Mark E Shellshear.

Artists focus on opportunities. Artists focus on results. Artists focus on being productive. Most importantly focus on being grateful. Gratitude is so important, being grateful for all you have and the abilities you have. So often we focus on what we do not have rather than being grateful for that we do have. Every morning as I drive to work I see the stark reality of the haves and the have nots, it is bought sharply into focus as I see families living out their lives on the street with little or no hope of any improvement to this existence. I know I hear all the excuses and reason why they are there but they are human beings with the same hope and dreams of all of us for a better life for their family, but without a miracle or two miracles it will never happen. The reality of what I see make me so grateful for all that I have and all the opportunities that I have. Lets not squander our opportunities but focus on what we can do and achieve our dreams and goal...

You will accomplish that by not being the same Artist you are today in five years time. That means change has to happen if you are to be that success, that change will come through new personal disciplines and the problems and adversities that you will face in your life and career. Every adversity has within it the opportunity for us to learn and grow. Failure is part of the success process as it will teach us to question ourselves as to what price we will pay for that success. The price is the personal cost to us, how we will respond when it all goes wrong? Determination and persistence through adversity will bring us to that place of high achievement. It’s not great talent that will get you to the top, there are a lot of talented failures in the Art world. It is not luck that will get you to the mountain top, luck can come and give you a big push but if you are not prepared for the success you will soon go back to where you were. You see adversity and setbacks...

“ Not everyone can afford large original Art works but are they able to buy something, regardless of how little or how much they have to spend?” This is something that many Artists do not think about as they are often set in their ways and also afraid if they do smaller paintings for less money it will effect their larger sales, yet they really need to consider all the potential customers that are before them who they are not reaching when you have limited price points . Artists must consider those people who do not have a large amount of disposable income and who want original art work in their ho mes . Often Artists offer prints at the lower price so that everyone can have the ir Art work, but there are many who don’t want prints but do want original wor k . Consider lower price points. Do small er paintings that can meet other price points down to $5, small calling card size up to A4 all offering a different price point yet it is still original Art. Even he...

Most of us have good ideas, most of us know what we want to accomplish, but so often we don’t know where to start, because the goal, dream seems so big so grand that we wonder how can I accomplish that. We have no problem dreaming about making the Big Show and enjoying the day dream, but how do we turn that into reality? The truth is that it will take hard work and time, you do not want the quick and easy way because you will most likely be unprepared and squander the opportunity because you were not prepared to handle fame and fortune. The long road of growing, learning and personal improvement is the right road to success. As I have said before success comes and resides with the prepared but only briefly visits the unprepared and leaves The Artists miracle comes through daily working towa rds our goal s . Our “now” is far more important than yesterday or tomorrow, because our “now” is the result of our determination or negligence of our yesterdays. Your bountiful to...

Something that I have learned is that success is not one particular day when it all comes together, it persistently doing your work every day then looking back and seeing what you have accomplished over a period of time. Failure is not one bad day or week or month it is the slowly giving up, letting go one day at a time. It is like erosion you really don’t notice it until it is to late. We see failure for the Artist as stopping painting and walking away and many do that, it is obvious failure. What about the failure of giving up within, not stopping painting but withdrawing to that place where it is easy to do your work. Where it’s safe and there is no challenge, no stretching, no pushing boundaries but just repeating again day after day what is easy and safe to do. Failure is retreating to safe, average and no danger of being different. Easy and safe is working in the factory where you are told what to do and you comply, no thought need, no initiative needed, just rinse an...

Don’t criticize. Don't complain. Don't blame. Don't make excuses not to work. This is the rule of life. If you don't want to be a failure, then don't do what failures do. If you want to be successful, then do what successful people do. Success always leaves  directions.

Question “ What is your thoughts on galleries who want you to be exclusive to them. I approached an art gallery in a city near me and was told if they took any pieces I could not have any other outlet in that city. They would have to be exclusive, even though they would maybe only take one or two pieces to begin with.” Unless it is very small town I don't agree. If a Gallery wants exclusive rights to your work and you cannot show your work in any other place in the city, they will really have to preform for you and guarantee sales every month, which they cannot do. No Gallery can guarantee money/sales unless you are contracted to them. Some Galleries put Artists on contracts and guarantee a certain amount for the next few years and get exclusivity with the Artist. The Artist guarantees so many paintings each month which become the property of the Gallery, if the Artist does not sell then the Gallery carries the cost. If the Artist sells the Gallery gets the money...

This subject comes up quite a lot and some Artists are concerned about it, it has never been something that I considered as an Artist or as a Gallerist. I do know that some Galleries demand that Artists stay with one painting style because of their collectors but I think this is a short sited view exposing that the Galleries and collectors are leading the Artists and this can only lead to factory Art. This is why we end up with so many young painters copying selling Artists work, doing it because they are told it will sell, this is factory art. I might be the wrong one to ask because I do not believe in having a signature style of painting, because the Artist must determine their own Art direction, others must not be allowed to dictate how Artist should paint. Yes Artists must get good advice and guidance, but what they create must be their choice as they feel led by their muse. If others have wonderful ideas for you to paint, tell them to go and paint them and show you,...

Question? Do you have a suggestion for when they are connecting emotionally with the piece but their resistance takes the form of "I don't have a space for it."? When faced with this situation which often happens you have to remind yourself t hat this is an excuse, as some people are afraid to commit to the sale. The thing to do is to i gnore a comment like that and keep them focused on the painting and keep using their imagination to build towards the sale. People often feel they need to give an excuse , before they buy. The reason is b ecause it was your idea to sell it to them and so the y make excuses , because when they buy it has to be their idea. People do not like to be sold to, but they like to buy. Always think about yourself in that situation and what you say when being sold to , analyse why you s ay what you say and you will learn a lot about buying, because that is what we want people to do, decide to buy. Somet imes Artists when y...

Most Artists believe they are validated by the sale. If you are living by your brush and you have to sell to pay the rent, then selling becomes very important. Selling is a skill that we can all learn, I am not advocating hard selling but the selling by connection, relationship and permission. Lets look at a sales situation in a gallery or art exhibit and we have strangers looking at your painting. When we have a stranger looking at our painting and we are talking to them about our painting, we have to keep them focused on the work. Once they have shown interest we then need to bring their imagination into play by asking where will they be hanging the painting if they buy it? They may answer in the lounge room, then gently say, “Imagine it hanging in that room,” you are suggesting that their imagination comes into play and this is very powerful, because we often own something in our imagination before we buy. Think about some purchases you have made maybe an I Phone, when ...

As Artists we some times get hung up on small things and forget about the major things. If you are a professional Artist then you need to sell, you need to understand your Art market and learn to market your original work into that market. Many painters look at the market and see what is selling and then copy that or do something close to it and it sells, but this not Art, that is factory work and that painter will soon be forgotten. Art is not about following the latest fashion or trend, it’s about getting your original Art in front of strangers and connecting with them building relationships and in time they buy your Art. People buy Art for basically one or two reasons. First there are those who are buying a signature and really have no interest whether it is a painting they love or not, they are collecting names. The second group of people which is our market buy for another reason. They buy because they want it. As Artists we spend to much time worrying about t...

Most Artists want to be successful and famous. Of course they must have some talent or at least the ability to express themselves in painting and drawing, or their chosen medium. I was asked what were a few must that I thought were important for the successful Artist to possess? I have listed a few below. Must work hard. When you work you work, you give it all you have got. Don’t be lazy, this will hurt you in the long term, concentrate and work hard for your long term benefit. Must run their Art practice as a small business. Always keeping records and some understanding of selling and marketing. Learning to sell and marketing your Art work is so important, learn to do it do not be dependant on others because they do not care about your career like you do. No sales, no money, no life, learn to sell your paintings. Must be continually working on self improvement. Reading the books and listening to positive talks and putting them into action. Work hard on ...

It has been a busy week with my son and hopefully everything will be back to normal tomorrow. I have watched my son at work and I thought I would share a few principles that I have discerned in the sales process that we can include in our Art businesses. Principles to always use when you are selling. 1. Always be honest and transparent. I feel this is so important as your good name and standing in the industry is far more important than stooping to lies and exaggeration to clinch the sale. The gain in money is never worth the lose in integrity, you can always get another sale but once your integrity is lost it is extremely hard to get back. The lose of a sale is far less important than the lose of your good standing. 2. No sale is worth compromise. One deal does not pay for your whole life, as important as a sale is, you will survive without it. Do not compromise your principles. Know how you want to proceed in the sale, no discount is no discount, or if you gi...

When a person buys y our Art work, t hen you need to befriend them and build a relationship with them and turn them into a friend and collector. Strengthening that relationship by i nteract ing with them direct ly by e-mail and other social media platforms, build s a stronger relationship and friendship through after sales service. Collector relationship is so important, because this collector will now promote your work when people see it in their home, they will follow your career, be at your openings and best of all talking about you.. They will be your best word of mouth promoter. They want you to succeed, it is now in their best interest to talk you up, they have invested in your work and your future so they want you to succeed. Every stranger you see, pass or meet is a potential customer, get yourself in front of strangers, make friends, connect and build relationships your Art future depends on this.

There will always be Artists better than us and worse than us, that's just life. The key for us is to accept who we are and build harder on our dreams and goals, and become better Artists and people. If you compare yourself with others, you will lose, it's not a game to play. You cannot change that outcome by railing against it, you must do what you have to do to change your life, because you are you and your life is the only one you have control over. No one is entitled to success, that is not the right attitude to have, be the one to congratulate the Artist who does better and then go and do as good yourself. Make it a competition not a criticism, work harder, become a better person, don't compare yourself to others, that's a losers game. Be the bigger person, rejoice in the success of others.

We all want people to love and appreciate our Art, so tell them about it, why you love the painting, what the painting is about and how you created it. Teach people about your Art in your story telling, stimulate their imagination. More novels are sold than serious writing. People pay to go to the movie but expect to watch the news for free. People watch soap operas and talent shows rather than educational documentaries. People love to hear stories and have their imagination aroused. Be enthusiastic about your Art, passionately tell your story and the story of your paintings and in doing so awaken the imagination of the listener.

When we reach out to strangers to connect with them a few points to think about. Tell the truth. You want people to like you for who you are so there is no need to exaggerate or for self-praise, because if you do and they connect with you, they probably will see through the exaggeration and boasting and they will most likely disconnect from you. Be straight and honest, let them see the real you. Tell your story. People attach themselves to stories and people love the romance of the Artistic life, so tell your Artistic story to them because your life is different to their life, you are an Artist. Allow them to be romanced by your story but you cannot be you must be down to earth and understand clearly that Art is work and they are your customers. You have no time to be romanced by your own Artistic life but you always have time to tell your Artistic story. Don’t conform. Be different and do different. There are no rules so innovate, take risks and get ...

What if you are waiting for that door to success to open and it never opens? What if you are waiting to be discovered and they don’t find you? What will you do? Just wait and hope? No do not hesitate, don’t let the “ thief” talk you out of it, you will have to be the one to make your success happen, you have to do it. No one will give you permission, So you give yourself permission. No one will give you initiative, You have to take initiative. Please don't wait for someone to tell you what to do, they won’t, take responsibility and do it. Get on social media and promote yourself and your Art, it's free. Tell your story in a blog, make a video, no one can stop you, it's the internet, you are a creative Artist, be creative on the internet and get attention. You just have to make the decision to do it. Be the Artist who makes a difference. Create change.