Category: Art Tips and Advice

  • Interview with Marc Burckhardt

     

          I recently got the opportunity to conduct an interview with the talented artist, Marc Burckhardt!

    Marc is a surrealist who paints wonderful dreamlike paintings. To view more of his work, give him a follow on Instagram at marc_burckhardt or check out his website at www.marcburckhardt.com

    You can read his inspiring answers below:

    • What are your present goals for your art?
    “My goals are the same as they’ve always been: to create work that challenges me. Of course that goal line keeps moving as you grow in your work and career, but the idea is to stay just a bit out of your depth and comfort zone. As to how that manifests itself in the ‘real world’, I’ve found that the mix of commissioned and gallery work has been a perfect mix for me, each pushing the other in new directions and forcing me to think both internally and externally regarding themes and in my conceptual language.”
     
    • Why do you create art?
    “I was, like most kids, always drawing, but unlike most I never stopped. And I was lucky enough to have made my living as an artist my entire career. My reasons for doing it are pretty simple: it brings me joy (mostly!) and gives my life real purpose. That may sound odd, but I think doing something well—anything, really, as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else—is why we’re all here. If you can do something that other people actually enjoy and benefit in some way from, you’ve found your calling.”
     
    • Where do you derive your inspiration from?
    “My initial influences were broad, encompassing almost everything I saw, but slowly my aesthetic narrowed to the dark sensibilities of folk art and the Flemish Masters. Something about the stiffness and characters in those works, as well as the secular themes and symbolism, grabbed me early in life and never let go.”
     
    • What is your favorite medium to use in your art and why?
    “I work in a modified version of the Old Master’s method, which built works up monochromatically on panel using tempera, then glazing in oils. I’ve replaced tempera with acrylic, which has many of the same properties (opacity, fast drying), but otherwise stuck with their approach.”
     
    • What are some of your hobbies and interests? What do you enjoy about them?
    “Well, my primary hobby is closely related my work: travel. I divide my time between a studio in Austin, TX and one in Northern Germany, and I spend a great deal of time in between traveling around Europe both professionally and for fun. I’ve learned so much about painting from simply visiting museums—one of my favorite pastimes—and the culture, food, and richness of daily life feed me artistically. Depending on how you look at it, one of the scary or wonderful things about being a professional artist is the freedom it provides, and travel is one way I’ve taken advantage of that flexibility.”

  • Starting an Art Business: Interview with John Brosio

          Need some tips on starting an art business? Well, I just conducted an interview with the surreal artist, John Brosio. Check out one of his amazing paintings above – so exquisitely bizarre and captivating! He shares some great tips below for other artists that are trying to kick-start their careers! 

    • What methods do you use to market your art?

    “I work with a gallery and I let them do everything. Before Instagram, one just had to demonstrate sales at coffee houses or contests where galleries would take note. Now ‘followers’ are something they notice.”

     

    • Which social media platforms do you recommend for promoting art and why?

    “I have my own website, a Facebook page too, but I mainly use Instagram. They are the most used platforms and it’s a way to communicate with other artists and develop a following.”

     

    • What should you avoid when trying to start an art business?

    “Avoid? To quote DeKooning and Thiebaud, you should avoid becoming an ’employee of the gallery system’. You HAVE to love painting for yourself with no deadlines.”

     

    • Are you a full-time or part-time artist? How do you have your life arranged to be able to create art and make an income off of it?

    “Low overhead, teaching, other little jobs, supportive family – another Thiebaud quote: “I can tell you how to make a life if it but not a living – I dont know how to do that.”  Basically, you would rather paint than go on a spectacular vacation – without having to think about it.

    You have to do what you do better than anyone around you and you need to go to museums and look – not just at Instagram and galleries.”

     

    • Do you recommend art fairs for selling art?

    “Your gallery will show you at the best art fairs. Depends on how high profile the fair is.”

     

    • What do you do to get over “artist’s block”?

    “I have not gotten a ‘block’ in years. I’d say stop painting and wait for it to come back. Do thumbnail drawings.  Tons. Exercise. Meditate. You need to “live” in a work while doing it. It is a place to go, not a thing to sell.”

    Another spooky and alluring painting by John Brosio

          I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Be sure to subscribe and check back regularly for all future posts as I will be continually sharing tons of valuable knowledge from myself and others.

          Also, be sure to check out more of John Brosio’s work at https://johnbrosio.com/

  • Starting an Art Business | Interview with Successful Artists

          Need advice for starting an art business? Most of us do as creators because it’s easy to forget that in order to make a living off of your art, you MUST have some basic business knowledge that you actively apply.

    I asked multiple artists the question,

    “What advice would you give to an artist who is trying to start a business with their art?”

    and the information I’ve gathered is very useful and encouraging. I want to thank each one of them for sharing their knowledge!

    You can read their answers below:

    Wanda Comrie, Instagram @wandacomrie:

    “Learn how to use social media effectively. If you want to sell your art you must get it in front of as many eyeballs as possible. Galleries are not the way forward (unless they use social media effectively and most don’t). Don’t ignore this side of the business. And make work, make art every chance you can and work at your craft to improve your skills.”

    Kelly Marie, Instagram @messyeveryafter:

    “The best advice I can give for anyone starting a business around their art is to first make sure you’re in it for the right reasons. Being a professional artist is arduous and often feels like you’re making very little progress with sales even if you put in 40+ hours of work a week. Make sure passion is was drives you and never stop pushing yourself to improve.”

    Alex Kuno, Instagram @alexkuno:

    “I don’t know what professors nowadays are like but when I got my BFA in the ‘90’s, my hippie painting professors openly mocked students for taking business classes and called them sellouts and implied they had no artistic credibility. Now as a full-time artist whose career can best be summed up as the result of decades of terrible mistakes, I can say with confidence that I regret not having taken those basic business classes. That said, one of the liberating and painful aspects about an art career is that there are no clear guidelines to what’s considered a “success” in the field; the tenure or corner office or big promotion are all what you decide them to be.

    Whenever I get asked this question I flinch a little because my gut reaction is to respond by saying everything good that happened was through sheer luck. But I’m training myself to look at it differently. I took stupid risks, I made worse mistakes. But I asked questions and I let myself be inspired. I was my own harshest critic and gave the dumbest criticisms and nicest compliments I received equal consideration. I paint during creative blocks. I experiment as much as I can and make those experiments public.

    I also got great experience selling my work during local art crawls and first Friday studio tours. I taught myself how to approach people and shake hands and introduce myself and engage people in conversation and listen to people’s comments and interpretations.

    I don’t necessarily believe you should go into an art career with a fallback option if “things don’t work out.” It sets you out into the world already feeling like a burden to society and that’s a mentality that absolutely needs to change in our culture. At the same time, I also know from experience that poverty and starvation does NOT make you a better artist. You have your whole life to make better and better work so you owe it to your talents to take care of yourself.”

    Mario Henrique, Instagram @mariohenrique.studiogallery:

    “Spend half the time painting and half the time promoting your paintings the best you can. You may be a very good painter, but if no one is able to see your creations, then you have a hobby and not a profession. Exhibit in galleries and fairs, post your works online, invite people to your studio, do whatever you can to get your work seen by the largest number of people.

    Be humble, but fair. Be kind, but honest. Success will follow.”

    Carrie Roberts, Instagram @carriedawaypaintings:

    “I would tell them to stay true to their style and not to get discouraged. It is so easy to feel like you’re producing (excuse my bluntness) but complete crap! We all go through that though! Being creative is tough and requires a ton of energy. We all have off days, and that’s perfectly okay 🙂 Just don’t let it get you down for long. Each piece of art is beautiful, so don’t be afraid to share it with the world — no matter how scary! Getting your art in front of people is the most vulnerable and simultaneously best thing you can do. You got this!”

    Do you have any advice to share on this topic? You are welcome to comment! Be sure to visit each artist’s website to view their spectacular artwork. You can also view my own work in my shop.

  • Starting an Art Business: Interview with Kelly Marie

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         I recently did an interview on Kelly Marie where she shares vital advice on starting an art business and more! Kelly is a talented abstract artist who resides in Oceanside, California. I am very thankful that she took the time to share her knowledge. Be sure to glean all of the information out of of her answers below  – and then go apply it to your art career!

    • What advice would you give to artists that are trying to start a business with their art?
    “The best advice I can give for anyone starting a business around their art is to first make sure you’re in it for the right reasons. Being a professional artist is arduous and often feels like you’re making very little progress with sales even if you put in 40+ hours of work a week. Make sure passion is what drives you and never stop pushing yourself to improve.” What methods do you use to market your art? “I mainly focus on social media marketing. I post on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter on a regular basis. I also use Pinterest and Tumblr when I remember to. The best ways I have gotten exposure for my work is through larger Instagram and Facebook accounts sharing my photos and process videos. Oh, and I also made videos for Youtube a while ago and still get traffic to my site from the description links. I currently do not pay to promote my work on any platform.”
    • Which social media platforms do you recommend for promoting art and why?
    “Instagram is by far the best at the moment. It’s such a visual platform and you can find a lot of really great content. I spend most of my efforts growing my Insta following because it’s much easier for me to drive that traffic to my blog and store than on other platforms. Facebook is the second on my list. I really encourage people to try all of the platforms over time and see how each one works for them.”
    •  What should you avoid when trying to start an art business?
    “Investing a lot of money before you know who you are as an artist and have interest in your work. In the business world ‘you have to spend money to make money’ is thrown around a lot, but when it overlaps with your art it’s not so simple. Before you invest a bunch of money in an online store front, a fancy printer, all the best professional art supplies, or anything else you think you might need I suggest making sure you know what you have to say as an artist. In my experience, you as the artist are the product. You have to tell your story first and build your following before you dump a lot of money into building your physical inventory. That being said, you definitely should invest in the supplies that will help you find your style and hone your craft.”
    •  Are you a full-time or part-time artist? How do you have your life arranged to be able to create art and make an income off of it?
    “I am a full time creator. I am one of those people who doesn’t function long term in a typical 9-5 office setting. Back in 2016, I quit my last office job and jumped into art full time to save my sanity, but it took me a year to start generating somewhat consistent income. Luckily, I’ve always built my life around my creative whims so I can survive off of very little income for a while. I also have a partner that fully supports what I do. At the moment, my life revolves around art. I never really take a day off and I’m always thinking of different ways to bring in more income. I have diversified my income streams quite a bit so that I’m not just dependent on physical sales from my store. I suggest this for any creator. Don’t just depend on one thing to put food on the table.”
    •  Do you recommend art fairs for selling art?
    “I do – but they have to be the right ones. There are a lot of sub-par events out there. I sadly have participated in too many of those. Do a lot of research and attend a fair before you pay to participate. Talk to the artists displaying similar work and see if they have been there before and ask how the crowd treats them. Make sure you look for the events with only high quality artists. Don’t do shows where multi level marketing vendors participate. That’s not the right scene for fine art. Be wary of events with high show fees and little recognition or attendance. Also, participating in a large outdoor art fair will require a huge investment for your tent, display, booth fee, and more. Don’t jump into the fair scene right away if you are short on funds. If you have to opportunity and the means to do art fairs, I highly recommend it. There are few things more satisfying than speaking to potential customers face to face and seeing how they respond to your work.”
    •  What do you do to get over “artist’s block”?
    “Most of them time, I take measures to prevent artist’s block from even happening. I think it’s really important to understand the creative cycles your brain goes through and build your schedule to complement that. Each week, I often binge create and work on multiple pieces at a time for a couple of days whether I have inspiration or not. Once I am nearing completion of those pieces I can feel my creative juices run out. That’s when I switch to blog writing, updating my store inventory, bookkeeping, social media marketing, and all the other more tedious tasks to give my creative mind a break. Having different tasks that use various parts of my brain to alternate between through each week keeps me feeling energized. But, there are times where I get completely burned out from my entire schedule and actually do feel blocked. In those moments, I go outside. I make food. I go to dinner with awesome people. Sometimes you have to step away from all of it and just recharge.”

    You are welcome to comment on this post to share your thoughts and ideas. If you are interested in learning more about Kelly and her artwork, pay her website a visit at https://shop.messyeverafter.com/

    Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!

  • Cheap Painting Surfaces

         I bet you want to know what you can use to paint on that’s dirt-cheap (but still quality). Well, I’ll tell you! There’s nothing really wrong with going to Michaels and buying a small canvas for $30 but… Well there is something wrong with that but you can disagree with me if you want. Anyway, why do that when there are other, cheaper painting surface options out there?

     

     Hardboard

         This stuff is AMAZING. If you would love to give that smooth, sleek look to your paintings, this is your best friend. All you need to do is cut back on a latte or two for some extra spending money and head straight to Menards or your local hardware store and pick up a gigantic sheet of hardboard for about $7-$10. You can buy the big, bulky sheet as-is or you can have one of the workers cut it into exact sizes for you. Otherwise you can take it home and cut it into any size you like. 

    before you just paint all over it, I would recommend priming it with Gesso or some other priming medium.

     

    Thrift Store Canvas 

         Yup. Head to your nearest thrift store and peruse their wall art section– here you will find some sloppy old paintings that are ripe for the picking for between $0.50-$5.00.

    What you will need to look for are the real canvas paintings, not prints of other random paintings (I’ve never tried these but I’m assuming the quality wouldn’t be very good).

    Next, you’ll want to purchase some artist’s Gesso, or some kind of paint primer. 

    The, of course, all you do is paint that Gesso on that puppy and there you go! A super cheap canvas to satisfy your  many painterly desires!

     

    Do you have any ideas yourself? Feel free to comment!