Dear Art Palaver Reader,
This will most likely be my last post of 2009. I prefer to stay in touch more often but life has presented some opportunities that I must take advantage of. And for the next couple of weeks I will not be able to post. But I think the timing is good because I know most of us get busy and have little time for activities like reading blogs.
I have big plans for Art Palaver in 2010 so I hope you’ll stick around to see what is up ahead. A new direction has risen out of the art marketing webinar experiment I recently did. If you missed it I put on a series of 14 webinars dealing with selling art online. The feedback was better than I expected and it has fueled my desire to take them up a notch to provide you with even better information on how to be successful as an artist in this new economy we find ourselves living in. If you want to check out the webinars the first two are available for free download right here. Also let me know if there is any specific topic you’d like to see covered.
This blog is called Art Palaver but I don’t talking about why I named it that enough. I know there is a lot of confusion with the word “palaver.” Many people, especially in the US, have never heard the word before so they do not know what it means. It is a word that has a few meanings but in this context it means “to have a long discussion.” This blog is a long discussion about art. In 2010 I am going to really play on the art discussion theme by hitting the streets and the phone lines to have talks with all kinds of folks about art. I believe conversation is a big part of true education.
What is better? Read a book about rocket science to gain some understanding? Or sit down and have a discussion with a rocket scientist? I believe I would learn a lot more from that talk with the rocket scientist than if I spent the same amount of time readying a text book about the subject. For now though that is the only hint that you get. You’ll have to come back in January.
Another big goal I have for 2010 is to attempt to foster more of an online community around Art Palaver. Because I do believe that we are all in this together and artists do better when they are part of an artistic community of knowledge and support. There are many art groups that focus on the ways to create art but few that focus on the business of being an artist. Selling art is part of the process whether you like to admit that or not. But it is a charged topic with many strong opinions attached to it. Which is why we need to talk it out among a supportive community so you can find what works for you and your art career.
Before I go I’d like you to do something for me. Write down where you’d like your art to be in a year from now. Come December 2010 how much would you like to have sold? How many shows do you want under your belt? What new medium do you want to venture into? What gallery do you want to make a connection with? Write down all your hopes and dreams for 2010, no matter how big or small, just get them all down on paper. Write them big and clear and visit them often. And be sure to keep them someplace so you can find them in December of 2010 and see how many you pulled off.
Now that you’ve done that get out a very fine pencil and write down your fears and the beliefs you have on why you wont reach your goals in 2010. (Otherwise known as excuses.) Write these down small and with an erasable pencil. Now spend some time thinking about the truth of these fears and excuses. Are they 100% true? You’ll find they are not. Then finally throw them away, let them go, exhale them.
Thank you all for a great 2009. It was a great year for me and Art Palaver. I learned a lot and made some great friends along the way. I am looking for 2010 being even better.
Live to Create!
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