Mark E Shellshear.

As we launch into this brave new year let’s start with getting some priorities set down so we can go forward with confidence and determination in our Art practice. What are your goals for 2018? Your goals are what you want to achieve in 2018, think about what you want to accomplish, think about what will force you to the next level in your Art career, goals must stretch you and panic the thief. Write them down so you can read them every day, it is important to write them down. Once you have your goals worked out, then work out a plan on how you are going to accomplish this, a daily, weekly, monthly plan of how you will accomplish your goals. Sometimes goals can be so overpowering that you can wonder, how am I going to do that, but if you can work out a step by step plan then you will work effectively towards your chosen goals. You don’t want to have to make a big leap of faith to accomplish your goals next November that is very risky, but rather work towards them st...

In 2018 make the decision mentally to go full time in your Art practice, then as you go forward with the right attitude and mind set that will contribute to you being successful . Learn to deal with the thief, because as you learn to discern it and use it to your advantage so fear will not stop you, but point you in the direction that you should go . W hen the thief says,“stop” you say “Lets go.” Careful do not consider any options but being successful, k now ing that y our Art is yours and original, go forward confidently. Performance is more important than dreams. There is always more that you can do. There is always more that you can achieve. There is always another level you can get to. There must always be constant improvement, as an Artist and as a person . Yes with every great step of faith is always the ability to fail but that should be the motivation for you to give it all you have and not give up. Consistently wins and be determined to ...

I n 2018 lets consider some really abstract thoughts. Don’t care about the money. Care about your collectors and those who take the time to view your Art work and come to your shows. Appreciate these people, they support your Art practice and make it possible. Care about those who are interested in what you are doing and why you are doing it. We need supporters who engage with us and our Art work and challenge and stimulate us to grow. Care about all the people around you, especially your loved ones who allow you to be creative and pursue your passions, without their support and love it would be a lonely journey. If you take time to care for those who allow you the privilege to do what you do, you will build a strong Art business. Don’t care about the money, care about your people, money is the result of your Art business not the reason for it.

As we approach 2018 I have thought long about what are the important thing s that an Artist can do to build their careers . Most will say it’s great talent and craftsmanship, but to me the most obvious thing s that I would tell a young A rtist is first learn to sell your work. Do not rely on others to do it for you, learn to do it yourself. Selling is a learned skill that everyone can learn and put into practice in their Art career. The second thing is learn to be a public speaker, this will give you confidence and poise in front of strangers. So many Artists are unable to stand up in front of people and talk about their work, this is a skill you can learn and it will be a very valuable skill for you r future career . Artists need to influence strangers because these are the people who will buy your paintings and make you successful, not family and friends. The way we influence strangers is to have the confidence and poise to walk up and talk with them and h...

The thief is invisible and lives within us all. The thief wants us to be lazy and procrastinate, it helps us to make excuses why we can’t work. The thief wants us to be safe and invisible. The thief tells us to wait for inspiration to come then we will paint that wonderful painting, it’s just another excuse not to work. The Muse loves the worker, the Artist who has a regimented Art practice who knows inspiration will come once you start work, starting is the key. The Muse values the struggle, the determination of the Artist who has the attitude that this is a calling not a job. The Muse wants the Artist to be empowered by their passion and vision for their Art career. The challenge for each Artist is not to make excuses but to communicate their vision in paint and words and allow the Muse to inspire their imagination to create original Art.

You only have to be true to your Muse and follow it diligently, determined to paint your own original Art work, producing work that is yours and defines you. You do not paint for the critics and the unappreciative crowd, you paint for those people who love your work. These are your true followers and once you past the tipping point of followers then your career will be established. Be patient as y ou will need to build this base of followers through, exhibitions, competitions, Art fairs, markets and personally getting out and getting well known in your particular Art community. Also you will need to develop consistent social media promotion, through videos, blogs and Artist groups, another area of promotion will be getting you and your Art into local newspapers, all this depends on you getting out and getting known . T he day o f the “Gatekeepers” is gone, as G alleries and dealers have less and less influence so the Artist must be the one to promote their own care...

Many Artists repeat the past because it is safe and the thief will be quiet. But if you are the Artist who wants to make change in your world, then you will need to be so good that the Art world cannot ignore you. Be so passionate about your work that the Art world cannot dismiss you. There is always a next level that you can get to. Be the best Artist that you can possibility be for yourself. Don’t do it for others, do it for yourself, because you matter. We all have next level ability, act accordingly.

Paint what you really care about, that way your Art will be honest, strong and be original. You must get your Art right for you, that is what counts. So many paint to please others, this will not get you to where you want to go in the Art world. Pleasing others is extremely hard to do because tastes and trends change and most likely some will start to copy other popular Artists as a way of striving for popularity, but this is empty and not lasting and you will never build a creditable Art career by copying. I have watched so many young painters struggle with each other all trying to outdo each other with who can copy the popular paintings better. I have seen so many copies of masters and popular Artists copied and recopied because it was popular and trendy. The reality of doing this is like driving a car full speed into a brick wall because your work will become unrecognisable and ten years from now, if you are still painting, you will be struggling with your identi...

Very true, but if it was easy to do everyone would do it and there would be no struggle and it would be worthless and unfulfilling. As much as you don’t want the hard work, the long hours and the struggle to get attention, that is what sets you apart from the crowd. The crowd wants it to be easy to do and it is not, there is a price to pay. The struggle is guaranteed but success is not. So you need to be prepared to do a little more, give a little bit more, work a little be harder and rejoice in the fact you have this opportunity to really make a difference in and through your Art career. We all have to pay our dues and endure the struggle, keeping a positive outlook on life and having the attitude that I will pay whatever the cost will be to accomplish my goals and the success I want. If you pay the price for success in the Art business, then the rewards are deserving and fulfilling. Most things that are easy, anyone can do.

If you live by the brush, then you are going to at some stage have to sell your Art. If possible you can use Galleries, or get a dealer or use online galleries and other online platforms but at some point of time in your career you are going to have to stand in front of a stranger and sell your paintings to them. This can be scary, because the thief will get involved. So how do I get over the fear of the fear of selling? Maybe you are having an exhibition very soon, everything is prepared, the Gallery is ready, now you have to get you ready for the opening night. Y ou have to approach this opening night knowing that you are going to have to talk to strangers and if you don’t want to talk to then it is not going to be great evening or a very pleasant experience for you or your guests . So what y ou will need is to have the mind set t hat this i s as a time of meet ing people and get ting to know them, not trying to sell to them. You have to have the a...

Don’t let people tell you how and what you should paint, there are lots of unwanted Art meddlers out there. This your Art which you create and nobody but you can have your experience. We can empathise with you, try and understand what you are doing and your particular process, admire what you do but we can never have your personal experience. Cherish the uniqueness of your own personal experience which no one else can have. Paint you and your life experience and share it with the world.

So many people never consider that their actions and attitudes will have consequences, yet we know the law of sowing and reaping is real. If you sow positive and you will reap positive. But if you sow negative and you will reap negative. One apple seed planted can reap hundreds of apples. One thistle seed can reap a field of thistles. Some are deceived because their present seed does not appear to be producing an immediate crop, s o they continue down their course, mistakenly believing that there will never be a harvest. But unlike the crops of the field, which get harvested at approximately the same time each year, there is no regular timetable for the harvest of life. Some crops we reap quickly. Others crops take a long time for the harvest. But do not be deceived—the harvest will come. Be vigilant as to what you sow into your life because you will certainly reap that harvest.

It is easier to sell to someone who has already bought a painting off you than to find a new customer. Peter Drucker said, “ … business is about getting a customer and keeping that customer.” We need to build our After Sales Service into our Art practice. When we sell to a stranger we need to make sure that we get their, Email address and it is also very important to ask their permission to put then on your monthly email newsletter. Your first email to them should be in the week after the sale it is a follow up note to make sure they are happy with their purchase and to thank them again. Most Artists do not think about after sales service as they mostly apply it to other industries, but it is vitally important in our Art business as we do sell a product and we want follow up sales from the customer. After sales service builds a relationship with the customer and you will be able to offer them new paintings in the future because of the relationship of trust that you a...

In my life I have met many Artists who were going to do something important. They knew what they wanted to do but it just never happened. There is a lesson here for all Artists. Do not get trapped by all you want to do and never do it. Great ideas and good intentions are meaningless without direct action. Wanting to do something and doing it are two different things entirely . We can get trapped by the thief, it does not mind great ideas or big dreams as long as they stay that, because to bring them into reality will take change and the thief does not want change. What happens is we make the dream so big that it can never be reali s ed but people will applaud us for wanting to change the world, but it just will not happen. The other thing that happens with big dreams and great ideas is we find reason s why we cannot do it, need to get everything ready first, needs to be the right timing, we just need more money to make it happen and many other excuses that cause us to...

We are told when we were young growing up that we needed to conform, to be like everyone else, that we should not be different but to be one of the crowd. School taught us to conform to do as we were told, to not argue and the teacher was always right . Yet in life we see that ones who are different, who don’t conform, who dare to make change, to challenge the status qu o are the successful ones. Look at Picasso, Poll o ck, Matisse, Dali and so many others who dared to be different and refused to conform. Why were we told we must conform? So we w ould be safe, be like everyone else, fashion trends came and went and we followed them, trained to respond as required. Those who dared to not conform if they did not become famous, were shunned and pushed out and we were told they were eccentric and different and they were laughed at and mocked and we learned that it was not good to not conform. Yet we know now that every successful person had to be prepared to walk ag...

If you do not understand why you paint, how can you expect strangers to understand your Art work? Paintings are personal. So make them personal, when you talk about your Art, explain why you paint and what your Art is about and how it is part of you so that when people see your Art work they understand they are seeing part of you. People want to know you the Artist because the most important thing about your paintings is that you painted them. The key to your Art is not to be found in another Artist, another style, another discipline, the key to your Art is you and that you created it. I talk about going beyond our boundaries, to think outside the box, to not listen to the thief but allow your true self, your muse to be free to create your individual, original work. Understand why you paint and tell people why, the Art public want to know you. Your Art is all about you, you created it.

I n our Art practice we must be constantly looking to make things happen. Looking for new ideas that can help us transform our Art business. New Art innovations to challenge how we create our work. And of course we must be always looking for n ew opportunities for sales and often these opportunities come wrapped in some difficulty but once you work through th e difficulty the opportunity is apparent . These is what stops some Artists from grasping onto opportunities because often opportunities come disguised as a problem, so face everything with the attitude of, where is the opportunity here for me? Don’t quickly pass things up because they look difficult, before you move on take a close look at it and see if there is something there for you. I love the ancient text that says, “ The honor of Kings and Queens, is to search out a matter.” Look deeply into every difficulty there may be a wonderful opportunity hidden in it, that if you did not look for it you would ...

Chapter 18 - Discouragement, the reason they don't paint any more Over the years I have been in this business, I have seen many Artists come and go. All start out with wonderful enthusiasm and big dreams to hit the heights of the Art World and sadly a few years later, they don't paint any more. I am sure you all know someone like this, disappointment and discouragement slowly wears them down until they give up and stop painting. I had a friend who did wonderful paintings of military machines, beautiful paintings and nice landscapes. He sold a few to family and friends, had a one man show, but today years later, he does not paint and all the paintings are stored in a shed. A woman I knew painted wonderful happy paintings that radiated joy, she sold a few had some shows, paid for publicity and now, years later, she does not paint anymore and her paintings are stored away. What happened? It’s what I call “The struggle.” This battle is not fought at the end of the ...

If you want to achieve a lot in the Art business, to some extent you must become a public figure and because of your Art you also become a recognisable face. It does not make any difference whether it’s your Art, your music, your writing, your movies, your sports team, this maybe the reason you got there but it is your fame, your celebrity is the reason you stay there. Yes you still have to produce great original paintings or sculpture and keep evolving that is a must because your celebrity is built upon you and your great Art. Picasso was probably the most famous celebrity Artist ever, everyone knew Picasso, even if you hated his work and the majority of the population did, but they all knew him and enough people loved him and bought his work to make him a millionaire, imagine that. Everyone does not have to love you and buy your work, but everyone needs to know who you are and your Art. Your popularity, who you are is built upon your Art and your Art better be good and...