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Z Art Blog–Talent With No Motivation?

Z Art Blog–Talent With No Motivation? published on

Have you ever known someone who had artistic ability but never seemed able to accomplish much of anything after high school? Maybe this person achieved As in art classes with plans to continue in art but then couldn’t come up with ideas for new work. Or maybe this person would start a painting and never finish it. Then start another painting and never finish it, etc. Art teachers give their students the direction for each piece. So, how would a fledgling artist know what to paint if no one was giving him or her the ideas for each piece?

Is this problem a lack of motivation? It may rather be a lack of direction or organization. In other words, this artist has not yet made a decision about “genre” or “theme.” Does he or she want to paint nature—farm animals, zoo animals, prairie scenes, jungle scenes, mountain scenes, or ocean scenes?  Maybe he or she prefers to paint pictures of humans—humans at play, humans at work, etc. Does this artist use oil, tempera or water color paints, pastels or chalk? The more an artist can narrow the focus or purpose of his or her work, the more likely he or she will be able to develop a unique style and perfect that given theme. This concept also applies to photography, pottery, music, and other visual art forms.

If the artist we are talking about is you, you may want to start by imagining exactly where you want to see your artwork. Then do some research on competition in that market. Yes. An artist must be aware of the competition. Who are some of the artists who are currently being hired in the area you hope to see your work? Observe the work. Ask yourself, why is this artist being hired? Of all the artistic people you know personally, how many are getting paid for their artwork? Probably none. What does this mean? Does it mean the competition is tight? Does it mean very few ever pursue professional art? Does it mean those who are being hired blow everyone else away? You may feel that your work is already as good as that of those being paid for theirs. How should you proceed? Remain humble. It is often more than just talent that causes an artist to become “chosen” or “successful.”

Many people who become successful in a specific area have family members who “preceeded them” in some way, possibly blazing the trail for them–establishing connections. So, the younger artist did not reach his/her level of success entirely on his/her own. He/she had groundwork in place. Another example of shared success might be a band of musicians who support each other. In that case, success is a group effort. You however, do not have the “connections” just described and must somehow make up for that lack of “advanced placement.” You must study harder/smarter, work harder/smarter, and seek new opportunities as often as possible, etc

Lets say you decide your theme is going to be stuffed animals and other toys from childhood and your style or brush stroke is soft and fluffy. You recall the stuffed animals from your childhood and observe some from the present. You imagine or sketch several scenes, decide upon one and begin creating your first piece. When you have completed the first piece, you decide on a second scene, begin creating your second piece, complete the second piece and so on. Hopefully, in these scenes you are also developing that style all your own.

If after completing several pieces, family members and friends recognize the uniqueness of your work, you might then begin making your work known to people who know writers of children’s books or designers of nursery décor, etc. Look online and go to the library. Find books that explain in detail exactly how to ask for permission to submit your work. You also need to know how many pieces are reviewed and in what standard form such as digital. If you studied hard in high school, it will seem a natural progression of events to begin studying the business side of art which was probably not taught in your art classes. As you study, continue to create new pieces to keep your collection fresh. It might be more difficult to submit work that was completed five years ago while you were still in high school. Employers want to know that you are an active artist–working on a new piece or project at all times as much as your life allows. See previous articles in this series.

So, is your problem a matter of talent without motivation or talent without direction and organization? You may now be answering this question a bit differently. A unique theme and style may lead to name recognition and later success. If potential employers or consumers can’t quite put a finger on what makes your artwork unique, they won’t be able to mention you to someone else, much less someone who is looking for a specific type of work for a specific project. Get the picture? Keep studying the business side and keep spending time on your artwork.

Z Art Blog–The Artist’s Assistant

Z Art Blog–The Artist’s Assistant published on

This is the fifth article in a series about what it means to be an artist and the choices an artist makes throughout his or her years of creative work. This article applies to someone in his or her mid to late twenties who has already mastered a budget necessary to continue producing and promoting audible/audio or visual artwork.

Assuming you have mastered your budget and are also balancing your creative and promotion time, you may want to step up your promotion plan. Maybe you are ready to build your website or want to begin a campaign to promote to public libraries. Of course, expanding your promotion plan will naturally take more time and will consequently infringe upon your creative time. But rather than spending most of your time promoting your artwork, you want to continue spending most of your time creating your artwork. You are an artist. That’s what you do–create. Adding to the promotion plan always throws off the balance. This is the problem you hope to remedy.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a promotion assistant? Is there such a title? Maybe not. But wouldn’t it be nice? Making the decision to seek an assistant is the first step in finding one if finding one is possible.

After deciding you need an assistant, make family members and friends aware that you are seeking a promotion assistant. Being a member of a large and social family may work to your advantage unless you are the oddball in your family–no other artists and therefore no connections who understand your needs. Artists with active social lives may have an advantage in finding an assistant. They may have several acquaintances or several connections that may help in this endeavor.

Maybe you just need a runner/talker to visit or call managers at coffee shops, etc. You might know of someone who has good written communication, computer and/or office skills who could help you build your website or begin a promotion campaign to public libraries. The promotion methods are endless, but finding an assistant–the right kind of assistant who also meets your exact needs is the catch.

A large family and a large circle of acquaintances can help only so much if you live in a smaller community or a not-so-artsy community. Or your niche might be so unique that no one you know would be qualified to assist. Even with many family members who have many acquaintances, including a few artsy ones, it may be difficult to find anyone interested in or available to assist in your promotion efforts exactly when you need someone.

To increase the odds, make it clear from the get go that you would be paying this person for his or her time and effort in assisting you. State a pay rate when you mention your plan. Otherwise, family members, friends and acquaintances might lack interest in helping you, thinking they would not be compensated–the old, “Do me a favor out of obligation of our association” trick. Even after insisting that you would honor the agreement, some family members and/or friends might not believe you would follow through on payment, or they might feel obligated to refuse payment.

So, a few of your friends have helped spread the word for you. Now that the word is in motion, don’t assume that the first person who shows up is also the right person for your needs. It may not be a positive coincidence. Err on the side of caution. If the person is truly interested, trustworthy and qualified, it won’t hurt to proceed slowly. As a lifelong artist, you can afford to wait until the person has proven his/her track record before you invite him or her into your creative business.

Or, make certain you are looking for someone who has already proven to be a capable and productive person in his or her own right. If this is a new acquaintance, this proof may take several months to surface without you having to hire a private investigator to evaluate the individual. Having to go to that extreme is a clue you are on the wrong track.

As a young person, you may want to take others at face value and believe what they say, because you have always been honest and straight forward yourself. Know that not everyone is honest and straightforward. Hopefully, you will never have to learn this the hard way.

You may come into contact with people who say they can assist but then don’t or others who say they want to assist but have questionable motives. Don’t trust just anyone with your life’s work. There are always opportunists lurking in the mix. Opportunists (sometimes called “parasites”) have ways of making your work a game or a control match. (They may be part of a larger entity called gang stalkers which will be described in greater detail in an upcoming article.) Some of them give themselves away fairly quickly. Here are a few ways to recognize when a person is not on the level.

The receptor type seems genuine at first until you notice that every so often he or she says something that makes you think you heard it wrong—it doesn’t add up. Or, he or she may ask so many questions you become uncomfortable with the conversation. Actually, he or she may have “watched you” for some time before approaching you or making some kind of “play.” He or she may know far more about you than you would ever want to know about him or her.

The aggressor type may seem overly friendly or claim to have something (everything) in common with you. This person may also have “watched” you. He or she may claim some association with you that isn’t actually there. He or she may insist on spending more time with you than you want to spend with him or her. Then just as you are beginning to wonder whether or not to continue the association, he or she may try to play on your emotions, especially when you begin to “back away.”

The shifty or twisty type is the one who purposely misinterprets something you said or did to latch onto you in a way you didn’t intend or to invite him or herself to some of your “goods.” Some of them are also practiced at turning the assistance around on you. The old, “No I can’t help you but I need your help” trick. Imagine starting an acquaintance or association because you were seeking assistance, but you somehow wound up spending all your extra time helping that person. You don’t have time to fall for that unless you are ready to give up your art. (That’s a different article.)

Most necessary information about a person’s character is revealed in everyday conversation—real-time conversation over an extended period of time–more than a few days or a few weeks–more like several months. Even shifty people love to talk about themselves. Always weigh what a person says.

After you have become acquainted with someone, having had several long conversations with this person who seems credible, you might suggest a very small task for a very small amount of pay. If the person completes the task efficiently, assign a second small task. Build the association a step at a time just as you would create a piece of artwork. You still aren’t certain this is the person you want assisting you for the long haul? Don’t suggest it.

Never lose sight of the fact that it is your work. You are the only person with any right to call the shots about promoting your work or profiting from your work. If the “assistant” is not doing what you ask, this is not the right person for the job. If the person can prove some degree of expertise then you might consider what is being suggested. Otherwise, sever the association before the individual has time to make it appear that you are the problem. Again, it is your work–no one else’s.

Continue creating your artwork, researching promotion methods, putting a feeler out now and then, and doing the best you can at your own promotion work until a trustworthy and qualified person has proven fit. Until then, pat yourself on the back for sticking to your artwork!

 

 

Z Art Blog–Sitting on the Fence Post

Z Art Blog–Sitting on the Fence Post published on

This is the third in a series of articles about life as an artist written for an adolescent audience. Most of these articles will apply to the topics of visual and audio art.

Student, you may see this title, “Sitting on the Fence Post” as being a bit ridiculous, but don’t laugh just yet. Here are a few examples of how a situation may change for or time may get away from an artist or an artist wannabe. Which one are you?

Let’s assume you consider yourself an artist at least during your high school years. You have already spent quite an impressive amount of time perfecting your skills and talent. You are so organized that you even keep a time log. You can tell anyone exactly how much time you have spent on your artwork in the last year. Good for you! Now what?

Toward the end of your high school years, you decided that a social life and parties are more important than art. Good luck. Your competition (a future topic) may now have an advantage over you. You made a decision to start a family and therefore cannot afford to go to college, because you must now work to support your child. (Hopefully, you become employed sooner than later.) Not that a college degree is absolutely necessary for a career in art. However, if you are a young parent, don’t plan on having much if any free time for your artwork anytime soon. Your subconscious mind (or an older adult in your life) is (or should be) telling you that your chosen path is making it necessary for you to leave this website and start searching for articles about child development and parenting.

Ok. You in the front row. You’re not into parties. Are you attempting to pay your own way through college? In this case, you must work as many hours as possible to pay an unreasonable tuition rate that no one can justify. Continue to work hard on your school work and at your job (while somehow finding enough time for sleep), and you may be able to spend a little time on your artwork during holiday breaks, summer breaks and again when you have your degree.

Maybe you are receiving scholarship money because you play a sport or have another important role at college. You are fortunate. Even so, with your studies (mostly non-art related), your extracurricular responsibilities and a boyfriend or girlfriend, you may not have much if any time for your artwork. Are you hearing wedding bells? No? Don’t give up on your art just yet.

Other fortunate ones have some time on their hands, because their parents are able to help them with tuition. If this is you, what are your priorities? When there is no college near your parents, you may want to work part-time to pay for your dorm room, books and fees, so that you can start fresh without any debt when you graduate from college. In this situation, in order to keep art in the picture you must remain organized and determined–setting priorities and goals for yourself: schoolwork first, job second and artwork third.

Not to throw water on your fire. Even though you still enjoy the thought of becoming a lifelong artist, this is the most likely time a person begins wondering whether or not art is actually in the cards. Priorities and opportunities can change and/or disappear during the young adult years. You may be destined for marriage whether you had previously realized this or not. Someone you were not looking for or hoping for comes along and boom. This person becomes an instant priority—hopefully a worthy one. You are now realizing that even the best organizer all of a sudden may have no time to complete the most recent piece in progress.

Can you keep art on the back burner? Certainly. There may be some time now and then when you can continue to read topics related to art. Go online, check out books, etc. Keep the art options open if you can. You may have chosen a field of study that involves your art. Lucky again, as long as there is enough demand for your talents or you have done well enough in college to attract long-term employment when you graduate. If you land a job related to your specific field (of art), you have the best of both worlds if you choose to marry. Whether or not you can simultaneously play the roles of artist, spouse and parent without losing your mind is a topic for another series of articles found elsewhere.

What about you? College is not for you, college is not financially possible for you, or you just don’t want that kind of debt to worry about at such a young age. Keep your chin up. It sounds as though you are already wise beyond your years. If you have worked hard all through high school there is definitely hope for you. You have decided that you are an artist not only by choice but due to your current circumstances. How can you make the most of it? Keep it in focus just as you have been doing and begin to see not only the creative side of your art but also the business side of your art. Business? Yes, business.

So, you are the image that comes to mind when a person thinks of the word artist—working on your artwork during all of your free-time. Now you must realize that it is better to move forward with goals and plans than to move forward blindly. It certainly appears as though you are an artist. You have no trouble with productivity. Your body of work includes numerous pieces. But do you have any idea how you are going to make your artwork known? Artists dream that each piece of art will somehow miraculously attract its rightful owner. What a lovely thought. If only it were true. In most cases, pieces of art don’t have legs to walk around doing their own promoting without their artist’s or someone else’s assistance. Good luck finding assistance promoting your work. Guess what? You have just become an art promoter.

How do you proceed in promoting your art? That would be jumping a step ahead in our discussion. Your productivity has proven you know how to budget your time. Hopefully, you are just as good at budgeting your money–exactly the topic of the next article in this series. See you there . . .

Z Art Blog–Am I an Artist?

Z Art Blog–Am I an Artist? published on

This article is written for an adolescent audience but may also be enjoyed by persons of other ages.

Student (and you are a lifelong student), you may be asking yourself questions such as, “Am I an artist?” “What is an artist?” and/or “What is life as an artist?”

As it is with life, one individual may have more choices than does another. These choices may or may not be related to the amount of money (or lack thereof) available to support a certain lifestyle. Depending upon your creative or artistic medium of choice, money may play a lead or lesser role.

So, money may be your first consideration or it may be lower on your list of considerations.

For example, if you draw, sketch or design graphically, you may be spending less money on supplies or equipment than would be someone who paints or someone who is working at becoming a recording musician or a recording artist. Sketch pads and pencils may be less expensive than are painting supplies or recording equipment, though in recent years the basic graphics and recording tools have been made available for free online. Either way, you may eventually need your own computer which you may not yet have.

If you are reading this article from a computer at your school or a computer at your local library, good for you! You have already discovered an economical avenue for exploring your love of art and/or music and educating yourself on how to enjoy life as an artist.

As you work at your art and therefore become more artistically experienced or advanced, money may become more of a concern. You may begin to discover that the tools available for free online are not sufficient for your more advanced knowledge and skills. You have outgrown the tools. Congratulations on your time and effort!

Hopefully, you are taking art and music classes and therefore have art and music teachers as resources—people who can provide new tools or point you to someone he or she knows who might be able to help you with your current needs for new tools. If you are already skilled at or become practiced at online and library research you will likely find your own artistic way. Finding your own way may be even more artistically gratifying than if it seems family members, teachers and friends are trying to tell you which direction to go.

Not that you should ignore the voice of experience and the voices of people who know you best. And not that you can ignore the fact that your talents came from somewhere in your family. Remain humble. Recognize your parents and your teachers as people who have lived more life than have you and therefore deserve a certain given amount of respect. That said, after you have considered what those around you are saying, only you as the artist will know what is right for you, because being an artist means discovering your own inner self.

Let’s assume you now believe that you are in fact an artist. How do you know this? You may have achieved A’s in your art or music classes. Art or music teachers may have told you that you have a special talent. Someone may have told you that you have a good eye or a good ear. Maybe no one has said anything in particular about your work. You may simply have a sense that there is something unique about the way you perceive the world or the way in which you express yourself artistically or creatively.

One of the most important realizations of an artist is that you are not the only one. Obviously, there are other students in your classes who have also achieved A’s. Will these students also choose art as a lifelong endeavor or will they choose different paths? Be conscious of them. Again, remain humble. Remember that you are not the only one and that you will always have room for improvement or new methods in your art. Keep working at your art and keep educating yourself.

Keep visiting ZArtTones.com and follow ZArtBlog. Look for the next article in this series about the choices an artist makes to keep his or her art in focus.