Art World Insiders:

My primary goal in these interviews is to inspire you with stories of people who make a living helping artists make a living making art and who consider it a real job. The art professionals I interview here have valuable tales to tell you about how to work with them. Scroll down for a list of other interviews and quotes.

Access past interviews:

Artspan Builds Community for Artists & Collectors in San Francisco 
Benny Shaboy, Publishes $8.1 Million Opportunities for Artists & Photographers 
Margot Knight, Champion of Artists at The Djerassi Resident Artists Program  
Stewart Cubley, The Painting Experience, Painting for Process not for Product  
Robert Patrick, The Inside Story of Marketing the Art of Chuck Jones
Gigi Rosenberg, Grants for Artists & Writers
John Seed, Art-Explainer and Storyteller

Quotes:

• John. R. Cherry on taking charge of your art career
• Digital Arts Studio on Giclée printmaking
• Pat Fiorello on the myth of the starving artist
• Alexandria Levin on perseverance
• Darryl Mix on exhibiting your art widely
• Benny Shaboy on getting money
• Lee Silber on self-promotion
• Constance Smith on the long view of success
• Synthia Smith on balancing life & work
• Katherine Swift on not being limited by your perceptions about yourself
• Chris Welsh on the many hats artists must wear 

John. R. Cherry on taking charge of your art career

"You can be one of the best artists in the world today, but if you do not get serious about the business of fine art then you are not likely to find financial success or recognition. Most artists cannot afford to hire a marketing manager to handle those pesky business details, so success as a professional artist means you have to have a business system. Whether you use a note card file or an online system … you must find a business system that works for you and then work it."

John R. Cherry, III is Founder & Co-Chairman of the Board, The National Fine Arts Title Registry. Please use this link for registering your fine art and help build ACTs of generosity, our scholarship fund. www.FineArtsTitle.com/0374

Digital Arts Studio on Giclée Printmaking

Digital Arts Studio has the technical expertise and marketing savvy to help you profit from fine-art Giclée printmaking. Barry Glustoff, Robin Zelizer and Peter Leafman opened Digital Arts Studio in 2003. They have 80 year’s combined experience in art reproduction, marketing and retail custom picture framing.

Digital Arts Studios achieves superior quality, color accuracy, and consistency on every digital imaging project. Color management is not only about technical expertise. Peter Leafman and Barry Glustoff have artistic backgrounds and keen color sense that make for a winning collaboration with all of their clients, digitally “savvy” or not.

Digital Arts Studios has an outstanding team of technicians, including skilled photographers, professional artists, graphic designers and digital imaging specialists. Using the latest and best possible technology, they can achieve superior quality, color accuracy, and consistency on every project.

Pat Fiorello on the myth of the Starving Artist

“Too many artists buy into the myth of the ‘starving artist’. If you believe opportunities are limited, that’s what you’ll find, but if you see that opportunities are truly abundant, that’s what you’ll experience. If you have a positive attitude and take appropriate and focused actions, you can make a living doing what you love.”

Pat Fiorello brings a unique blend of both the business and art worlds. For 20 years she worked in the corporate world as a marketing and general management executive. She received her M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and has been Vice President, Marketing for Coca-Cola and Nabisco. She left her “first” career to more fully pursue her passion for art and has been doing so successfully for over 6 years. In addition to selling her original paintings, Pat’s artwork has been accepted into over 60 juried shows, featured in over a dozen solo exhibitions, and licensed for greeting cards and home decor products. Pat is recognized as a Signature Member of the Georgia Watercolor Society. She has helped hundreds of artists develop their business skills through her work with arts organizations, workshops and private coaching. Pat has served as Chairman of the Atlanta Artists Center and President of the Georgia Watercolor Society. www.patfiorello.com

Alexandria Levin on perseverance

Image by Jonathan Lane “I was born with a demanding muse and an insatiable curiosity, and was always creating something as a child. I’ve been painting ever since I was 17, over 33 years ago. This is the one constant in my life. Perseverance means that your essential identity is that of being an artist. Nothing changes that; no life circumstances, no economic lows, no outside criticism, nothing. If you have to work a regular job five days a week, then you paint inside your head during those five days. Life changes all the time, pendulums swing. Things are good, then they slow down, the situation becomes disappointing, and then one day something shifts and whole new worlds of opportunity open up. If you are truly an artist you never give up. You don’t listen to those outside voices that say to quit - ever. You only listen to your muse - your inner voice. You create and grow no matter what."

Alexandria Levin has exhibited her oil paintings in galleries, museums and cultural centers across thecountry since 1981, including ten solo shows. Her paintings are in private collections from Boston toJapan, as well as in the state of New Mexico’s Capitol Art Collection in Santa Fe. She has lecturedon her art in the San Francisco Bay Area, Philadelphia and Tokyo, and was awarded major stategrants from the California Arts Council and Massachusetts Arts Lottery Council, plus she has receivedvarious exhibition and purchase awards. Ms. Levin attended Massachusetts College of Art to studypainting for two years and later returned to school at the San Francisco Art Institute where shereceived a BFA with honors in 1989.

Alexandria is currently living and painting in the Philadelphia area, and has recently written two bookson the arts and creativity. She is also working on two collections of poetry and song lyrics. As always,and as the top priority in her life, she is painting whenever possible; continuing to build her two currentbodies of work with well over a hundred and seventy paintings to date and going strong. www.alexalev.com

Darryl Mix on exhibiting your art widely

“You may exhibit in many non-traditional venues, but galleries still have an important place in ambitious artists’ career plans. In this class, you will learn from our guest Darryl Mix, of SA Contemporary Art in San Antonio, Texas about how to prepare for working with galleries. Artists who work with galleries want to exhibit their work to certain kinds of buyers, arts writers, and museum curators. You have to know who is interested in your work and where they go see art.”

Darryl Mix is the Director of Art SA, a commercial art gallery located in San Antonio Texas. Art SA is still in its infancy - after only 10 months in operation. Darryl's focus as Director and Curator is to successful fulfill the gallery's promise to its audience, to "Discover The Art of San Antonio."

Darryl's current role as the Director and Curator for an art gallery is a second career. For more than 17 years, Darryl worked as a fundraiser, marketer and public relationsist for non-profit health and arts organizations in Southern California and San Antonio. Darryl liberally applies the principles of "affinity marketing" and "collaborative outreach" that have proven effective in the non-profit sector to the "art world", a ubiquitous segment of the "for profit world."

Benny Shaboy on getting money

“Unless you get lucky, being financially successful is extremely difficult. But that's actually to your advantage, because 95 percent of the other artists aren't willing to work as hard and as smart as you are. And the smarter you work, the luckier you'll get.”

Benny Shaboy studied sculpture and drawing at The University of the Arts and The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Founding editor/publisher of studioNOTES (1993), he is currently editor/publisher of "Art Opportunities Monthly," author of "The studioNOTES Treasury” and "The Art Opportunities Book: Finding and Winning," as well as numerous articles.

Lee Silber on self-promotion

"Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could just create great art and everything else would simply take care of itself? Unfortunately, we need to sell ourselves, our work and in some cases, our decisions. It’s called 'Self' promotion for a reason. If we don’t do it, nobody else will."

Lee Silber is the award-winning author of eleven books including the popular title Self-Promotion for the Creative Person and his latest book, Organizing from the right Side of the Brain. Silber also is a radio talk-show host, the founder of five companies and an amazing self-promoter with over 750 articles/and media appearances to his credit.

Constance Smith on the long view of success

“Last year, I was invited to an Artist Residency in Japan and had the time of my life. This is a golden opportunity to experience Japanese art and culture. It will consist of art and crafts exhibitions (three locations), demonstrations, and home stays as well as the exchange of ideas, friendship and participation in joint art projects. Selected Berkeley and other East Bay artists will be invited to exhibit their work, participate in demonstrations, and visit Sakai next spring.”

Synthia Smith on balancing life & work

"Synthia Smith is my friend, mentor and business coach. She has been my best source of resilient thoughts, behavior and actions for over ten years now." ~ Aletta de Wal

Synthia helps you find the effective, natural leverage points to balance your life and work. Synthia has been a Professional Coach since 1995, serving hundreds of clients located across the US, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. In addition, she brings over 25 years of Fortune 500 and independent business experience in training, human resources, geoscience, management, project management, and consulting. Synthia suffers from an incurable love of meditation, exploration, great conversation, and learning.
www.themitragroup.com/id4.html

Katherine Swift on not being limited by your perceptions about yourself

“You are only limited by your own perceptions. I am classically trained in the facts of science yet am making a career out of my creativity. Learn to do both. You will be surprised what you can do.”

A.C.T. 101 Graduate Katherine Swift grew up on a dairy farm in Virginia. She graduated from The Ohio State University in 1997 with a degree in veterinary medicine and began her veterinary career that same year. She began her art education a few years later. She now combines her love for both in a line of agricultural themed jewelry. Her experiences of being a veterinary practice owner and a jewelry artist give her a unique perspective on making a living from art. She features this jewelry, along with other artists’ agricultural themed art on her online art gallery, www.cowartandmore.com. Her own line of jewelry and gallery cater to the agriculture industry. Katherine has exhibited at many art shows throughout Florida, including the Walt Disney World Festival of the Masters and has sold artworks worldwide.

Chris Welsh on the many hats artists must wear

“Artists who show and sell their work must wear many hats that are unrelated to making art. If you bring only part of yourself to the business side of art, it can feel like drudgery. Understanding the stages of creativity can help you tap into your whole being and make art marketing a creative and enjoyable activity.”

Chris Welsh is president of Mastery of Learning®, an international education and consulting company he founded more than 20 years ago. Chris began his unique research and development of non-traditional learning techniques in 1969 while training killer whales and dolphins for the U.S. Navy in Hawaii and earning a black belt in aikido. Chris specializes in the application of chaos and complexity concepts to accelerated learning, project management, creativity, and change management. The end result is a simpler, richer life.

There is often additional information on the recording that is not in this written interview.  Inspire yourself and listen while you make art.

ArtSpan Builds Community for Artists & Collectors in San Francisco

© 2012 ArtSpan staff Cristina Ibarra and Volunteer Malina Arevalo

Cristina Ibarra joined ArtSpan in 2010. She manages ArtSpan's Art for City Youth program, in addition to curating the Professional Development Workshop series, the artist networking Flash Friday mixers, and collector outreach events. In recent years, both domestically and abroad, she has dealt extensively with artists, media makers, and educators in non-profits, such as the San Francisco-based Independent Arts & Media, ActiveVoice, and the Red Poppy Art House. Cristina is an organizer and curator for the Mission Arts Performance Project, and in 2011 she was an artist-in-residence at the art space EDELO in Chiapas, Mexico. Her arts involvement includes dancing tango and singing with The 3 Soulbirds. Cristina holds a BA in Humanities and Arts with an emphasis in Film and Media Studies and Studio Art from the University of California at Irvine.

The 3 Soulbirds. Cristina Ibarra far right.

A.C.T.: What prompted you to start your professional career in the arts?

I grew up surrounded by the arts and from a very early age recognized the importance of the arts both in personal wellness and in society.

When I moved to San Francisco in 2009, I was immediately drawn to the vibrant, close-knit community of creative people in the Bay Area and sought out ways to get involved. I knew that this was the perfect place to put my passion for the arts to good work.

A.C.T.: What makes an arts professional?

I believe that a successful artist professional is someone who has both the creative background to try new things, and the organization and dedication to see those ideas through.

artspan.org www.facebook.com/ArtSpan

A.C.T.: We first met in person when I delivered two art business workshops for San Francisco area artists. How did your involvement with ArtSpan begin? What insights did you get through that experience about artists and the business side of art?

My involvement with ArtSpan started as a perfect discovery story. I had just moved to San Francisco and by chance picked up an SF Open Studios Guide at a coffee shop. I couldn't believe there were so many artists in the neighborhood and that there was a way to visit them all in such an organized way. I followed the maps, visited artist studios, and was immediately hooked. I started volunteering with ArtSpan and later was offered a staff position, focusing on education and community programs.

Through this work, I began to get a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by artists trying to market and sell their work. Many artists have not been trained in the small-business skills needed to expose their work to the public, or struggle to find time to create amidst overwhelming pressures to promote. In response to the needs of our community, ArtSpan expanded our professional workshop program from three to ten sessions, offering different topics each month, like promotion, marketing, organization, copyright issues.

A.C.T.:  What is the mission of ArtSpan? Please tell us about the journey from founding until now.

ArtSpan mission is to connect the public to visual artists in San Francisco and to create a platform for these artists to thrive. While this mission might sound broad, it really encompasses how broad and diverse the visual arts community is in San Francisco.

ArtSpan started as a grass roots, volunteer-run group of artists that wanted to organize themselves to engage directly with the public. This gave birth to the first SF Open Studios event in 1975, an exciting neighborhood crawl that included demos, live music, events, and an inside look into artist studios, completely accessible to the general public. Thirty-seven years later SF Open Studios has expanded from 100 to include almost 1000 artists in San Francisco, spanning virtually every SF neighborhood over four full weekends, still and always direct to the public, accessible to all. SF Open Studios is the oldest and largest in the country.

With such a large and diverse community, ArtSpan has evolved and expanded to serve the needs of our artists year-round through the Make Your Art Your Business workshop series, Flash Friday networking mixers, and exhibition opportunities, and our public community through special events, participation in SF Art Fairs, youth education programs, and collectors events. It's big commitment to a big community, and it's worth it because of the unique value visual artists offer San Francisco.

A.C.T.: Tell us about the ArtSpan team - full time and volunteers. How are they selected and what roles do they each play?

Really, without the support of incredible long term volunteers on all levels, from artists to local and international interns, friends to Board members, and committees, the work we do would not be possible.

I am part of a small but powerful team.

• Heather Villyard, our Executive Director, oversees all business and operations aspects of the organization, and is a powerful force behind ArtSpan's forward-looking vision.

Heather Villyard with volunteers Susan and Mary Molly Mullany ArtSpan Volunteer Appreciation Party 1/11/13 Photo credit: Cristina Ibarra

• Lindsay Barrick, Associate Director of Communications and Operations, is a communications powerhouse, overseeing all online, print, and social media communications, strengthening our office systems and management, and with her extensive experience and history is really the glue that holds us together.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artspan/6261590313/ Lindsay Barrick visiting studios on 3rd Street with the Guide!

• We also work with a variety of wonderful contractors on specialized projects.

A.C.T.: Tell me more about the work you do in educating artists.

Artists are smart, passionate, and good at problem-solving, but many of them lack the basic training to manage a business, develop a career or promote and sell their work. The "Make Your Art Your Business" workshop series, in which you are involved, was expanded to provide more opportunities for artists to learn those basic business skills, in ways that they could easily apply to their own practice.

We cover a wide range of topics from "street" marketing to computer based tools for non-techy artists.  

ArtSpan Open Studios V.I.P. Preview © Aletta de Wal, Artist Career Training

A.C.T.: How do artists benefit from ArtSpan services, space and resources?

Although ArtSpan is most well-known for SF Open Studios, we are a year-round organization for our artists - new to the area and new to being a professional artist.

We produce workshops, print and online resources for artists, post artist events and announcements, provide networking and exhibition opportunities, and offer a lot of personal support to help get artists connected.

Art for City Youth at Bessie Carmichael Elementary Kindergarten and First Grade classes 11/8/2012 Photo Credit: Cristina Ibarra
We also have an Art for Youth program in which we have worked with our neighborhood school for over a decade. We provide the only art education for children at that school, at no cost to the school or the parents, for about $75 per year per student. Arts education is a great need even in a vibrant artistic city like San Francisco. This program demonstrates the power of individual contribution where a donation helps raise the next generation of artist and art appreciators. We are proud to be a link in the chain that allows support of the arts to survive.

A.C.T.: Does the artist's career stage matter for them to benefit? What kinds of issues do they seem to wrestle with most?

Any artist can benefit from becoming an ArtSpan member. It's a really beautiful thing about our organization, and the reason why we are so diverse. ArtSpan is open to any artist at any stage in their career, as long as they live or work in San Francisco.

Because of our diversity we see a lot of different challenges that artists face, especially when it comes to social media and online promotion. While we work with many media savvy artists, we also encounter those that are stuck in the "slide generation" and have difficulty adapting to the ever-changing modes for self-promotion. We help artists learn how to get the word out and make that a meaningful experience, both artistically and economically.

A.C.T.: What is the ArtSpan business model?

ArtSpan operates mostly on revenue generated from grants, individual donations, and membership fees.

We have an exciting Benefactor Membership program that launched in 2011. As grants become less available, we continue to explore new individual and business relationship development strategies.

A.C.T.: Please describe a typical day, and a typical month so readers can understand how you manage your time, money and energy.

My typical day involves a lot of emails and correspondence with artists and event partners. I try to tackle my e-mail inbox in the morning, take a nice breather outside of the office before lunch, and work on longer-term projects in the afternoon.

We hold several committee meetings and small events each month and it's great to inject the work flow with contributions from our community. When we have big events (several times during the year, and especially leading up to SF Open Studios in October), it's a definite shift of pace, including all the excitement and preparation that comes with planning and attending events.

Good organization and a good sense of humor are essential to getting through the busy times.

A.C.T.: What peak moments have you had during your tenure with ArtSpan?

Family Art Day at the Shipyard November 3, 2012 Photo credit: Cristina Ibarra
Most recently, as part of our Youth Program, we co-presented the first ever Family Art Day at Hunter's Point Shipyard, a community building event that brought together artists, businesses, neighborhood organizations, and kids from elementary schools in Bayview for a full day of art-making and activities.

It was the first time that many of these kids had visited an artist studio, and the excitement and participation was through the roof. Definitely a high point for me.

A.C.T.: How do you each define success and how do you celebrate it?

Success to me is when someone new wants to get involved or to know more. That means you've done something that has inspired someone, and that ripple effect is more valuable than anything on a checklist.

My personal favorite part of event or project wrap-up is the photos. Documenting success, especially in photos and videos that can be shared with others, is such a great way to look back and feel the excitement of what we've accomplished.

A.C.T.: What obstacles has ArtSpan encountered and how have you handled them?

ArtSpan Editorial Staff Photo credit: Jeremy Joven
Being a small staff we often struggle with having big dreams and doing a lot of projects with few resources. We rise to the challenge by staying organized and relying on the wonderful support of our artists and volunteers. We joke about cloning ourselves all the time!

A.C.T.: What opportunities has a professional approach to your career brought you that you might otherwise not have had?

A professional approach to a career in the arts has allowed me to work closely and build relationships with many collectors, business people, artists and art professionals who I might otherwise not have known.
 
It's been especially inspiring to see so many artists and art professionals volunteer their time to give back to the community.

A.C.T.: Who are your role models and mentors? What was the best advice they gave you?

The two best points of advice I have received regarding a career in arts administration are "Take risks, with purpose" and "Trust your instincts." I try to remember those points whenever I am feeling unsure or overwhelmed.

A.C.T.: What is the ArtSpan marketing strategy? What promotional materials and actions do you use most often?

We market our events using online platforms, social media, and traditional print media in postcards, mailers, and the SF Open Studios Guide.
 
The Guide is an incredibly rich resource to which we devote a lot of energy. It serves as a Guide to SF Open Studios, the event, but can also be used as a year-round directory of SF artists.
 
In coming years we're excited to continue our transition into more online and mobile marketing strategies, and attract new audiences who use tablets and mobile devices.

A.C.T.: How does ArtSpan use social media and how have sites like Twitter, Face Book and Linked In changed art marketing?

We have a very active presence on Facebook and Twitter. Lindsay manages most posts and is really committed to engaging interactions and commenters, posting timely and relevant material, whether it be an event, interesting link, or artist-of-the-day spotlight.

During SF Open Studios last year, the whole staff used Facebook and Twitter to post artists in their studios in real-time as we were visiting them, resulting in a ton of activity and new likes.

Social sites have definitely changed the game in terms of art marketing and promotion, and we try to offer resources, workshops, best practices, and suggestions to artists so that we can support them through our own channels.

A.C.T.: What changes have you experienced in the art market and how have you navigated them? What lessons have you learned?

Sales are really a huge concern to our community of artists and many have felt a decline as the economy continues to struggle.
 
A big topic of discussion is whether more open studios events and smaller art events are saturating the open studios market and tiring collectors.
 
Another big trend on our minds is the migration of artists from individual studios to large group sites, and the lack of affordable workspace. There have been shifts in how studios are clustered and that changes how artists market.

At the same time we recognize a huge rise in the influence of "makers," "wearable art," and "functional designers" who are blurring the lines between fine art and craft.
 
As an organization with a diverse community, we have to be in tune to all of these changes, and recognize that there is no one best strategy for any artist.

A.C.T.: What advice would you pass on to artists who want to succeed in any economy?

Don't forget to give back to your community even if you are having a hard time yourself. It's the best way to build lasting relationships.
 
One of the artists in our community was struggling with how to find a way to sell his art and make a living. He developed an interesting project called The Gift Prolific. He gave a gift almost every day and made a painting based on that gift experience. It was literal gift giving and after a year he had 140 paintings that he gave away as the final gift. He has built over 340 relationships and made sales of high quality art inspired by these experiences. This has allowed him to have art be his sole source of income.

A.C.T.: How you feel artists can benefit from the types of programs, services and products we offer at Artist Career Training and The Art Business Library?

ArtSpan was blown away by the two workshops you offered last year in terms of the breadth of knowledge and resources and we are looking forward to more in the fall.

Artist Career Training offers incredible resources for artists to learn business strategies and marketing skills. The Art Business Library is especially great because the short, blog-format articles contain a wealth of information in an easy-to-read chunk and there are lots of DYI books, e-books and recordings.

Like all of Aletta's offerings, both sites provide resources that are straight-forward, well-informed, ACTION-oriented strategies. I've seen artists in her seminars literally making to-do lists as she speaks, immediately motivated to take action.

Aletta de Wal delivers "Art Business Basics" to ArtSpan artists© 2012 Artist Career Training