About Alyson Stanfield
I’m Alyson Stanfield — an art business consultant, podcast host, author, and the founder of Art Biz Success.
For more than two decades, I’ve helped visual artists build sustainable businesses without losing their souls in the process.
If you’ve found your way here, you’re probably serious about your art career, not dabbling.
You’re asking harder questions than “how do I post on Instagram.”
You want to understand the whole picture: your income, your positioning, your time, and what comes next.
That’s the conversation I’m ready to have with you.
How I got here, and where I'm going
I started Art Biz Success (first as Art Biz Coach) in 2002, when information about running an art business was genuinely hard to find. Sooooo …
I built a library to fill that: a book (I’d Rather Be in the Studio, now in four editions), 80+ learning modules, 260+ episodes of The Art Biz podcast, courses, workshops in 27 states, a community.
And then something shifted.
Information isn’t scarce anymore. We’re overwhelmed by it.
What I hear from artists now isn’t “I don’t know what to do.”
It’s …
I know what to do and I can’t seem to do it.
I have no idea which of the seventeen things I should do first.
The information problem is solved. What’s left is a clarity and confidence problem. Too many options.
So I’ve been evolving. Less focused on creating more lessons, more focused on working closely with individual artists who are ready to stop consuming and start acting.
The work that lights me up is the deep, specific, strategic kind where I get to know your business inside and out and help you figure out exactly what needs to happen next.
What I offer
- Private consulting for artists who have a foundation and want a strategic partner. This is one-on-one, focused, and genuinely customized.
- Essentials is a seasonal program for artists building the confidence and habits to actually implement their plans.
- Workshops are focused, on-demand and online training when you need to go deep on a specific topic.
- The Art Biz podcast has 260+ episodes covering the full range of what it takes to run an art business. Free, wherever you listen.
A bit more about me
My first job out of college was working for a U.S. Senator in Washington, D.C., which is where I first learned that relationships are the foundation of everything. My photo ended up incidentally on the front page of the New York Times while I was there. Still a claim to fame.
After graduate school — art history degrees from the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas at Austin, where my master’s thesis was on Milton Avery’s paintings — I spent a decade in American art museums.
Curator at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Curator of Education at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma, and Director of Education at the Wichita Art Museum.
Along the way I wrote exhibition catalogues and published art reviews and essays in American Craft, Fiberarts, Art Business News, and Art Calendar, among others.
I’m originally from Oklahoma City and have lived in Colorado with my husband since 2001.
We love to hike, but the cats would prefer to stay home. We’re more than a little obsessed with our feline family.
My creative outlets are cooking and baking (gluten-free by necessity), gardening, and visiting art museums whenever and wherever I can.
You might want to know this
I’m an unapologetic liberal and will speak up when I see injustice or inequality.
I believe equal rights are human rights. I believe Black and Brown Lives Matter. I believe women artists deserve a far bigger place in art history — and prices to match.
I live on land that is part of the traditional territories of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Ute peoples.
Pronouns: she/her
Aquarius with Aries Rising and Gemini Moon
Human Design: 1/4 Self-projected Projector
Enneagram: 3
Myers-Briggs: INFJ
My promises
I won’t make outrageous promises or use fear in my marketing. I’ve done the hype, it felt wrong, and I stopped.
I’ll always tell you the truth, as kindly as I can manage.
I’ll be there for you.
I’ll challenge you, but I’ll be fair.
That’s it. That’s the whole list.
Want to work together?
A good place to start is episode 216 of The Art Biz, where I share the four core beliefs that shape how I work with artists.
If you’re ready for something more personal, learn about private consulting.
