Artists often confide to me that they’re afraid to put themselves “out there.” Afraid of what other people will think. Afraid of what other people might say. Afraid of haters. I get it. Both being an artist myself, as well as having an online business has opened me up to abuse. People can be mean. […]
I once dragged a film crew to the Scottsdale Arts Festival. The cameras followed me as I collected wisdom from exhibiting artists. I wanted to capture the artists’ stories, learn tricks of the trade, get their insights into how this whole art fair thing works for them. After all, sales at art fairs were exploding.
It’s been nearly 20 years since I first spent time in France. Nearly 20 years since I met a beautifully talented artist from Hawaii named Maria Lee. Maria was teaching at a small art school for American students in a tiny Provençal village. I was there for the summer too. We both had a profound
I guess it won’t surprise you know that I’ve always believed in magic. I look for those small moments of synchronicity that let me know I’m not alone. I don’t know Who or What it is that walks beside me, but by dropping that penny in my path, I’ve felt that everything is going to
Her name was Ruffian. And she was the fastest girl alive. They said she couldn’t beat the boys but I didn’t believe them. Ruffian was a two-year-old thoroughbred racehorse who ran undefeated. In fact, no horse had ever run in front of her, she took the lead every time and refused to surrender it. But
Like many creatives, you want to become a full-time professional artist one day. Isn’t that the dream? But the path to becoming a professional artist isn’t clear. They don’t teach entrepreneurial skills in art school. There’s a ton of conflicting information on the internet. And it sometimes feels like the blind leading the blind. For
What’s an artist to do when confronted with the complexities of a creative life? Create a new picture. Work through the blocks between where you are now and where you want to be. “But Crista,” you say. “It’s not that easy.” I get it. In his remarkable book The War of Art, Steven Pressfield talks a lot about
Mickey was born the moment that his father died. His dad was rushing to the hospital to greet his firstborn son when he was hit by a train and killed instantly. A few years later, Mickey’s misfortune continued when his mom married a Bad Man. Family lore has it that the Bad Man beat little
Wondering how to be an artist when nobody seems interested in your art? Keeping the faith during down times can be difficult, but it’s all part and parcel of being a creative. All of us have to pay our dues. There will be times when you sell a lot of work, and lean times when
If you’re an emerging or mid-career artist you might be asking yourself, ‘How do art galleries work? How can I find art gallery representation?’ While some artists seem to find art gallery representation easily, they are the exceptions, not the rule. The truth is, it’s difficult to gain gallery representation, but you can learn how