In 2014, Ali Cavanaugh had 11 galleries representing her work throughout the U.S. and even overseas. It was all she could do to paint fast enough to supply these galleries with new work. What a great problem to have, right? But something wasn’t sitting right with Ali. So she asked each of the 11 galleries to return her work. One by one they sent back what few paintings remained in their inventories. She had begun to reconsider not just what her business model looked like, but the art itself. She decided to take control and be very deliberate about her next moves. In episode 33, you’ll hear about:
- Ali’s first steps as an artist and initial gallery representation.
- Why galleries weren’t interested in work behind glass.
- How Ali took 6 months to teach herself a new watercolor technique and why it was important to do this.
- How Ali used her blog to attract press coverage and interest from galleries.
- How Ali has expanded her audience using social media.
- Ali’s philosophy of the artist’s journey and micro-evolution.
- Why it’s critical to challenge yourself as an artist.
- Why Instagram is the perfect platform for getting affirmation for your work.
- The reason Ali pulled her art from galleries and what happened to those 25 pieces.
- How Ali began raising her prices and why art fairs were the best venue for the new prices.
- Ali’s monograph that was published by Unicorn Publishing in 2019.
- Details of Ali’s intention to renovate a property in the small town of St. Genevieve, Missouri.
- Ali’s upcoming plans for Patreon.
To be inspired by her work, visit AliCavanaugh.com and find her on Instagram @_alicavanaugh_
You can leave a comment for Ali or me along with this post at https://artbizsuccess.com/reinventing-cavanaugh-podcast (episode 33).
~+~+~ This episode is sponsored by the Art Career Success System, a year-long program and community that gives you a strong foundation for a sustainable art business. See https://artbizsuccess.com/acss ~+~+~