Are You Putting the Cart Before the Horse?

Where your art career is concerned, are you putting the cart before the horse?

I know I did.

For the first few years out of art school I focused on what I had learned: painting.  I painted big, Abstract Expressionist canvases with energetic brush marks.  I took endless "resource photos" and tried my hand at landscape.  I did figures.  I felt like a yo-yo, responding to a gallery's request for "more Italian Paintings" and then wondering what went wrong when she didn't take any of them. 

I bounced around.

I have stacks of paintings to show for it, too,  stored in plastic in the garage, bound for eBay at $29.99 if I'm lucky.  Free fright (don't ask.)

And then it dawned on me - I was putting the cart before the horse.

What I was doing was counterproductive.  I was throwing everything out there, hoping some of it would stick, without doing what I should have done first.

I should have thought out exactly what I did and did not want to accomplish.

Do you know what you want to accomplish?

Have you decided what kind of art you want to make?  Is it the stuff bound for galleries and a high price tag, or are you thinking about art fairs?  Do you like actively selling your own work at a gallery art opening setting, or would you be happier pushing your product on the internet?  Maybe all you want to do is create lovely artwork to give to your friends and family. 

But it's important that you know. Because having a detailed understanding of how you want to use your creative talents will go a long way toward making productive decisions and avoiding spinning your wheels like I did.

So where do you start?

Well...that's part of the problem, you can't start until you've gained some experience.  But what you can do it start a business plan. 

Most business plans begin with The Mission Statement.

Which is just -- in your own words -- why you want to be an artist.

Did you write it out?  No more than five sentences? Two is optimum, brownie points for you, but 5 will still get you a gold star.

(...listening to all those pens scratching across the paper...)

Are you done yet? Good.  Now you've started your business plan.

See how easy it was to get that cart back where it belongs?

Since this is December, it's time for me to start working on a business plan for the coming year.  I have a 1 year detailed plan, a 5 year goal-oriented plan, and a 10 year you-gotta-dream-big plan. 
Over the next few weeks, I will share some of the organizing and planning techniques I gained through 30 years of small business ownership, with the hope that I can create a detailed art-centered plan on a new squidoo lens.  The market is changing so rapidly it's a good idea for artists to revisit their goals and methods of achieving them, and to keep an eye out for future opportunity. 

...I still hear pen scratching...who's still writing?

Comments

[Katherine]

Good advice Sue - and this is going to be referenced by my 'who's made a mark this week?' post on Sunday.

I think besides planning one also has to have a good appreciation of how much time and energy some things take. It's all very well wanting something but will you have the energy for the follow through?

I've found I have to keep reminding myself I don't get as much done now as I used to do!

[sue]

Yes, Lori, I will be talking about understanding your personal style as part of my larger business plan section. Thanks for the input!

[Lori Landis]

Thanks Sue for reminding me. I as an older horse tend to want to do many different types of painting in the abstract venue and I get confused about my "style". PLease address this. Thanks.