May 25, 2010 | Alyson Stanfield

Don't Make the Same Mistake that So Many Artists Make

It's simple . . .
Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.

15 comments add a comment

  • Reply
    Michelle Burnett
    May 25, 2010 AT 10:06AM

    Yes, thank you for the reminder! Good advice, worth repeating! :)

  • Reply
    Dora Ficher
    May 26, 2010 AT 7:41AM

    Thanks for the reminder! I love how you did this!!! :)

  • Reply
    Stacy Caldwell
    May 26, 2010 AT 1:22PM

    Alyson! This is a question I had that I did not remember or have an opportunity to ask at the workshop in PA. Specifically, when people find out I’m a painter, they will often tell me about a painting they’d love to have done, but then I’m left wondering how to actually make something happen. How do you follow up (professionally)? Have you addressed this topic somewhere?

    • Alyson Stanfield
      May 26, 2010 AT 9:33PM

      Stacy: I know. You were in a state of overwhelm–in a good way, right?
      Did you read some of the Related Posts listed at the end of the article? I think you have my book, too. Entire chapter!!! Bottom line: Do something. You can’t mess up if you take action. I usually opt for something handwritten sent in the mail.

  • Reply
    Barbara Muir
    May 26, 2010 AT 1:36PM

    Alyson,
    Sometimes you scare me. Which is good when you scare me
    into action. This post did.
    Thanks,
    Barbara

    • Alyson Stanfield
      May 26, 2010 AT 9:34PM

      Ah, I AM scary. Now you’ll always hear a little voice: Alyson said to follow up. I MUST do it. ;)

  • Reply
    Angela Treat Lyon
    May 26, 2010 AT 9:56PM

    uhh…you mean we ought to follow UP? This was a hoot – thanks!

  • Reply
    Barbara Muir
    May 28, 2010 AT 10:34PM

    How right you are Alyson. I hear that little voice (yours) all the time! Sometimes it torments me, but then I quote the voice (yours) to everyone
    (including me) who needs a jolt of your special magic. What’s that?
    Sanity, humour and excellent business sense for artists.
    You are the best,
    Barbara

  • Reply
    Jennifer Ressmann
    May 31, 2010 AT 6:13AM

    Hi – If I’m not out of line here – can I say – even follow up if it’s a month or two later. LIfe is busy for all of us. Sometimes I start something – like a shed project that I want a contractor to help us with. I make a bunch of calls, I get the ball rolling, then I get distracted by something more important and have to come back to it a couple of months later. If I hear back from someone in that time line “sorry, it took me a while to get back to you, but if you’re still interested” I will still consider them. (sometimes 2 months seems like 2 weeks).

  • Reply
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  • Reply
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  • Reply
    Stephanie Fuller
    January 23, 2013 AT 7:28AM

    I thank my stars for your pearls of wisdom, Alyson.
    I just finished a solo exhibition here in NYC and sold some paintings. Now, I feel compelled to try to find another exhibit. I was feeling overwhelmed with “how”? as this exhibit fell in my lap! You keep reinforcing the fact that “one step at a time” and “just do it” is the only way to make it happen.
    So glad I received this email from you today.:-)
    Stephanie Fuller

  • Reply
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    January 30, 2013 AT 2:04PM

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