Mark E Shellshear.

As Artists we need to live life with energy and passion. We need to work hard but just hard work is not the answer, we must be focused on what we are doing, having our goals in place. Art goals, personal goals all written out so we know exactly where we are going. Making each day, each hour count towards the vision for our life. We must always look lively, enjoying what we are doing and doing it to the fullness of our ability. Most of all we need to be the best Artist and the best person that we can possibly be, that is the ultimate goal, all else pales compared to that. This Artist life is not a competition with anyone at all, there is enough success for everyone who is prepared to work hard and be the best they can be. That is what we are all striving for, that is the great goal of life. At the end of your life you can look back and say with pride, that I worked hard on my Art and hard on myself, so I could be the best Artist that I could be and that I was the b...

There is no shame in being a passionate Artist. Of course there are many Artists out there who will try and calm you down, throw cold water on your dreams and try to tell you to be realistic and don't rock the boat, don't be so out there. Why are they saying that? Because they are not passionate and because if you are, then you are different, you are scary. We need passionate Artists who believe 100% in themselves, not just their Art but in themselves and who are prepared to talk about their art shamelessly. To speak out about their paintings, talk to strangers about their work, especially when others say don't promote yourself so much. Why not? If you do not promote yourself, no one else will and always remember, every opportunity lost, is an opportunity lost, yes lost, lost, lost. Be passionate, people will always gravitate to passionate, enthusiastic people, they walk away from the boring and every day. Be a passionate Artist. Be passionate abo...

Painting an original painting is an amazing process when you consider what goes into it. A painting comes out of all the life experience that an Artist has. It goes into their person and is filtered through the imagination, emotions and intellect and comes out a beautiful, original painting captured at a certain moment in time in the Artists life, which is in its own way a commentary on the life experience of that Artist. So as Artists we need to get better at absorbing what is happening around us, taking in all the emotions and the things we see, because we absorb to give out and bring joy into the life of others. The Artist has the unique ability to respond to their particular environment and produce a wonderful work of Art, reflecting the things of their life, then capturing those emotions in their Art works. Then the Artist gives of this unique gift to those around them in the form of an Art work, sharing not just the wonderful painting or sculpture but a small pi...

Then we need to get known within the Art market we live in. How can you sell paintings to people if they do not know you? If you are out selling your paintings, whether it is busking on the pavement, being in a daily market stall or showing in Art Fairs or a Gallery, consistency is the key. If you want to be known by your public then you must always turn up. If people do not know you, they cannot buy from you. If you are like MacDonald’s and you are always where you say you will be and offer a good value product, then you will build up a following. Consistency is the key to being known. People recognize that you are always there, familiarity builds a conversation and as they get to know you and like you and your product, they then become buyers. Takes time yes, but it will pay off. You offer a wonderful hand made one of a kind painting, that you lovingly made yourself and you are now allowing them to buy this very scarce commodity from you at a reasonable price,...

Borrow from the past, to invest that experience into the future. We all have regrets, that's part of being human but we cannot change the past it is done and we need to forward. If you use the past as a club to beat yourself up with, then you will get no value out of the past and not be able to move on with your life. There is always something to learn, even if its only what not to do next time. Knowing what you did wrong in the past is not enough, you must apply that knowledge to your life. Wishing that it never happened, will not change the past, forgiving yourself and moving on will. Hoping it will never happen again is not enough, we must change our life and make sure it does not happen again. Learn well so you do not pass that way again. It is never to late to take the value from past experience and invest it into your life. Look back for experience and forward for inspiration.

Because to be getting ready for success, you must believe that success is coming to you. So many Artists dream of great success but when you ask them, how are they preparing for success they look at you as if you are crazy. If it was as easy as painting beautiful paintings and doing wonderful drawings then the majority of Artists would be great successes but it is more than just great skill and talent. The real question should be, “ What are you doing to make yourself ready for success?” Imagine you are a great success and you are moving in the circles of the rich collectors, what are you going to have to change about yourself to fit into that circle? If you say no need, I will just be myself, then that is a recipe for disaster. They way you are now may be fine around your Artist friends and your family, but if you want to sell to the wealthy and be wealthy then you are going to have to change. Just being yourself will not fit in with your new crowd. If you say th...

What a wonderful way to approach your Art career and life in general. We all being watched by someone all the time, so we need to always be doing the best we can do and being the best we can be. Out there young Artists, new Artists are watching what older Artists are doing and trying to emulate them, to be like them. That is why some people copy, it is out of desire to be like that Artists in the hope that some of the “Fairy Du st” will fall on them as well. It is not good but it is one reason why people do it. Be an inspiration to those around you. Beware of the enemies of being an inspiring Artist, Complaining. Criticism. Selfishness. Jealousy. Don't complain, be someone who encourages and sees the best in each situation. Complainers are always looking to find fault like it is buried treasure. Don't criticise, be the Artist who finds something good to say always and be helper not a critic. There are enough critics, we need people who can inspire us. Don't be selfish,...

I have just finished reading about Mark Rothko, one of my favourite painters, the book showed the progression of Rothko through all his different styles to where he finally ended up. I love his final works the seagrams paintings and the monochrome work and I wonder if he had lived what would he had produced in his latter years. I understand what he means by people have an emotional response to his works even though he had eliminated line from his paintings and concentrated on colour only. The effect of the terrible destruction of World War ll saw these artists of the abstract expression era refuse to do similar paintings of the pre-war era and eliminate everything but colour from their paintings. Yes everyone can paint like Rothko and Pollock it is not hard, but when Rothko painted his paintings they were cutting edge, new and original, when someone does it today it is boring and dull. When Jackson Pollock painted his drip paintings he was cutting edge, a trail blazer...

The realisation of self worth is the beginning of progress. Many Artists are plagued with self doubt, which causes indecision and procrastination often the reason for lack of progress in their career. Ours is a discipline the demands that we produce a high standard of work that will be accepted by a discerning market place. If we have self doubt that will undermine our ability to constantly produce that high standard of work. Work on your self worth, use affirmations that are positive and inspiring. Have your goals written out. I know one very successful Artist every time he is faced with a disappointment or crisis he goes and reads his goals out loud to himself, five times and repeats his affirmations. You are the most important asset that you have, work on you to make you better. Listen to positive affirming talks. Stay around positive successful people. Know your goals and have them written out. Read your affirmations out loud to yourself. Don't l...

I personally know what it is like to fail in this Art business and how hard it is to rebuild your Art career and be successful. I get told by many Artists that Art is so personal and that Artists paint from their heart and souls and I do understand that and I appreciate that, but I also know what the reality of no sales is like and still having to support your family. When you fail you have two choices, blame everybody and everything, I did that, or learn from what has happened and rebuild, I had to learn to do this. I had to change, not locations because that never helps, but change me. Be honest with myself and take good look in the mirror and fix my shortcomings, failure brings a certain clarity. A long and difficult journey back but it was rewarding and fulfilling and I know that it is never to late to change for anyone. It is never to late to start again, no matter how old you are. It is never to late to rebuild. I hear a lot of people my age say that they ...

We must everyday do things that matter. We must everyday say things in paint that matter. For the Artist it is painting from your soul, placing your individual, unique, original vision onto the canvas or the medium that you work in. Saying in paint who you are and what your world is all about. Your unique vision in paint, honest and genuine, viewed in marks, colours and symbols giving to the world something special that did not exist before you picked up the brush and put paint on canvas. You matter..

As Artists we need really to think about what we are doing and why we are doing it? Something that I realized when I came to Asia was that I was not a camera and I did not have to paint what I saw and I could even make it up because it was what I was feeling. My vision became what I saw, what I felt and what I imagined and all these combined I put into my paintings. I did not consider if it was right or wrong, because it was my vision for me, so I painted it. What a difference from how I painted before, making sure I followed all the rules. I painted a painting called “Wind in the Bamboo” and to show the wind I painted it in lots of different colours racing across the canvas, I would have never done that in Australia, I would have said you can't do that, you show wind by the leaning of the trees and the foliage, but now I painted it. Finally I had come to the place where there were no rules. I know this might not be for you, because many people need rules becau...

There are many Artists who cross my path and I am always interested to learn what motivates them and makes then unique. I meet the very successful Artists earning a good living by the brush and those who struggle to even buy supplies. What is it about the Artist who is able to break through and get into the big time? Often it is not great talent or mastery, but that they conform to the fashions of the day, the whims and likes of collectors and the public. I thought of the great Masters of the past who did not achieve fame and fortune in their time but today they are remembered as greats and others who were more popular in their day are forgotten, isn't that interesting? Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh are two prime examples of achieving great fame, yet in their life times walked against the norm and painted as they felt led to paint, not needing the acclaim of the fashionable elite, they did not need their approval or permission to paint what they painted. The...

Everyone is looking to be the greatest Artist in their country, but what we should be looking for is to be the greatest Artist that we can possibly be. We are not in a competition, we can not be someone else, we can only be ourselves. We can envy other Artists which is not good and copy their work to prove to ourselves we are as good, but it is not our original work so it can never be as good. Your own original work that you produce defines you as an Artist. Unfortunately so many Artist look at their own work and criticise it so badly that they never show it and go and copy another painting because others have said it was good so they do that, yet that is not you at all, just a pale shadow of someone else. Not matter what you think of your painting, show it, it is your original work, don't let that self defeating inner voice rob you of your own creativity. Your original work is always your best work because it is you, it talks of you and who you are. If you do no...

Artists can choose to stand out from the crowd and be remarkable or just fit in. Artists can choose to be an original trailblazer, or be like everyone else, follow and be predictable. Artists can choose to be extraordinary. Only a few choose to embrace such fear and risk.

When ever an Artists decides to break away from the heard and do things that are different he or she will get criticism. I know because I have accumulated my fair share of critics. These people do not want change, most people fear change, but to be successful you need to embrace the fear and the changes. Change is inevitable, you cannot stop it. Personal change is scary and your inner critic will do everything it can to get you to stop. It fears change because what if it doesn't work? To be a successful Artist I believe you must embrace change it is inevitable. You must embrace the fear that comes with change and use it as guidance, saying, if its scary, then this is what I must do. Personal change is very necessary if you want to grow as an Artist and achieve your success. Or like the critics, you can leave it to chance?

I think one of the hardest thing for a productive Artist to do in the midst of problems is to maintain focus and consistency to work hard. I was talking to a young Artist about his work habits, how much did he work, was it daily or what? I asked how many hours did he work, when he worked? He said that he worked when he had paintings to finish and when he had new ideas to work on but really he only worked for the money, otherwise he would rather go and be with his friends, other Artists who had a similar attitude to work and they all lived with the romantic notion that they would be discovered and be covered in glory, neither would probably happen. The problem here is they need to realize that work is serious, it cost you your precious unrenewable time and it builds something in you that money cannot buy, a future and consistency, you always turn up. To consider your work as just a means to earn money is so wrong, work is more than that. Work for the Artist is investing...

There is room in the Art World for everyone and I post about the Art Business and the Art Life to those who wish to read what I have to say and I know I do es not resonate with everyone. That is what is great about the Art World lots of wonderful people with varying opinions all wanting to create original Art, high spirited and loads of talent. I want Artists to learn about the business side of Art because that was my greatest failing as a practising Artist, how to sell and market my art.  I honestly believed that it would just happen, today I am unable to explain why I thought that but I did. I believed that I would be discovered just like it happens in the movies, but life is not like that.  In the movies it is all an illusion because the end is already known before the movie begins but real life happens as we go along.  I want to see Artists in control of their Art future which includes their financial futures and neither can be separated that is why I...

This my last post on the subject of copying and I would like to say a few things first to address some who feel that I have taken a simplistic approach. First I am not a lawyer therefore what I am saying is my opinion only. Second I also realize that most Artists like myself when copied do not have the necessary funds to pursue the wrong doer in court so I write this from a moral stand point that it is wrong to copy. I am an artist and I run Galler ies and I make the stand that copied work is wrong and that Artists just should not do it. If they do copy it just shows that they are not true Artists but painters who need to shine in the after glow of a talented Artist. The issue of coping will probably never go away as long as people are prepared to do it. Another complaint I have are Artists who go to weekend Art Workshops and paint one or two paintings under instruction from a notable Artist and get their help. Then go and put those workshop paintings into a show and sell them, wi...

This subject has certainly has certainly created a lot of questions for some and I have received mail to ask if this is ok or is that ok. I usually work from the idea, that if you have to ask because you are concerned about what you are doing, then best not to do it. A lot of people look for a second opinion and there is none. If you have copied something, no matter if you have changed the colours and faces it is still a copy and you are stealing  another Artists image, unless of course you have written permission to do so. Also if you have written permission to do it once and you want to do something else with the image you will need to get permission again. I am still not sure why Artists copy, laziness, boredom or lack of imagination and creativity or just plain old fear of painting a bad painting. I think it is the latter mostly, you know the painting you going to copy is good so it you do a good copy and people congratulate you then you must be a good Artist? No just a goo...

A few thoughts about the subject of copying other Artists work. First it is wrong to copy and if you are doing it then you are doing the wrong thing and stealing the image and intellectual property of another Artist, even if they are dead. If you copy paintings out of an Art book check the front and you will see it is copyrighted and you need permission to copy it otherwise you are breaking the law. Other than at Art school as a student, I can find no other legitimate reason for an Artist to copy another’s work. Yes you can come up with a thousand reason why you do it, but it is wrong. So when is it ok to copy? When you draw the image from nature or life and use it in your paintings. When you take the photo of the scene and you use it, your own photo or you use photos from copyright free places, I still find this a very grey area. If you are copying another Artists work and then selling it without their express permission in writing and also acknowledging them on the painting, ...