Information is everywhere. You can Google anything. Ask AI anything. But we’re drowning in it.
What artists actually need aren’t more lessons. You need containers to organize information, filters to know what matters, and frameworks to apply it to your specific business.
I’ve been contributing to the problem. For months, I’ve been waking up with anxiety, my gut in knots, the pressure building. I kept adding more curriculum, more workshops, more content—preaching sane planning while juggling an insane schedule.
My guiding word for 2025 was RADIANT. I wanted space in my calendar and my brain. But I kept betraying that intention.
Something had to give.
After conversations with trusted advisors, I got clear: This is about identity. Who am I if not a teacher constantly creating content? What is Art Biz Success if it’s not about adding more?
Maybe you’re asking similar questions. Who am I if I stop offering discounts? If I leave galleries and build my own collector list? If I stop taking commissions to focus on the work that feeds my creativity?
The question isn’t “what more do I need to learn?” The question is: “What do I need to let go of? Where can I lower the bar?”
So I’m evolving along with Art Biz Success. I’ll be creating AI tools you can adapt. Working more closely with private clients. Leading in-person retreats focused on your process, not information dumps. And restructuring Essentials to focus on supporting you as you implement the knowledge at your fingertips.
I get really personal in this episode of The Art Biz.
Listen
Get your Artist's Annual Review 2025
- 5 Pages of prompts to help you remember all you accomplished in 2025 and hope for in 2026.
- 4 Life areas to consider: Personal, Your Art, Learning + Teaching, Business + Marketing
- 57 Total prompts (questions) to spur your memory and make sure you give yourself credit for progress
Alyson Quotes
“You know far more than you probably give yourself credit for.”
“I continue contributing to the information dumpster.”
“AI is only as useful as what you feed it. You have to know the right questions to ask.”
“I’m creating faster than is useful to you and faster than what is good for my health and well being.”
“I am NOT setting a good example. I am not running my business the way I want you to run yours.”
“The bottom line is that I’m preaching sane planning out of one side of my mouth while juggling an insane schedule.”
“This is about IDENTITY. The reason this is such a struggle is it’s about who I am at my very core.”
“You need help making sense of what’s already out there. You need filters. You need containers.”
“The question isn’t ‘what more do I need to learn?’ The question is: ‘What do I need to let go of? Where can I lower the bar?'”
“This isn’t about abandoning what I’ve built. It’s about evolution, which I consider one of my superpowers.”
Mentioned
Cynthia Morris, Original Impulse (trusted advisor)
Zach Wolfson, Ready to Record (trusted advisor)
Make It Happen: Your Art Biz Retreat :: April 10-11, 2026 in Centerville, TN
