This month we’re focusing on the benefits of cleaning out — from physical clutter to organizing your lives, eliminating obligations that are no longer serving you to slowing down enough to focus on what matters most, in your art business and in your life. Kelly Milukas has been through more in the last 10 years than anyone should have to endure, and yet she never lost hope and determination. Kelly and I scheduled our conversation to discuss her "life edit," which involved getting rid of what no ...
Apr 08, 2021•48 min•Ep. 83
Spring is here in the Northern Hemisphere and it’s a perfect time to consider the aspects of your life that are weighing you down without contributing to your happiness and success. April is the month for cleaning out in the Art Biz Success community. In this episode, I’m highlighting some of my previous interviews with artists who have discussed cleaning out in one form or another, from removing physical items to cleaning out business ideas and strategies, modes of working, and even the venues ...
Apr 01, 2021•36 min•Ep. 82
If you’re an intentional artist, you’re in the right place. In this episode, I'm wrapping up a month of talking about how systems can keep you organized and make you a more productive artist. Today’s solo episode focuses on the secret weapon of a successful art business — your art biz handbook. An art biz handbook is the number one way to organize every aspect of your business. If you’re looking for ways to stay on top of the never-ending tasks that every artist faces, this episode is for you. Y...
Mar 25, 2021•14 min•Ep. 81
Betty Franks loves her business and life as an artist. She just might have found the secret sauce — a healthy combination of passion for the work and a continuing curiosity about business and becoming a better CEO of your art business. Betty's art business has exploded over the last four years — by 440%. You can't have and sustain this kind of business growth if you don't have solid systems in place. At the time of this recording, Betty has over 120,000 Instagram followers and sells paintings al...
Mar 18, 2021•55 min•Ep. 80
As much as every artist would love to focus only on the making, there is an equally important and opposite side of the artist brain that needs to be accessed — the organization side. It takes creativity and organization to successfully run an art business, and my guest today has learned how to embrace both. Not only is Jennifer Printz a practicing artist with an enviable record of exhibitions, but she's also an assistant professor at Florida International University in Miami. She has two full-ti...
Mar 11, 2021•51 min•Ep. 79
If you’ve been listening to this podcast for any amount of time, you know that I am the queen of systems. There is a reason that my signature program is the Art Career Success SYSTEM. I have learned that when you take the time to put in place easily repeatable steps to do a certain task or implement a project, the rewards are endless. You free your mind and calendar for the more creative pursuits of the studio. You have a better-organized business and life. Your consistency increases, as does th...
Mar 04, 2021•12 min•Ep. 78
I don't know anyone who doesn't think it would be great to attract more Instagram followers, more email list subscribers, and especially more sales. More makes our efforts feel worthwhile and validates them, but we're often stopped in our tracks when we begin to realize what we need to do in order to increase our numbers. We think we have to post more, research hashtags, invest in advertising, create a lead magnet, learn to write better copy, or forget about a restful night's sleep. It’s true th...
Feb 25, 2021•38 min•Ep. 77
I live to track down art off the beaten path — traveling to out-of-the-way places to see works of art that delight and inspire, or even confound me. I found just such a piece last year when I traveled to the Midwest, and the success story of the artist behind the art is just as engaging as the piece itself. My guest for this episode is Romy Owens, an artist and curator who makes site-specific installations, as well as smaller objects, in reaction to place, community, and transformation. Last fal...
Feb 18, 2021•53 min•Ep. 76
What is something special you can do for your subscribers and collectors when your shows and large events are canceled because of a pandemic? Give them a private viewing experience, of course. This week, my guest is Simonne Roy, a contemporary American impressionist painter grounded in the plein air painting tradition. For years, Simonne has been inviting VIPs into her home, which she had transformed into a gallery, for a one-night party. The money and effort she invested in the event resulted i...
Feb 11, 2021•41 min•Ep. 75
What is success? How do you measure it? What story do the numbers tell? Confronting numbers can be intimidating, but it is an essential step to growing both yourself and your business. It forces you to be realistic about where you are, including your weaknesses, and it challenges you to make up for any lost ground. This month we are looking into measuring success and today I want to share with you the tracking procedure that has helped grow my business by up to 40% every single year. I’ll share ...
Feb 04, 2021•12 min•Ep. 74
We all seek success (whatever it means to us individually) but aren’t always prepared to deal with it when it comes along. And that’s okay, because as you’ll hear in this episode, you will learn how to deal with unexpected success if it’s something you really want. My guest is Lisa Goren, an artist whose work took a surprise U-turn when the pandemic hit last year, and she went for it. Lisa Goren works in watercolor to show an unfamiliar landscape in a new light. By using vibrant colors and takin...
Jan 28, 2021•50 min•Ep. 73
Taking charge of your art business isn’t only about bookkeeping, inventory and promoting your art effectively. Taking charge of your art business is about assuming 100% responsibility for your actions — all of your actions, especially in your studio. We all want to increase our productivity and creativity in this new year, and my guest today has mastered the art of doing exactly that by planning ahead. Dawn Williams Boyd makes figurative textile paintings that reveal stories—not always pretty on...
Jan 21, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 72
I teach setting goals for artists. It’s the first lesson in the Art Biz Accelerator. So it may come as a surprise when you hear that this is the year that I want you to stop setting SMART goals for your art business. Far more important than setting any goal is actually doing the work . In this solo episode, I’ll tell you how to set more empowering goals that will help you take charge of your art business. 2020 was a year of great loss of so many aspects of the art business. Venues were closed, l...
Jan 14, 2021•12 min•Ep. 71
Balance. The holy grail of every entrepreneurial artist’s quest. What does a balanced artist’s life look like? And what happens when you actually achieve balance? As much as I love the idea of being whisked away by my latest all-consuming project, I also know what it feels like to be out of balance. I much prefer being in charge of my time and my life, and that’s why I loved this conversation with Chris Maynard. Chris turns feathers into intricate art. Working with delicate tools, he carves into...
Jan 07, 2021•43 min•Ep. 70
I don’t believe in making art for a market, I believe in making art from your soul and then finding the right audience for it. But sometimes we are lucky enough to make the art we want, then tweak it just a bit so we can broaden our audience. My guest today has found a way to do just that. Ashley Lucas (aka Lady Lucas) is an artist whose work features smartly dressed animals and other sweet anthropomorphic characters. She has illustrated numerous children’s books, coloring books, and other cute ...
Dec 17, 2020•47 min•Ep. 69
By now you may have picked up on the fact that I am a sucker for a reliable system. My signature program is called the Art Business Success System for a reason — systems work. They provide you with a framework that, once in place, you can return to repeatedly and update to match where you are at any given moment in your art business. I love figuring out systems, maybe even more than I love following them because systems are always there to support my progress. And my guest today has proven that ...
Dec 10, 2020•52 min•Ep. 68
So many artists have benefitted from Instagram — it’s a topic that comes up frequently in these interviews, but it’s been difficult to pinpoint one key lesson to devote an entire episode to, until now. Jeanne Rosier Smith made a conscious decision to focus on using Instagram to grow her following and expand her art business and it has definitely paid off. Jeanne has been focused and deliberate in her use of the platform while also allowing a great deal of flexibility in the process. Jeanne paint...
Dec 03, 2020•49 min•Ep. 67
Blogging may seem like an art form of years gone by, replaced entirely by the quick and simple posts of Facebook or Instagram, but my guest today has proved that nurturing a blog can be one of the most beneficial and rewarding outlets that an artist can pursue, both personally and professionally. Lisa Call dove headfirst into the blogging world years ago and created such an excellent blog that I have referenced it many times both on my website and in the first three editions of my book. Unfortun...
Nov 19, 2020•48 min•Ep. 66
Introducing yourself as an artist is a topic I never could have dreamed up while I was working in art museums. It wouldn’t have occurred to me that artists would have a hard time introducing themselves. It seems like all you have to do is say, “I’m an artist” and the conversation opens wide. But what I’ve learned in the years since working in the museum bubble is that it isn’t always that easy to say “I’m an artist” . Then, when the words finally do come out, what do you say after that? If you’v...
Nov 12, 2020•13 min•Ep. 65
At the intersection of craftivism and the world of campaign finance is Eve Jacobs-Carnahan. Eve is taking the historical practice of knitting circles and re-envisioning them as modern craftivist assemblies. While bringing artists together to craft the building blocks of a characteristic state capitol building, she’s also leading conversations about changing the role of money in election campaigns. But the impact that Eve is going to make with this work is going to extend far beyond the current e...
Oct 29, 2020•45 min•Ep. 64
I'm not crazy about the word "pitch" but I'm going with it. I use it in the sense that you are making an argument for something. You're making an argument that I should pay attention to who you are and the art you make. I'm more likely to pay attention to your art if you have a compelling story than if you ask me to buy, buy, buy. What I share in this special bonus episode will not only help you get on the Art Biz Podcast, but will also serve you when you pitch to other podcasts, bloggers, write...
Oct 15, 2020•12 min•Ep. 63
Fun isn't a word used very often when we think of marketing or business tasks. Still, it's one of the criteria I suggest considering when you're thinking about whether to add something to your busy schedule. When lockdown started, Brooke Harker threw her fears about doing live video out the window and created Saturday Night Live Art Shows—because she thought it would be fun. It started with just her, but quickly grew to a core of regular artists, with new ones added each week. I wanted to talk w...
Oct 08, 2020•54 min•Ep. 62
Just a mention of the word critique can bring back painful memories for some artists. Or downright fear from those who have never participated in a professional critique. Artists who have been part of formal and ongoing critique groups find them invaluable to their creative development. In the latest episode of the podcast, I talk with Patricia Miranda, founder of The Crit Lab. She's been leading 7 separate critique groups in 3 states and has recently taken them online. We discussed: Why artists...
Sep 24, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 61
I'm a planner, and I like helping artists plan. I'm good at it! If you've taken any of my courses, or even read my book, you anticipate that there will be at least one plan involved. This is one of the special episodes I'm adding since Covid hit—a topic that will help you stay in control of your art business. In talking with my students and clients, I realize how devastating this year has been. Truth be told, I didn't really have to talk with them to know that their plans had been dashed, but it...
Aug 28, 2020•10 min•Ep. 60
Four and a half years ago I hired the best assistant I have ever had at Art Biz Success. She has been loyal, prompt, and 200% dependable. She was 21 years old at the time—about to turn 22—and had just graduated early from college. After making many hiring mistakes in the past, I was determined to do it right this time And I did. I hit the jackpot. Mesa is moving on to new professional opportunities, but I wanted to give her a little surprise send-off. (Any typos are on me this week!) In episode ...
Aug 20, 2020•19 min•Ep. 59
Why wouldn't you make it easier for people to buy art directly from you? That's what Lynn Goldstein thought. She built a shopping cart for her website earlier this year. And the sales rolled in immediately after the March launch. To date, Lynn has sold 18 original paintings and about a dozen reproductions directly from her site, and I wanted to find out how. It must be said that neither Lynn nor I are not experts in all of the options you have for shopping carts. I wanted to share Lynn's experie...
Jul 16, 2020•48 min•Ep. 58
Adri Norris was born in Barbados and raised in New York and New Mexico. A former U.S. Marine, she says she was raised to be a leader—to help people and improve lives. Adri is on a mission to tell stories of women who have made history. She does so through her art, her teaching, and her speaking. She is especially interested in shining a spotlight on women of color that have been overlooked in our history books. In this episode of the podcast, I asked Adri about her work, her teaching, and her ac...
Jul 09, 2020•52 min•Ep. 57
One of the first steps an artist makes when turning professional is to decide on an art business name, and many new artists make this more complicated than it should be. Allow me to bottom line this entire podcast episode: If you are a fine artist, your first choice is to always use your given name for marketing your original art. I understand it isn't always this easy. There are sometimes reasons for not using your own name, including, as I've learned, reasons of physical and emotional safety. ...
Jun 25, 2020•16 min•Ep. 56
Sandra was born in Mexico City and received her BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1995. She uses lines, marks, patterns, and textures to speak metaphorically and poetically of things that make no reference to the physical world. Her art constructs a sensual surface that weaves a path between process and narrative, mark and meaning, intention and abstraction. When Covid-19 struck, Sandra wanted to make a difference. She started a twice-weekly Instagram Live program, Tap Into Y...
Jun 18, 2020•43 min•Ep. 55
This is a special episode of the Art Biz Podcast, which features my recent comments about #BlackLivesMatter on social media and to my students and subscribers. I don’t know where I’ll be going from here, but, as I said, I won’t be silent. And, what I know is that I’m not the person you should be listening to about this topic. However, I am the person who is happy to ask questions of those you should be listening to. That said … I’m looking for new voices who would like to speak up on this podcas...
Jun 15, 2020•9 min•Ep. 54
