Thoughts From Marsha

What is the reason to think you need one?

The above is an image of a past article in American Art Collector about my work to illustrate just one aspect of marketing. This would not have happened if I did not have a good body of work. And this article if from quite a number of years ago... maybe around 2010 or 2011.

So ... let's get to why I decided to write this particular article ... or you may want to call it a lesson. It is certainly meant to help you in some way.

One of my days last week!

I was sitting in my car reading a book while my hubby was having cataract surgery. I did also check my emails and Facebook on my phone when sitting “waiting.” This was my way of passing the time for about four hours in the car!

One of the places I was reading, probably an email newsletter, said something about marketing and where you are with it. The article was about marketing and sparked an idea for this article to you.

Are you even trying to market your work?

There are many ideas about what an artist may need to do to market successfully. We all struggle with this and there are so many ideas out there. Success is relative to each of our reasons we do our art. Marketing may not be what some creatives care about.

But if it is something you want to do, there are ideas about making sure you have a body of work to market.

So first, figure out do you have enough artwork to market. 

To call it a “body of work,” it needs to be consistent in some way to show who you are as an artist. Consistency can be found in different ideas regarding your work.

I made a list about evaluating your work to help you make informed decisions:

1. What are the similarities in your work. Make a list of those, choosing your words wisely.

2. What do you like - list only the biggest two to three things.

3. What do you dislike - break it down and do not be too generic.

4. Make a list of what you may need to correct.

5. Make a plan on how to learn what you need in your work to be consistent.

What next?

Work the plan! The major thought is what can you change, or what direction you want to be seen as going with your work. To find those thoughts and work on them, there needs to be another list. 

1. Take each thought about a change and break it down into second level thinking. The first idea changes things, but dig deeper to see what that will change in other parts of your painting. It has a relationship and you need to know what that second change may have to be. You need to know what the changes will do to the relationship of color, value, edges, temperature ... and shapes!

2. Take each choice you want to make and come up with several different ideas of how you can correct or change it. More than one direction gives you other choices. Only do one at a time because, remember it changes the other things and you may not need to change them after making the first one!

3. Important is the “one at a time” idea. Know what direction it took you and make a note of what happened. Write it down. How did it change the next thing you planned to change?

4. Make a list of what you like and what you “love” and use that process again.

Always think beyond your first idea to find problem areas. 

Knowing what a correction will to do the rest of the painting is a key element in making your choices. If you are not sure, continue evaluating the different areas that could be changed and how. Then think about what it will do to the rest of the painting.

Normally we think value first. I normally think temperature first. That means I want to know if I am being consistent with the light and shadow. One will be warm. Not both! So evaluate your light first to decide is it warm light or cool light. This is a good starting point.

Having said that, we know that value is extremely important and always figures into most aspects of what we paint.

My list in the order I think about changes: temperature first, value second, edges third, color fourth. And I go with my obvious first thought. I think of the effect it will have and the relationship with what it is next to.

You may think I took a different path with this discussion.

It is important to what becomes my consistent quality of work. That becomes my body of work.

This helps us know who we are, and where we are going at this time with our work.

Marketing is about putting the best work we have out to the public.

Make sure it is consistent. The marketing will be better for it.