Books and recordings are ideal if you prefer to learn at your own time and pace in the comfort of your studio. Artist Career Training Art Business workbooks and recordings present clear, practical information on art marketing, art business systems and art career management for fine artists.
Creating Your Professional Portfolio
How to Attract More Art Sales and Generate Cash Flow
How to Catch a Greased Pig - Getting a Grip on Your Art Business
Anatomy of a Call to Artists
Sell My Art!
The Ins and Outs of Juried Shows
The Art Opportunities Book
Profiles of Success: Artists Who Sell Without Selling Out
Mastering Color
The Publicity Hound
Writing the Artist Statement
How to Market and Sell Fine Art Without a Gallery
The Licensing Course
National Fine Arts Title Registry
© "Creating Your Professional Portfolio"
In order to present your work to arts professionals, you need a professional introduction. Learn how to create and assemble the material to put together your own professional presentation portfolio in a manner that has been acclaimed by gallery dealers and arts writers. Follow step-by-step instructions and examples including: cover letters, resume, artist's statement, press and reviews, visuals, inventory list, and presentation of the portfolio. This package is a must for artists who want their support material to stand above the rest!
"I've listened to the Portfolio CD 10 times already in my car. Thanks for putting together such a comprehensive package. It's making this process fun for me especially because I can see how it works and it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg! I got my portfolio package today! I'm SO excited! I'm definitely going to do the "report card review" with you when I'm done. Just started reading the booklet and it's awesome. Just what I need right now - Thank You!
A.C.T. 101 Graduate Mari Kono
Digital and Paper Collage Art
www.marikono.com
Order "Creating Your Professional Portfolio"
Recording Download $39.95
CD $49.95
Workbook $49.95
Better together:
CD and Workbook $75.00
plus shipping (and sales tax to California addresses)
How to Attract More Art Sales and Generate Cash Flow
Digital Recording of this Info-Packed Class
Duration: 60 minutesA.C.T. Mentor and fine art photographer Bruce K. Haley, Jr. asked A.C.T. Director Aletta de Wal the most demanding questions she had ever been asked in a Ten Tips class a few years ago. Now he is one of the mentors for A.C.T. 101: Building Your Art Business.
Bruce is a living example of how to grow an art business by night while being employed by day. Diversification is one of Bruce’s ways of attracting more sales. And you don’t have to be a photographer to learn from his examples. If you are, that’s a bonus.
Bruce K. Haley, Jr., a Charleston, WV native has always felt the need to create. He experimented with writing, music, painting and crafts. While finding all these expressions somewhat satisfying, it wasn’t until he discovered photography that he knew he had found a way to express his innermost feelings.
www.artistcareertraining.com/the-act-team
Price: $14.95 Buy the Recording
Anatomy of a Call to Artists
plus the Art in the Round Contest
Duration: 60 minutes
Martha Wooldridge is the owner of BeautifulBowls.com, a creative meeting spot for artists, collectors, businesses, and art enthusiasts. In her mid-forties, Martha was ready to move away from the typical 8-5 job. Sound familiar?
She decided to create a situation that gave her the freedom to put her artistic, organizational, and business skills to their best use.
The result was BeautifulBowls.com – “the common bowl transformed into uncommon art”. The online gallery features fine craft vessels in a variety of media created by professional and emerging U.S. artists. You can find the Blog here: http://artintheround.wordpress.com.
BeautifulBowls.com hosts the 2008 Art in the Round Contest, a publicly juried online competition creating visibility and opportunity for fine craft artists. Please consider entering or pass this invitation on to another artist you care about.
From the Watercolor Artist Blog Watercolor USA 2008, the 47th national, competitive exhibition of aqueous media painting, at the Springfield Art Museum in Missouri.
“The competition received 674 entries by 369 artists from 42 states. This year's judge was Debra Loomis Tayes, Associate Curator of Fine Art, Southern Illinois Art Gallery, Illinois State Museum. Tayes selected 121 works by 109 artists for the exhibition. 'My criterion for selecting the paintings to be awarded was simple,"'she says. 'Was the painting engaging, dynamic, or even magnetic? Did I find myself going back to the piece again and again, even intuitively? Were the visual complexities articulated well? Was there a curiosity in the content? Were the techniques used eclipsed by the beauty of the medium?' (All good questions to consider as you prepare your work for competition season.)”
And check out the companion call The Ins and Outs of Juried Shows with A.C.T. Art Business Mentor Pat Fiorello.
Price: $14.95 for Digital Recording of Anatomy of a Call to Artists - Buy the Recording
How to Catch a Greased Pig - Getting a Grip on Your Art Business
DIGITAL RECORDING + HandoutDuration: 60 minutes
We
are surrounded and bombarded by fast and furious changes. It’s like
trying to catch a greased pig. Fast, slippery, and changes directions
constantly. How do you know what’s out there and what to focus on? How
do you understand it all and not spend a ton of time on it? How do you
stay up-to-date with all the new technologies, computer equipment,
software - and everything you now need to market your art and survive
in business. Relax and breathe, you can handle it - really. Especially if you listen closely to what Robin has to say. And even better, A.C.T. Web Marketing Mentor Robin Sagara has created a PDF of all the great resources you can access for free or low cost to apply what you have learned anytime you want.
www.artistcareertraining.com/the-act-team
Price: $24.95 Buy the Recording + Handout
Sell My Art! Finding & Keeping Effective Representation
DIGITAL RECORDING of this popular class
Join A.C.T. Art Business Mentor, Margaret Danielak, art rep and author of A Gallery without Walls: Selling Art in Alternative Venues for a riveting TeleClass on finding and keeping effective representation.
Margaret Danielak leaves no stone unturned for the artists she represents.
Margaret will reveal that she as an art representative can do a lot for you, if you qualify:Margaret will give you the straight story on the questions like:
- Develop and nurture your career by introducing you to the right people;
- Introduce you to important opportunities in your field. (e.g. major commissions, grants, international exhibitions, etc.)
- Sell your artwork to collectors and others whom you would not otherwise know.
- Obtain commissions (if desired) and negotiate the contracts related to those commissions.
- Depending upon your agreement, your rep may also try to get your work into galleries and/or into museum exhibitions and permanent collections, and use his or her contacts to get you press coverage.”
- Where do you go to find an effective gallery or rep?
- What qualifications do you need before you approach an art rep?
- How do you approach a rep?
- How do you keep a rep?
Price: Guest $24.95 Buy Now
Price: A.C.T. Member $19.95 Buy Now (member discount)
In case you missed:
The Ins and Outs of Juried Shows
with Aletta de Wal ands Pat Fiorello
This was a most thorough and honest review of the nerve-wracking jury process from both sides of the fence. If you are not doing as many exhibits, then work on your business skills and qualifications in the meantime.
“The call was helpful. It helped organize what I know, filled in some blanks, and I feel as though I understand more fully the entire process. More tools for decisions.”
Buy the recording here:
Price: Guest $24.95 Buy Now
Price: A.C.T. Member $19.95 Buy NowThe price includes a template for planning your shows and e-mail support for your questions at Aletta@ArtistCareerTraining.com
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Avoid wasting time, money and energy entering juried shows that are just not right for you!
Learn how the jurying process works from someone who's been on both sides of the fence- entering and running juried shows. Pat Fiorello gives you ways to assess and approach shows to get the results you want.
Increase your odds of success by learning:
➢ benefits and costs of doing shows;
➢ if entering shows is right for you;
➢ where to find out about shows;
➢ guidelines for thinking about which pieces to enter;
➢ how to increase your odds of success.
A.C.T. Art Business Mentor Pat Fiorello, professional artist and signature member of the Georgia Watercolor Society, has been a show judge with hands on experience with all aspects of juried art shows. She served on the board of the Georgia Watercolor Society for 5 years including a term as President and as National Exhibition Chairman. Pat was awarded Signature Status from the Georgia Watercolor Society at the opening of the 2008 annual exhibition.
Avoid scams, earn money and increase your chances of success in juried shows.
The Art Opportunities Book by Benny Shaboy can't guarantee fame and fortune. But it can and does guarantee that if you follow the steps in it you will significantly increase your chances of:
- Finding the art opportunities that are just right for you
- Being accepted into the rights shows and events
- Winning awards and prizes to add to your resume
- Getting a grant, fellowship, or residency
- Selling work from or after a show
- Landing a public art commission of up to $1,000,000
You will learn how to spot -- or even create -- over $7 Million dollars of opportunities and how to best prepare for them. You will learn what jurors are looking for, how to take slides that will mean the difference between failure and success, how to avoid the mistakes that completely ruin your chances and how to spot the scams that cost artists millions of dollars every year.
Any one of these things would be worth the price of the book, but you get them all and much, much more. This 123-page wire-bound 8 1/2 x 11" workbook is only $17.95 plus shipping and handling. Order your copy today and it will be inscribed to you by the author
Order Now: $17.95 plus tax (in CA) and shippingBetter together: The book PLUS "The Ins and Outs of Juried Shows" - an A.C.T. Recording featuring artist Pat Fiorello where you'll learn how the jurying process works from someone who's been on both sides of the fence- entering and running juried shows. Pat Fiorello gives you ways to assess and approach shows to get the results you want.
Price: Guest $17.95 Book + $24.95 Recording Buy Now
Price: A.C.T. Member $17.95 Book + $19.95 Recording Buy Now
© "Profiles of Success: Artist Who Sell Without 'Selling Out'"
Many artists believe that selling fine art is “selling out.” Not true! There is no shame in earning income from your talents. Fine artists have been compensated for making art for centuries. You can market your art for profit with integrity. All you need to sell out is your art. Eavesdrop on interviews with established artists who can tell you how.
Patrice Federspiel lives and paints in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Patrice’s art career has been on the fast track, resulting in numerous awards, solo and group exhibits, magazine/book features and articles, not to mention making her living full time as a water color artist. Patrice is a member of A.C.T. 301: Mastering Your Art Business, for established artists, and is an A.C.T. Art Marketing Mentor. In Patrice’s words, “I paint the essence of living aloha.”
Bruce K. Haley, Jr., is a Charleston, WV native and full-time CPA. Bruce has shown his fine art photographs in over 90 exhibitions in 9 states; 18 retail galleries and art related retail outlets to sell his work. Bruce is a member of A.C.T.
301: Mastering Your Art Business, for established artists and is an A.C.T. Art Marketing Mentor. In Bruce's words, "I present nature, not as the lens captures it, but as I see, feel, and experience it."
Listen to a Sample
Buy Now: Download $19.95
Buy Now: CD $29.95 plus applicable shipping & taxes
Mastering Color
3-DVD Art Instruction Series by Donna Aldridge,
an international award-winning painter with works in 25 countries
Volume 1: Seeing the Light!
The Color of Light and Shadow, Light + Local Color = Visual Color
Volume 2: Hue, Temperature, Value, Intensity
Meaning and Relevance of the terms Hue, Temperature, Value, Intensity, Their Impact and Using the "Check List"
Volume 3: Color in Action!
Color Relationships, Problem Solving through Color, Seeing What Works, Successful Color Mixing
This DVD Series will help you create stronger, more satisfying and successful paintings. Running Time approximately 1 Hour Each. Extensive Menus and Chapters. For Oil, Watercolor, Pastel, Acrylic, Printmaking, and Digital.
On the three DVDs, you'll discover:
- examples and techniques to really SEE and MIX your subject's colors
- light’s influences and uses on any subject matter, plein air or studio
- how to translate color, create space, direct viewer’s eye, unify areas
- showing form with both value and color
- turning “blah” pieces into exciting paintings
- how to make colors glow! , POP or hide
- and much more!
Get More Info (pdf file)
Buy the DVD Series, $159.99
The Publicity Hound
Joan Stewart, Speaker/Trainer/Consultant
One of the artists in the A.C.T. community has a great tagline for her e-mail signature: “Lord, please help me to become the person my dog thinks I am.” This is a great way to engage the people she wants to attract for pet portraits. If it's time to write a news release and you can’t come up with a line that even your dog would love, I've found the very best site on the Internet to help you. Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound®, has tips, tricks and valuable educational tools. She's a great resource. Fine artists who want to squeeze their pennies can get thousands of dollars in free publicity by following the tips, tricks and tools, courtesy of Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound®. She's a former newspaper editor, a small business owner AND she was tapped by Entrepreneur.com as its public relations expert.
Click here to get more than a few licks of common sense.
Writing the Artist Statement: Revealing the True Spirit of Your Work
Ariane Goodwin, Ed.D.
Book
Isn’t writing an Artist Statement one of the more Intimidating Tasks you’re asked to do?
"The book was a lifesaver! The writing exercises took away my fear and made a difference not just in my writing, but also in my work. I would have been lost and frustrated without it." –Lauren Simon, ceramic artist
Writing the Artist Statement gives you:
- The working definition of an artist statement
- Proven writing methods
- What gallery owners really think about artist statements
- The top strategies for presentation
- Which fears will stop you cold, and how turn them into allies
- How to capture organic "self-talk" about your work
- Why some artist statements shine, and others whine
- What helps "seal the deal" with serious collectors
"I understand that artists don't want to pick through a word jungle to find the gold. This information is accessible - for quick, easy reading - with plenty of wide-open, white spaces to soothe the artist's eye.
Chapters are short and snappy. No filler here. And everything is developmentally designed to take you step-by-step through why, how, where, and when you need that statement. And, if for any reason you are unsatisfied, I’ll refund your money in a heartbeat. (...and ask that you donate the book to your local library)." --Ariane Goodwin, Ed.D.
How to Market and Sell Fine Art Without a Gallery
A Gallery without Walls: Selling Art in Alternative Venues (Book)
Book
Art rep Margaret Danielak is an expert in innovative ways to market and sell art without a gallery. Owner of Danielak Art - A Gallery Without Walls, she represents seven talented artists. Daughter of a painter, and former production coordinator, Margaret see possibilities where others see nothing.
Get the inside information you need about marketing and selling without a gallery to further your career! Learn how to:
- Develop effective, affordable sales strategies
- Locate suitable alternative venues
- Find the “Sacred Sales Spot” in every show
- Deal effectively with the press
- Obtain merchant status
- Work with an artist representative
- Promote your artwork on a shoestring
“A Gallery without Walls” guides artists to select and reserve the best space to exhibit and instructions on how to produce a low-cost art event. Margaret Danielak gives you easy-to-follow recommendations on how to evaluate your art, prepare your work for sale, and promote your events on a limited budget.
Click here to read more about Margaret.
The Licensing Course
Michael Woodward
Why should you care about licensing?
Showing original works of art or hand-made prints is a good way to make a living. If you can make enough work and market it well to the right audience, you can have a comfortable lifestyle.
Want more? Giclees and limited editions add scope and variety. A great way to attract other viewers, if you can keep up with the demand and enjoy production.
But what if you could "have your cake and eat it too?"
Licensing allows you to keep your originals and sell others the rights to use your work, under specified conditions for a fee. Both parties benefit and share the work and the profits.
Licensing is a way to reach a much wider audience and make more money from your creative talents. The list of licensing applications is limitless these days. The most common products include:
- Fine art posters & prints sold in many venues
- Limited edition prints sold to collectors and in galleries
- Prints sold via Interior designers for hotels & corporate projects
- Retail products like stationery, calendars, games and puzzles, ceramics, coasters & trivets
And there is certainly no shame in making money from your talents. You are no less of a fine artist - you still have to create the original art.
Well known artists like Anne Geddes, Rachel Hale, and Susan Winget have licensing programs that pull in substantial incomes each year. Romero Britto earned around $12 million last year; Paul Brent around $50 million.
It was not from the sale of originals.
It's all possible through licensing!
To license your work (without wasting time or money) you need to have the right information before you start. In the last few years there has been a huge shift in the way buyers choose the products they purchase. Now, instead of browsing for inspiration, they stride in with shopping lists detailing exactly what they want in terms of subject matter, color and even style of art.
You can explore the idea of licensing from the comfort of your studio, because our licensing expert Michael Woodward has documented what he knows:
The Licensing Course is for those of you who are ready to licensing your work via an agent or on your own. Just reading the Table of Contents is an education. (And it includes bonuses like Licensing Art 101, if you want an overview of licensing basics.)
Michael Woodward began licensing photography in 1974, and formed the first Art Licensing Company in England in 1979.
Please e-mail Aletta@ArtistCareerTraining.com if you would like to know more about licensing your originals and need guidance on the best next step.
©2007 Michael Woodward - Adapted to fit the A.C.T. Tip-of-the-Week Profile. Read the original article, "The Licensing & Publishing Industry Today"
Buy Now for only $249 or get more info
National Fine Arts Title Registry
Document the authenticity of your work
Everything of value we own is registered in some way, stocks, bonds, cars, boats, software, etc. These registrations are to establish ownership.
Along with stocks and bonds original works of art are recognized as valuable assets. Yet unlike stocks and bonds they do not have a record of ownership. Often there is not a paper trail transferring ownership on a work of art from one person to the next. A transfer of title or ownership is commonplace for other valuables like a car title. However, there has been no such thing in the world of art. An individual artist may write his own “letter of authenticity” but there is no real “ownership title registration.”
With the common use of the Internet and NFATR the registration of works of art becomes simple, easily available and desirable. National Fine Arts Title Registration was established to track, organize and document works of art no matter what the value or origin.
Each work of art or numbered print that is registered with National Fine Arts Title Registry will receive a registration number unique to that work of art, establishing ownership and value. When that work is sold to another, a transfer of title can take place and the buyer is registered as the new owner of the registered work of art.