Blog

A day job is a job whose primary meaning—or only meaning—is that it allows you to survive while you work on your art and your art career. Some day jobs are satisfying in their own right, some are completely unsatisfying, some are more like second careers with their...

Almost everybody feels the need to get better organized. But what does “better organization” really mean? Is it about having a good filing system and multiple to-do lists or is it about more than that? Let’s take a look. 1. Organizing for the long-term Each day...

Last week I provided three tips that you might use when, as a working artist, you find yourself bringing in far less money than your mate does. Here are three more! 4. Explain that you don’t want to feel—or be made to feel—one-down, inferior, or dependent because of...

Let’s say that your mate brings in $60,000 annually from his or her job and you bring in $1000 annually from your art. Given that that disparity is likely to put a strain on your relationship, what can you do to reduce that strain? You can’t just snap your fingers and...

Take a peek at the following five quotes. 1. "I am closer to my work than to anything on earth. That's my marriage." -- Louise Nevelson 2. "With my idealism about dance, it was insane to pretend that I could compromise in another area of my life. So I am not available...

Last week we looked at three obstacles to effective marketplace relating: finding that anxiety gets in the way, not knowing what to say, and feeling one down or one-up to people hold the power and the purse strings. This week we look at three more obstacles—and what...

Maybe your artwork is piling up and you just know that you have to make some connections in the art marketplace. Still, you feel paralyzed. Let’s consider the following three obstacles to effective marketplace relating that may be stopping you—and what you can do to...

You have an important gallery show coming in a few months but you’ve fallen behind on your painting. Next week you’re supposed to meet with the gallery owner and you really don’t want to tell him how behind you are. What should you do? Let’s start with a few things...

Maybe you’ve come to realize that your addiction has gotten the better of you and you decide to enter into recovery via a 12-step program or in some other way. What then? Well, creating itself can prove a threat to recovery. The very act of creating is a voyage into...

Maybe you’ve come to realize that your addiction has gotten the better of you and you decide to enter into recovery via a 12-step program or in some other way. What then? Well, creating itself can prove a threat to recovery. The very act of creating is a voyage into...