I’m asked, “How did you become a successful artist?” 3 commandments and 3 practical hacks to get yourself there.
(But you have to want it.)
I have been told I am a “successful artist”. I suppose that people see me supporting myself monetarily, able to have the things I want to have and do the things I want to do by selling artwork to customers. (Gosh, it does look mighty good in black and white….) It’s true, I do get a pretty penny for my originals and I have a fine china dinnerware line; I’m asked to paint things for people and fix their damaged artwork. Stores sell my stuff. And there’s a lot of Rody merch out there. ( Look for Rody® in fine stores everywhere).
So, because I am a “successful artist” I get quite a few phone calls and emails from other upcoming (wannabe sounds too…. harsh) artists that don’t consider themselves in that particular category. But would like to. And the primal question deep in their soul and on the top of their mind is “How do I become a successful artist like you?” (for future brevity: HOWDIBASA?)
They usually don’t come right out and ask that, though. Probably because they aren’t conscious of that’s what they are itching to find out. They start with “Where do you get your giclees made?” “How do I market my work?” “How much should I charge for my paintings?” All questions that translate to again, that primal question — HOWDIBASA?
From someone who has been at this game (and used to sell INSURANCE for Pete's sake, talk about learning to deal with sales rejection) for quite some time with all the ups and downs that came along with it I have chiseled these Three Commandments into my studio wall and I will share them with you: (Listen up)
Commandment I: READ THREE BOOKS (The Artist’s trifecta)
The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron
The War of Art, Steven Pressfield
The Creative Habit: Learn It And Use it for Life, Twyla Tharpe
(Note: Links are direct to authors’ sites, not Amazon.)
The second and third books: take your time. Make your way leisurely through the texts. Stop after a sentence grabs you by the heart (it will) and digest. Enjoy a-ha moments deeply and with reverence. Imagine as you read that you are enjoying the passages as you would very expensive, freshly flamed creme Brules (for which you splurged) and for which you are going to enlist every single taste bud in that mouth of yours to actively participate.
So, for Pressfield and Tharpe, do that.
Cameron is a whole ‘nother ballgame. Libro Numero Uno: The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. AKA The Artist’s Bible. When you commit (and you have to commit) to read this book you must do everything JC tells you to do. If she tells you to get a notebook, then get a notebook. If she tells you to write in it, write in it. If she asks you questions, write your answer in the space provided. Do exactly what she tells you to do throughout the entire book. Start at the beginning and do not make any skips.
It took me about eleven months to work through it but I finished. It felt like a school progression from first grade to senior graduation, but faster, and only about one subject. The questions were hard to answer. I had to stop and think and ponder. I had to make difficult choices. I had to make commitments. It took a lot of time.
The Artist’s Way was the catalyst for me morphing from an insurance agent into an artist. It hit me hard. It spoke the truth. It changed my life. It invited and initiated me into this magic artist life I lead.
The hardest part of becoming who you are supposed to be is finding out and knowing what that looks like. The Artist’s Way helps you do this.
Here’s an example of one of the exercises I completed TWENTY YEARS AGO. I found the book in the debris of our home after Hurricane Dorian. On page 161 JC wrote:
“ Name your goal: (My answer: I am a successful painter.)
In the present tense, describe yourself doing it at the height of your powers! This is your ideal scene.
Read this aloud to yourself.
Post this above your work area.
Read this aloud, daily!”
So, here’s the life I made up out of the blue, and put to paper in 1999:
Do you want to know something funny? That’s exactly how my day went today. Except replace “the fish or two” with “a story or two”. And “publish” instead of “hang”. Same diff.
So read the three books, listen to the audio, watch the video, whatever. Many fewer assignments than a typical college course. Of course, there are lots more resources out there (Did somebody mention “The Dreamway” by Robert Genn?”) but those are the only ones required by my rules. I don’t want any giclee questions until you finish all three.
Commandment II: PAINT 300 PAINTINGS
This is the question I ask every single person who calls asking HOWDIBASA?:
“How many paintings have you painted?”
I predict the answer to be 25, but I usually overshoot it. This is particularly hilarious when you ask this to artists who want the name and number of your giclee printer in order to start making prints out of their originals. Follow me here. Their answer is usually less than twenty. Usually way less than twenty. I’ve heard 8. And they want to start making prints of their work.
So the resulting commandment I deliver to them:
“I will tell you the name and number of my giclee printer after you have completed your three hundredth painting. Go buy 280 canvases, plenty of paint and brushes, fill up your water pitchers and squeeze paint onto your palettes. Take your brush, dip it into the paint and apply it all onto the first canvas, covering all the white space. Then sign your name. Then start the next one. Repeat.”
If you don’t paint paintings, you are not a painter. And you’re not going to be a good painter until you paint a LOT of paintings.
You can read books about painting with a knife, watch Bob Ross on TV, go to art galleries, take art history classes, BUT THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL BECOME A PAINTER IS TO PAINT PAINTINGS. So 300 minus the number of paintings you have completed = order that many canvases on dickblick.com and get to it.
Commandment 3: DON’T GIVE UP
There is a path for each of us. When we are on our right path, we have a surefootedness. We know the next right action — although not necessarily what is just around the bend. By trusting, we learn to trust. Julia Cameron, the Artist’s Way
You want to be a successful artist. You clued me in when you asked me how to do it. What are you waiting for? Become one, right now. Be an artist. It won’t be easy but decide to not give up. You will cry, be despondent. You will be snubbed! Criticized. Copied. Shows with no sales. Shows with no sales except for the painting your dad buys out of pity and the gallery takes half of the sale. Depressed…..all that will happen. It comes with the territory. This will never end. Keep working. Keep painting. Keep it up.
If you are happier writing than not writing, painting than not painting, singing than not singing acting than not acting, directing than not directing, for God’s sake (and I mean that literally) let yourself do it. Julia Cameron, the Artist’s Way
So….
Those are my commandments, mandatory of course if you want to be a successful artist. And as promised, here are some optional, fun, and easy hacks that will help you along on your quest. (Of course, replace the word painting with process of your choice)
Hack #1: Make a list of all the paintings you could possibly want to start on in the future.
I have 47 subjects and/or ideas on my list that I would like to paint in the future. When I walk into my studio I NEVER ask myself, “Gee, whatever shall I paint today?” with the resulting writer’s block thing to deal with. I just go to page 23 in my BUJO and start reading the list, and a couple always jump out and grab me. And changes the question to “Which one of these do I want to paint the MOST today?”
This hack helps deal with your procrastination and battles Pressfield’s despised resistance. You are not going to get stymied. You are good to blast full speed ahead as planned without any roadblocks.
I have another two pages in my BUJO that have other great lists that get me going in the studio. Every once in a while, brain dump your art ideas onto these pages. If it comes to you while you’re away from the studio, email yourself or tell Siri the idea. (I reckon you have a phone close by.) Then put it in the book when you get to it. On pages 23–24 I have lists of paintings to paint immediately, paintings to varnish, classes to take, a list of finished paintings since starting this BUJO, magic beans list, list of people who were interested in buying something (so I don’t forget them), newsletter ideas, on and on.
Use the same process for writing. That’s actually easier with Medium, just drop pictures, thoughts, and ideas into an online draft. It saves it all automatically! If you can’t get in the draft, email yourself the idea or the picture (I’m visual) and add it to the draft when you’re in the app. I’ve got 112 open drafts right now, this is one of them. Until I publish it.
Hack #2: Count every minute you paint.
Count the minutes you paint (or write or sing or sculpt). I performed an experiment over six months and counted every single minute I painted. I would write start/stop times in my BUJO. I didn’t miss the breaks. At the end of the day, I would count my minutes. At the end of the week, I added it all up. Over that time I made a dozen or so paintings and added up the time. The results of the experiment were surprising. For me, painting is an activity in which time literally disappears. Some paintings finished fast, some took a lot more time to tell me they were done. I was amazed when I would rack up five or six painting hours in one day. I’m sure I was painting exactly the way I had always painted, but I had never realized I spent so much time actually doing it. I was shocked.
I quit the experiment after I spent 26.8 hours on The Dreamway. I don’t need to count anymore. But it is a good tool and I have no problem doing it again if I need to.
Because that’s the thing about getting in the flow. When you really go after it balls to the wall then time ceases to move. I first noticed this in an outdoor painting class. An entire afternoon passed by in a blip. I had no idea where the painting on the easel came from. Same thing in the studio. Until I counted minutes I felt guilty because I “never painted”. Turns out I actually had been all along.
Hack #3: Remove the paintings from your personal space.
Remove finished paintings from your studio or your house after you sign them and get them OUT in the world. Ask friends to store them on the walls of their houses. (Temporarily. Make sure and make that clear from the get-go). Get them in a gallery. When eating out, look for blank walls. For me, seafood restaurants work well. Keep an eye out for ANY empty wall and tell them you can fill it with something beautiful for free. Post finished work on all of your social media outlets. Go to canvy.com, hang your piece on a virtual wall (see example above), download that jpeg, and post away. Apply to an art show coming to a town near you. But get them all out of the house.
You obviously should provide pricing lists, pricing cards, contact numbers, etc etc. And keep track of who you gave what. Duh.
Ending On a High Note
Back to the Artist’s Way, giving you a REAL WORLD EXAMPLE of the magic that Julia Cameron possesses, here’s where I followed JC’s instructions and wrote a letter to my future self twenty plus years ago.
It all came true.
Back to that first question: “How do I become a successful artist like you”? Please rephrase and repeat out loud: “How do I become a successful artist like me?” Every artist is different, and I promise your path looks much different than mine or anyone else’s for that matter. You’re looking for yours. But these commandments and hacks may help. Be brave, go for it, giddyup.
For more of my art, visit http://www.rody.com. Every one of my paintings has a story. You can follow me as I tell them. Here’s a link to sign up for medium to see more stories from me and other terrific writers. https://medium.com/@kimrody/membership
