your lap, where you suddenly MAKE IT. I will try to relate examples along the way that you can identify with, either out of your own experience or artists you know.

I believe in planning your career and working your plan. I can promise you this, if you do not know where you are going, how will you know you are there when you arrive? Your most important goal is a statement of where you want to go. What do you want to accomplish as an artist?

See, I have already stopped most of you. You don’t have a clue how to answer questions like that. You have been saying, I just want to paint, I want to feed my family. I love the feel of clay in my hands. Give me a bag of beads and some wire and I am happy. I love the smell of fresh paints. My grandmother was an artist and she thought I ought to be one. I get a litany of nebulous statements when I ask the question, Where are you going?

Let me state this as plainly as I know how. I will repeat it in different ways later and often throughout the book: Start thinking of a business plan as a road map right now. You live at A and want to get to B—B being the place where you can feed your family, live a comfortable life and enjoy a degree of success. Put down on paper how much money you will need to earn annually to live at B. How many pieces of art you will need to produce in order to bring in that amount of money? What do you think is your best way to sell that much art? Where do you see your best place to sell your art? You don’t have to write a small business plan…just a simple road map. The map will evolve as you get deeper into the book. I will open your eyes to possibility thinking. A weak plan is better than no plan at all.

A superior talent, who incidentally had been going to The Ringling School of Art a few months ago, asked if we would help her break out of the malaise of the Going no where rut she found herself in. She and her very supportive husband thought if they could come and watch us paint, some of our success would rub off on her. You know, through osmosis. Being in the same room with two prominent and moneymaking painters surely was the magic needed. This myth had to be killed, as kindly as we knew how.

I explained that she was welcome to come and observe. We would put her in a chair, let her bring her camera and even provide a restroom and refreshments. But, before she could come, we needed for her to take the time and write out her goals. We wanted to know where she was going. What did she want to accomplish as an easel painter? What were her eventual goals? Did she want to earn a living with her craft? Is that asking too much, since we were going to