Quality Check

Some good advice came my way from Jason at Xandau Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, regarding taking a quality check of your art. He stresses the importance of continuous improvement in what you do.

He says, "I have known and worked with hundreds of artists over the years. The most successful artists are devoted to high quality. They have the ability to step back from their work and look at it through their buyer's eyes. Art collectors are picky. They demand attention to detail. Their homes are immaculate. You must create work that will fit seamlessly into their homes."

Jason believes that the medium doesn't matter - sculpture, jewelry, paintings, photography or fiber art - the presentation must be flawless.

He suggests thinking of each work you create as a masterpiece. Treat it as such.

His advice in regards to one small thing to improve the quality of your work:

"Invite someone you trust to evaluate the quality of your art. You should invite an artist you admire, or a designer, or a gallery owner over to the studio for coffee. Present 5-6 pieces. Ask the question 'What are three things I could do to improve the quality of my presentation?'

It is his belief that an objective observer will see your art in a way you never could. Jason advises to repeat this process every 1-2 years and make a commitment to constantly improve your quality.

Excellent advice, wouldn't you agree?

Excerpt from "Starving" to Successful

Jason Horejs' new book, "Starving" to Successful | The Artist's Guide to Getting into Galleries and Selling More Art was written to help artist approach galleries in an organized, systematic and professional way. The book is newly published and here is an excerpt:

Mistake #1: Presenting an inconsistent body of work.

Artists generally love their freedom. They want to experiment. They love a challenge. They crave variety. All good things, except when you are presenting your work to a gallery.

The work you present to a gallery needs to be unified. It doesn't need to be repetitive or formulaic, but it must present you as a consistent artist with a clear vision.

Often I feel I am looking at the work of multiple artists as I review a single portfolio. To avoid this problem you need to find focus in your work.

If you work in several media and a variety of styles, focus on just one for the next 6-12 months. Create a body of work that feels like a "series". Once you have 20-25 gallery-ready pieces in this series, you will be ready to approach a gallery.

You can further create consistency by presenting the work in a consistent way. Use similar frames for paintings and photographs, similar bases for sculpture, similar settings for artistic jewelry. Make it very clear all of the work is by the same artist.

If you simply can't rein your style in, consider creating multiple portfolios, one for each style.

Don't confuse the galleries you approach with multiple styles in your portfolio.



Good advice; I ordered his book.

Art Marketing Guide

I have been reading Jason Horejs' blogs and newsletters about art marketing.

Impressed with the information I have been receiving, I decided to purchase his new book, "Starving" to Successful.

This book is the culmination of his work over the last 18 months as he has endeavored to give artists an inside understanding of what it takes to make it in the art business as a gallery-represented artist. This book is based on his seventeen years in the art gallery business, the last eight as owner of Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. He also drawns from his interviews and surveys of career artists who have been successfully navigating the artist-gallery relationship for decades.

"Starving" to Successful was written to give an artist a comprehensive understanding of the gallery business, and a systematic way to approach galleries.

The book will advise you how to focus your efforts to create a body of marketable, gallery-ready work, how to organize your art, how to make a powerful portfolio, how to choose the best art markets to approach, and, most importantly, what the best approach is to get into galleries. The book will also give you myriad insights into the business to help you fine-tune every aspect of your art career.

The book includes samples of successful artist statements, artist biographies, and resumes, analyzes websites to help you fine-tune yours, and gives you actionable, concrete steps to take to grow your art career.

Purchase your copy.

Artist Statement

Most visual artists can talk freely and fluidly about their work: what inspires them; their composition, materials, and technique; what they’re trying to say with their art. When they have to put these ideas in print, though—which they inevitably must—they often find themselves at a loss for words.

Visual artists are generally not writers and writing per can be alien to them, because it relies on a far different mental palette. Writing, after all, originates in a different part of the brain. Indeed, writers see the world differently than visual artists and work with another set of tools, obviously. However, the radical differences between these two modes of expression may actually explain why they so often complement one another.

I have been learning about marketing from Jason Horejs owner of Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. Recently, he has launched a series of free, mini-workshops. Watch this 25 minute session with New York arts writer Adam Eisenstat on writing an artist statement.

Hobbyist or Professional Artist?

As a general rule, successful artists are prolific. Many professional artists produce between 100 and 400 pieces per year. Sounds like a lot, but stop for a minute and think about the realities of creating a sustaining income from your work. By producing this volume of work and distributing it you greatly increase the possibilities of generating sales.

If we break the numbers down a bit and think in terms of weekly production, it only takes two pieces per week to reach 100 works per year. What if you work in a variety of sizes? Piece of cake!

So how is this done?

Here are some tips from Xanadu Gallery owner and artist, J. Jason Horejs:

1. Set a goal that works for you. If you only produced 10 works in the last year, set a goal to produce 20 in the next twelve months.

2. Put yourself on a schedule. Successful artists are in the studio every day (or at least five days a week!) This consistency is what marks the difference between a hobbyist and a serious, professional artist. Even if you are only able to devote a couple of hours a day, make it a priority to work religiously at your work every day during those few hours.

3. Start streamlining your production process - think in terms of buying your supplies in bulk, online, this way you can spend less time and money at the art store and more time in the studio.

4. Never compromise the quality of your work in the quest to increase your quantity. In the long run, however, you will find that there is no better way to improve the quality of your work than to put yourself through the rigors of creating consistently.