3 Stages of Art Career Development

The following is my personal interpretation of the three art career levels as loosely defined by the art world..

The “Emerging artist” is relatively unknown despite the artist’s age or body of work. The artist may still be developing a personal style or settling into a specific genre. This artist is actively pursuing art as a career or as an additional source of income. Yet, with no sustainable customer base or record of achievements, this artist usually struggles to sell their work.

The “Mid-career artist” has created a significant body of work after years of mastery and marketing. This artist has either built a fan base large enough to support his/her craft or has aligned with the right people in the industry and is now achieving recognition in the art world. It this point in their career, this artist has achieved financial stability through the craft and no longer requires a normal day job for income.

The “Established artist” is a well-renowned master whose name recognition extends beyond the art world. The artist has most likely transitioned from the original personal and intimate creations to large-scale staff-based productions in order to meet the demand of wealthy investors/collectors. The established artist has the freedom to exercise creative nonchalance and still name his/her price.

Little Medals of Honor

There are times when we find ourselves frantically searching for a lost item or simply clearing out some space in the closet, attic or garage. During our rummaging, we inevitably stumble across an old box containing items from our past. We then take a moment to reflect on the memories stirred by those special items.
In my case, I was only looking for an extra pair of scissors when I happened to rediscover one of my old plastic art supply boxes. Inside that old box, were several items that I had not seen in a while. Among those items was a Paasche VL airbrush that my mother purchased for my 18th Birthday. There was also a vintage Hunt Speedball artist pen set along with a full bottle of Speedball India ink. Although I hardly used them at all, these items were very valuable to me.

As I continued to explore each compartment of the box, I found two small brass medals. These medals were presented to me during my high school graduation ceremony. Each one represented an outstanding achievement in art for each year I attended that school. It’s been almost 30 years since that ceremony. Those medals didn’t mean much to me at the time. But, as I look at them now, their meaning has changed.

Instead of each medal representing one year of excellence, they now each carry the weight of one decade. That’s twenty years of dormancy. Twenty years of missed opportunities. Twenty years of sleepwalking in a dream without creativity. It took me roughly twenty years to return to my creative senses. During a difficult period in my life (somewhere between 2010 and 2013), I turned to art and prayer as my therapy and gradually started thinking and behaving like an artist again.

These two tiny medals will always serve as a powerful reminder of the young, imaginative artist that I once was. After giving both medals a good polish, I have decided to leave them out in the open where they are always visible. Never again will I hide them away for decades the way I hid my own talents.

The Artist Support Pledge

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many artists have found themselves without work, teaching, technical support and gallery work. Exhibitions and sales have all but disappeared. In an attempt to help alleviate some of this stress artist and founder @matthewburrowsstudio created the ARTIST SUPPORT PLEDGE #artistsupportpledge

The pledge works like this.. I will post images of my recent work, on Instagram which I am willing to sell for no more than $200 each (not including shipping). Anyone can buy my work. Every time I reach $1000 of sales, I’ll pledge to spend $200 on another artist/s work.

I am excited to participate in this pledge. I am even more excited at the opportunity to begin collecting art by an artist other than myself!

Better Late than Never!

A few weeks ago, I submitted several photos of my artwork to a local gallery in response to their public call for artists. The theme of the exhibition was “Adventure, Fantasy and Fun”. With such a warm and whimsical title, I knew that this was something that I wanted to be a part of. It took some time for me to get around to it, but I finally chose a few of my most adventurous, fun and fantastic pieces and attached them to an email. Within a week after my timely submission, I was informed by the gallery that all of the artists had been selected for the upcoming group exhibition. I was a little stunned considering this was more than ten days before the submission deadline. All was not lost, however. At the the end of the email was an unexpected surprise. It was an invitation from the gallery’s director to bring a few of my pieces to the gallery for an in-person viewing.

Admittedly, it was a bit of an ego boost to have an industry professional personally request a closer look at my work. Still, I tried not to take the invitation too seriously. After all, the artist call was closed and there was no chance of being a part of that cool little show. Or, so I thought.

I arrived at the gallery on a Friday afternoon with the 4 requested paintings along with a few other pieces. The director was still viewing the work of another artist. And, since it was my first time visiting this particular gallery, I took time to check out some of the current artists’ work. The building was as a late 70’s or early 80’s house that had been converted into sort of a combination gift shop and art gallery. Everything being sold was either hand made or a quality reproduction by local artists and artisans. It was also evident that this gallery represented a wide range of artists of various skill level. Many appeared to still be developing their techniques and styles, while a few could easily hold their own in a more upscale gallery. However, this gallery was not about upscale. Its purpose is to offer art lovers affordable, local art in an inviting, upbeat atmosphere. Visitors are met with a warm greeting and offered a glass of kambucha. An adorable pair of pugs are also a part of the regular welcoming committee. It all makes for a very comfortable browsing experience.

After an unnoticeable wait, I was greeted by the gallery’s director. A woman who clearly enjoys life and enjoys what she does for a living. It was also clear that she was smitten by the four little paintings from my Harmony series. So much so, that she decided to make room for at least three of them in the exhibition. And , just like that, I was offered my first official gallery representation. It was far more satisfying to be included as part of a tangible community versus being one of thousands of unknowns in some wide-open online marketplace. Or, having to hand over hundreds of dollars to go unnoticed in a nomadic one-night-only cocktail party disguised as an art show.

Being accepted into a local gallery was exactly the kind of validation and motivation I needed. The possibility of selling one of more of my paintings is also very exciting. I have felt so energized, that I promptly started a new group of similar paintings. I want to thank the gallery director Lynnie Goodman for including me in the Art For the People’s Gallery’s community of talented artists. I am eagerly looking forward to being a part of the Adventure, Fun and Fantasy exhibition!

Show details coming soon!