The Secret Key That Defines a Successful Artist

Are missing a secret key to success?

Have you been there?  You’re working to be a successful artist and finally pick a media to create with, have a creative style that’s becoming your own, you’re into a rhythm of creating and soon have a nice stack of work ready to sell.

You post them on your online store and sign up for a festival – ready to wow the crowd and sell your work – so you can buy some groceries and give some extra to that charity you’ve always wanted to help.

So you get the festival all setup – and people start walking by… and keep walking.

Some polite smiles, some even grab a business card.  It’s a 3-day festival and the first day goes by and still nothing.  No sales. Nada. You blanked.  You check your online store and it’s worse – no traffic, comments or sales.

You must be doing something wrong! Your work stinks! They don’t like you!  Your prices are too high, or too low… WHOA there!  

Before you get on the hamster wheel of reacting to outside environment and inner critics – what you don’t know is the hushed secret of the art business world… it takes time.  No, really.  I know you’ve heard that one before, but it’s a truth that you don’t want to be true – ’cause you want to sell already!

You may not sell this weekend.  You may sell out Sunday at 5 pm.  You don’t know yet, but what you do know and what you can be proud of is that you pushed through three of the greatest obstacles for artists – you’re a rock star already!

What did you do right?  Dry those tears and listen up.

You did three of the most powerful things that successful artists do:

1) Show up
2) Create
3) Share

The secret key that defines a successful artist is this: they do it e-v-e-r-y day.

You might have planned for this show for a month or a few months, or even longer – that’s good, it’s not wasted.  If you have inventory left, you’ll find another way to show it and sell it and get those groceries, I know you will.

Even those artists that you think are big and successful have days where they blank.  Zero, nada.
Here’s the thing: they’ve had LOTS of blanks and LOTS of wins.

Some days you just don’t sell, but other days, all of the showing up and the creating and the sharing that you do pays off and pays off royally!

True collectors that begin to follow your work and chose pieces carefully and become your enduring patron.  They watch your professionalism, your process, your developing body of work.  With your endurance, you earn their appreciation, their respect, and their purchase.

It takes time, endurance and grit.

Keep your head down, do the work, keep focused on what you’re creating and the rest will fall into place. Today, everyday. No excuses.

Will you do it?

I created a gift for you today – this raw audio file of this post to listen in every time you need a little extra push.

Grab it here and I’d love to hear how it helps:

Stay cool & keep going,

Roxanne