“It all floats” ©2011, Robert Redus
“Nothing is more humiliating than to see idiots succeed in enterprises we have failed in.” Gustave Flaubert
“always one step closer…and how’d that work…knowing tomorrow was maybe there…and maybe not…it was like being on the Pinta…and wanting feet on the Santa Maria…what did one matter more than the other…dog bites…were his greatest fear…kept him awake on those fall afternoon naps…not really awake…just an eye part open…scanning for the unfamiliar sounds….the dragging noises…or something buzzing…behind a piece of furniture…clickity click…clickity click….those amusement park sounds…that made night to day and day to another place…there by the corners where all the whores stood on the Friday pay days…wanting some of something…and that was enough to make sense…so it worked and it worked all around…all the time… ‘so stop asking the questions like that’… she snapped…. ‘momma’s little helper’ came a lot more ways than the little pills that kept the string tight…or the moaning noises from the room next to mine ….and whoever he was…and the water dripped…everyday…filled the old metal bucket….clear all the way to the bottom…and that’s where my dream went…there at the bottom…still I could see it…but you’d have to know where to look…the prints were in the mud…the scratch marks on the door…Ellen Magellen…tried to whistled every morning in the backyard…she wasn’t scared…she wore Mary Jane shoes…dreamed of being a stewardess…traced her finger on every crack of…the sidewalk”…from The Black Eye Project
the first thing I do every morning after brewing French pressed coffee is sit down and read the 5-7 art newsletters I receive via email…as I’m reading each…the first question that always surfaces is… “Are these people artists?”….question number two…If they are not artists… “How pertinent is this information they are offering?” and if they are artists, “Why are they not in the studio but rather making a career out of giving people advice about promoting art that they themselves are not doing or at least I think they are not doing (my stuff)?”…and it makes me wonder if you’re helping me with my art career for a mere $20.00 per month…who helps you …or are you just that good…
seems sometimes…people have great ideas…even greater ideas about what “You” could do with “Your” stuff”…than they have for their own stuff…and by occupying their plate with your delectables…the focus and attention on them and their particular journey is less important…I know I’ve been guilty of that…and when I’ve found myself designing another person’s plan or strategy…I have to stop…ask myself what is it I’m doing…why I’m doing this and step back…usually respond…with …”Good Idea”…(that’s when I know I’ve recognized my intrusion)…take myself home address all of the stuff on the calendar…have lunch regardless of the time of day and a quick “Come to Jesus” meeting…look at my list of things that need to be accomplished and realize I have overwhelmed myself with my stuff…therefore somebody else’s stuff…becomes like the garnish on the plate of enchiladas….do you really eat it or is it for decoration…
Marketing is difficult enough…let alone marketing art…as art is often seen as a “Luxury”…and in economies such as these…luxury is usually out of the loop…many artists think that just getting exposure is the be all end all…but showing your work to people who don’t buy it is pretty pointless or worse…sitting all day long at an art venue and making $58.00 for the day is not only deflating but humiliating…not to mention you probably said something like this… “I make everything by hand…made from recycled materials,…all acrylic paint on canvas, water based oils…it’s about my dreams…places I’ve traveled…my thoughts on the injustices of humankind…the duality of mankind…sure it’s easy you just”…a few thousand times…that in itself has to be worth more than $58.00…
I don’t know the secrets to marketing…but there are common denominators that success in the art world is built on…they seem to be…mailing lists…repeating the processes that have worked….networking (make it the right people though…the ones that you can benefit and can benefit you)… Constantly being visible…and visible to the right people…devising a business plan for you art work…and keep doing what you do…all of the time…a good friend of mine who has been painting well over 50 years and has had some wonderful success selling art says …”If you’re not doing it everyday…you’re not really doing it”…I believe him because it has worked…and I realize that re-inventing the wheel rather than emulating the successes of those who are already successful in art makes no sense…
sure…the previous step was defining “WHAT IS SUCCESS IN ART”…and that is as individualized as what is love…we all have to qualify and visualize what success looks like in our individual art world…once there…and all of the magic…karma…excuses… reasons …becauses…I wishes…not fairs…and all of the other things that cloud the vision and make it unreal…have been removed from the equation…there just might be the naked part of the idea… the “art world blueprint”…just sitting there waiting for…”What’s next”….
I’m finding in my “art world blueprint”…the most important part of all of this is “Truth”…and telling myself the truth about….what it is I’m doing…why I’m doing it…are things realistic…what must be done to get to _______….how much of that doing am I really doing or wanting to be doing…what must be changed…reviewed…redefined… remade…and is working smart outweighing …working hard…
The giant myth to art is…just produce the art the rest will take care of itself…what I’ve been reading is…40% of your time is producing the work….60% is getting it seen and marketing…those numbers change as visibility increases…develop a good mailing list…find any way to be prolific…as my mentor says… become an…“Athletic painter”…and just keep doing it…
While I was in art school…one instructor came in with statistics…as we all know is there any truth in statistics…yes…there is…if you want there to be…and no there is not…if you don’t want there to be…his statistics said… (in a really nice French accent) …5 out of 100 people who pursue professional careers will succeed…and of those 5…1 will be a successful artists…the remaining 4 will be in the support fields of art…whether it’s true or not…who knows…
so my solution…I get 100 people together every couple of months….95 people get T-shirts that read… “I am not the artist”….4 people get T-Shirts that read… “I am not the artist either but I Support the Artist”…and you guessed it…I wear the T-shirt that reads… “I am the artist”…it’s the visualization that helps….you know….the repetition as well…. “I am the Artist”… “I am the Artist”…. “I am the Artist”….. “I am the Artist”…. “I am the Artist”…. “I am the Artist”…. “I am the Artist”…. “I am the Artist”…. “I am the Artist”…. “I am the Artist”…. “I am the Artist”…. “I am the Artist”…. “I am the Artist”…. “I am the Artist”….
“What I’d really like to do is something extraordinary. Something big. Something mega. Something copious. Something capacious. Something cajunga!” Wayne
Noise from the High Desert 
I know you are an artist I have seen your work, you don’t have to wear the t shirt around me, LOL. Sorry about the 58 bucks! You know Goodwill sells art for more than that! I got an O’keefe numbered print there for 20 bucks and also a Gorman for 20. Nothing compares to my all my Andrews/Reid stuff though! xoxox to you Robert P.S. I wrote all that in a french accent
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Thank you…I do like the accent and forgive me but I’m going to keep wearing the t-shirt…sort of an affirmation…how’s everything with you these days?
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things are scary, lonely and sometimes all I wanna do is hide in my room. But I guess we all feel that way at times. Been writing my books, guess I better get a t shirt that says I am the author! You keep wearing yours! Miss Tony alot. My Birthday is saturday! xoxox
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Yep-I pretty much feel half-assed about doing it and I certainly don’t do it everyday!! Except, the part about the t-shirts? Well, all your friends would be vying for the one that says, “I Am the Artist”!
It certainly is about getting as many impressions out there of yourself-that marketing thing. And maybe, just maybe, someone will buy something.
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Oh-P.S. I wrote all that in a pidgin English (Hawaiian style) accent! I suppose I should’ve spelled it all that way too.
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Even though it wasn’t spelled that way…I thought that’s what you were doing…you’re right it is the number of impressions…and I think that takes as long as building the art career…but there’s nothing I’d rather be doing…
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Bill and I sat all day on the plaza in Santa Fe once and sold not a thing. (The second day was better, but still!) He was wearing his “I support the Artist” tee that day, though. He still talks about what a fabulous time it was and the great people we met. This was the same trip when our pickup truck loaded with all my art ‘crap’ broke down in front of the snooty gallery during their fancy opening and we had to haul all my stuff four blocks to the plaza in 100 degree heat, sweating like pigs. Yes, I am the Artist too.
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“Being the Artist”…I’m certain also means being the sherpa…as well as that person who keeps reminding those who think we had such a great time…that we didn’t….maybe we should get hats that go with the T-shirt…that have derogatory words on them and point at them when we don’t want to talk anymore…what da think???
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I know someone who has one that say I am just one big fucking ray of sunshine aint i. I want it!
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