Mark E Shellshear.

Digging ditches is hard work. Tiling roves in the middle of summer is hard work. Labouring is hard work and backbreaking. Painting paintings is not hard work. Making Art videos and writing blogs about Art is not hard work. They are emotional work and can be draining. Making Art can be scary work because you are open to be criticised and you have to deal with the fear. Physically hard work is backbreaking and it time life ending. Emotional work making Art and having to sell it can be heart breaking but it also can change your life dramatically in a positive life changing way. Make your wonderful Art and embrace your emotional work as a marvellous opportunity to change your life and be the success who dream of being. .

As I have said on many occasions the two most important things Artists must do is create great Art and then sell it. The first for most is the easy part as selling for most people is a big hurdle because that means you will have to talk to strangers and it is scary. It is not scary to talk to nice people and most people are nice and friendly, the problem is in our minds before we ever get in front of people we have created this monster in our minds and it stops us from talking to people. Don’t settle for being controlled by fear. Tell yourself a new story, that you can overcome fear, talk to strangers and enjoying talking to strangers and making new friends. It may feel uncomfortable at first but imagine what you will accomplish.

People who are obsessed with what they are doing, that’s what makes the difference and most are not obsessed with their business, therefore they makes excuses for why they are not very successful. You must be obsessed with what you are doing and love doing it, it’s what you think about all the time. Some very wealthy men I know are obsessed with making money, it’s all they think about, read about, all they plan about and they act on those plans and we wondered how they got so successful? Yes it’s consistency, it’s perseverance, it’s determination and it’s when you close your eyes it’s what you see in your minds eye, in your imagination, it’s what you think about and dream about all the time, you live your obsession. Most peoples heads are not in their business and they wonder why good things are not happening. Be obsessed with what you do and you will be amazed at what you can achieve in your Art business and everyone will say you are lucky and in the right place. .

You may want to be the most famous Artist in the world and then what? Someone is coming who will be more famous. These are not a good game to play because they are finite games, a beginning and an end and a winner. Football and golf are finite games, a beginning and an end and also there is a winner. These games are not good games, if you want to keep playing. We need to concentrate on the infinite game where we are always playing. So we would be best to focus on the pursuit of excellence in our Art business because that is life long continual improvement, a game you can play forever.

  To often Artists quit when times get hard. It can all go wrong, we have all been there, sales can be slow or non-existent, rejection and criticism can be harsh and hurting and for some it just all gets to hard. The problem isn’t just that it gets very hard but that they mistakenly tell themselves a story that this will last for ever. That’s why people quit they can’t see that this for a season and that it will pass and that it’s not forever. The storms of life move on, night becomes day and winter is followed by spring and summer. It is much better to understand that it will change and consolidate in hard times and tell yourself a new story, this too shall pass, it won’t last forever. .

In the beginning of our Art careers it is our paintings that are valued at so much, but as your fame and reputation grows, that same painting now gets more valuable because you did it and who you are becoming as an Artist. The key to seeing your prices rise is for you the Artist to become more valuable to the market place and you will do that by getting the attention of strangers, as you get name and face recognition, because it will be strangers who will make you famous. Value for the Artist is created through them being friendly and an approachable person, marketing their paintings through videos, blogs, storytelling their paintings and building a very strong after sales service in their Art business. That is what will make you valuable to the market place. As you become more valuable to the Art market so your paintings rise in price and become more valuable. Work on your Art business, work on your Art, work hard on being the best version of you that you can be and bring...

Dreams are your promised land, your goals before the miracle of work turns them into reality and you live them. If hard work alone was the key to great success and wealth then labourers who dig holes would be the richest people in the world but they are not. It is not just hard work, it is having a vision, a big idea and the self belief to go for it when it seems crazy to others. The miracle happens not in the idea of creating wonderful Art but through self belief and determination to consistently work hard creating wonderful Art to make it come to pass. The miracle of work turns great Art ideas into reality.

The most dangerous time for successful people is after a big success, accomplishing a big goal, getting a big Art sale and we feel great. Rejoice in your success and celebrate and reward yourself you have earned it but remember tomorrow is a new day not a holiday, you must level up and find your next challenge. Success must motivate us to do more, not a reason to do less. Success is celebrated in an event, a big goal accomplished or that big sale, but success is built by turning up each day and doing your work to the best of your ability.

Your good reputation is what will support you in the future, to lose people’s trust and confidence in you will mean you will not have a long career in the Arts. Do not trade off fast sales of questionable copied art at the expense of your good reputation and a name for quality original work. Build an Art career that will last, build on the reputation of producing original Art that is yours and yours alone. Have the notoriety of being reliable and that you do what you say you will do, personal standards are important. If you want a long career in the Arts build strong, always knowing exactly what you want and establishing good ethical standards in your Art business. There is no fast way to be an overnight success it takes time and you must pay your dues. Be patient and build your good name.

Always be working hard on your Art career and ignore the feelings that it is taking a long time to be an overnight success. You do not see it yet, but it is happening, maybe very slowly but it is happening. It takes time. It takes hard work. It takes self belief and ignoring that negative voice in your head and how you feel, feelings are not reality, the reality is that it is happening, it may be slow but it is happening. Don’t stop now, do those videos, write those stories. Don’t listen to that negative voice in your head, just keep working hard at your Art practice and on yourself. The problem with giving up is that, then you would never know? .

That you have a goal, a noble quest, something worth living for, a deep burning desire to accomplish something worthwhile, a purpose for living. Many live life hoping life will get better, hoping things will turn around, living by default, we must design and guide our lives because we are in control don’t give over control to others. In your Art business know what you want to achieve, be purposeful and go for your dreams, drive yourself, make yourself do it, don’t wait for permission, it’s not coming. Give yourself permission and design your life and live it with purpose. .

Artists to all non artists out there you are a fascinating person and you live a life they can only dream of, so must invite them through blogs and storytelling into the Artist part of your life. They don’t need to know the other you, just the Artist you, that’s what attracts them to you. Invite them into you Art practice, story tell them your ideas, explain your masterpieces, blog your studio disasters like spilling a can of paint, how you cleaned your brushes in your coffee and had a good shirt on, forgot and wiped my brushes on it, now I have cleaned brushes and a bad habit and a ruined shirt. All these things build relationships and people get to know the Artist you and get insider information so they feel special and they will follow you and become true fans. It is much easier to sell a painting to a stranger who loves you, than to cold sell to a stranger. Work on building relationships through blogging and storytelling and the sales will come. .

Y ou are an Artist and t he battle within with the fear will rage every day for as long as you de mand more of yourself and more from your craft. Fear does not want criticism from others or you pushing yourself further out into the unknown doing exciting new original work, it prefers procrastination, double mindedness, indecision, apathy and copying , these fear 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, experimenting and innovating. It is a daily struggle, because then you know th at you are on the right path, if the fear is strong and trying to stop you, you are going in the right direction so e njoy your artistic journey. B e comfortable in your the quiet solitude with your M use and triumph every day as you wrestle with the fear . .

This is very true about Art, there are the people who love it and buy it and the ones who just couldn’t care less about Art. You are far more likely to sell to the first group than the second. But we often chase after the ones who couldn’t care less trying to convert them, so we try harder, we strain to make an impact but they are just not listening. Target the first group, they want to hear from you and will welcome all you have to share with them, they are already listening. .

I am doing it, but first I need to answer my emails and check Facebook and buy some art supplies and wow my studio needs to be cleaned. See I am so busy and I will get to my painting soon, but I have painters block and anyway I am not inspired today, I am tired, I just cleaned my studio. All these three are interrelated. If you are procrastinating, you are robbing you self of your own valuable time. If you are afraid of doing something, then maybe it is the best thing to do? If you are making excuses now not to do it, do it, it is the right thing to do. .

If it starts out about the cost of the painting and does not move away from there, you end up defending the price, rather than talking about the great qualities of the painting. The price should not be the issue, but if it does become the major talking point then so often the Artist has to defend their position, once you are on the defensive it is hard to win the sale. I want the customer to love the painting as much as I do. I like to point out why I love the painting or sculpture and what the painting means to me. I want my enthusiasm and love for the piece to engage the customer, enthusiasm is contagious. All done with a big sincere friendly smile.

If we want people to love and appreciate our Art, tell them about it, why you love the painting, what the painting is about and how you created it, teach people about your Art. Please don't be romantic and tell me your Art speaks for itself, it doesn't, if you are fortunate that someone walks up and buys it, wonderful, but in my experience you have to talk about the why of the painting and sell it. It is easy to point out problems, but it takes courage to be part of the fixing of the problems. Artists we are responsible to educate our own public. Don't say what should happen, be the one to make it happen.

Doing it today and then doing it again tomorrow a little better. If your desire is always to do it a little better every day, you will improve. If you only improve a little each day, every day, you will change your life dramatically in one year. It is never the big gains that count it’s the small incremental gains, day after day. It’s like the slow drip of a tap, it starts to drip into a bucket and you look in and see that there is so little water but over time the bucket overflows and the gain is great, it just takes time. Build into your Art Career the habit of consistency and continual improvement.

As well as making wonderful original Art work we must also work hard on being the best person that we can possibly be and inspire others to be the best that they can possibly be. A ll of us have something to share, life experiences that can encourage others and they can know they are not alone. Be quick to say a kind word. Be attentive and listen carefully, so many today feel they are not heard. Be slow to judge, we all walk a different path. There is so much we can do to touch the people around us and contribute into the ir lives and make a positive difference. .

The mind also does not care what you plant in it, good or bad, it will also cause it to grow and return a harvest of the same. As a person thinks in their heart, so they become. Positive in, positive out. For all Artists and creative people the least amount of negative stuff you put into your mind the more positive, creative work you will produce. This works to the negative also. Beware what you are feeding your mind, it may be hindering you from fulfilling your destiny as an Artist and stopping you from achieving your goals. Plant positive, uplifting seed into your mind and you will reap a positive, abundant, creative harvest. .

Building a presence in the Art world takes time and if you are different and want to make change happen then you will get push back. Often we see push back or criticism as hurtful but maybe we need to recognise that it means we are being noticed, we are getting peoples attention. If you are being noticed and you are slowly building trust with people who like you, understand that this is more valuable than money. Once people trust you, they are more likely to buy your work from you. That is why I am so strong about Artists using video and storytelling their Art, it builds familiarity and trust. You must build trust before you need it. Building trust right when you want to make a sale is just to late. .

When you start making videos it is hard, you have to come up with ideas and content for every new video. You will always have the nagging doubt in the back of your mind that you look terrible and you sound awful and you imagine that people will laugh at you and criticise you. I am not going to say this is not how you will feel and think, I remember what it was like starting videos but you must get though the hard beginning because it does become easier and good fun. You begin to notice that people aren’t laughing at you or criticising you but are listing to what you have to say and more importantly more people are getting to know you and follow you and you are getting attention and attention is very valuable. In time you will build relationships with these former strangers and that will give you the opportunity to sell your Art to them. I agree it’s not fun in the beginning, it is hard and necessary if you want to get known, it’s all about face and name recognition.

So many Artists are intimidated by the opinions of others that they paint what others want, rather than what they want. Original thought is the key and original thought comes from educating yourself, reading books and experimenting with different mediums and searching for your vision. You will never discover your vision through trying to meet others expectations, if anything it will deaden original thought and vision, because it must come from within from your Muse not from someone else. Use original thought combined with your imagination and then paint as your Muse leads. Paint your vision and change your world, do not let the world change you.

Something new is hard to do because it is unfamiliar and doesn’t feel right and because it’s hard and unfamiliar we give up and go back to what is familiar and comfortable. But if we want to learn new skills or add another artistic style to our rapporteur then at first it is hard, but once we learn how to do it, it becomes easy and familiar. So next time you start doing something new understand it will be hard and unfamiliar at first, but if you persevere it will become easy and familiar and you will master the skill. With personal discipline it is hard because it’s self discipline, we have to do it to ourselves. The problem with self discipline is the person doing the disciplining, it’s hard to do. .

First, you must create good original Art. I know this is apparent but you would be surprised how little work many Artists produce. You must become well known and get the attention of the Art buying public. If no one knows you, how can they find you to buy your Art? Lastly, you must learn how to sell and market your Art. This is the hardest for most Artists to embrace and they look for any reason they can find not to do it. Nothing else matters, if you create wonderful work and you are working hard at becoming well known, name and face recognition, then you will begin to sell your Art. The most important one in my opinion is becoming well known and getting the attention of the Art buying public.

Most people are not self aware they are emotionally aware and react at every issue of life, they find fault with most things and are always looking to be offended, they ignore the facts and act on emotions and then wonder why life never works out like they wanted it to. 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. Work on is self improvement and have the resolve to do it until you see the positive results in your life and Art business. .