One thing I really hate about being a 2-D or 3-D artist as opposed to a performance or musical artist is that a manager is VERY hard to find. I am an artist that wants to focus on my art. My muse is being in the wild places, seeing the wild thing, reveling in the beauty of all things natural and absorbing the experience of every one of my senses in the moment in order to translate it into my art. Not everyone can do that, therefore, my time for that is very valuable and my highest priority.
Every seminar or workshop or article related to "getting your work out there" demands that I devote as much as half of my time to marketing my art in various social media, blogging, newsletters, emails, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, websites, and on and on ad nauseum. Gawwwwd!!!
I am quite frustrated with this model.
Most marketing people spend eight hours daily doing marketing while workers work, managers manage, producers produce, etc. People actually get degrees in marketing and rarely do artists get double degrees in Art and Marketing. It really is two very distinct career paths. If I could market my work while I am out on a hike in a forest 5 miles from the next human, then I would be an awesome marketer. But I am not.
It is ludicrous to assume that an artist must be superb at marketing too. I am doing what I can and trying to think outside the box. My job is creating art and managing my art business. I also enjoy writing the Obsessive Artist blog, posting to Facebook, Twitter, & Google+, I have an Etsy Shop, and design & maintain my website at vlynnmoore.com.
I can handle this but really I see no added benefit to taking on more social media that locks me in a room behind a computer screen just to get my art seen by hundreds of people that perhaps only 2% (at best) may be moved to a purchase. I think I need to be in the public eye, face to face with people and talking about my passion in person. I think eye contact is a better marketing model than a computer screen. I think that perhaps if I can get other people excited about my work by sharing my passion in person with them, then they will share my art work on their social media.
I have a good and diverse portfolio that I can use to approach some galleries. I am trying to build up a body of work that will appeal to two distinct demographics that I know well, which are the waterfront/beach people and the wilderness/highland folks. I do analyze the "Who, What, Where, When, & How" for both demographics to decide on the subjects that I paint. I try to recognize the "What's In It For Me" (WIIFM) factor for my audience. I regularly research and learn new techniques to improve my skill set. I do my best to create a quality product upon which I am proud to attach my name.
