When is the last time you took a long look at your artist statement? Did you close the file months ago thinking you were done with it? Think again. Your statement has the potential to be one of your strongest promotional tools. A well-written statement empowers you. The process of writing or perfecting your statement
5 Tips for Improving Your Artist Statement Read
Email blasts are often promotional. They can be newsletters, announcements, invitations, or the like. If you approach your first email with humor, you’re likely to get a better response.
Sending your first email blast–what to say Read
You look less self-confident when you apologize for everything you do that is imperfect. Don’t dwell on it and call attention to it! Accept that it is what it is or fix it, redo it, or move on.
Stop apologizing for imperfections Read
Last week I reviewed a formal biography and gave you an easy-to-use, three-part bio format. If you missed that post, you can find it here: Work On Your Biography. You don’t always need or want a stiff-sounding bio. In fact, if you want to relate directly to your fans, an informal bio is a better
Computers make it so easy for us to type quickly and press Send–perhaps too easy. We get excited about something and want to respond immediately. Ditto for when we’re angry. And there’s enough on the Internet to keep us boiling for years to come. Never respond in anger Whether you’re blogging, using Twitter, or emailing,
I’ve been noticing bad habits snaking into my vocabulary. Not just my speech, but my writing! Certain words and phrases sound like fingernails on a chalkboard. If only they wouldn’t come out in the first place! The phrases “you know” and “I mean” are tops on my list, along with the word “actually.” I’m reminded
Well, um, actually, you know, it’s literally like this Read
Some artists need help with their statements more than other artists. Deborah Paris recently contacted me about hers. Aside from the fact that it was conspicuously missing from her Web site, the statement was okay. It was probably doing a good job for her. I saw nothing there that needed major correcting. But I did
Suggestion for Improving Your Artist Statement Read
Background: A client and I were consulting last week about a gallery talk she had coming up. She wanted help preparing for it because it had turned into something much bigger than she had imagined. She had a dilemma: How to respond to questions about her process. Not only was she not quite ready to
Use Questioning Strategies to Engage Your Viewers Read
Jennifer Falck Linssen just returned to Colorado from California, where she opened a solo exhibit at the Craft & Folk Art Museum in L.A. She wrote to me: I used a bit of your advice for my artist talk . . . before we left for the trip, I took 2 of your book recommendations
In Monday’s Art Marketing Action newsletter, I wrote the following: "Everything has been done a million times. Sometimes you use it and it’s yours; another time you do it and it’s still theirs." The quote is from artist Elizabeth Murray, who recently passed away. To a great extent, I believe she is right. Everything in
Think your art is unique or original? Read
