In his follow up book "Show Your Work!" (his first book was "Steal Like an Artist") author Austin Kleon shares 10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered. (You'll have to buy the book to get the full story, but I assure you, it's a worthwhile read). I'm relieved to know that he hates talking about self-promotion, because I think most artists feel this way. He cites comedian Steve Martin who advises "be so good they can't ignore you." Maybe you don't find an audience for your work so much as they find YOU. But, Kleon states, "in order to be found you have to be findable---put your work out there and make it discoverable while you're focused on getting really good at what you do."
In the spirit of "putting myself out there", this weekend I'm co-presenting a talk at the Watercolor Society of Oregon (along with fellow artists Kathy Tiger, Helen Brown, and Susan Spears) entitled "Choosing Your Path Wisely: Developing Your Artistic Style". Each artist is going to describe for the audience (while digital images of her work display on a screen) how she developed her own recognizable style of painting. We each have 20 minutes to let our artistic life flash before us, so to speak, so simplicity is key. As I focus on what advice I want impart to my audience (which consists of 30-40 artists, from beginners to experts) I realize that, for me, being true to one's style boils down to this wonderful quote by JK Rowling: "I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me." I couldn't have said it better myself.
In the spirit of "putting myself out there", this weekend I'm co-presenting a talk at the Watercolor Society of Oregon (along with fellow artists Kathy Tiger, Helen Brown, and Susan Spears) entitled "Choosing Your Path Wisely: Developing Your Artistic Style". Each artist is going to describe for the audience (while digital images of her work display on a screen) how she developed her own recognizable style of painting. We each have 20 minutes to let our artistic life flash before us, so to speak, so simplicity is key. As I focus on what advice I want impart to my audience (which consists of 30-40 artists, from beginners to experts) I realize that, for me, being true to one's style boils down to this wonderful quote by JK Rowling: "I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me." I couldn't have said it better myself.
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