Artist Action Plan: How to Create Your Own Now
Besides creating art, the most important step in building your art career is taking action! You can enter or relaunch your career either randomly or with a plan. Which one you choose will probably determine how long you stay with it and if there is a happy ending to your story. If you enter (or re-enter) the market with a plan, that means you’re tuned in. Your tools are in order, your strategies are in focus, and your attitude is set.
As an artist, your mind is often flooded with ideas, but great ideas will never reach their potential if they are not put into practice. Often there are too many ideas going around in your head; that’s where your action plan comes into play. Once created, you can identify the priorities of your plan and focus on your creative path. Your priorities will give you a direction of where and how you need to spend your time. The other areas of your art career that don’t involve creating can seem like a chore. Activities that involve marketing your art, writing your biography, uploading images, applying for shows, are all part of expanding your business. If you view them as an extension of your creation, you will find them more valuable as these activities begin to offer you more freedom to create.
Well, this may not be news to you. He thought about creating a plan, his supporters suggested it, maybe he even wrote a sticky note and put it on his to-do list, okay? Hey good for you! Unless you actually have, I’m assuming the personal note has been transferred along your calendar with each passing day, and may indeed be losing steam. Don’t look for guilt or shame here, there isn’t any, just the chance to do it now, like there’s no tomorrow.
So whether you need to shake things up and relaunch your career or you’re launching for the first time, get a notepad (a big one) and a pen and jot down some notes while reading this article, quick before you panic. in!
First, let’s address a couple of areas before we get started. Write your own list on your own paper. It’s okay to print this list here for reference, but to keep it real and yours, write it in your own words. This article is geared towards painters and illustrators, but it’s a good starting point for any creative career. Adjust it to fit your own creative approach.
These listed steps below are quick and basic and are meant to spur you in the direction your inner artist already knows to take, so add to the list as ideas come to you, but keep it simple and small. I’ll put some resources at the bottom of this page to lead you into more detailed steps than what’s here. These are steps you can start right now that will set the stage for long-term planning and goal setting for your art. The idea is not to make a super-detailed plan set in stone; instead, you want a flexible plan (like Gumby!) that moves and stretches with your evolving goals and path of exploration as an artist.
If you want your artistic creation to flourish and grow, you have to treat it like a living thing: nurture it, nurture it, and release it. Once created, it is something external: your seed blossomed!
Like it or not, your art is a product, a thing that you have made. To free it, you either give it away or sell it. Selling it and making money from it is not selling yourself. Getting paid for your art is part of the cycle of giving and taking… and giving back. The unique way you produce your art, your story about your process, and the methods you choose to sell it will set the tone for the integrity of your work. If you only want to create for yourself, then you wouldn’t be reading this far, so trust your instincts and go ahead to create and share your unique vision.
Do you have your pen, paper? Write your title:
(your name) Amazing action plan for artists
- Evaluate your skills. (eg, artistic, commercial, sales)
- Investigate and learn.
- Write down your philosophy, mission or statement. Make a note to review later.
- Set up a workspace.
- Schedule time to create.
- Create a budget.
- Create 10 or more finished pieces.
- Price your art.
- Have your art professionally photographed and digitally saved.
- Put together a portfolio.
- Get a bank account for your art and a PayPal account.
- Select and build a home base for your online presence as an artist. (eg website, blog, online store)
- Select and create one or two places to connect and share your story and build your community. (e.g. blog, YouTube, Twitter)
- Select and create where you will show and/or sell your work. (eg Etsy, Flickr, Zazzle)
- Select the sources you’ll go to to meet other artists, get inspired, find out what’s new, and find resources and opportunities and schedule daily or weekly visits. (e.g. Twitter, art magazines, art business blogs, art forums, Facebook groups)
- Make a list of your favorite artists that you think are working successfully and review how and where they market their work.
- Look for experienced artist mentors with whom you can talk.
- Decide how you’d like to display your work in person and get applications and contact information. (e.g. open studio, gallery, festival, alternative space)
- Determine your audience and buyers.
- Create a dedicated calendar or planner for your office work.
- Make room for balanced downtime to exercise, meditate, eat healthy, whole foods, and rest. A healthy lifestyle supports sustained creativity.
- Please make a note to review this list in a week or two and revise it as needed.
- Find your rhythm.
- Do #7 over and over again.
- Keep Going – Repeat.
Now, take a look at your work and let’s go through them quickly together. Do you have the 25 scored? Cold. Program #1-3, 5 and 6 to be done within the next 10 days.
#4 can be a small corner in the kitchen or area of your house where you don’t have to move it. It doesn’t have to be a big space yet.
#7 It’s good to plan for a minimum of one painting (change to fit your art) per month. I highly recommend more than that depending on your style and the speed at which you want to enter the market.
#8-10 will take a bit of time to get organized. Decide how you want to archive your images. Only digital photography or film? I still have my work shot on large format film (4 x 5) which takes a few days to process, then I scan and create digital files. If a piece is late for a show or in a rush, going straight to digital works well. It’s a good idea to have a portfolio in more ways than one, but I don’t recommend an expensive print product at first. Over time you can curate your best work and create a showcase, for now an image (with description and price) on a single 8.5″ x 11″ white sheet of paper and organized in a binder is a great start and something to look forward to. you can duplicate and edit easily and cheaply. Organize your digital files by series and file size, and create backup copies on CDs or external hard drives.
#11 can be done in one morning. #12 can be started while you are working on your art. Get everything you can on your starter site right away: home page, bio or about page, a blog page or space for news and events, and a page for your online portfolio. Check what you have learned from points 16 and 17 and apply it here.
As soon as you have your focus and philosophy, you can start with #13. #14, you can wait until your startup website is complete. Once you have your first targets, numbers 15-18 will be an ongoing grind to keep a feel for what’s going on and where your art is in the mix and that will lead you to #19.
Start the business planner today (#20). It can be a lined notebook, a mole or an agenda with a calendar and place for notes. You can grab this digital if you’re more comfortable with it, but a plain old notebook encourages spontaneous scribbling and sketching, so that’s my pick. As you find your rhythm, you can update and personalize this vital piece or your business of art.
I cannot stress enough how important #21 is. You may have the idea that if you are a happy artist, you are not a true artist. The stories we all hear or maybe even a friend or two you know, where artists are tortured, depressed or have bouts of dementia to create, can seem like a prerequisite for creative genius. Unfortunately, states of depression, gloomy moods, and illnesses are more prevalent today than ever. If a person creates within these states of illness, self-loathing, or altered states of consciousness, brief moments of creativity can arise. A better path to longevity in all areas is to support your whole person, which sustains your creative spirit. The key is to find the balance of mind, body and spirit. If you do, you’ll be rewarded with unimpeded access to your inner space where true creativity lives. Then you’ll be able to unearth your truth and communicate meaning with clarity and passion that will have the power to positively transform yourself and your community in ways you could never achieve with less.
Do #22 often. Numbers 24 and 25 are for life, they will change and grow over time, but you will never cross them off your list.
Before I leave you here, are you glassy-eyed or are you panicking? Okay, try this for a quick refocus. After taking a deep breath (always the first step), take a break and ground yourself. Go outside if possible and stick your bare feet on the grass or concrete or stone for about 15 minutes. Add your own special touch while doing this (for example, deeper breathing, standing stretches, close your eyes and do peaceful visualizations, let all that tension flow to the floor) Sounds silly, but it works. When you go back inside, read your list with your renewed calm and just start.