1. Be willing to improvise: make sufficient money to stay afloat.
Don't give up your day job, especially in this economic climate.
or work part time. The people you work with may be interested in buying your art.
Keep your improvisation related to your art.
For example, if you intend to be a painter and you get the chance to paint murals, go for it.
If you’re desperate, take a job picking fruit, working at a checkout, or whatever you can cope with – view it as a study of the human condition.
2. Staying-power makes a huge difference. Remember the ‘ten thousand hours’ principle – most successful artists put in 10,000 hours of practice before they made real commercial progress.
If you’re doing a part-time job and manage 20 hours a week arts practice, you’ll reach the 10,000 hours in about ten years.
Yes, it’s daunting. It can be hard to explain to friends, family and bank managers that this is unlikely to be a fast process.
3. Live cheaply.
Your art probably won’t benefit from alcohol, tobacco and expensive cups of coffee.
Maybe a bicycle is better than a car.
Or walking (it’s important to keep fit – the lack of a car can be a blessing). Eat less meat (it’s expensive). It’s easier than it seems – once you set luxuries aside they seem irrelevant.
4. Spend time with people who are working on their own art and creativity.
This is why cioming to me at Janet Keen Craft, Painting and Mosaic School is important .
You get the chance to interact with a professional (me) and fellow students.
5. Focus on the small successes.
It’s a good sign if people get excited about your work even if they don’t buy it.
If you can sell stuff at weekend markets then something is happening even if the money is pathetic.
If no one is getting excited it’s time to review what you are doing.
6. Pay attention to the win/win dimension of creativity.
The goal is to do something which is meaningful and important to you AND the market.
It’s possible to have high creative integrity and to be commercially successful.
If your art doesn’t seem to connect with the market, keep experimenting until you find what works.
7. Be flexible.
If your ten ton sculptures don’t work there may still be a future in jewellery.
The history of art includes many famous people who were willing to make radical changes to their original plans.
8. Forget about the fairness of the world and don’t take it personally.
It’s not that people dislike your art – for the most part they don’t know you exist until you establish some relevance to them.
9. Respect your limitations.
Everyone has limitations (technically, socially, economically and so on).
The challenge is either to go with your short-comings or to find a way around them.
If you’ve got something to say through your art, find a way that suits who you are.
If you’re shy, maybe you need to team up with someone else to ‘front’ for you.
If you can’t stand the commerce of art, find a dealer who will help you develop your own potential and nurture you towards the market.
10. Trust your intuition.
If you ‘know’ that what you’re doing is vital to your life, then find a way to do it.
Get used to the doubters – they’re part of the territory.
Chances are that other creative people will have the best insight into your ambitions and they’re often a great source of emotional support.
The list could grow much larger.
If you’re in a hurry and want a one liner, be brave, believe in yourself and do the work needed to make dreams come true.
Look at enrolling in an art course with me at Janet Keen Craft , Mosaic and Painting School.
It works.
Don't give up your day job, especially in this economic climate.
or work part time. The people you work with may be interested in buying your art.
Keep your improvisation related to your art.
For example, if you intend to be a painter and you get the chance to paint murals, go for it.
If you’re desperate, take a job picking fruit, working at a checkout, or whatever you can cope with – view it as a study of the human condition.
2. Staying-power makes a huge difference. Remember the ‘ten thousand hours’ principle – most successful artists put in 10,000 hours of practice before they made real commercial progress.
If you’re doing a part-time job and manage 20 hours a week arts practice, you’ll reach the 10,000 hours in about ten years.
Yes, it’s daunting. It can be hard to explain to friends, family and bank managers that this is unlikely to be a fast process.
3. Live cheaply.
Your art probably won’t benefit from alcohol, tobacco and expensive cups of coffee.
Maybe a bicycle is better than a car.
Or walking (it’s important to keep fit – the lack of a car can be a blessing). Eat less meat (it’s expensive). It’s easier than it seems – once you set luxuries aside they seem irrelevant.
4. Spend time with people who are working on their own art and creativity.
This is why cioming to me at Janet Keen Craft, Painting and Mosaic School is important .
You get the chance to interact with a professional (me) and fellow students.
5. Focus on the small successes.
It’s a good sign if people get excited about your work even if they don’t buy it.
If you can sell stuff at weekend markets then something is happening even if the money is pathetic.
If no one is getting excited it’s time to review what you are doing.
6. Pay attention to the win/win dimension of creativity.
The goal is to do something which is meaningful and important to you AND the market.
It’s possible to have high creative integrity and to be commercially successful.
If your art doesn’t seem to connect with the market, keep experimenting until you find what works.
7. Be flexible.
If your ten ton sculptures don’t work there may still be a future in jewellery.
The history of art includes many famous people who were willing to make radical changes to their original plans.
8. Forget about the fairness of the world and don’t take it personally.
It’s not that people dislike your art – for the most part they don’t know you exist until you establish some relevance to them.
9. Respect your limitations.
Everyone has limitations (technically, socially, economically and so on).
The challenge is either to go with your short-comings or to find a way around them.
If you’ve got something to say through your art, find a way that suits who you are.
If you’re shy, maybe you need to team up with someone else to ‘front’ for you.
If you can’t stand the commerce of art, find a dealer who will help you develop your own potential and nurture you towards the market.
10. Trust your intuition.
If you ‘know’ that what you’re doing is vital to your life, then find a way to do it.
Get used to the doubters – they’re part of the territory.
Chances are that other creative people will have the best insight into your ambitions and they’re often a great source of emotional support.
The list could grow much larger.
If you’re in a hurry and want a one liner, be brave, believe in yourself and do the work needed to make dreams come true.
Look at enrolling in an art course with me at Janet Keen Craft , Mosaic and Painting School.
It works.
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