Mark E Shellshear.

It does not matter what others think of your Art, it matters what you think.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        ...

When you are selling your Art you have to help people deal with their fear of commitment. You have to work with the client as they persuade themselves to do something that will benefit them, like buying your valuable Art. This is the work of selling to someone who likes your Art piece and now you have to help them make their own decision to buy, you can’t make it for them. Buyer remorse is real, so everyone must feel that they made the decision to buy and were not pushed into it. My attitude was that I saw the customer as a friend and I only wanted the best for them and my job was to counsel and tell the story about the piece so they overcame their fear of commitment and they get the joy of investing in and owning one of my paintings.

  Most people are busy, some very busy, because busy is safe, but are they doing the important work? Creating Art and selling it, that’s the important work we have to do. Just these two, everything else we do must be to support these two functions, if it’s not, we are not working. We may be busy and many are very busy, our work is creating great Art and selling it, without these two functions none of us have an Art business. So look at what makes you busy and ask yourself, is it supporting the two most important things I do, create and sell. .

We need help to be successful, we need buyers for our Art works, people to read our blogs, people to watch our videos and our job is to please these people. Once we please them they will reward us with sales, nice comments and follow us. It might not be as fast as you want to grow, but it is growth and that’s amazing. Please one person and then five and then ten and then one hundred and then more, this kind of growth is sustainable. These are the people that we must please so they will buy from us and talk about us to their friends and spread the word about our wonderful Art work.

  We need to be courageous enough to b uild the necessary disciplines into our lives , the hard stuff, the stuff we don’t want to do but know we should do . M ost people don't want to hear that there is personal cost , but if we can get people thinking about personal change as making positive difference to their life, then there is good chance they will action it. If I tell you to do it, you probably won't do it, but if it is your idea you just might . The great value is in the realization that words will not help me unless I hear them and put them into action.

Your goal should be to get your Art in front of strangers so they can become your collectors and your friends over time and life long collectors of your work. Over time the price of your work will rise as you become more popular, concentrate on building your reputation and getting name and face recognition 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 your new collector. Its is not about the short term rewards, it is about building an Art career, seeing sales grow and those strangers putting the paintings you produce onto their walls. Selling paintings to strangers, turning strangers into collectors, turning collectors into friends. .

When an Artists believes that they are among the best, then they will preform at their best and create wonderful Art. If they believe in themselves, they find that good things will happen, because they expect them to happen, that is the story they are telling themselves. How we think about ourselves will determine how we act. How we will act either with courage or timidity, is shaped by our past thinking. All of us are a product of all our past thoughts, we are living the reality of those thoughts today. Change our thinking and we will change our tomorrows.

Hard, difficult, unfair, very true, life can be so unfair and things can happen that you have no control over, but you have your Art skills and your wonderful imagination, so change the dreams and desires and build a successful life. Someone once said to me that the Art life was just to hard and they would give up and I said it was up to them, but I would rather give it my total best and never ever give up, than to give up and then regret that for the rest of my life wondering, what if? Your dreams and visions are so very important, never let go of them no matter what happens, because they are your dreams and your visions. Keep going and close your eyes and see your dreams and visions as your future reality, just believe, assume it to be true and do the necessary work.

Focus on your attitudes and how you can make them better. Do not focus on negative comments or criticism, ignore them, neither is constructive or helpful. Most of all do not let the inner critic stop you and do not let fear stop you, use them both to give you direction and motivation. When the fear and inner criticism come to stop you, just acknowledge them, and know you must be doing something right so go right ahead and do it. Focus on your dreams and your goals and do not let fear take them from you. Do not be afraid to innovate and experiment and allow the Muse to guide you. Find a way, make a way.

No one can teach that, yes they can teach Art skills how to do something but no one can advise if it’s painted correctly, if it’s good or bad, that is subjective.                                                                                                                                                                     I can like something or not like it, that is my opinion and we all have opinions or even criticise it but the reality is, they could not do what the Artist did and they did not do it, so why aren’t they acclaimi...

I have observed that many when disappointments come tend to drop off doing some of the important things and the internal critic moves back in. The answer here is to not beat yourself up about it but recognize what is happening and turn it around quickly, even if you don’t feel like doing the important things, do them. Do all the things you stopped doing and use it as an opportunity to improve in all you daily habits and make you stronger. Disappointment is a difficult monster, so kill it quickly before it gets a footing. I have noticed with myself that in disappointing times how easy it is to stop doing daily habits, recognize it quickly and start doing them no matter how hard it is, because hard will make you stronger. Persist in these daily habits they build determination and are the building blocks of success. Doing hard things that average Artists won’t do because it is to hard, is our opportunity to build the success we desire. .

The key here is, what is the thing your heart desires, other than family and loved ones, for when we know what our hearts desire is we will understand our heart and how it is fulfilled. So many people live unfulfilled lives, going through the motions every day, doing a job they do not like and the only thing to look forward to is going home to watch television or the coming weekend. Most people go through life never doing what there hearts desire is and wonder why they get sick. We know that hope postponed makes the heart sick. So many people want to do things that their heart desires but are stopped by fear, what if it does not work out, what if it all goes wrong, excuses. Fear will do all it can to stop you from achieving the desires of your heart, your inner genius. Fear wants safe, but often safe is the most unsafe place you can be in, safe people hiding from what they truly want to do are not safe at all and are often consumed with problems both real and imagined because ...

Those who believed Art was their calling, their destiny did not let discouragement, hardship and the years wear them down they persevered ever confident in the coming recognition of their work. In the difficult times you must remember that you are an important person, many love you and care for you even when you are walking through the Artistic wilderness and you feel so desperately alone, but never give up. Remember this is a calling, it is your destiny, the Muse will speak to you again. No matter how dark the night is, the sunrise will come and with it the success you have worked so hard for. Go forward my friends and make the necessary changes both Artistically and personally, a small change could make all the difference, never stop learning, be very patient, keep smiling, stay positive and win the struggle, this your Art career, it’s your calling. .

Now you may translate Muse to mean what ever you want but I see it as the genius within, the inspiration within, your creative instinct and ability all within us that we have to allow to flow through us. We have to reach within and allow that power of the Muse to flow through us, all that creative ability is locked within us and it is our job to let it flow out. In the hustle bustle of our lives this is not so easy and it will take practise and preparation to allow the Muse to flow through us and if you try and force it, it will not come. The Muse is not to be commanded, it is to be enticed to speak to you. It takes quiet, it takes calming down, it takes shutting out the world, it takes patience and being calm and an attitude of humility and gratefulness to allow the Muse to speak to us and flow through us. .

All Artists are important from the superstar Artist down to the Artist who paints for pleasure and gives all their work away, all have something wonderful to give to make the Art world a better place. The voice of the hobby Artist to the voice of the superstar, all have something worthwhile to say and contribute to the ongoing Art conversation, so please contribute. Put your voice out there through you creations, your story telling, blogs and videos, please have an opinion . You are valuable to the Art community, our community, please contribute to the ongoing Art conversation so the we, not others are telling our evolving Art story. .

  This is an attention business and to get out of the crowd and to get that attention is going to take a lot more than painting nice paintings, you are going to have to promote yourself and this will take building self improvement and self awareness. Self awareness allows you see where your thoughts and emotions are taking you, it allows you to take control of your emotions, behaviour and personality so you can make the changes you want to see in your life. Self improvement is by far the most important thing you should work on and it is the one thing most people ignore, because it’s hard to change, but we need to have the resolve to do it until you see the positive results in your life and Art business. .

  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. To become the person you need to be, to be successful, you will have to pay for it. By learning new skills. Learning how to communicate well. Learning the life skills needed to navigate the new areas you will need to go. As we grow so our success grows, slowly yes but it is growing. Every new skill and discipline have to be earned and paid for, like making videos hard at first but as we persevere we grow in confidence and ability and get the attention of strangers. Be ready for success, by working hard on you. .

People in the Art business play it like there is an end to the game and there is no end, this a never ending game it will go on even after we have gone, so their is no end to this game, that’s why is is called the Art business. Business is a never ending game, it’s not like football or tennis. So we must be consistent and never stop playing. People give up to easily, it gets hard and they give up. They get rejection and they give up. People forget that Art like any other business, this is a mind business, you win it or loose it in your mind and most people give up in their thought life, before it eventually manifests in their reality. Consistency is the key, be the one who never stops playing.

Do not compare yourself to others, that is a sad road to follow because you will never see that you are ever good enough. There is no one to compare you to as you are a one of a kind, so let self belief drive you on, create original organic work, be different, be you. Accept praise and ignore criticism and keep away from negative people, they are like the flue and you will get infected. Build positive relationships with other Artists and talk to strangers about your work at every opportunity you get and build relationships with them and turn them into friends and life long collectors. You are the key to your Artistic success, believe in yourself and believe in your Art and never be less than your best.

In this internet age getting proper representation is quite difficult so you are going to have to plan out your career and represent yourself. I get accused of not understanding that Artists are sensitive souls by many people, they say, Artists just pour out their hearts onto the canvas and are totally incapable of doing the business side of Art. My response to that is always the same, it’s a myth, that is just a story Artists tell themselves, it’s safe. Artist do not let anyone sell you that myth, you can and should control your own destiny, this is your life and your career, do not leave it to someone else to control, this is your Art career not theirs. Business is not hard but it takes discipline to stay on top of it. The myth says you are to o sensitive to understand business, the truth is you are more than capable of understanding and running your own successful Art Business. .

We paint for those who recognise that our work is for them, our people who appreciate our paintings. When you are back in the studio block out the negative words of the thief and remember the smiles, the kind words and appreciation from strangers, they are your strangers and hopefully they will become your collectors and your friends. You do not paint for everyone and everyone will not like your paintings and that’s ok. You paint for your people, the ones that appreciate you the Artist and your Art work. .  

I s always a lot more than we think. Creating Art that is truly you, when you are painting in spite of the fear, always risking rejection, always risking criticism. Prepared to pay the price of dedication and persistence and committed to self belief and creating amazing, original Art work. Your Art is for those who love it, no one can get everyone to like their work, but you can paint for your collectors and your supporters who love your Art, you make it for them and take them on your Art journey. Success is the decision to always follow the Muse and painting original you. .

  If you are waiting for your time to come, or waiting for your opportunity to arrive, or waiting to be discovered, that’s called doing nothing, being safe. So instead of waiting and being safe, start doing something that will change your future. Imagine what it is you want to accomplish and make the necessary internal changes to make it your reality. Start the process of internal change making ourselves better, no one will stop you from changing you. .

  You can change your future, it is not set, it can be changed. What if you could have anything you wanted, what would you want? Most would say they are not sure, why is that? They daydream about what they want but they have never actually thought it through. Here is a better question? What don’t you want to happen? What do you want to avoid? Work out what you don’t want and it is much easier to know what you do want. Now we have to act on what we want and make it our reality. We can change our futures if we imagine what we want, turn it into a daily affirmation, write out the story of what to do and then act on that story as if it is already our reality and make it so. The future is not set, so imagine the future you want. .

We should contact our collectors knowing that they are very happy with their painting they purchased from us and love having it hang on their wall. You could ask them to send you a photo graph of it on their wall and then you could post that on your page, another happy customer. You could tell them about your new work and ask them if they would like to see some photos. You would be building trust and relationship with them and that would grow into a friendship in the future. Contacting our former customers is always a good thing to do, it shows we care about them and their Art work they bought from us and that they know that they are more than just another sale. Imagine they will most likely buy from you again as you treated them like a human being, showed respect and consideration for them. Follow up is caring for people who trusted you and bought a painting from you. Follow up, trust and caring have no monetary value but they are extremely valuable to your Art busi...

I have never believed in having a set style I have always just wanted to paint and whatever comes is what comes, but certain forms appeared regularly. If I had developed a recognisable style it would have pleased galleries and maybe my career would have been more illustrious, but it was never about that, it was about painting my life as I experienced it each day and the constant desire to experiment and change. If I did it all over again I would paint exactly like I did and am doing but I would have marketed myself shamelessly as I do now and sold hard and not let fear and inhibition get in the way. I believe the lesson to learn is to paint, create as the Muse leads and sell, sell, sell and grasp every opportunity to tell anyone who will listen to you about your Art. Be true to yourself and create as the Muse leads.

There are so many folklore's in the Art game and most hinder the Artist from being successful. You are an Artist, not a style or a painting. You are a living, breathing creative with a blessed imagination and limitless potential. If you are telling your collectors and followers what you are doing and why you are doing it and how exciting it is, they will come with you on your journey and buy your Art. Artists are free now of the gatekeepers, understand why they perpetuated these myths, it controlled the Artists but those days are gone you control your own game now because of the internet, you are the value proposition, innovate, experiment, story tell your Art and life through videos and bring change. .