How I Failed Miserably, But Became A Successful Artist Anyway…

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abstract art, art, art for the soul, art success, Artist, artists, failure, growth, happy art, happy artist, healing, how to become a successful artist, sharon cummings, sharon cummings art, successful art business, successful art career, successful artist, successful artists

I didn’t always want to be an Artist. I wanted to be a Journalist. I worked hard and wrote a lot, I joined the paper and yearbook in high school and became the Editor by my Senior year. I got recognized by our local Tribune and I won 2 small scholarships! I was on my way….Until I wasn’t. I had no financial help other than enough to cover my books through the scholarships. I had to work 2 jobs to make ends meet. I got married too young trying to escape an abusive childhood. Life got in the way and I dropped out. I failed.

I got into the banking world by taking a temp job and became an administrative assistant. I was a super fast and accurate typist and that saved my biscuit more times than I can count. Every day was largely the same. I typed, I made coffee, I filed, I wore pantyhose, lipstick and answered the phones with a smile and cheerful greeting. But inside I was miserable. I felt like I was slowly dying inside. I would cry driving to and from work. It was not the life I envisioned at all. I divorced. I failed.

I wanted to go back to college, but I wanted to study Art. Everyone told me that I could never earn a living with it. I should study business management or hospitality instead. But those didn’t feed my soul. So I enrolled. I worked a full-time job 5 days a week and went to school in the evenings. Weekends were for labs and studying. I had no social life, but I was determined! Once I graduated, I learned that “Career Services” didn’t actually help you find a job. I hit the pavement. I applied everywhere. Competition was fierce! I got offered one job after 6 months of looking and interviewing. One job working full-time, but making half what I was making as a secretary. I couldn’t live off of what they offered. I had a diploma. 30K in student loan debt and no Art job. I failed.

Eventually, I remarried a man who made a nice salary. I continued to work hard until I got pregnant and he said, I could quit my job. He didn’t have to tell me twice! No more waiting on a boss hand and foot. No more dressing to the nines and planting on a fake smile every day. I got into crafting and decorating my home. I had my baby. Afterward, I suffered severe and mysterious health issues and spent my time in doctor’s offices and therapy centers. Multiple Sclerosis was the front runner. I found out my husband was a functioning alcoholic who had some serious addictions. He refused to get help. Slowly my marriage unraveled. I got a job and then a divorce. I failed.

Unable to face administrative work again, I stumbled into health and fitness. I had joined a gym to take classes to help me with my balance issues. I took up kickboxing as it was challenging, fun and helped me stop falling down so much. Though I fell a lot when I started! I got so good at it that the instructor offered to train me and give me a job. Within 6 months I had a full-time job teaching all kinds of classes and eventually running the fitness center. I was dating a handsome college professor who adored me. I thought I was really making it….Until I wasn’t. While preparing for a move into a place with my new love, I fell from a chair and broke my foot. 2 days later, I got into a car accident when I stopped for an EMS that was turning right in front of me. The car behind me didn’t want to stop and went around and clipped me. The car behind him wasn’t paying attention (on his cell phone) and pushed me into the emergency vehicle. I was injured in my shoulders, neck and ended up with crippling migraines. I couldn’t continue to work my fitness job. There was no way they could pay me while I healed. After 6 weeks, they had to let me go. I failed.

I moved in with and married the love of my life and am pleased to say we are still happy together 20 years later. I continued to suffer physically from the accident. The vertigo returned. Other health issues arose. College professors are smart, but they are not wealthy. I had to find work. The only thing I could think of was going back to being an administrative assistant. I could do temp work, so if my health was bad enough, I could take some time off without getting fired. I had no business attire anymore. The yoga pants weren’t going to cut it. So I got on Ebay to find some cheap dresses. While there, I noticed they had an “Art” category, so I clicked on it. That ONE click changed my life forever! People were selling paintings. I knew I could do that. The only problem was that I was broke. We had hardly any money for anything, much less art supplies. I had a choice. A could buy a few used dresses and hit the pavement or make a trip to the art supply store. I chose the latter. With 20 dollars, I was able to purchase one 11×14 canvas pad that had 10 canvas sheets in it. Also, 3 shades of blue paint, one white and one silver. I couldn’t even afford paint brushes!! I had to FINGER paint! And finger paint I did. I painted the hell out of those sheets. Took pictures with Hubby’s Canon Sure Shot and loaded them onto Ebay on the one old PC we shared. The first one sold at auction for 75.00!!!!! I was hooked!!! I never bought those dresses and never set foot in a business environment for work again.

Over the years, I have sold countless originals, commissions and prints of my work. I earn a full-time living doing what I love every single day. I have a strong marriage. I raised my daughter to independence. I healed my body and soul from all of the traumas I’ve endured. So even though I failed miserably many times. I never gave up! I did become a successful artist anyway, but along the journey I also learned how to be a happy human. And that may be the biggest success of all. 🙂

Below is the painting that sold for 75.00 on Ebay. I don’t know what the titled was, but Hubby named the file “worms”. It’s kind of fitting considering what worms do. They take crap and turn it into rich life giving soil.

FIND MY PORTFOLIO HERE!!!

Not Just An Artist…

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art, art life, art success, Artist, artist interview, artist's resources, artists, artists tips, artwork, career, life, self improvement, self love, sharon cummings, successful artists

Sometimes we tell people we are just an artist…but we are so much more!

See MORE Here….

Copyright Registration – A Point Of P.O.W.E.R…

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abstract art, abstract paintings, abstract prints, art, art for sale, art prints, artists, buy abstract art, buy art, buy art online, canvas prints, creating art, large prints

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/point-of-power-abstract-painting-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

Point Of Power

Acrylic on Yupo Art Painting

Sharon Cummings

2012

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I have been away for most of the past few weeks working on registering all of my work with the U.S. Copyright Office. This has been a daunting task!  With thousands of images to review, organize and upload, it has left little time for much else.  But it is done. 🙂

Copyright is established as soon as a work is put into a tangible form and it has certain legal protections without registration, but having work registered gives you some extra legal leverage.  It also is something that can be transferred to someone else legally like my daughter when I pass away.  It will make it easier for her to take over my estate of art.  But I am ready to start creating again!

Thank you for your patience.

The Original S.E.L.F.I.E…

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art, artists, creating, drawings, Forgiveness, frida kahlo, Instagram, joy, paintings, self portrait, self portraits, selfie, selfies, suffering

Self Portrait

Mixed Media Art Painting Collage

Sharon Cummings

2014

Long before the Internet, cell phones and the modern day “selfie”, artists were hard at work creating self portraits.  It was a right of passage of sorts for some and for others it was just practical.  It wasn’t always easy to get models, nor could the average artist afford to pay.  So naturally, they turned to themselves.

Frida Kahlo is one famous example of an artist who mostly painted her own image. She is noted as saying:

“I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.”
― Frida Kahlo

I believe this is true for many artists.  We spend a lot of time in solitude working tirelessly to perfect our craft.  We curse to an empty studio when we are agonizing over a piece and we dance in delight to ourselves as audience when all goes well.  And yet, the “self portrait” has fallen from grace as an art form.  It has been replaced with quick snaps loaded to Instagram.

I have drawn myself in Egyptian headdress in the past.  One teacher challenged me to draw myself as an old woman.  And I have sculpted my body and face in clay.  Each is an exercise in self reflection that cannot be garnered from a quick snap of the cell phone.

Self portraiture is a challenge.  I’d love to see more artists take the plunge by using Photoshop, paint, clay, markers and anything else that requires time and thought.

It is like a forgiveness of sorts.  A raw honest look at life and your place in it.  An exercise of thankfullness to the Universe for the gifts that you have been given to create with. You do it for yourself…

D.O.G. Days Of Summer…

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animals, art for sale, art marketing, art sales, artists, big dog, dog, dog days of summer, dogs, fawn, fawn mastiff, marketing, mastif, mastiff, mastiffs, pet portraits, pets, selling art, summer, Summertime, summertime blues, sunshine, travel, vacation

It’s that time of year again.  Around the second week of July I start to get frantic emails from other artists asking me why the sales have all dried up. Some are so afraid of the lack of traffic and sales that they fear that the online art market has crashed.  These emails come from people who are relatively new to selling their work on the Internet.  Relax.  This is normal. Sure I am still making regular sales, but only at a fraction of what I earn most of the time.  This part of the year it always slows down to a crawl.

Why?  It’s Summertime!!  And folks who have been trapped inside all Winter are finally able to get outside and enjoy sunshine and green grass.  Families go on vacation, prepare older kids for college, go to family reunions and travel a lot in general.  It is not a time for decorating your home or office.  There is plenty of time for that when you are stuck inside 9 months out of the year.  Those in academics do not get paid over the Summer which is something I always factor in since I married a professor.

So what can you do?  I find that this time of year is a great time to do some traveling myself.  I plan trips to visit family and old friends every year.  My husband and I head to the beach as much as possible since it is not crowded and prices are super low.  Studio cleaning is always on the agenda as I love the freshness of organization come busy season.  You can also enjoy the freedom to create artwork that is fun and free from thoughts of marketability.  I have been stocking my stores with new items in preparation for the Fall rush.  It is a lot of work that has no reward at the moment, but I expect it to pay off later.

Join a new site.  Learn a new Social Media avenue.  Take a photography class. Forget about sales for awhile. They will come back.  They always do.  For now just enjoy this doggone Summer!

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Artists: Are You F.L.E.X.I.B.L.E.?

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art, art for sale, art marketing, artist's resources, artists, best selling practices, career, earning a living, fine art america, flexibility, how to sell art, how to sell art online, income, make money with art, making a living with art, making money with art, online art sales, pod, print on demand, print on demand sites, prints, Redbubble, sell art, sell art smart, sell artwork, selling art, selling art online, sharon cummings, society 6

There was an article released yesterday that has a lot of artists in a panic. You can read the article here:

http://fineartamerica.com/newsletters/five-percent-commissions.html?fb_action_ids=10201203263082635&fb_action_types=og.comments&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

I will summarize it for you to save you some effort.  Fine Art America is warning artists that all other Print On Demand (POD) sites are moving to a percentage business model.  By in large, the new payment to artists will be a mere 5%. That definitely sucks.  Fine Art America claims to be one of the few remaining POD sites that still allows a “set your own price” model.  Some sites like Society 6 do allow us to put in our desired profit for some of their products.  Others are set for us. The same is true for Redbubble.  I agree that it is not ideal, but I find benefit to those two sites nonetheless.

I like Fine Art America and am currently making an amazing income with them. I am making more selling prints through FAA than I ever have for my entire print career.  But what I have learned with online selling is that all good things can come to an end.

So are you flexible?  One thing is constant in online art sales and that is change.  Things WILL change.  Sites that are booming today may go belly up tomorrow.  But there are always new business models to take their place. Years ago I was on a site called Boundless Gallery.  It was the BEST art site going for years and I made a TON of money with them.  It was perfect and all of the best selling artist were very happy.  Then they changed their business model and I saw the end coming.  Instead of bitching and moaning about the inevitable failure of a terrific site, I made sure I was FLEXIBLE and I branched out into new territory.  I tried different things until I found a few ideas that worked.  And those same ideas that worked back then no longer do.  But new ones have taken their place.

I have NEVER been without steady income in spite of things like eBay changing to a model that completely demoralizes artist.  I got off of that horrible site.  Boundless Gallery died a quick death and I survived.  Other sites have come and gone too.  The housing market crashed and I STILL made a great income every single month.

Why?

I remain flexible.  I do not panic and worry about the future.  I simply keep creating and marketing myself.  I focus on the tools that are available to me today and I use the hell out of them!  If new tools are offered in the future, I will use them too.  I will always find a way to get my work out to the people that desire it.  Always.  The selling platform doesn’t matter to me as long as I am willing to market myself.

If Fine Art America changes their current business model to artists disadvantage, it may be that I set up my own print shop in my garage.  I have enough space and enough money to invest in my career.   I’ve been poised for this for the last 3 years.  I already KNOW how to market myself!  Or another site might come along that is even better.  I am ready to bend and adapt.

For now I believe FAA is the best POD site out there.  I hope it STAYS that way!  If you have not tried them, have a look: http://www.fineartamerica.com

As an artist, I implore you to constantly be willing to change.  Do not stay stuck in “one way” mentality as it will be your downfall.  There is so much out there for us!

Pssst…I’ve Got a S.E.C.R.E.T.

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The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.
Albert Einstein 

Every few days I open an email from another artist asking me “how did you do that?”  They want to know my techniques, my materials and…if I am not too busy…some personal instruction.  I have never felt an obligation to share my secrets with others.  To me the joy and fun of creating is to explore…try unusual things….find your art. Copying may be the greatest form of flattery, but somehow I never feel flattered when I see someone attempting to duplicate my work.  It’s almost like seeing your husband with another woman.  I feel violated.  I developed my styles the hard way….by trial and error.  I have spent many years marketing myself and building a strong following.  My work is branded well and people recognize it as mine.  So if you want to know my secret…it’s this….be your own artist….find your own voice….spend some money on a variety of materials and explore what is inside you.  Be inspired by others if you must, but always be original.  Like the quote above says “hide” your sources.  Make your inspired work so much your own that it will not be identified as someone else’s. 🙂

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Making M.O.N.E.Y. While I Sleep…

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abstract art, abstract art for sale, abstract prints, art for sale, artists, buy art, buy modern art, buying prints, canvas prints, career, goals, hard work, making it as an artist, making money, modern art, modern art for sale, money, perseverance, print sales, prints, prints for sale, selling prints, sharon cummings, strength, success, successful artists

 

I am back this morning from a 3 day getaway with my daughter.  We had a blast in Orlando enjoying the Gaylord, noshing and shopping!  While I was away, I sold 15 prints between Etsy, Society 6 and Fine Art America.  I still have to smile big when I realize how amazing it is to “make money while I sleep” or in this case vacation.  For years I resisted selling prints of any kind.  I thought they would reduce the value of my originals.  But the opposite has been the case.  I’ve been able to raise the prices on my originals and commissions and enjoy a steady income from my prints.  I no longer have to paint 6 hours a day plus promote myself for another 6.

Of course it wasn’t easy to get to this point with my prints.  Many countless hours have been spent over the last 2 years using intensive social media promotion to get my prints “out there”.  I have blogged, Tweeted, Facebooked, Buffered, Houzzed, Waneloed, Pinned, Tumbled, Link’d, Stumbled and Googled my way to sales 7 days a week (except for small bits of time off here and there).  And for the past year, I have had a group of 12 other artists and photographers that I cross promoted with daily. On average, I’d say I spent 4 hours a day promoting myself and cross promoting others.  Whew!  That’s a lot!  Especially when all I really want to do is create.  However, it has finally paid off and I can now make sales even when I am on vacation and doing nothing to promote myself. Since May 1st, I have not done any cross promoting and very little self promotion.  About 30 minutes a day 5 days a week.  And I get weekends free again!

Hard work…….it can pay off!

If you have goals for your life, do not give up!  And for goodness’ sake, do not listen to those who tell you that it can’t be done. 🙂

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Color Addiction….

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art, artists, bright colors, color spectrum, color vision, colors, faabest, Fine Art, Gabriele Jordan, sharon cummings, tetrachromacy, tetrachromats, vision, visionary artwork

 

I am a certified color junkie.  Ever since I can remember colors were never bright enough for me.  There were never enough in my environment to satisfy me.  The world was boring and I’ve always wanted more.  It’s why you just don’t see muted pastels in my art (or maybe you do).  I use the brightest and most vibrant colors I can find and mix, but you may not see all of them.  And now there may be a scientific explanation for my extreme color cravings.  An unknown number of women may perceive 
millions of colors invisible to the rest of us.  These women have four cones in their eye for detecting colors.  The vast majority of people only have three.  I am not a scientist, so I will just post a link (some text in this blog is referenced from this article):

http://discovermagazine.com/2012/jul-aug/06-humans-with-super-human-vision#.UcROCfk3vMU

 

 

Scientists have dubbed these people tetrachromats.  An average human can 
perceive a million different colors. But the tetrachromats see a hundred million colors, with each familiar hue fracturing into a hundred more subtle shades for which there are no names, no paint swatches.   Dr. Gabriele Jordan is one scientist who has been studying this phenomenon for years.  She estimates tetrachromats make up as many as 12 percent of women, but only a small percentage of these women actually use that fourth cone.

 

 

It is suspected that the natural world may not have enough variation in color for the brain to learn to use a fourth cone in those who have them. Tetrachromats might never need to draw on their full capacity. They may be trapped in a world tailored to those with three cones. Perhaps if these women regularly visited a lab where they had to learn to tell extremely subtle shades apart, they would awaken in themselves the latent abilities of their fourth cone. Then they could begin to see things they had never tried to see before, a kaleidoscope of colors beyond our imagining.

A lab or my studio?

To see more of my work, click here:

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-sharon-cummings.html?tab=artworkgalleries

 

A friend recently recommended this test for me to find out….PERFECT score…this explains A LOT!

Never WHORE Yourself!

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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