Mark E Shellshear.

Often when we hit lean periods in our Art practice we panic and wonder what can we do to get through the problems we are facing or do we just give up. One strategy that we can do is to sit down and think about the promises we made. The promises we made to ourselves and the promises we made to our fans. These are the promises that we need to keep no matter how difficult it is to do. We must keep our promise to ourselves to create the best Art we can and never give up no matter how we feel. It is easy to say I will never give up when things are going well but often a different story when times are not so good. It has to rain sometime and there has to be night time but they do pass just remember your promises to yourself. Our fans are usually not aware that we are struggling and they do not need to know, but they do expect us to keep our end of the bargain, to produce the best Art we can for them. Not for everyone, because you cannot please everyone, but you can p...

My friends, no matter what circumstances you find your self in, you can change them, you can fix the problems of your life and you can be successful. It takes a decision to change and the courage to make the necessary changes and the self discipline to do it. Be very clear about what you want to change, write it down. Be very clear about what you will have to do to make those changes, make a list. Remember if it was easy to change everyone would do it, it means breaking old habits and building new ones. T ake your list each day of the things you need to accomplish to bring about change and tick them off as you do them . Small d aily d iscipline s become significant enough to cause a larger, more important change and it all begins to happen.

Artists are creative people but so often do not apply that creativity to other areas of their lives. Have you ever asked yourself the question, why do I do that? Why do I say that? Why do I feel like this? It is so easy to just float along with what is familiar, rather than ask the questions of yourself that bring change. We always see the problem but not the potential within that problem for change. Within every problem is an opportunity, an opportunity to learn, to grow, to be better. We get stuck in our familiar and we do not see the potential within us to change for the better.

Today I talked about Michael Jordan with an Artist, I said isn’t it amazing that Michael Jordan was one of the best basketball players that there ever was, yet he practised like he was the worst. He practised while the others rested, he pushed himself constantly because he didn’t want to just be the best but he wanted to be better every time he played. He played sick and injured but still always gave his best. He did not let defeat stop him and he practised harder and played better. Imaging what we could accomplish if we had that attitude as an Artists? “ I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.” Michael Jordan.

This was said to me at lunch today, “ Is there a button I can push and it will all happen for me?” When we were little most of us believed in Santa, the tooth Fairy and the Easter bunny, we were told it was true and then the magic happened. It was great you got up on Christmas morning and the presents were there from Santa, lose a tooth and next morning there would be money under your pillow and Easter eggs arrived on Easter morning, we pushed a button and it happened. It all happened like magic because someone else did it. As we grew older we slowly learned that none of this was true it was all lies, there is no magic and our parents were Santa, the tooth Fairy and the Easter bunny. We were programmed to get it all so easy and then life came along and all the rules changed, yet many still believe there is a button somewhere to push but the truth is you have to do it now. There are no shortcuts to success y ou simply do the work until you reach th at point where ...

As well as make wonderful original Art work we must also work hard on being the best person that we can possibly be and inspire others to be the best that they can possibly be. A ll of us have something to share, life experiences that can encourage others and they can know they are not alone. Be quick to say a kind word. Be attentive and listen carefully, so many today feel they are not heard. Be slow to judge, we all walk a different path. There is so much we can do to touch the people around us and contribute into the ir lives and make a positive difference.

“ Regardless of what trade or profession you're in, you have to sell yourself and your skills... and that includes artists.” I read this in a trade journal and I thought how true it is. We are all selling ourselves and our skills all the time. To survive as an Artist or a baker we have to make sales. Everyone unless they are supported is faced with this question, I must sell. Even the person who has a 9 to 5 job is selling their time and skills to their boss in return for a wage. So we as Artists must understand the reality of the new Art world we live in where the internet has disrupted the Art business to such a state that Galleries are no longer the gate keepers and Artists can go directly to their customers and sell. In the old days Artists and collectors were kept apart by the Galleries so the y controlled the sale and earned their commission but in this world we live in today where Galleries are slowing closing we have to now deal one on one with our custome...

“ Let the artwork talk not the artist.” I am amazed that someone would send this to me. My first reaction was to come back at them but then I thought better to ask the question, “ Why would someone say this to me?” First they probably do not know my opinion on this subject or they are making a statement disagreeing with me, but lets go back and answer the question. Most Artists who say this are unable to confront the fear/thief and this is a great excuse for not having to talk about your Art to strangers, because it’s scary talking to strangers. They would also tell me that none of their friends talk about their Art so they can all sit back and justify the statement, “ Let the artwork talk not the artist” because they all agree. Yet it is so wrong and stops so many Artists from selling their work. Art works do not speak. Yes some people experience an emotion when they look at Art, but the Art work is not speaking it is the catalyst that stimulates the persons emot...

“Each time I read your posts, I always hope to get something new, some "secret” discovery but I always get disappointed as all this information is already well known.” I suppose there is nothing new under the sun, free advise is just that and often free advice is not headed because it cost us nothing. We always value what we pay for. The “secret discovery” with any advice we are given is in doing it, actually hearing it and then applying to our lives, this is hard. Knowing something is very different from doing something. We need to be courageous enough to build the necessary disciplines into our lives, the hard stuff, the stuff we don’t want to do but know we should do. Most people don't want to hear that there is personal cost, so I try to take a softer approach to try and make people think.  If I tell you to do it, you won't do it, but if it is your idea you just might. The secret discovery is the realization that words wi...

Artists say to me, people say my Art is great and I am talented, buy no one buys my work or even looks at it, maybe I am fooling myself? So the problem is not the Art, people like it and say you are talented, the problem may be quite simple, you are unknown. Not untalented but unknown. We must do the best Art work we can possibly do and must work very hard at getting known, getting peoples attention. Work hard on social media to get known and at every opportunity that we show our work we must speak to every person who comes to the show. Artists who are prepared to talk about their Art unashamed to strangers will always have the opportunity to sell. P romote yourself, no one else will and always remember grasp every opportunity that comes your way, do not be backward in coming forward. People walk away from the boring, average and every day. Be passionate about your Art, people will always gravitate to passionate, enthusiastic people.

Complacency and compliance are the enemies of change and you will be invisible. We need to spill the milk. We need to scramble the egg. We need to break the mould. Strive for excellence in your Art not conformity and average. Excellence is not something that you reach, it is a constant journey of improvement. It does not matter what others think of your Art, it matters what you think. It is your gift, b e excited that your work is different from the compliant crowd , your audience will find you as you show your work and it will grow. Persevere with what you are doing recognition will come, keep living on the edge, if the thief/ fear is not always present then what you are doing is not making a difference. Do not give up, keep making your Art and the gift will make way for itself. Trust the gift, it is you.

There are still many Artists who believe that everything will be ok and that the Art business will go along as it always has and when it’s time to change it will be easy to do. I believe if we are not anticipating the changes then we will fall far behind what is happening and we will be playing catch up always. The Artist of today must be focusing on two primary things, the first is producing wonderful original Art work and the other is results, sales and that will be happening more and more on the internet. Without sales there is no Art business and so we will have to learn more about conducting business on the different social platforms as well as face to face selling. The reason many Artists fail is they always do the fun and easy activities and they think everything will be ok, it will all turn out fine, don’t worry. So often we do what is fun and easy not what is hard and necessary and excuses and procrastination sabotage us and we wonder why life gets so hard. W...

Once we would paint our paintings and take them to the Gallery or Art show and drop them off and go back to our studio and paint and wait for the cheque to come in the mail. Those days are gone, many Galleries are struggling and now charge wall space as well as high commissions and then not much is sold. Once it was so easy but is very different now. I t is all changed and this Art business we find ourselves in now is like learning a whole new business model . Our market is now the world, the internet has bought us all together and the old days we remember are gone. The great things about this new time we find ourselves in is that the Artist now has control of their own destiny, we are no longer held hostage by Galleries, dealers and middle men and now the Artist can communicate directly with the collector and we can sell to them and there are no commissions. Artists will experiment with new showing spaces as we begin to understand the need to be where the peop...

This is a creative journey that you are on and it is dangerous, not physically but emotionally . The “thief” does not want you pushing yourself further out into the unknown, doing exciting new original work, it prefers procrastination, double mindedness, indecision, apathy and copying and especially excuses, the thief is a master at excuses, these it can live with because then you will be safe and accomplish very little. This is not where the Artist lives, an Artist lives with the unknown every day, pushing boundaries and always wanting to get outside of their comfort zone. It is a daily struggle, because then you know th at you are on the right path, if the “thief” says, “No, don’t do that you will be criticised and laughed at” you say “Let’s go and do it and see what happens?” Artist be comfortable in your quiet solitude with your muse and triumph in the every day wrestle with the “thief.” Let the thief be your guide, when it says, “no” you say, “ lets go.” ...

This is what I tell unknown Artists who question the struggle. The object is to sell your paintings and get them onto walls of strangers. To introduce your Art to strangers and convince these strangers to invest in your work at prices that they will consider reasonable for an unknown Artist. These prices might not be what you were wanting but you have to get your paintings onto the walls of strangers so keep prices down and let the collector see value. Your aim should be for these strangers to become your collectors and your friends and life long collectors of your work. Over time the price of your work will rise as you become more popular, building your reputation and your work becomes more collectable, patience it takes time. It is in your long term interest not just to sell one of your paintings to a stranger, but to build a relationship with that stranger so you sell a lifetime of paintings to that stranger. Its is not about the short term rewards it is abou...

We must everyday do things that matter, things that make a difference. 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 the canvas. You matter, your work matters, make a difference.

We need passionate Artists who believe in themselves, not just their Art but also in themselves because self belief will drive you forward and will hold you steadfast in the day of adversity. You need little money to be successful. You need little education to be successful. You need little talent to be successful. But you need initiative because it is always up to you to do it. You need to control you thoughts and build positive inner confession and thought life. You need the desire to learn whatever is needed to accomplish your Art goals and to gain whatever new skills you need to go forward and being prepared to work as hard as it takes to accomplish your goals. Know what you want and stand by your dream until it is reality.

Perseverance is so necessary. Work hard on your Art career always and ignore the feelings that it is not working out for you. You do not see it yet, but it is happening, maybe very slowly but it is happening. It takes time. It takes hard work. It takes self belief and ignoring that negative voice in your head and how you feel, feelings are not reality, the reality is that it is happening, it may be slow but it is happening. Don’t stop now. Don’t listen to that negative voice in your head, just keep working hard at your Art practice. The problem with giving up is that, then you would never know? Persevere, when you want to give up, go another day, give it another week, another month, another year, it will happen for you, just never give up.

Your past is a great wealth of knowledge and experience so take from your past and invest that experience and knowledge into your future. We all have regrets, that's part of being human but we cannot change the past it is done and we need to be moving forward and growing in a positive way. If you use the past as a stick to beat yourself up with, then you will get no value out of your past and not be able to take that experience and learn from it and add value to your life now. 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 be able to apply that knowledge so you can stop it from happening again in the future. Dr Phil says “ Our past is a prediction of our future.” That is true if you do not learn from your past and make the necessary changes so you do not walk that way again. Wishing that it never happened, will not change the past, forgiving yourself and movi...