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| 2010/01/06 08:36:41瀏覽765｜回應1｜推薦4 | |
 In the final part of this series master watercolour artist Tony Smibert outlines a route for charting a career as a successful watercolourist What defines a 'professional artist? Is it the fact that they sell their work, or does it require them to be painting full-time and making a living by sales? I don't know and don't really think it matters. Most people aspire to happiness and success, so if that means palming for income even part-time then lets define that person as a professional. Meanwhile there will also be those to whom professionalism means full-time involvement and whose professional life in watercolour is tempered by the fact that their living comes from it. (The metaphorical answer to, 'How come a rabbit can outrun a fox? is usually that 'The fox is simply running for a meal but the rabbit is running for its life!' There will always be some difference between those who subsidise their livelihood. with painting and those who depend on it). In the first article I wrote about the 'why- of watercolour - why it's such an attractive medium to many artists and seems almost a calling to some. in the second I wrote about issues to do with learning how to develop - and keep on developing - watercolour skills through shu ha ri. Shu ha ri is a Japanese notion whereby any person learning a traditional craft moves through three stages of learning so that they first absorb the forms and techniques of earlier masters, then make these their own and finally move on to powerful originality in their own work. Although in the West we don't have a term for it, historically, the same process was fundamental in traditional western art education for centuries and knowledge of it can still assist a professional painter to discover a wide range of ways to systematically evolve their own skills with or without formal instruction. In the third article I wrote of the need for professional artists to be businesslike in their dealings with not only galleries, agents and clients biit also with their primary employee: themselves - the artist painter who makes the products the business has to sell. In the fourth article I touched on the need to achieve a healthy balance between one's business, art and life. in my own eareer I've had to keep alive the of painting by recognising the need to paint pictures that I know that I will never attempt to sell and so these are painted for me atone. I've also taken on board a point that Vincent Miller, the publisher of International Artist sometimes makes when he ponders the professional success of some artists in contrast to others who are equally skilled but who struggle to survive. In paraphrase he says, "I know that artists need to be inspired and to love their subject, but I also know that the joy of the painting activity is a great part of it too. So therefore, with a choice to he happy (by painting) and wealthy too (by selling) why not chose a path that gives both and ocassionally paint subjects that sell?" He makes a great point. Looking back in history we car see how successful many of the greatest artistic minds and practitioners people like Leonardo, Michelangelo, Monet and countless other did just this. They still had plenty of conflict and angst but they ALSO had a living. (I gather the Michelangelo didn't want to paint the Sistine Chapel!!) Is it a compromise to be canny about what you paint or to take commissions that pay well but that require you to consider the clients' choice of subject? Vincent also makes the point that this consideration may be the answer to a lot of the angst that artists feel. After all, it's easier to enjoy life and Art with a full belly. Here in Australia, there are art lecturers in secure positions who seem inclined to inculcate the notion that a real artist should be 'above' money considerations. Historically, this is NOT a notion that most successful artists would have recognised. In the first article I promised to conclude the series with some 'practical elements' critical to success, but it now seems to me that I have previously listed many of them. And of course there are already numerous self-help and business advice publications and websites out there that anyone can refer to - such as Graham Smith's excellent articles right here in the magazine and packed with good practical advice on the business elements essential to any successful career as a painter. Anyway, here's a final summary of attainments that I believe may be critical to the success of those who would like to live more or less entirely from the sale of their paintings (and with a focus on watercolour). I hope it will complement those I mentioned previously. SKILL Obviously you will need to acquire a high level of skill. This requires patience and effort (not always easy to sustain when the medium itself requires so much physical and mental co-ordination). The great 19th century watercolourist, IMW Turner, claimed that the secret of his success was 'damned hard work', and this is obvious. BUSINESS ACUMEN The next asset would be a level of business acumen. If born with it (I wasn't) you might be able to go with gut instinct but I've always needed to see business as a subject worth studying until (as with watercolour itself) you come to some sort of natural understanding based on experience (in a kind of shu ha ni process). RELATIONSHIPS AND OBJECTIVITY Careers are very often built on the capacity to build and sustain good relationships. It's the essence of relationship marketing for example (where your existing customer is seen as a potential future customer and the introducer of new customers, so you equip them with brochures etc so that their natural inclination to show off what they bought from you becomes a very powerful advertising tool in your business). There will be those with your loved ones, agents, gallery directors, the media and, most important between the various inner aspects of the key employee in your business ó you, the artist. This requires appositional thinking - capacity to stand back and see yourself, your situation, and opportunities objectively. This is often difficult for artists because we tend to be bound up in and attached to our work. Yet your buyers will probably see you and your art as inextricably connected and especially as your reputation and standing in the art market builds. Your work speaks of who you are - and your name will bring standing to the work as you become better known. Each confirms the other and so a successful marketing strategy is likely to involve you in marketing yourself too. This will bring its own challenges. Clint Eastwood recently advised that actors should take their art very seriously but not themselves and I suspect this is healthy advice for any arts professional. UNDERSTAND YOUR MARKET Successful commercial galleries and art agents all know that selling is simply about getting people to buy what you want to sell, while marketing is about providing what people Want to buy. Artists are naturally resistant to this yet, as Vincent Miller notes, it may prove a critical element in achieving success. Monet, for example, found no compromise in painting. salon-sized works for overseas buyers but working the rest of his time on the great, less-saleable canvasses that today we see in the worlds leading galleries. A professional painter can't afford to ignore the realities of the market. UNDERSTAND YOUR COMPETITION Personally I hate the idea that artist are in competition and so never enter or judge arts competitions. On the other hand, I'm aware that: a) Watercolours often find a strong domestic market but are generally less highly regarded by the major galleries and b) Watercolour is a very popular medium, so the field is very competitive. Many people paint a lot - and well - so an aspiring full-time professional may have to work hard over a long period of time to achieve any financial certainty in the market. DON'T BE HELD BACK BY CONVENTION Strangely, some watercolour clubs and societies are not unlike mediaeval guilds, with endless rules and conventions about how watercolours should and should not be painted. While these might be very valuable for the guidance of aspiring beginners they can end up as a kind of well-meaning manipulation by those in the most senior positions who unwittingly oppress the very creativity they hope to encourage in new members. Your painting group should be a magic circle where you feel inspired by the company-and empowered by their assistance. My advice is to exit any club, society or group where you come away feeling negative. Remember that the essence of evolution through shu ha ri is that learning from the experience of others leads to you having more creativity, not less, so that you can move on into your own area of skilled originality. So the only rule in watercolour really should be that there aren't any! AN ORIGINAL VISION Actually, because there are so many skilled painters in watercolour and waterce or skills are easily recognised by buyers, the very competitiveness of the field may become an asset when you stick to your own vision. They know a well painted picture when they see one, simply because they see so many, But they also recognise originality when they see it and for the same reason. So if your work combine skill and originality you will find you have an edge in a world where so many skilled painters tackle common subjects in common ways There seem to be a number of very different rids of markets for watercolour. First, there are the people looking for fine examples of skill lid to whom the subject may even be a secondary consideration. Then there are people looking for wonderful subjects and to whom the artist's technical mastery may not be much of an issue. And then there are people who collect watercoldurs as watercolours. They may place higher value on beautiful wash and surprising effects for example, or the startling play of light. Such buyers are often painters themselves and may be very happy with non-figurative works (where those in the first wo categories may be happiest with landscapes etc.) Finally there are those buyers who are seeking originality and often the work of specific artists. They are collectors for example. The fact that your work is a watercolour may not be an issue at all. They are the art buyers to whom the interior decorating quality of a work may not even be an issue. They may not want to display it or show it off.. They love beautiful things that they want to own, they make great patrons and to them, the Art is more important than the medium. Clearly you have to recognise the type of potential buyer ó and these are just some of them. It will .help to stand out as an original painter. So, if you paint the Rockies (but then so do lots of others) it means making sure your pictures reflect whatever it is that makes your heart sing when you are there. Whereas, for example, if you struggle to paint technically and as a result fail to capture the joy you felt at the very idea of painting the Scene, then your work will be unlikely to stand out in the very market you aspire to break into. My final thought domes from the study of financially successful watercolourists from time gone by. These people tended towards quite modest aims. Some years ago. John Heaton-Cooper, son of the late William Heaton-Cooper and grandson of Alfred Heaton-Cooper (wonderful landscape painters of the Lake District in the UK) told me that he felt all artists should remember that they are. `just like everyone else', So, like everyone else we have to work at the technical and business skills essential to success. Though it may not seem very romantic we have to be canny and hard working just like everyone else. About the artist Tony Smibert's art is influenced by a number of very distinctive aesthetic sources. The period known as The Golden Age of British Watercolour (1750 - 1850), his lifelong study of the martial art of Aikido (giving him insight into calligraphic brush work) and the bold gestures of Abstract Expressionism have all found a place in his art. Working primarily in watercolour, he exhibits world-wide and, in Japan remains one of the few westerners ever invited to create their own signature range of high-fashion kimonos. He now collaborates with the Tate Gallery in London as an Artist Researcher ñ recreating JMW Turner's 19th century painting methods - and is the author of a number of books including the award winning How to Paint Landscapes from your Imagination as well as the classic Watercolour Apprentice series on DVD. The Smibert Gallery in Northern Tasmania specializes in building collections for private, corporate and public clients. www.smibert.com |
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