Mark E Shellshear.

“ I can’t sell my Art. I have tried and tried but I just cannot find anyone who wants to buy it?” Now you can see this sort of statement often in Artists groups and it is said in different ways but basically it’s the same question, “ Why doesn’t my Art sell?” Of course I could offer lots of reasons, but basically no one knows you and if you are unknown, then you are unknown. When I offer advise about having to get out and get known and sell, then I am told Artists are shy and introverted and they say that is what Galleries and dealers are for. But my question is, what if Galleries and dealers don’t want to sell your Art, because you are unknown? You must get known, face and name recognition so make videos, they work. Learn to sell and learn public speaking and read self help books.. This is your career and no one is coming to rescue you or discovery you. The thing about self help is, it only works when you help yourself. .

Producing work is more important than being busy. It is so easy to get caught up in the urgent and become super busy but the important stuff, your priorities, the work that must get done is left undone. If you are super busy but produce very few paintings and art works considering the time you are working, then you are too busy. Yes, too busy, get rid of some of the your busyness. An Artist should prioritise these things. Of course completing your paintings and your Art work, that is your main work. Combined with selling and exhibiting, marketing and keeping in contact with your clients and lastly personal development and learning new skills. If you can keep busy doing those things then your Art practise will prosper.

Do you think if I asked Henry Ford about one of his cars he would have just looked at me and said, “ It’s a car.” No, he would have taken the opportunity to tell me everything he could about his car. He knew his product and he wanted to share that knowledge and his enthusiasm for his product. Know about your product, your Art work. What did you call it? Why did you call it that? Is there some deep meaning behind it? Why those colours? What influenced you to paint this? You also have a story that you can tell those interested in your work, why you painted it and what it means to you. You want your customer to get emotionally involved and love your painting as much as you do.

  Some customers you do not need, if they do not see the value in your work and want it discounted, just smile and say, “no” knowing it’s not for them. I have watched Artists who are so desperate that they discount their work only to regret it later, this business is hard enough without working against yourself. Give good value to your customers and they will support you. So always be leaving the sale, that is my attitude, I refuse to be desperate for the sale, I refuse to argue or defend my decision, I will tell the story of the piece and then ask them questions and if all they want is discounts, then end the transaction and leave, the seller can leave the sale just like the customer can. Life has taught me that there will always be another day and another sale, so be gentle on yourself some customers, you don’t need. .

We do not paint it for the critics and fault finders, it’s not for them. We paint for those who love and care about your work and the change it makes in their lives. We waste to much emotional energy on the critics and fault finders and what others think and say about us, when really we should just ignore them all and put all our energy into those who care about us and love our work and are inspired by it. Your paintings matter, paint for those you are leading up the mountain, not for those who are trying very hard to pull you down and keep you in the dark valley. Selling is about making a difference and impacting on the lives of others and helping them to be better, because you and your paintings matter.  

  It is so difficult for many practising Artists to make changes. They can be inspired one day to make both personal changes and Art practice change, but very quickly they fall back into the old ways because those ways are comfortable and safe. It can be a very uncomfortable feeling when we decide to do something new and challenging that takes us out of our comfort zone into a new place where the thief is going crazy to get us to stop and everything feels like we will make a fool of ourselves and fail. Change can be hard, because we have to break old habit patterns and that takes self discipline. Self discipline to keep doing what is difficult, new and challenging, even if the thief is trying so hard to stop you, deny it and do what is best for you. Walk against the thief, embrace difficulty because you will master it if you do not give up, it takes time for new habits to form. All the good stuff in your Art career happens when you are outside your comfort zone livin...

  Fear says that people will laugh at you if you are going to do something, you say, I will do it and see if they laugh? Fear says do it tomorrow, then you say, I will do it now. Make a list of all the things that you have been putting off doing in your Art practice from the easiest to complete, to the hardest to complete. Why? As you complete the easiest tasks and tick them off, so your confidence will grow and you will see that you can over rule the fear and you will be motivated to complete all the tasks on your list. Taking action bolsters your self belief and the belief in your ability to succeed and shows you that you can use the fear and not be immobilised by it. Excuses are very revealing. The next time you hear yourself making an excuse, ask yourself why am I doing this? The answer you get may be quite telling and will prompt you into action. Once you have done what fear is trying to stop you from doing, it will get easier and easier each time you do it....

In time the Artist becomes more important than the Art they make. In the beginning of your career your Art is very important so that you get noticed and get attention and begin to build your name. As you get known and your popularity grows and you become famous, so you will begin to eclipse your Art and your signature will be become more important than the Art work. Just look at auctions and the prices that come for a signature. So it is very important that you prepare yourself for success, because success does not reside long with the unprepared. Money like success, only stays with those who are prepared for it, it might visit the unprepared but it does not stay long. Work hard on personal improvement and build a good and ethical reputation. Be the best you that you can be.

So often we procrastinate on the small things of our Art practice that we know we should do but just don’t seem to get around to doing them. Two obstacles to being a successful Artist are fear and procrastination. Fear is what paralyses people and procrastination reinforces this so that we do nothing, we can recognise this in ourselves because we then make excuses why we cannot do it. Excuses are giving yourself permission not to do what you know you should be doing. This justification of your actions or non action using excuses is most often steeped in fear. The excuse sounds true, but a deeper look reveals fear is at the root of the problem. Do not let fear control your life, deal with fear by hearing what it says and then doing the opposite to what it says. Self confidence is built upon the small successes, overcoming fear, that we have each day as well as the big successes of life. .  

What to do when just plain hard work will not do it. I believe in hard work, but hard work just for the sake of it is not the answer, otherwise digging coal would make you rich, but few miners own the mine. This is the mindset we need, taking action is always the answer, ideas need action. When you take action it increases your confidence and your belief in your ability to succeed. Great ideas plus hard work make for success.

I get asked a lot when should I give up my day job and go full time as an Artist? I always say keep your day job and have money so you don’t become desperate with no sales. F amily and friends will encourage you and say you are a talented Artist and love receiving your paintings as gifts, but that does not mean in the future they will buy all your paintings when they are for sale . You need to remember that it is strangers who have to buy your paintings to sustain your future income, so you will need to build up a network of strangers over time that will become your collectors and are prepared to support your Art. Y ou need to build your Art business while you are part time so that one day it can be come your main source of income , but until it does you need to approach it as a part time job . Do not rush out and become a full time Artist, keep your day job and allow your Art business to grow to the point where all your sales and commissions coming from strangers fo...

  Every Artist has to sell their Art, if you don’t have a gallery or a dealer then you have to sell your work, yet it’s the one skill most Artists don’t invest in at all. What if you could spend six months learning a new skill that would start you on the road to your fortune, wouldn’t you do it? Six months of reading all the books, doing all the free tutorials on You Tube and listening to all the mp3’s available for free, if that would change your life forever for good, wouldn’t that be worth doing? I think it is so interesting that there are lots of people in sales in the world, but so few who know how to sell, yet they can learn for free if they want to, it’s all available for free on the internet. If you learned the skill of selling, imagine how much of your wonderful Art would be found in strangers homes and they could become your friends and collectors. Imagine what your Art career could be like if you just learned that one skill, how to sell?

There are many Artists that are complainers and believe that they have a right to prosper because they are Artists. Well we don't have any more right to prosper than any one else on this planet. If you don't want to work hard at your art, that’s fine, but don't complain about the Art market and how unfair it is. If you don't want to story tell you paintings and who you are as an Artist, that’s ok, but don't criticise those who do. If you don’t want to make videos, that’s your choice, but don’t complain if very few people know you. If you don't want to deal with galleries and dealers, you don’t have to, it is your choice. No one will force you to do anything, just do not complain, mummer and criticise when those who do these things prosper. This is a business and there is a market and the market rules, you may disagree but the market does rule. Artist always strive to be the best Artist and the best person that you can be. Make excellence y...

There are some Artists I know who make a reasonable living by selling paintings on the street, some do very well in Galleries, some excel in Art Fairs and others in weekend markets, all these Artists in their varied ways are putting their Art out there in the market place and selling it. They are getting attention and name and face recognition. Unfortunately there are those who are not working hard at selling their Art and they always seem to find fault with the market, but that is like finding fault with water when it’s all you have got to drink. Complaining and criticising fixes nothing and it only reveals our inner self. The best thing to do is learn all you can about the Art market where you live and make the part of the Art world a better place because you are in it. Don't just find fault, find a way to do it better and strive for excellence. .

You know when you are obeying the thief, you will make excuses and procrastinate on work that you know you can do. When the thief comes just say, Oh you have arrived I must be doing something good for you to come to stop me, so now I will do it because it must be the right thing to do. Then do it and you will be amazed at the progress you will make and what you will accomplish. Do not let the thief stop you from doing all that you can imagine you can do and be, go and produce great Art works. Paint the paintings you want to paint, do not conform to the ideas of others or the fear. Be brave and rebel and be the best Artist that you can. You will be amazed at what you will accomplish when you defy the thief. .

  A person’s external actions have their beginning within them, in the heart, their thought life. How a person thinks, combined with what they thinks about, produces the conditions and the actions we see externally. As within, so without. The way you talk to yourself inwardly is the way you will talk to others outwardly. Anger comes from within an angry person. A happy person within radiates happiness outwardly. The outside mirrors the inside. External actions, follow internal decisions so a person’s external actions have their beginning within them, in...

I read this sentence in a book and it just jumped out and hit me between the eyes. Of course how true, people want to be successful but they criticize success. We all want success in the Art business and we want to sell our work and earn a good living, so be careful that you do not criticize those who are successful and doing well, because you are criticizing what you also want, success and sales. You cannot attract to you what you are pushing away with criticism. Therefore if you see somebody doing well and you feel your work is better do not criticize but rejoice with them and say, I am in the same line. Success will be mine also. It always amazes me when a painting by Mark Rothko sells for millions and all these Artists come out and criticize the painting and how much money is spent on it and say it’s not Art and just junk.  The fact is, it is great Art and worthy of our praise and don’t we all want the same result with our paintings? You cannot attract what you...

I am always amused at how much unsolicited advice we Artists get, people with good intentions can always tell us what we should do to improve our art. But even more amusing is that they often get offended if we don’t do what they say. Has this ever happened to you? The problem is most Artists are very kind and gentle and just smile and say thank you when given advice and the other person often interprets this as yes. Unsolicited advice that is telling you what to do is like advice not to be taken on board. Unless you are paying for advice or it comes from a trusted source, don’t take on board unsolicited advice, because if you take their advise and it fails, it does not effect them and you must wear the failure. Personally if it is to fail, then I would rather fail from what I did, then I can learn form that and do it right the next time. Art is very personal and of course you can learn from others but be wary of helpful suggestions from people with good intentions ...

Always smile, smiling will do more for you than others it is hard to be upset when you are smiling, a merry heart does good for you like medicine. When you sell a painting, achieve a goal or accomplish something important always reward yourself and congratulate yourself for the accomplishment, always pay yourself first. Pay yourself first, this includes money, congratulations, love and forgiveness, you first, if you are fulfilled then it is easy to give out to others and be a blessing to them. Talent is a gift. Compassion, self love and being a friend is a choice. Life happens to Artists as well, so love yourself and be the very best Artist that you can be and change your world. .

Often the solitude an Artist experiences can be lonely and difficult. Creating is work and it takes a lot out of Artists and sometimes we can overdo it and it effects all areas of our lives. Work hard, yes, but also remember that you need some refill time as well or you could find yourself quite worn out and deflated. Always remind yourself that you are not alone, we are all going through life, it is the way it is, so please be gentle on yourself, take care of yourself, you are important, you are worthwhile and others really do care. Love yourself so you can love others.

Paintings are miracles, an Artist takes a white canvas and with just imagination and paint can create something original and beautiful on that canvas. Isn’t that amazing? To be able to create that painting so much has to happen within the Artist. They first must imagine it, visualise it, believe it and work hard to make it happen on the canvas. Imagination releases the miracle, so let your imagination soar. Work makes the miracle come to life on your canvas. Positive thoughts, positive affirmations and positive self talk as you work will speed up the miracle process. Those things you imagination, believe you will receive them and keep a positive mental attitude and you shall have them.

Just because high prices are paid for a painting does not make it a good painting. It just means the market was prepared to pay that much for it. Selling a painting does not validate you as an Artist. Sales can never validate you, because you paint paintings that’s what makes you an Artist and validates you, not the sales. Sales just mean the market is prepared to buy those paintings, it does not make them good or better than another Artists work. Not selling a painting does not mean the painting is no good, it just means that the market was not prepared to buy them today, but may change it’s mind next week or next month. The price problem hurts so many Artists, because everyone believes that their work is worth so much more than the market is prepared to pay for it. I know you love your work and you have poured your heart and soul into it and unfortunately the reality is, it is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it, that is the free market we live in. So...

Some people refer to it as their intuition other as their spirit guide, I refer to it as th at still small voice within. It is knowing that you know or maybe being in the zone, it is allowing the genius within to do the work. It is that time when the hours fly by like minutes and you see that you have produced a wonderful Art work. How often have you looked at your finished painting and wondered to yourself, did I do that, it’s like looking at a painting for the first time and knowing that you did it but you wonder how? That is when you know the Muse has been at work, releasing the genius within you, your genius and it works with you and through you. It is the genius within, the inspiration within, your creative instinct and ability that is within us, the Muse and we have to allow it to flow through us. We all have that creative ability within us and it is our job to let it flow out. Listen to the Muse and unlock your genius.

With consistent work comes consistent inspiration, it is amazing how inspiration always turns up after you start working on your Art. Your goal can be to become a famous Artist and that is great but you will have to deliberately paint your paintings every day. Maybe you have a day job and can only paint a few hours each night and on the weekends, still the same rule comes into play, painting consistently at every opportunity you can. Most Artists I know who have limited time because of a day job and seem to achieve as much as those who paint all day, limited time calls for very deliberate effort. The daily process is what achieves the goal. What you do every day is so important in accomplishing your goals because it is the daily achievements that turns into big success. It’s consistency that makes the big difference and sets those Artists apart from being just average. It is easy to make excuses when we don’t commit to consistent daily work, inconsistent effort will no...

There are so many very talented Artists out there who are not really sold on their Art. You complement them on their Art and they will tell you all it’s faults and how they could do it better and then they wonder why it doesn’t sell? The first key about selling is to be sold yourself and if you haven't sold you on your Art, it will be very difficult to sell it to others. When you are sold on your Art you will tell me how wonderful it is and what you are trying to say with your painting and convince me how much you love it. If I see how much you love it, that will influence me in my decision on whether to buy it. You must sell your self first on your Art, before you will sell it to others. .

  Why do so many believe in luck more than doing the work necessary to build their Art career. You might win lottery, but there is more probability that you won’t, yet people buy lottery tickets every day. A lot of Artists rely on luck to sell their paintings hoping their painting will speak for themselves or someone will see something in their paintings, but what if your painting doesn’t speak and they don’t see anything? Luck is an excuse of the thief, fear, to stop people from doing the hard work, they would rather think, wait I might get lucky or I hope I get a lucky break or I just need some luck. Or you can get in and do the hard work necessary to build your Art career and not trust it to luck. The Artist who gets in and turns up and does the hard stuff, painting wonderful original Art works, marketing, selling and promoting their work through videos, blogs and story telling does not need luck because they used effort. When they achieve their well deserved succe...