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The Art Biz

Looking for art career inspiration and ideas while you’re working in the studio or schlepping your art across the country? Alyson Stanfield helps you be a more productive artist, a more empowered artist, and a more successful artist.
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Now displaying: 2018

Looking for art career inspiration and ideas while you’re working in the studio or schlepping your art across the country? Alyson Stanfield helps you be a more productive artist, a more empowered artist, and a more successful artist. https://ArtBizSuccess.com/podcasts/

Dec 20, 2018

Many artists have a desire to open their own gallery, but few know how much work and thought actually goes into it. In today’s episode, artist and gallerist Tracy Miller shares her experience of running the Tracy Miller Gallery for the last 7 years. Tracy discusses the journey from Fine Artist, to working in a Gallery, then opening her own gallery in Manitou Springs, Colorado. She talks about what type of artists she chose to work with, why she chose the specific location of Manitou Springs, the style of Art of the New West, challenges she overcame when running the business, how to still paint and have time for your own art when running a business, and advice she would give to others looking to open their own gallery. Tracy also talks about her decision to close down her gallery and focus more on her own work as an artist. In this interview, you will hear Tracy talk about:

  • Her background as a fine artist, and how her experience with wholesale helped her later with becoming well versed in retail.

  • Her experience working 5 years at an art gallery in downtown Denver, and why she feels working at a gallery before opening one is crucial.

  • How Tracy Miller Fine Art came to be in 1994, and then evolved into Tracy Miller Gallery in 2011.

  • Why Tracy chose Manitou Springs, Colorado as the gallery location, and how the mix of tourists and locals was a smart choice for her business.

  • Why 70% of her sales ship out of state, and the importance of running a good virtual business on social media and your website.

  • The importance of maintaining studio hours when you are an artist-gallerist.

  • What Art of the New West means stylistically, and how the wildlife, landscape and Western themes are brought to life in a contemporary and colorful manner.

  • The vision that Tracy brought to curating a cohesive gallery that some say fits perfectly together like a jigsaw puzzle.

  • How Tracy chose specific artists for her gallery, and why she recommends working with artists that have tested their art before, engage with their clients and fans, and are active in their own business.

  • Why gallery owners should know the price points of not only the art in their region, but the city or community as a whole. Crunch the numbers, and know the numbers.

  • The success principles of “acting as if” and getting involved with your local community to network.

  • How the internet has changed the way gallerists and artists interact as a collaborative effort rather than separate entities.

  • Overcoming major business challenges, including two fires, floods and road construction projects around her gallery.

  • Why Tracy has decided to close the gallery.

  • Why her profit margin was at least 10% higher than a normal profit margin for retail.

  • The different types of galleries that artists can open, and the choice they have to feature only their work, or create a space featuring both themselves and others.

 

Resources:

Tracy Miller Fine Art

Tracy Miller Gallery - Facebook

Tracy Miller Fine Art - Instagram

Comment on this podcast

Quotes:

  • “I wanted to bring the finest in this genre that I could to our region.”

  • “Little did my artists know how long I stalked them!”

  • “If you want to be financially successful and sell art, I knew I would have to pick people that had a following and a track record already.”

  • “It’s a long term career, not a fast overnight career.”

  • “Do your research and know your market.”

  • “It comes down to a lot of organization and discipline to paint while you run a gallery.”

  • “Never turn down the opportunity to promote yourself and meet new people.”

  

*** This episode is brought to you by the Art Biz Inner Circle. This is a group of unapologetically ambitious artists that my team and I worked with for a year. We help our members with goals, mindset, business strategies, and focus. See ArtBizInnerCircle.com ***

Nov 29, 2018
Artist Meg Black doesn’t wait for things to happen, she makes them happen. She has recently installed a major commission in the new edition of the town hall in Topsfield, MA, and is here to tell us all about the process from vision to reality. Meg shares with us how she got involved in the project, the research that went into it, and the hurdles she had to overcome in able to get it done both perfectly and on schedule. She now is a local celebrity due to her talent, and care for the community.

 

Meg’s commissioned pieces are wins for the community, as they employ local vendors, and simultaneously showcase the beauty and romance of Topsfield.

 

In this interview, you will hear Meg talk about:

 

  • The pivotal experience 20 years back where Meg was commissioned to do a painting for the Topsfield town library.

  • The story behind the special preserved and protected road that was recommended by locals to Meg as a great subject to paint. Meg called upon her “galaxy of artists” and decided to leave some of the windy road landscape to the viewer’s imagination.

  • How Meg’s idea of the Topsfield Town Hall addition project presented a challenge with no patron and no donor, and how she enlisted the perfect patron for this project.

  • The “10 Million Dollar” problem of the town hall project, and the feeling that Meg had of not wanting the beauty of the piece to become tainted by community politics.

  • The homework Meg did to fully understand and articulate the process of tax exemption when writing a letter to her potential donor.

  • The interesting release schedule Meg activated for her installation, which kept the town aware of the work but not completely in the know about who the donor was.

  • Meg’s dedication to seeing that the entirety of this project was kept local, including the printer, photographer, and the framer.

  • How the sales of the prints are divided up both in labor and earnings.

  • Why networking on LinkedIn is important for any artist looking for the next commercial opportunity.

  • What we can expect next from Meg, and a peek into the new commission she is very excited about.

 

 

Resources:

ArtBizSuccess.com

Meg Black

 

Quotes:

  • “I was afraid someone else would beat me to making the art. That’s what did it and got myself out there.” - Meg

  • “We need to speak the language of lay people, especially when we ask them for big sums of money.” - Meg

  • “When you find a donor for your artwork, the entity has to take care of that work and agree to take it on.” - Alyson

  • “I probably put about 500 hours for that painting. I was waking up at 3:30am every day.” - Meg

  • “Everything was in town.” - Meg

 

 

 

*** This episode is brought to you by the Art Biz Inner Circle. This is a group of unapologetically ambitious artists that my team and I work with for a year. We help our members with goals, mindset, business strategies, and focus. See ArtBizInnerCircle.com ***

Nov 1, 2018
Artists are so generous and I love to see them supporting one another. I’m blessed that I get to be the person who introduces them to one another in the groups I lead.

After witnessing artist groups from the outside and within over nearly 3 decades, I’ve been thinking a lot about artist group dynamics. In this podcast, I share with you my thoughts on this topic. It’s just me talking, so it’s shorter than most of my episodes. 

Here’s what I share:

  • Four primary reasons to be part of an organized and well-run artist group.
  • Four attributes to look for in an artist group that will match your goals and ambition.

Take notes because this could save you a lot of frustration when you’re trying to find your tribe. 

*** This episode is brought to you by the Art Biz Inner Circle. This is a group of unapologetically ambitious artists that my team and I work with for a year. We help our members with goals, mindset, business strategies, and focus. See ArtBizInnerCircle.com ***

Aug 16, 2018
Mary Erickson’s art sales have paid for her lifestyle, which is comfortable and adventurous, but far from extravagant. She is a savvy investor and wise with her finances. 

 

Mary says she paints so that she can buy real estate so that she can collect art - paintings by other artists. You’ll hear all about it in this episode. You’ll also hear about: 

 

  • How she started selling and why she believes being involved in your community is key to an artist’s success.
  • How she keeps up with the 8 different galleries that represent her.
  • Mary’s legacy project: High Ridge Gardens, a bird sanctuary and artist retreat on her property, which  she will leave with a funded endowment.

 

I hope Mary’s story inspires you to become wise with your finances.

 

See Mary’s art at MaryEricksonArt.com 

 

*** This episode is brought to you by the Art Career Success System: a step-by-step system to implement for growth no matter where you are in your art business. See ArtCareerSuccessSystem.com***

Jul 19, 2018
Ten years ago, Helen Hiebert didn’t think of her art as a business. Her shift of mindset changed everything and she now makes her living as a working artist. Rather than feeling icky about having a “business,” she embraced it and learned to channel some of her creativity into making money from her talents. 

 

In this episode of the Art Biz Podcast, Helen and I discuss:

  • Her 5 income streams, and the percentage of income she receives from each
  • How she approaches online content creation
  • How her blog - The Sunday Paper - and podcast - Paper Talk - grew naturally from her life’s work to that point

 

See Helen’s art at HelenHiebertStudio.com and subscribe to her podcast, Paper Talk.

 

See images of what was discussed on the podcast and leave a comment at https://artbizblog.com/hh-income-streams-podcast. 

 

*** This episode is brought to you by Art Biz Coach mastermind workshops that occur in various parts of the U.S. throughout the year. See ArtBizMastermind.com***

Jun 25, 2018
Many artists have a dream of doing their work full-time without any idea of what that means or what it would take. Dianna Fritzler made it happen. Not just once, but twice. 

In this episode, Alyson talks with Dianna about the steps she took to make sure that her first year back as a full-time artist was going to be a successful one. She reveals:  

  • The moment when she decided that her art could no longer play a secondary role in her life.
  • The steps she took immediately that set her on the path to making her dream come true.
  • The income streams she tested and what has worked (and not worked) for her.
  • The vision she and her husband have for his future full-time role in her business.
  • The amount of time she spends on business v. in the studio.
  • How she structures her day to be most productive.

See Dianna’s art at DFritzlerArt.com 

*** This episode is brought to you by the Art Career Success System: a step-by-step system to implement for growth no matter where you are in your art business. See ArtCareerSuccessSystem.com***

May 17, 2018
When you find yourself making excuses as to why you can’t get into the studio or why you don’t have time to write that newsletter or blog post, think of this conversation with Annie Salness. Almost 10 years ago, Annie had a stroke and, among other challenges, had to relearn how to paint with her non-dominant hand. 

 

While many artists would have given up when faced with the trials Annie had, she met the challenge and continues to challenge herself.

 

This is the story of a true artist - an artist who has something to say and is committed to making sure her voice is heard … her art seen.

 

 

See Annie’s art at AnnieSalness.com 

 

*** This episode is brought to you by Art Biz Coach mastermind workshops that occur in various parts of the U.S. throughout the year. See ArtBizMastermind.com***

Apr 19, 2018
What will happen to all of your art and career records after you are gone? Will your family know what to do with them? Those were questions that David Paul Bayles had about his photographs and archives. And he had good reason to be concerned because they were valuable documents of a particular part of the country and culture. 

 

See David’s work at DavidPaulBayles.com 

 

*** This episode is brought to you by Big Table Art Retreats - exclusive artist mastermind retreats that occur in various parts of the U.S. throughout the year. See ArtBizMastermind.com***

Mar 8, 2018
How do you quantify quality in art? Alyson talks with artist Elaine Kehew who has set out to do just that. After receiving a negative review last year, Elaine is determined to improve the quality of her art and has developed 8 targets to measure her progress. 

 

See Elaine’s art at ElaineKehew.com.

 

*** This episode is brought to you by Big Table Art Retreats - exclusive artist mastermind retreats that occur in various parts of the U.S. throughout the year. See ArtBizMastermind.com ***

Feb 8, 2018
Alyson talks with photographer and attorney Kiffanie Stahle about legal concerns for your art business. The way one artist protects his or her business will be very different from another artist. So much depends on your audience and goals.

Kiffanie, who owns theartistsjd.com has developed the Creative Business Model Canvas to help you home in on legal priorities. Find it here:

https://theartistsjd.com/need-business-plan/

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