Mark E Shellshear.

Failure is not one bad day or week or month it is 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 the obvious failure. Success is not one particular day when it all comes together, it is persistently doing your work every day, then looking back and seeing what you have accomplished over a period of time.

There are no short cuts and if you think you have found one then most probably it will cost you time you cannot afford to waste. Honestly Galleries and dealers are not the answer, you are the answer to your success. Galleries and dealers will handle you if you can sell well and return them a profit as that is the market that they play in, but so many Artists put paintings into Galleries and think that they have made the big time only to find in the six months time the Gallery rings them to come and get their work, because it has not sold.. The only answer to your Artistic success is you. You are the key to your success and there are no short cuts, stay on the path, work hard on your craft, learn all you can about social media and selling and marketing, and please make make videos, learn public speaking and be patient, it takes time. To be an overnight success may take you twenty years of hard work. .

One of the great lessons of life that I have learned the hard way is not to rely to much on other people. As much as possible try to rely only on yourself, because when you learn to rely only on yourself, you can never complain and you never have to explain. How true this is for the practising Artist, no paintings gets painted unless you paint them. No work gets done, unless you do it. The most productive Artists I know are the ones who just do it. Every day they go to the studio and paint, whether they feel like painting or not, they just paint. Unfortunately many go to the studio to paint and then find many reasons not to paint and another day goes by with no production, yes the studio is clean now, but no new paintings. They lack self discipline, it is easier to let go, than to get up and do it. Many wait for inspiration and it seldom comes. They know they should paint. They know they could paint. But so many don't paint. What is needed is perspiratio...

Plugging away every day, takes patience and determination and a belief in yourself, your Art work and talent. So Artist turn up everyday and do what needs to be done and out of this discipline, comes the miracle. People want the miracle without the hard work, and often the hardest work is just turning up everyday and painting, even when you doing feel like it or want to. The miracle comes when you turn up every day and you are patient and determined to never give up, and work hard while you are in the studio. Turning up everyday is an attitude as well as an action, working precedes the miracle.

You have more ability to do more things that will make you successful, than you think you have, so we need to act accordingly. So many people give up on themselves and settle for average, settle for second best, settle for reality, but you can change your reality, you can change your world dramatically if you choose to. Choose yourself, choose your dreams, choose your goals and make the choice to take the necessary action which will get you closer to your dreams and goals. People who become successful walk against the fear and make the deliberate choice to do whatever it will take to accomplish their dreams. Yes it may be hard at times, but if it was easy everybody would be successful. The biggest obstacle to success is internal, fear, walk against the fear and choose to do you powerfully.

Reading about successful Artists and their lives can help us navigate the Artist journey, all success leaves a trail and when we find it, it will teach us what to do or not to do. We do not need a map we need a compass because what we are doing has not been done before, we are trail blazers, we are not following a road map. The group follows a road map because that keeps the group together and dictate, this is how we do it, they are not looking for different and new, because that will threaten the stability of the group, the group needs compliance, average and mediocre, not cutting edge and new. Being different and living on the creative edge means you must build strong foundations into your Art practice, learn all you can from others and build it into your life, be a life long learner, develop your work practice that is best for you and build that into your life. It is wonderful to admire people and what they have accomplished and be instructed by what they have done, bu...

A lot of Artists start out like I did learning to paint in the traditional fashion and never change, because it’s what they love and it’s how they paint and it’s them, they are fulfilled and they sell well, others change to a form of modern contemporary Art. Most high end Art that is sold is modern Art, but in saying that modern traditional Art still sells for big money. Most of the collectors I dealt with bought modern abstract Art to extreme modern Art, but they still wanted to buy famous dead traditional Artists. The key is to paint in the way that most fulfils you and not worry about what others are doing, there is more than enough Art lovers and collectors around for all the different genres of Art. When I buy Art, I only buy outsider Art that I really love, it’s not for everyone and I do not paint like an outsider Artist. Find where you are most fulfilled and don’t get caught up with which genre should I paint in, time and the Muse will push you where you should go. ...

Why is it so hard and it takes so long? Life is not designed to give us what we want or need. Life gives us what we deserve. Every value in life must be paid for. Every success in life must be paid for. Those who give, receive. Those who seek, find. Those who sow, reap. To become the Artist you need to be, to be successful, you will have to pay for it by learning new Artistic skills, learn to communicate well, getting peoples attention through videos and there is a cost involved, because it’s hard work. So many artists are complainers and believe that they have a right to prosper because they are Artists. Well you 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, don't, but don't complain, you are responsible for your success, we get what we deserve, not what we want or need. .

When I ran the Gallery I would go to all the auction receptions to see the proposed auction and to be seen and meet collectors. Once you are comfortable at these events you will meet people as you become a familiar face and you must belong there and they will recognize you as one of them. One collector I really wanted to meet, I saw him at an opening and when he was free I walked up and introduced myself to him and he knew me because of my videos and we hit it off and became casual friends and chatted at every opening we met each other at. Most Artists are shy and intimidated by auction opening receptions and high end Gallery opening receptions but the very well known Artists and the famous Artists all turn up and work the crowd talking to everyone they can, not selling their paintings but selling themselves. This is the side of the social part of the Art world and most Artists do not get involved in, if you want to meet rich people who can afford to buy your work. you will n...

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 themselves, why aren’t more Artists making 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. I want you to keep you focused on the most important things, selling your Art and getting peoples attention and getting name and face recognition, and videos will do that for you. Also repeat your earlier videos, because most people will not have seen them, that way you can have a video up every day, and that will get you name and face recognition. Videos are the key to getting known quickly.

It takes time to be successful, to make the personal and professional changes that take us forward and we become better. Small steps, small wins. It’s like saving money, it takes time to grow. Always do more than you need to, see that the extra hour worked each day is an extra 6 hours a week, nearly one day worked more than others. So what should I do more of? It’s easy to paint, but hard to do videos. It’s easy to draw, but hard to do blogs. It’s easy to be creative but hard to read that book I know I should read on sales and marketing. It is easy to practice the things that are not good for us, because we are comfortable with them, they are easy to do. If practice makes you perfect then don’t keep practising the things that cannot help you, practice the hard things you have to do and become perfect at them or at best efficient at accomplishing the things that will get the attention of people and get you name and face recognition. See...

I don’t think your paintings are so good, but people are lik ing them and mak i ng lots of great commen t s about them and look at you smiling i n your video. I could do much better videos if I wanted to, but I don’t want to right now anyway, they are to o easy to do. I will do them one day, I will just watch what you do and copy you, yes that’s a good idea. Anyway your paintings are not so hard to do, look I have done them and really I think mine are better. It was your idea and your images but why should you get all the attention when I am as good an Artist as you. If I had a chance I could do original work, I would do great work but I am just not ready yet, easier to copy your paintings as I know they will sell. It is ok to do this isn’t it? Look I am getting lots of likes, I bet I get more than her now and then we will see who gets all the attention. I know my original copies are better than her original paintings , I did them so now the y are my paintings, don’t y...

The Art market is not a good judge of great Art it is moved by fashion, trends, celebrity and signatures . It is not interested in anything but what sells, it certainly does not quickly accept the new and the different. If you are going to do original Art work that is new and different and never been seen before, then unfortunately rejection will be part of it, but if your Art is original and ground breaking, then the market will catch up to you and herald your New Art a big success . Sometimes being an overnight success can take up to 20years. You are in control of your Art career and your original paintings are wonderful, go forward, b elieve in y our work, do not loose hope and be an original Artist and bring change.

Having a no sale show is very hard to take, that is true and I have been there and my best advice is, go paint.  I can remember driving home after a one man, one mo n th show and having not sold one painting wondering what am I going to do, panicked at the prospect of doing this to myself again and I remember so clearly that still small voice of the muse saying, go paint, that’s all, no great long conversation just go paint, so I did that. It was amazing how the act of going and painting made such a difference to my attitude and my outlook on life, I was an Artist and this was part of being an Artist. It was not much fun I know, but it was not the end, even though it fe lt like it when I walked out of the Gallery .  The lesson I learned was b e very gentle on yourself, do not beat yourself up, remember its not personal, its the paintings that got rejected not you, you are still the same person, that wonderful creative human being. It is always best to ...

Allow yourself to be touched by the theatre of life, feel it, experience it and make it part of you creativity endeavours . Be open to be moved by the plight of others, a helping hand and a smile or a hug, may change the way a person is feeling. Always be ready to listen to those in pain, often no response is necessary, they just needed someone to take time to listen. Use all these emotions and feelings to motivate and inspire you to paint life as you experience it and to put all these human emotions into paint on your canvas. You are only at this point in time and space for a moment, capture it and record it in paint for others to see and appreciate, your Art reveals the human condition seen through your eyes. Paint life as you live it. .

We are often told we must strive for wealth and celebrity, t h at these are the important things in life, I do believe in success I talk about it all the time, but success is different for each person. I believe the most important things in life are caring for people and helping others. Not major earth shattering projects, but with simple things like kindness and a warm smile, taking time to listen to someone, being interested enough to understand another persons walk in life. Giving of your time, your money, your knowledge, your love and not asking for payment for a kind act. Being selfless not selfish. Being generous not greedy. Being the one to reach out and say, can I help you? It’s the golden rule, when we help others we help ourselves.

When I was teaching I would get the students to draw a chair as perfectly as you could and then draw it again and begin to abstract it a little. Then once they had done that, use their drawing now not the chair and draw it again and abstract it some more and we would repeat this about six times until the chair did not look anything like any normal chair, but it taught students to do more, go further, change, and change, and think outside the box until they were not drawing the original chair but their own creation. You see often it is the drawing of the normal over and over again until the subject is so abstracted and far away from the normal and becomes your original creation, why a lot of people stop doing this is because at first it does not look or feel right, but you must persist and you will be amazed at what you will create. My girl in the landscape series that I have been showing is a good example of this, I really did start with a normal woman seated in the landscape...

Both Picasso and Van Goth believed that they were called, they saw destiny in what they were doing, not fame and fortune. They had to paint, they had to create, they were compelled to do so. Neither poverty nor wealth stopped them from fulfilling their calling to be an Artist. Both created a big catalogue of work, Picasso and Van Goth, they needed no guidance, no sign posts they just followed the leading of the muse and their work is recognisable as theirs and never to be mistaken for another Artists work. That is what being an Artist is all about, creating a body of work over a lifetime, it is not about the wealth or the poverty, it’s about the Art and creating your own original Art work.

  For an Artist getting attention is one of the most important things you can do. Getting attention is standing out from the Art crowd, not being like everyone else, but being the best you can be. I know that this is a real challenge because fear does not want us to stand out and be different because this not safe, you could be criticised and talked about and fear does not want that, so it will do all it can to stop you from standing out. It will use every excuse it can find to stop you, it will tell you that you are shy, reserved and you do not push yourself forward, but you must ignore the fear and do exactly the opposite to what it says. Artists say to me, but I don’t want to do that I just want to be in the background and let my Art speak for me. I think one of the most absurd Art exhibitions I have ever been to was where the Artist called himself Anon and did not show their face because the paintings spoke for themselves, well guess how many paintings sold? Good...

I know with my Art career I should have learned more about my Art practice, the Art business and about myself personally. If you had told me I needed to improve in those areas I would have said I am doing fine, thank you, I am working hard at my Art and raising my daughter. I was comfortable and I did nothing about any of those areas other than to continue to work hard at what I knew. For me it took a major upheaval to wake me up out of my comfort and to change my life. If you want to change your life, don’t change your address, you change yourself and work on you to become better and your world will become better. I did not try and fix the disaster I faced, I fixed me and by doing that I fixed my problems, I paid back all the debts and relaunched my career and me. If you work hard on your life to be a better person and a stronger person it will impact on your whole world and all the people in your world. Work hard on yourself and excel in being the best person and Arti...

I want as many Artists as possible to make videos, write blogs and inspire other Artists to be the best creative people they can be. If what I have done makes you want to make blogs and videos then I will let you into the secret. I never asked anyone's permission. I never asked someone to show me how to do it. I just picked me and did it. I never looked at what others were doing because I did not want to be influenced, I wanted to do my work and be responsible for it, and if it failed, so be it, but it didn’t and I am grateful, but know this I am not special and there are a lot more talented people out there than me, I just refused to stop and that’s what you need to do if you want be successful, never give in. One other thing is this, the only person who can really stop you is you, don’t listen to the chatter out there, you don’t need to ask permission, just do it. Let us inspire others to be the best Artist and the best pe ople they can be.

It’s important to learn the art of being a little out of step with everyone to challenge your viewers. For some Artists it is the natural way they are, I am not talking shock value that is for the extrovert and those who want to be outrageous, no, I am talking about the ability to be just a little out of step with those who admire your Art. Work hard at being t he Artist who is very friendly and quick to talk about her work and be able to promote it without being pushy. Engage your audience and story tells your work so people get caught in the words and the imagery, capturing their imaginations. Have fun being the Artist who is quirky, yet everyone wants to know her and talk to her. Being out of step, does not mean being way out of step but just a little so it is noticed but does not create any uneasiness in the viewers. Because being like everyone else is being invisible. Being you, who is a little out of step, is fun and different and you will get the attention of ...

In this new day and this covid age we live in do not count on good luck or the chance of being discovered or that magical knock on your door and now you are discovered, that is like winning the lottery, there is a chance but the odds are way against it. I believe that there is one way to achieve great things in the Art business, of course a little talent, but it comes from work hard, patience and have written out goals and then work out a plan on how you will achieve your goals, yes your goals may change as the years go by but at least you have a plan and you are not allowing your Art career to be governed by chance. Being a talented Artist is not enough, you need to know where you want to go, because if you don’t know where you want to go, how will you know when you arrive? Do not leave your Art career to chance, have goals for your Art future, write them down, set down your plans and what you will do to achieve them, work hard and never give up.

Do not let wrong thinking stop you from achieving small goals in your Art life. It is not hard to save a dollar each week and then you would have $52 in December and all that is required is a little discipline. This is the same as reading that book that could change your life. Doing that workshop that could enhance your Art career. Doing that course that could teach you to sell. Making that weekly video that will get you the attention you need. The lesson is that small disciplines are very hard to start, especially if we have already convinced ourselves that we can't do it, no matter how easy it would be to do. Don't be convince yourself that it is to hard to do, because you will be right. Poor thinking sabotages good people. Turn your thinking around to positive self talk and see new disciplines as opportunities for success.

Do not look for reassurance from others, complements are nice but do not fish for them, you are painting because you are confident of your own talent and ability and what others think is not that important. What if Monet had listened to to the Art Market and his friends and family, we would have no beautiful Impressionist paintings today. You must bring your change, New Art, original Art and that can only happen if you believe in yourself, do not listen to the noise. You have to be a trail blazer, make your own map as you go forward, do not follow the path that is well trodden. T he reality is th at it is a hard business, but if you c oncentrate on your love of painting and make that the great motivation of your career, then the rest will fall into place. Picasso only heard one voice, his own, because he knew he was Picasso, so tune out all the other voices and only hear yours. Validate your painting by the act of painting and you will bring change, to your own career ...

I t is really easy for Artists or anyone to be critical of something that they do not wish to do. If you don't want to write an artist statement or story tell your paintings, then don't do it. But please do not criticise those who do. I believe that Artists should always do what is best for them, they are creative people who often do not fit into a pigeon hole and need space to do what they want to do. But do not criticise others who do not wish to agree with you, everyone has the right to blaze their own trail, even if it is different from yours. Artist always strive to find a way to do it better, not find fault, find things to praise and complement. Remember reaping and sowing, it is happening in your life even if you don't believe in it, what goes comes. Be the one to try and find the better way, encourage others, reach out to others and you will always be welcome.