Mark E Shellshear.

Y ou are an Artist and t he battle within with the fear will rage every day for as long as you desire more of yourself and more from your craft. This is a creative journey that you are on and it is dangerous, not physically but personally . The fear does not want criticism, or you pushing yourself further out into the unknown, doing exciting new original work, making videos and story telling and getting known, it prefers procrastination, double mindedness, indecision, apathy and copying , 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. .

Every time we show our Art the goal is to sell and also to get the contact address of every person who shows interest in our work, email and phone number if possible, so that you can keep the conversation going. The paintings you are showing, please Artists put your name, phone number and email address on the back of the paintings so you can be easily found by your buyers. When you sell a painting online you should send with the painting a short resume of yourself, photographs, your email address and phone number, your social media account and your web site if you have one. This is so important because if the buyer decides later they want another of your paintings they can contact you easily. Keep in contact with your buyers, keep conversation going, this is after sales service.

The most important things in life are not wealth and celebrity, though we are told they are, the most important things in life are loving, caring for and helping others. That’s why we need wisdom and understanding to do this, because it is often the small things we do that have the most impact on others, not the big earth shattering things. A warm smile, a little kindness, listening to someone who feels alone, taking time to understand someone's journey, not dismissing them as different or strange, but empathise with them. Giving of your time, your talents, your knowledge, your love and sometimes even your money. Be the change you want to see in the world. .

There is no quick way to success, it all takes time and perseverance. Be the one who will go the distance, do not give up. Ignore all the get rich quick ideas in selling your art, they do not work, the way to success as an Artist is determination, perseverance and hard work, always be on the job. Talent will not do it for you, it comes down being ahead of the pack and that takes work. You will need to consider you social media and how you want to present it, remember social media loves original material both videos and blogs. Experiment with your Art, make videos, be a trailblazer and build relationships and always be open to personal change and improvement .

Ours is a discipline the demands that we produce a high standard of original work that will be accepted by a discerning market place. If we have self doubt this will undermine our ability to constantly produce this high standard of original work, we will play it safe because that’s what the fear wants us to do and we will not put ourselves in a vulnerable position where we can be challenged or criticised. Always do the opposite of what the fear wants and strengthening your self worth by getting out of your comfort zone and doing the original work you were born to do. .

Word of mouth is the best advertising we can get. When collectors are talking about us to their friends it’s the same as a referral and it is the best recommendation we can get. Every time you sell a painting announce it, post it on your page, when you get testimonials from your satisfied buyers post it, tell the world because this is social proof that you are a selling Artist and worth talking about.

Everyday is a new day and the struggle continues. You are doing new brave Art things, do not expect the thief, your internal critic to be quiet. We must face fear straight on and do what it’s trying to stop us from doing and it does not give in easily, but everyday you walk against it, the next day will get easier until the fear is gone. Making videos is scary because the fear does not want us to do scary things and the first one will be hard, but by the time you get to 100 videos there will be no fear at all and it will be good fun. Never give up, push forward.

Years ago I had a big one person show called “All the women?” and I had one lady with her faithful husband tell me in no uncertain terms what she thought of my paintings and she finished by saying, “ I find these paintings disgusting!” Now it stung me but I got a reaction, of course she did not buy one, but many other people did and loved them. I think Artists are so courageous to show their Art, to make videos about them and story tell them and to put themselves into vulnerable places and embrace it and grow through the experience. Unfortunately you may be criticised but you will also be praised and gain new followers and collectors as well. People are looking for Art leaders, so to be seen, you will need to step out of the crowd and walk alone and then others will follow. Risk being vulnerable when you present your paintings to the public and embrace the challenge of standing strong with your paintings before people. You paint your paintings for the people who love t...

Artist you know what scares you the most about your Art practice and the thing you constantly put off, but that is probably the key to your success. Often the thing we don't want to do, is most likely the thing we need to do, so don’t let fear rob you of your success. If fear turns up to stop you, just think to yourself, if the thief is trying to stop me and panic me, it must be the right thing to do, so then just go ahead and do it anyway. Once you know it’s fear and you do it anyway, it loses power in that area and it becomes easier and easier for you to do it next time. Every time you go against fear you take a little more power from it. Don’t let the stop you from making videos or storytelling your Art, panic the fear and do it and again and gain mastery over fear in that area of your life.  

  The lesson for all Artists to learn is do not listen to the praise and adoration, but listen to the Muse. The back slappers and adoring fans are not the answer to a long sustainable career, producing wonderful, original Art is, look at all the greats of history especially Picasso, he constantly evolved and sort excellence in his Art. Praise and adoration is nice and enjoy it when it comes but it is just smoke and it will blow away, your reality is in your creativity and doing excellent Art for excellence sake, not in flattery. Artists must always strive for excellence in what they are doing if they are going to change their world, not strive for applause. Be the best Artist that you can be and produce the best original work that is totally yours always, that way you will have a long and sustainable career. Listen to your Muse and strive for excellence in your Art practice. .

It really does matter what strangers think because they are the ones who will buy your work and strangers will make you famous. Convince them through story telling your Art, make videos and make them interesting and engrossing. Educate them about why you paint and who you are as a person, explain your vision and what you are trying accomplish, inspire them with your vision . Win them over to you through being passionate about your Art and always being friendly and approachable, never complain but always have something positive to say. Build relationships with strangers who like your Art and turn them into friends and life long collectors. It’s hard work but the rewards are worth it.

You will not get this day ever again in all your life, so don't waste it, paint e ven if you paint a bad painting it is better than painting no painting at all and we do need to get all the bad paintings painted as well as the good ones. Failure s tarts when you begin to do a little less each day and repeat that little small mistakes over and over again. Make this day count for your future, put in more effort than you need to and when you turn up to work, work. Do this for you, you are the most important person in your life, you will never have the opportunity to live this day again, make every day a productive Art day for you. To build a strong sustainable Art practice requires us to turn up every day and work.

You need to put your paintings on the walls of these strangers at a price that you are both happy with. Remembering that you will increase your prices as the years go by as your reputation grows and these strangers become your collectors and friends. If we could get past the romance of being an Artist and selling our work for big money, we would then understand that it takes time, patience and hard work to build an Art business. The painting you are selling today for $100 in five years you could be selling for $1000, same size, same Artist, same talent, the only difference is that you have built your Artistic reputation and Art business and you now have a group of collectors who invest in your art work and your collector base is continually growing. I want Artists to do well from their art, it takes time, it takes hard work and it takes a sales strategy, start reasonable and build on your prices each year. The key to surviving as an Artist is regular sales and getting your pa...

Masterpieces might be painted in the good times, but they are birthed through the difficult times, when we want to quit and all of us at some point want to quit. Escape is never the best option, because it is in these difficult times that seem to go on forever, but don’t really, that we learn about ourselves and how strong our drive, vision and goals are. It is in these times, the seemingly endless times that opportunity comes and is usually disguised in difficulty. Giving up is never an option, it’s to easy to do, but if you need a couple of days off then do that, but don’t give up, what if tomorrow the breakthrough comes? You see life has taught me that this too shall pass, be it in a week from now or a month from now, it will turn around, day always follows night.

T oday we live in a very crowded Art market, so every A rtist is going to have to work hard to get attention and get known and that’s a wonderful opportunity and challenge to be creative and innovate with your Art marketing. There are no rules, so experiment and be different put your work out there, show it, talk about it, make videos and be bold and get attention. Do not let fear stop you from being different and creating your own Art world around you, push the boundaries, think differently and experiment. No one will invite you do this or give you initiative, you must give yourself permission and take the initiative. This is a great opportunity for every Artist , there are no set rules or certain ways to do this, no 10 step plan, no map, you have to make it up as you go, I know you have never done this before, good now is your opportunity to be creative and use your imagination and do it. Take up the challenge, t he Artist of today is not just a creative Artist but...

When you read, watch a movie, hear a wonderful song, listen to a tutorial, take notes, always be looking for lines and ideas, thoughts that you can use in describing and story telling your paintings. Sometimes you will be talking to someone and they will say something that you think, I can use that, write it down. Get a note book so you can write down ideas and thoughts that jump into your mind, I do not trust my memory so I always take notes and it amazes me as I read back over my journals from years ago how thoughts and ideas I wrote down so long ago now can be the basis of a new blog. I love the line I read in a Tom Clancy book, “If it is not written down, it was ever said.” That so challenged me about all the ideas and thoughts that I thought I would remember and I didn’t, now they are lost to me forever. I now keep lots of notes in my journal and refer to them often in my writing and story telling. Do not trust your memory, write it down and then you will always have...

  This a journey you are on, an Art journey, no maps or sign posts are given, so you will need lots of p atience, resolve and a deep sense of self belief. All these are necessary because if you want to be the best and stand out from the crowd you will have to make videos and have opinions and you will be criticised and shunned by the crowd, unfortunately jealousy and envy is very real in our business. Lastly, enjoy each moment of creating and do not be on to much of a hurry to get to the end of the journey, happiness, contentment and fulfilment are found in the act of creating and living in the moment, not in finishing the journey. .

Do not look at others to make you successful, look in the mirror and begin to appreciate all you can be and can accomplish, because others do not hold the key to your success, the person in the mirror does. Begin to work on improving yourself and your work habits and work on small daily disciplines and bring change in your life and you will change your world. Next time you look in the mirror, smile at that person and tell them you love them, because they are the key to your success, for they are the only person you will get to live with all your life, love yourself so you can love others.

I see so many seriously talented Artists who really believe, because they are talented that everything will work out for them and all they have to do is paint and wait for fame and fortune to come, just like winning the lottery. Unfortunately winning the lottery can be a curse because you never learned how to handle money and you need to learn those lessons or lottery success will be your downfall. Success comes to the prepared, if success comes to the unprepared it seldom stays because they are not prepared for it. I know of so many talented Artists who got early success in their career and today they are not painting. Artists need to understand that their success depends on themselves, do not rely on others or expect others to open doors for you because that seldom happens until you are successful and then everyone wants to help you because you are successful. Prepare for success, work hard on you Art and work harder on becoming the best person you can become. .

Instead of having great wisdom in hindsight, let’s go forward asking the right questions, that will gives us better insight in how to do things better in our Art business. None of us can avoid problems and Art market down turns, but we can anticipate what could happen and then do all we can to avoid it. One way we can plan to avoid mistakes in accomplishing our dream for our future, is to be able to write it down and say this is where I want to be in 10 years or 20 years and then write out a step by step plan of how we will accomplish that. Goals are very important. .

I do not think there is good, great or bad Art . T here is the Art that I personally like and the Art I don't like, but that does not make it good, great or bad Art . There is the Art that sells and the Art that does not sell, but that does not make it bad Art, just unsaleable. There is Art that challenges us and Art that does not. A rt is Art, is never good or bad, it is just Art. We call some Art great because it has lasted so long, because it is 500 years old and survived is amazing, but that in itself does not make it great Art. Art that brings outrageous prices in an Auction Houses does not make it great Art, it makes it Art that someone was prepared to pay a lot of money for, nothing else. What we like and don't like is a very different thing because prejudices, likes and dislikes make us use words like good, great or bad Art, but really it is just our opinion. W ho can make the statement of what is good, great or bad art? A n academic who has ne...

Artists are the most creative and imaginative people alive but most do not use this creativity when it comes to their Art business, all of a sudden they are not creative? We must use our imagination and creativity in every area of our life especially in our Art business. Dare to think differently. Dare to do things differently. Dare to be the one who says, “I don’t want to do it that way, I will do it this way.” Use your imagination and then act on it. If it works you will be excited and do more. If it doesn’t, you have learned what not to do, which gives you good experience. It is learning to see it through the eyes of your imagination and then act on what you imagine, you will change your Art career and your future.

It takes time to be a successful Artist, to make the personal and professional changes that take us forward. 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. If practice makes you perfect, then practice more than anyone else. Keep practising your craft, make the necessary videos, get known, face and name recognition, it all takes time, so start today don’t wait another day.

Consider your work always, do not be concerned with what others are doing, because working hard on your own Art business and not concerning yourself with the business of other Artists will cause you to grow your art business. If you concern yourself with what others are doing you will be distracted from your work and from being diligent in your calling. The best way to help your peers is not to be a busy body and criticise but to led by example. If you tell people what to do, make sure you are doing it first. There are so many who can tell us what we are doing wrong, but so few to show us how to do it right. Lead by example, show us how to do it. .