Attention, figurative painters: Mark your calendars for the 2018 Figurative Art Convention & Expo (FACE), which takes place from November 7th - 10th in Miami, Florida. This immersive four-day event will feature workshops, demos, and talks by world-class artists and art-industry experts, including CHF Director Elizabeth Hulings on … [Read more...]
eBay and The Ingredients of a Successful Artrepreneur
The problem with only telling artist stories is that we look for the trick, like the proverbial man behind the curtain, as in The Wizard of Oz. As long as the myth persists that art careers happen by magic or luck, or automatically (if you’re good enough), or are merely products of who you know, we won’t hear those stories well … [Read more...]
How The Art Industry Pits Itself Against Artists
Following a portfolio review, a gallerist told the artist who goes by the Instagram handle Wait What Show that “darn,” despite loving her paintings, “I don’t represent young women because they’re just going to get pregnant and stop painting.” This was not her first time hearing this. On the flip side, artist Zoë Sua kay was once told that … [Read more...]
Safety Nets are Dangerous
“If you would be reasonably satisfied doing something else for a living, then do that and paint on the weekends.” —Clark Hulings Primary-Care Perspective When my father was in his eighties and preparing for what would be his final solo show, he went in for an annual check-up with his physician. During the visit, the doctor asked him … [Read more...]
Transform Your Art Career at Our Upcoming Florida and Metro DC Seminars
Attention, working artists: Don't get left behind in a rapidly changing marketplace! Equip yourself to thrive by attending one of CHF's next Art-Business Seminar. First, we're headed to Fort Lauderdale, on February 1-2, 2019, and then it's on to the Washington DC metro area, on March 23-24. Discounted early-bird registration is now … [Read more...]
Identifying Pivotal Opportunities for Business Growth – Nadia Fairlamb
Nadia Fairlamb is a sculptor who works with wood and mirror glass, and she also teaches art to young people through various educational programs in Hawaii, where she is based. Her work speaks to the integral link between culture and environment, and she carries that focus into the business side of her practice as well, collaborating with … [Read more...]
Caroll Michels
Caroll Michels is an artist-advocate and the author of the book How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist: Selling Yourself without Selling Your Soul. The New York Times says of your book: “Michels explodes the romantic notion of the starving artist.” This ideal has been around for ages---why is dismissing it so important? “Starving … [Read more...]
Our Accelerator Call Has Ended, But Our Digital Learning Portal Awaits You
Thank you to all of the visual artists who applied for our 2019 Art-Business Accelerator Fellowships. We will be naming our new Fellows in November 2018, and the 2019 program begins in January. While the application period may be closed, our Digital Learning Portal remains open 24/7. Check out all of the valuable art-business content … [Read more...]
Art Lights the Way
Art is pure. It is incandescent—the light with which we find our way through this dirty, often disheartening world. Our job on this planet is to uphold and expand the purity and beauty of art. To find the beautiful bits of energy that have been covered and trapped by the grime of bad actions, and uncover them, clean them off, and set them … [Read more...]
The Example of Clark Hulings – Build an Art Career You Love
Clark Hulings wanted to do specific things with his visual art. To succeed, he knew he had to be commercially successful, but that he couldn’t let others determine the shape of his career. It was on him to make his own blueprint for what he wanted. Career Blueprint Hulings would never settle when it came to his own career … [Read more...]
Thank you, Dallas, For Another Successful CHF Art-Business Summit
We thank the Dallas arts community for making CHF's latest Art-Business Summit a huge success. From the kickoff Art-Business Congress at Turner House on Friday, September 7th, to the weekend-long workshops at the Alexander Mansion and the wrap party at the Carneal Simmons Gallery, the event drew a cross-section of professional artists and … [Read more...]
Artist As Entrepreneur: Becoming the CEO of Your Life
Join 2018 Clark Hulings Fund Business Accelerator Fellows Juliana Coles and Gregg Chadwick, and Steve Pruneau, agile program manager, CHF facilitator and founder of the management consulting firm Free Agent Source as they delve into what it takes to move a goal from theory to already accomplished. Moderator: Ray Beldner, Artist, … [Read more...]
Who Defines the Professional Artist’s Career Trajectory?
Welcome to the world of work As artists enter the workforce, they’re tasked not only with making a living, but with fulfilling the fundamental role of the artist---cultural reflection and creation of meaning. Artists are comfortable with being a cultural force, but some are still getting accustomed to the idea of the artist as … [Read more...]
The Power of Rejection
This month at CHF, we’re talking about failing better---dealing with our failures and rejections in ways that are constructive instead of stagnating. In their blog post Use Rejection as a Catalyst for Change, CHF partner Arts Business Institute makes the point that you can learn from your rejections. While it’s easier to put it out … [Read more...]
Marketing ‘Difficult’ Art – CHF Interviews Janet Culbertson
Janet Culbertson is an award-winning eco artist who has been making art for over five decades. In this conversation with Jennifer Orbom, Janet discusses marketing 'difficult' art, her business' evolution, and what a successful artist looks like. JO: Tell me about your first big sale. JC: It was big for me because a gallery … [Read more...]
How to Meet Stakeholder Demands – Holly Van Hart
Holly Van Hart is a visual artist based in Silicon Valley, and a Clark Hulings Fund Business Accelerator Fellow. In this episode of the Thriving Artist Podcast, Holly and Daniel discuss the ins and outs of building a sustainable business practice: deciding on the direction to take your business, standing out in the online marketplace, and … [Read more...]
Find the Best Representation for Your Art – Stephanie Birdsall
Stephanie Birdsall is a painter who has exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London and the National Arts Club in New York. She has received over 60 awards in national and international juried exhibitions, including Best in Show at the Bridgeport Museum of Arts and Science, and her work is in the permanent collections of … [Read more...]
And Now, A Word About Motivations
Herein lies a bit of Shakespeare, a reference to Ayn Rand, some Disney-like wishing trampled by a one-off reference to the Health Care debate, and goose noises. Enjoy. It’s easy to translate what we WISH were so into what we think MUST be so. But it’s not reality, and not necessarily even good for us. Life would be simpler, wouldn’t … [Read more...]
Practical Business Concerns To Consider Before You Retire
Considered one of America’s foremost sculptors, Glenna Goodacre has been capturing the essence of her subjects for nearly 50 years. Her extensive body of work includes many iconic pieces---from the Vietnam Women’s Memorial and the Irish Memorial in Philadelphia, to the Sacagawea dollar coin and her larger-than-life bronze of Ronald … [Read more...]
Letter to a Working Artist
The first sign that you are an entrepreneur is thinking, "Wow, this is a LOT." If you're NOT feeling a little overwhelmed, you're not in charge of a business. The only people who don't feel that way are employees that punch in after breakfast and walk at the bell. If it weren't a lot, everyone would do it. No one ever became a great … [Read more...]
How Discrimination in the Arts Impacts Your Business
Discrimination---it happens in every field and can take many forms. In the art industry, it’s the curator who leans in and says he really enjoys working with “cute little artist chicks like you.” Or the head of the arts council who asks you to make the lips of the mural’s main figure less full so that “more people will be able to relate … [Read more...]
How Not to Drive Off a Cliff
Our world moves so quickly these days, and we're all pedaling faster and faster just to keep up. That's certainly true at CHF, where the pace of change continues to be intense. (Those of you who know me will not be surprised by that, haha!) We have just completed our 2016 annual report---which you can read here---and are now deep into … [Read more...]
Between Creativity and Commerce: Art Thinking – Amy Whitaker
How do you deal with changing industries? How do you make sure that your business remains viable for years to come? Amy Whitaker, author, business person, artist, and Assistant Professor at NYU Steinhardt, addresses these questions and more in her book Art Thinking. As she puts it, “even if you are succeeding at something, you have to … [Read more...]
Building an Educational Program Around the Way Adults Learn — Daniel DiGriz
In addition to providing digital strategy to businesses and nonprofits, CHF Educational and Marketing Director Daniel DiGriz has nearly 30 years of global instructional experience and holds an M. Ed. in instructional design and technology. In a recent interview with CHF Editorial Director Sofia Perez, Daniel explained the principles and … [Read more...]