Mark E Shellshear.

I am honestly amazed at how many people and Artists want to defend criticism as a positive attribute? It is not, critical people are not fun to be around as I know that I never enjoyed being criticized and still do not, though now I am able to see it for what it is and dismiss it outright. A question was put to me, “What if they are making bad Art?” My response was “What is bad Art and who gets to decide that?” Personally I think encouragement, instruction, inspiration and mentor ship is far more profitable and valuable to an Artist than criticism.

When people talk about changing the game I always used to think, well what could you do differently, it’s the Art world it is what it is? Yet the Art world over the last twenty five years has made some very big changes, especially now with the internet. We have seen Galleries become less and less and loose their power as the gatekeepers. We have seen the rise of the blockbuster Art fairs and that has eaten away at gallery sales. We have seen the rise of small auction houses and this has a big impact on gallery sales. We have seen social media free the Artist from dealers and galleries and they can now deal and sell directly with the public. We have seen online galleries open up with unlimited wall space eat into brick and mortar gallery sales and other new innovations. So the game really has changed and Artists are seeing themselves in charge of their careers. Artists today can earn a great living selling their Art without ever showing in a gallery, this was unh...

I often get asked why do I seem to beat away at certain subjects all the time? Simple answer is I want to keep you focused on the end goal because it is so easy to get discouraged over time in this business. When I deal with individual Artists one on one, I like to talk about old Artist new Artist, visualization, positive self talk, positive attitude, keeping focused on our goals and not the obstacles, because I believe in change, change lives for the better and you will be a better person and a better Artist and you will change your world. When I write and do videos I like to talk about sales and more sales because this is the oxygen for Artists, we need money, cash flow. Another favourite subject is videos, why aren’t more Artists doing videos? Videos are so powerful and everyone should be doing them, don’t let fear stop you, imagine you can make videos of your Art and post them for free all over social media and so few do it. Lastly read and study, watch tutorials yo...

Customer service starts with building a relationship with the stranger when they are first standing in front of you admiring your painting. This the time to be very focused on what they are saying. Different people hear things differently. Different people see things differently. Listen carefully to what they are saying, not what you think they are saying, to assume the sale is on we must hear what they are truly saying. Don’t interrupt and give good feedback. Make sure you understand what they are really seeing in your Art work also and then lead them into what you were trying to accomplish with your story of the painting. People are fascinated with Artists and want to know about you and understand your Art work. Learn to listen carefully and talk less. Assume the sale is always on, hear what they are really saying and give good feedback. Caring for your customer means that customer service starts before the point of sale and goes on for the rest of your rel...

The most successful Artists that we see are really doing their own thing they are not in the crowd they are trailblazing their art careers. Now to be a trail blazer we must focus on the trail not the obstacles around us. I was reading about downhill skiing where they go very fast and weave in and out of the trees without hitting them. They said key to this kind of skiing was to focus on the trail not on the trees, ignore the trees and go round, if you focus on the trees, you will hit one. In the Art business you can focus on the Art path you are making or on all the problems, the road blocks and obstacles, the setbacks and why you cannot get sales and that will be all you will see and it is depressing and will slow you down and you will constantly doubt yourself and struggle. Focus on your trail not on the trees. Focus on the people who love your Art and encourage yourself in that. Focus on the people who buy your Art and create work to please an...

As I have said in past blogs the most asked question I get is “ Please help me price my paintings.’ I don’t want to answer this question because most times I offend Artists because they have this emotional attachment to their paintings and I do understand that, but you have to sell them, they are your product. As I said yesterday if you can somehow see yourself as the value proposition and your Art is your product you begin to look at your Art differently and you will sell it differently.

I was talking to an Artist about being in a Gallery and they said I should talk more about it as I made a comment about how I dislike the way most Galleries hang work, it always looks to me like the fear of the vacuum, get as much work up on the wall as possible without considering how it looks aesthetically. How the show is hung is as important as the show itself and can mean sales or no sales, I am referring to a solo show. Group shows I will  talk about in the video tomorrow. First of all I never just hang a show, I lay it out around the Gallery before I decide what and where to hang and make sure all the pieces complement each other as I want the show to be pleasing to the eye.

I think for most Artists we mostly all find when we start painting we paint in a traditional style. I know I was taught as a young boy to paint like Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts, two early Australian Artists who painted in the traditional landscape format. I really thought this was the correct way to paint because my teachers told me so but when I discovered abstraction in my twenties I loved it but total abstraction wasn’t for me I wanted to paint life in a contemporary way. Their is so many Artists with different ways of painting and we must all find our place in the Art world we live in, it doesn’t mater, find you. .