Like so many artists, Kimberly Santini began thinking differently at the beginning of the pandemic—out of necessity. Her calendar, like all of ours, was suddenly empty of obligations.
Rather than panic, she viewed it as an opportunity.
In this episode of The Art Biz, Kimberly and I start off discussing how she used Covid as a sabbatical to figure out what she really wanted from her art.
We touched on her dedication to blogging since 2006, and why she maintains the habit after so many artists have given up or neglected their blogs.
[ The Benefits of Blogging About Your Art with Lisa Call ]
The bulk of our conversation focused on how Kimberly uses Patreon to teach and build a community of artists.
We discuss:
- What Kimberly charges for her Patreon patron tiers.
- What each tier receives for their patronage.
- What her workflow is like.
- Why it’s important that what she shares on Patreon is closely aligned with what she is doing in the studio.
- How she differentiates the content for patrons from the content she creates for her blog, newsletter, YouTube, and social media.
Is Patreon for you? Kimberly has some answers.
Listen
Mentioned
Kimberly Santini Quotes
“The pandemic wiped my calendar clean in a matter of a week … so I used the time as a little sabbatical.”
“I [used to love] color for color's sake … Now I'm seeing color more as a harmonic journey….”
“I'll check [my blog stats] periodically, but I really don't wanna use it as any sort of religion or anything to steer business decisions too heavily with.”
“My problem is that there are so many shiny things that it's really, it can be difficult for me to narrow down and choose something.”
“You have to show up regularly for your supporter base.”
“My biggest secret [for using Patreon] was trying not to create extra work for myself. The fewer barriers between my creative process and the delivery of that content to … my supporters, the easier it is for me.”
Kim painting with kitty daVinci's help.
Related Episodes
These episodes also focus on artists who teach using platforms other than Patreon.
About My Guest
Kimberly Santini‘s career began at the kitchen table during her children's naptime. She started daily painting in 2006 and continues to be committed to this habit—instilling it in her students on the Patreon platform.
Working directly and spontaneously, Kim is sensitive to color and her subject while never certain of where the next painting will end. She was the official artist of the 2015 Kentucky Derby, has worked with the American Kennel Club, and installed solo shows across the country.
Kim serves on the boards of the Romeo Guild of Art and The Detroit Society of Women Painters and Sculptors.
Follow her on Instagram @kimsantini
2 thoughts on “The Art Biz ep. 156: Using Patreon as a Teaching Platform with Kimberly Santini”
I have listened to this podcast twice and will probably listen again, so full of good nuggets! Teaching and online sales of art products are more than 60% off my income stream – I would love to increase the art sales! I am determined to work on that after the summer. I had a promising outdoor art show a couple weeks ago and now need to analyze how I can move forward to build on it.
Thanks Alyson, you choose such great guests!
Susan: Stay tuned for episode 157!