Now heres something interesting. Check it out. ================================== Shortly after I opened the gallery, I was approached by an artist looking for representation. In her early fifties (I would guess), she had been classically trained in Europe, and evinced incredible talent. She had received many awards for her work, and had shown in European galleries in her youth to some success. But somehow she had never quite made the crossover into the American market. Though in reviewing her portfolio I was captivated by the work, it simply was not a good fit for my more contemporary gallery. In spite of my effort to convey this fact as kindly as I possibly could, I could tell she was feeling a great deal of frustration. “You know,” she said, “I have been painting for thirty years; I am extremely talented I can paint whatever you want. You just tell me what is selling and I will paint it for you.” This is not a successful strategy for approaching a gallery owner. I want to believe, as do my collectors, that you are so passionate about what you do that you have no choice in the matter. A collector’s decision to buy your artwork will in most cases be driven by emotion, not logic. Experience has taught me that if I display artwork in my gallery that was created out of passion, I will sell it. Be true to your inner-vision as an artist and your work will attract galleries and collectors. I have observed a number of artists who are constantly working to follow the trends. If one of the major art magazines were to run a series of articles on the popularity and importance of the red barn in contemporary American art, I guarantee artists of this ilk could be relied upon to approach the galleries four to six weeks later with their own flood of red barns. Artists who are trying to pursue the magical subject matter that will launch them into stardom are invariably disappointed. Instead of imitating the current vogue, I encourage you to follow your passion. Then go out and find the galleries who share your passion for your work. There are thousands of galleries and hundreds of millions of people in the United States. You cannot convince me there are not a number of galleries out there who would be excited about your work and able to sell it to their collectors. Create from your heart, and you will find collectors. ================================ This is an excerpt from the book linked below. I find it interesting for a number of reasons. And I would say someone who can paint wonderfully is not talented. Talent in my books has nothing to do with being able to REPLICATE all manner of existing styles, it is not a performance. Talent is what you cant learn, you cant teach, you can only encourage. But thats what I think. What do you think?
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 00:30:13 +0000
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