Making A.R.T…………….Reality B.I.T.E.S…

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art, art as a living, art career, art for sale, Artist, cheap art, creating art, custom art, inflation, making it as an artist, making money with art, successful art career, why is art so expensive

The other day someone asked me if I would lower the price of one of my custom paintings. She said that she knew it was a “labor of love” so she would understand if I wouldn’t. I didn’t. It isn’t because I am greedy about my “love”. It’s actually due to the fact that creating art is a “labor of expense”.

A lot of people do not realize what goes into that painting you hang on your wall. Aside from a lifetime expenses like education, I am talking about the day to day. We have to pay for our inventory such as canvas, frames, mats, texture mediums, varnish, brushes and paint, but we also have to use a ton of electricity and water. We buy paper towels by the pallet. My studio requires plastic sheeting, special flooring, butcher’s paper to cover my table. I constantly need to purchase equipment and supplies such as tables, chairs, printers, scanners, printer ink, paper, pens, pencils, staplers, calculators, spray bottles, shelving, computers, cameras, containers, lighting, gloves and a special ventilation system (so I do not breath in toxic fumes all day). And when one of those breaks or runs out, I have to call an expert to come fix it or I have to buy a replacement.

And then there is the “F” word:  Fees.  We pay listing fees whether a piece sells or not, marketing fees such as CPC, yearly fees for art sites, fees when we sell a piece and fees to receive payment like PayPal and Credit Cards.  Social media are starting to charge fees if you want to be seen too.  There are so many fees that sometimes you just feel “F”d.

Very few artists get rich on their work alone.  Yes, there are famous success stories that we can all fantasize about, but for the average creative, the best you can hope for is to make some sales now and again.  If you are really fortunate, it might get to be your only job.  But that is even more rare.   Sharing household expenses with my husband has allowed me to make this my full-time career.  But a lot of my artists friends work regular day jobs and create on the side.  That is typical.  It’s just ridiculously expensive to produce artwork and the income gained is too low in comparison.

Everyone feels the sting of inflation and artists are no different.

My hope is that this blog comes across as”informational” and doesn’t just sound like a rant.  I rarely get on a soapbox because I am too busy working.  🙂  Maybe, when someone that is not into creating art reads this, they will gain a new appreciation for our labor and expense…Just maybe…

The B.E.S.T. Compliment I’ve Ever Gotten…

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abstract art, art, art career, art school, Artist, artists portfolio, before Photoshop, career, colored pencils, dealing with criticism, dealing with haters, dealing with nasty people, drawings, friends, hand drawn art, happiness, ink, joy, making art, markers, old school, overcoming, pen, pen & ink drawings, pen and ink, portfolio, positive thinking, positivity, realism, realistic art, sharing, sharon cummings, vulnerability

When I decided to open up my 25 year old portfolios to the World, there was a sense of vulnerability that came with it.  I’ve been a professional artist for around 12 years now, so that leaves 13 years unaccounted for.  During that time, I worked on a Phd. in Holistic Nutrition and I was a personal trainer/nutritional consultant.  That is a long story, but here I am today making a living doing what I have always loved!

While I have greatly appreciated all of the positive feedback I have gotten from my fans, friends and collectors, it is a comment from a stranger that sticks out the most.  This person said that my pen and ink work is fake and Photoshop artistry.  This person meant to be mean and nasty, but what I realize now is that it is the BEST compliment I have ever received on my art in my entire life!  25 years ago there was no Photoshop.  In fact there was no computer artistry at all available to me.  Everything was done by hand.  Knowing that my work was as good then as Photoshop is today makes me feel more confident about sharing this older work with all of you. 🙂

While I could have taken the comment to heart in the way it was intended and closed up my portfolios for good, I’ve decided that this person will be a catalyst for me to share even more of myself.  So a big THANK YOU goes out to “Sylvia” for her negative comments.  You could have not have paid me a bigger compliment!

It’s old and frayed and the zipper is broken.

The one on the left contains originals and the one on the right are copies meant to show perspective employers.

Airbrushing, pen and ink, drawing and marker work are all represented here.

Billboard and magazine mock ups.

Markers were one of my favorite mediums to work with.  I loved the colors and detail I could get with them!

More pen and ink on cardboard with some watercolor work too.

I even did some screen printing work as seen on the left.  Pastels and markers are represented here.

More marker work and the strawberries are colored pencil.

And just for fun a few from childhood.  The dates say middle school.

***I’ve left these images FULL-SIZED.  Straight from my camera without any computer manipulation.  Quick shots early this morning before the sun was up.  So click on them and have a look.  And PLEASE when I list them…..Tell me they look as good as Photoshop! 😉

What Is Success Anyway?

Tags

art career, asian, asian theme, botanical, botanical art, botanical photos, botanical prints, career success, Family, floral, flower, flower art, flower photography, flower photos, flowers, happiness, koi pond, lily pads, lotus, lotus flower, love, meditation, mom, mother's day, mothering, pond, relationships, sharon cummings, spring, success, successful art business, successful career, yellow flower, yoga, zen

 

What makes a person successful in this life?  Is it dying with a big ol’ pile of money?  Is it having the most friends?  Is it the big house and fancy car?  Is it being recognized by others for your achievements?  Is it being pretty and well liked?  Is it bagging a perfect spouse?  Getting that kid into Harvard?

Over the years I have dramatically redefined my perspective on personal success.  Everyone has their own criteria, but for me it has nothing to do with any of the above.  I have come to realize that true success has little to do with worldly achievements and everything to do with the inner peace that comes from not needing them.

Am I a successful artist?  Absolutely.  I am not getting rich off of my creativity, but I am earning a living.  If my spouse died, I could support myself entirely on my income.  I only have to work a few days a week now thanks to years of time investment.  I make money while I sleep and on the days I do not work too.  In my own mind, that is success.  I ignored those that said I couldn’t do it and I worked hard to achieve my goals.

Am I a successful Mom?  You bet.  I turned away from my abusive upbringing and defied the odds.  I did not perpetuate the abuse and I’ve helped my autistic daughter find her own voice.  I have supported her every step of the way and encouraged her to love herself just the way she is.  I did not teach hate or prejudice and as a result she has friends of all races, religions and sexual orientations. She is now enrolled in college and doing all of the things normal folks do.  She didn’t go for an Ivy League school, but one that fit her goals.  She didn’t win a bunch of awards or get a perfect SAT score.  But she is happy.  To me this is one of my greatest achievements and I feel pretty successful as a parent.

Lastly, am I successful overall?  The are so many ways to achieve success: Relationships, Job, Health, Family, Hobbies, Fitness, etc. The simple answer for me is:  Yes.  The detailed answer would be far too long to expect the average blog reader to get through.  I am at a point in my life that I no longer concern myself with how others view me.  I am satisfied and happy with who I am and all I’ve done. In the end, that is all that matters.  So, yes, I am truly successful.

Do you see yourself as a success?

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Never WHORE Yourself!

Tags

appreciation, art, art career, artists, artwork, earning a living, hard work, job, making a living, never whore yourself, painting, photography, respect, self appreciation, self esteem, self respect, sharon cummings, value, whore, work

 

It sounds crude.  However, to this day I can still hear one of my favorite college professors saying “Never whore yourself.”  He was an art teacher who had paid his dues in art shows and endless submissions.  He had worked it for many years and learned the hard way that self esteem and satisfaction to an artist comes not only from creating but also from being compensated for the effort.  That’s right, creating paintings, photographs, sculpture, etc. is often challenging and difficult!  

When someone buys a painting from a self representing artist, they are not just buying a product produced on a machine.  Years of practice and failures have gone into that one success. College loans have been paid off (or not yet).  Supply costs that continue to skyrocket have gone into it.  My favorite paint is 50.00 per ounce! We use electricity, water and other resources.  We think up ideas….we buy stuff…A LOT of stuff….we sweat!  For me painting is very physical!  So much so that often the next day I am sore as if I had done a new workout.  And there is the photography, marketing, packaging and customer relations that also go into the work.  

As crude as Dr. Mike was, his words could not ring more true.  You cannot possibly expect others to value what you do unless you value yourself first.  It’s o.k. to have sales and offer friends discounts.  As long as it feels good in your soul.  If you can sleep at night knowing that you have been compensated for a job well done, you are on the right track.  If you lay awake belittling yourself for practically “giving” your art away, you need to rethink your strategy.  Never whore yourself!

With that said…today I have a few pieces on sale….they are cheap, but they ain’t free. 😉

http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=136238

http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=135106

http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=135009

3 P’s – The Art Of Selling Art

Tags

art, art career, art selling, Artist, artwork, career, creativity, facebook, google +, google plus, hard work, how to promote your art, how to sell art, how to sell prints, learning, original art, patience, perseverance, photographers, photography, pinterest, practice, print selling, prints, promoting, self promotion, self representing artist, selling art, sharon cummings, skills, social media, strength, stumbleupon, twitter

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/inner-strength-abstract-painting-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

If you are an artist or photographer who has a dream of making a career out of your craft, you will need three things:  practice, promotion and patience.  And you will need them exactly in that order.

Practice means that you will be painting a lot of paintings.  Many will be thrown right in the trash because they just didn’t work out.  Photographers will be taking many photos in a single shoot only to find that none of them work or if you are lucky one is good enough to list for sale.  You will try new things that will either be total flops or lead you to something really cool and interesting.  You will invest money that seemingly never pays off.  These days I sell about 5 prints a day on average from the various POD sites I am on and about 2 originals per week. The majority of what I am selling now is work I have created in the last year.  Since I have been selling my art professionally for over 10 years this means that I am a much better artist today than I was back then.  I have removed 100’s of images from my portfolios because as I practice and improve, I realize they aren’t my best work anymore.  If you have just started creating photography or any kind of artwork within the last 2 years, I guarantee you that you need a lot more practice before your work will sell really well.  If you look at the famous creatives most of them never sold early work while they were producing it and many never made a dime from it at all…money was only made after they were dead.  In the Internet age we have so many opportunities that they never had.  So keep creating regularly.  The more you produce the better you will become and eventually sales will start rolling in.  Babies do not come out walking and neither do artists.  We crawl first.

While you are busy perfecting your art, there is a key ingredient to success that cannot be overlooked.  Much like creatives of yesteryear we have to have someone believe in us and “get us out there” in order for our work to sell.  For them it was luck and chance by being discovered by the right person at the right time.  These days that someone is ourselves.  You must believe in your work and be willing to share it with the World.  Social Media provides us with instant access to millions of people from the comfort of our own studio computer, laptop or phone.  We can connect to a mind boggling amount of followers with a few clicks.  As an artist or photographer who lists on online galleries, if you are not using ALL of the FREE social media sites available to us, you are completely missing the boat.  This post would be way too long for me to delve into all of the ins and outs of Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, etc. but there are tons of free resources online to get you started.  Check out the link to my social media in my blog and see what I am doing.

Once you have the discipline to create new work on a regular basis and you are willing to put in some hard work promoting yourself what you are left with is time. It takes time to become successful.  Patience will be your best friend for awhile.  A year ago today I was only selling about 1 print a week and 2 years ago only 1 a month!  Now it is 5 a day!  But that did not happen overnight.  It took about 2 years to get moved up in searches and it took about 6 more months of creating new and better art than I was used to producing and HEAVY social media promoting to see the magic start.  And I am still learning and improving myself.

Not everyone is cut out for the kind of hard work and perseverance that an art career requires. But if you can commit to at least 3 years of constant creativity and as much promotion as time will allow, you can definitely find your market and succeed!

3 P’s – The Art Of Selling Art

Tags

art, art career, art selling, Artist, artwork, career, creativity, facebook, google +, google plus, hard work, how to promote your art, how to sell art, how to sell prints, learning, original art, patience, perseverance, photographers, photography, pinterest, practice, print selling, prints, promoting, self promotion, self representing artist, selling art, sharon cummings, skills, social media, strength, stumbleupon, twitter

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/inner-strength-abstract-painting-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

If you are an artist or photographer who has a dream of making a career out of your craft, you will need three things:  practice, promotion and patience.  And you will need them exactly in that order.

Practice means that you will be painting a lot of paintings.  Many will be thrown right in the trash because they just didn’t work out.  Photographers will be taking many photos in a single shoot only to find that none of them work or if you are lucky one is good enough to list for sale.  You will try new things that will either be total flops or lead you to something really cool and interesting.  You will invest money that seemingly never pays off.  These days I sell about 5 prints a day on average from the various POD sites I am on and about 2 originals per week. The majority of what I am selling now is work I have created in the last year.  Since I have been selling my art professionally for over 10 years this means that I am a much better artist today than I was back then.  I have removed 100’s of images from my portfolios because as I practice and improve, I realize they aren’t my best work anymore.  If you have just started creating photography or any kind of artwork within the last 2 years, I guarantee you that you need a lot more practice before your work will sell really well.  If you look at the famous creatives most of them never sold early work while they were producing it and many never made a dime from it at all…money was only made after they were dead.  In the Internet age we have so many opportunities that they never had.  So keep creating regularly.  The more you produce the better you will become and eventually sales will start rolling in.  Babies do not come out walking and neither do artists.  We crawl first.

While you are busy perfecting your art, there is a key ingredient to success that cannot be overlooked.  Much like creatives of yesteryear we have to have someone believe in us and “get us out there” in order for our work to sell.  For them it was luck and chance by being discovered by the right person at the right time.  These days that someone is ourselves.  You must believe in your work and be willing to share it with the World.  Social Media provides us with instant access to millions of people from the comfort of our own studio computer, laptop or phone.  We can connect to a mind boggling amount of followers with a few clicks.  As an artist or photographer who lists on online galleries, if you are not using ALL of the FREE social media sites available to us, you are completely missing the boat.  This post would be way too long for me to delve into all of the ins and outs of Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, etc. but there are tons of free resources online to get you started.  Check out the link to my social media in my blog and see what I am doing.

Once you have the discipline to create new work on a regular basis and you are willing to put in some hard work promoting yourself what you are left with is time. It takes time to become successful.  Patience will be your best friend for awhile.  A year ago today I was only selling about 1 print a week and 2 years ago only 1 a month!  Now it is 5 a day!  But that did not happen overnight.  It took about 2 years to get moved up in searches and it took about 6 more months of creating new and better art than I was used to producing and HEAVY social media promoting to see the magic start.  And I am still learning and improving myself.

Not everyone is cut out for the kind of hard work and perseverance that an art career requires. But if you can commit to at least 3 years of constant creativity and as much promotion as time will allow, you can definitely find your market and succeed!