Blog

Is Your Art Meaningful? You know that art is meaningful because you’ve been moved by the art of others. You have first-hand experience of that. Art may not cure diseases or save the world; but that it can’t manage those high-bar feats is no reason to doubt that it has...

Here are three things to try when, as a working artist, you find yourself bringing in far less money than your mate does. 1. Explain that you don’t want to feel—or be made to feel—one-down, inferior, or dependent because of this disparity in income. By announcing that...

Never heard of kirism? No wonder. It’s a new philosophy of life that’s just been unveiled. I think you’ll find that it’s exactly what you’ve been looking for—even if you didn’t know that you were looking! Learn all about it—and how it will powerfully support your art...

We have to break our habit of routinely and reflexively turning to one of our “distraction addictions” to while away our free minutes. As a matter of routine, and without thinking about it, people nowadays check their email, browse the news online, turn to Facebook,...

I thought I’d chat about artists and addiction, especially during these trying times. This may or may not be an issue for you, but if it is, it’s a serious one. Below are twenty-five challenges, vulnerabilities, risks, and needs in an artist’s life. Each of these can...

Here are five straightforward elements of a daily plan: 1. Start each day with a simple, eloquent plan like “I am painting today.” 2. Create a daily mantra that you use to keep yourself on track. It might be something like “I stay the course” or “Process” or “Effort,...

What is your “list” and why would you want one or need one? Your list is simply the email addresses you collect of folks who might be interested in what you do as an artist, as a teacher of art, as a workshop leader, etc. It is one of the ways—perhaps your most...

You may or may not know about the Art Bundles for Good that John Bardos puts together. These are really quite amazing collections of art courses and other resources for visual artists. Art Bundle for Good #4 is available right now, but only for a few days. There are...

Relationships in the arts are complicated. You may be very friendly with a fellow painter and also quite envious of her. You may actively dislike a gallery owner or a collector but decide that he is too valuable to cast aside, maybe because he is your only advocate or...

11 Days of Love How do artists describe their love affair with art? Take a look! 1. "I love red so much that I almost want to paint everything red." Alexander Calder 2. "I hardly ever paint people unless I'm rather in love with them." -- Sylvia Sleigh 3. "Every...