A little while ago I was asked to put together an advice sheet for a group of young artists who were either in college or preparing to become freshmen. The tips I compiled mostly consisted of things I wish someone would have told me when I was first starting out. I thought the tips would make a nice first blog post.
• Decide whether your art will be a hobby or if you want to pursue it as a profession. The sooner you make this decision, the better.
• If you decide to pursue it as a profession, invest in it by educating yourself not only about your craft, but about federal and state laws that may affect what you do (copyright, patent and trademark laws, state contract laws, etc.). For an example of current proposed legislation effecting artists do a Google search for “Orphan Works Bill”.
• Depending on what type of art you practice, you may want to consider joining a guild, club or society dedicated to that art to help you network and keep up with current happenings in your field.
• Take relevant business courses. If you are trading the work that you produce for cash, you are officially in business. It is a myth that artists cannot be professional and good businesspeople. Because this myth is still prevalent you may run across people who doubt your ability to manage a business transaction well. To defeat this myth, always maintain good business practices: never work without a contractual agreement. Make an effort to be punctual when returning a client’s email or phone call.
• DON’T WORK FOR FREE you have a right to be compensated for your craft.
• Always value your work and yourself as an artist. Don’t allow people who don’t understand creative people to belittle what you do or tell you that it is not a worthy pursuit.
• Make a conscious effort to start building a portfolio today, without examples of your work to show you will find getting work, grants and exhibitions difficult.
• Learn HTML and CSS. Putting up and maintaining your own website is getting easier and easier, there is almost no excuse not to have one and most people expect a practicing artist to have a web presence. With blog software and some knowledge of HTML and CSS you can have a custom website up within an hour or two.
• If you are confused about how to price your work, consult someone in your profession for tips, the Internet makes this incredibly easy.
• Another stereotype is that artists are egotistical and difficult to deal with. Maintain goodwill and be respectful of others and you will create a positive reputation for both you and your work.
• Periodically take time to reflect on the work you have created and think of ways that you can improve it and continue to grow. Always be open to learning new things.
Tags: art tips, beginning artists, career advice