MARCH  9 & 16

Artist Marketing Intensive

Saturdays 10:00-3:00

Hosted along with professional photographer Jesse Friedman.

• The importance of clarity and authenticity

• High Tech marketing strategies and how to meet your people online

• High Touch marketing strategies and how to meet your people in person

• Know your audience

• Individual marketing plan

• One on one review of your plan and execution

1708 Lena St #202 (upstairs)

Santa Fe, NM 87505

Across the street from Iconik.

There will be a one hour lunch break each day.

$195 BUY NOW

Or you may pay with a check.

Fear prevents us from living life to the fullest. Through her experience facing 100 fears, Michelle Poler learned how we deal with fear, the types of fears we face in life, and the process through which we are able to manage the anxieties and accomplish great things.Michelle Poler, originally from Caracas, Venezuela, is a graduate from the School of Visual Arts holding a master's degree in Branding. A few months ago, she quit her job as an Art Director to develop what started as a school project and turned into a life-changing experience.Michelle decided to face all of her fears for her project 100 Days Without Fear. She planned to become a braver person by the end of the 100 days, what she didn’t plan was to inspire millions along the way.

"Entrepreneur" is an incredibly powerful word. Many people, especially those for whom the corporate world is anathema, can't imagine being anything but an entrepreneur.Gates, Jobs,  Zuckerberg come to mind, with artists not so much, but James Jean, Mark Ryden, Jeff Soto are a few that might. We may compare ourselves  to these other people's success, but that does not really serve us. Be authentic, be YOU.Read more about authenticity in this article, Don't Try to Be the Next Steve Jobs. Instead, Be The Next You, by Jeff Hayden.

When it's time to shine, be the brightest! - Deshun Wang

“In our obsession with optimizing our creative routines and maximizing our productivity, we’ve forgotten how to be truly present in the gladdening mystery of life.” – Maria Popova

When was the last time someone you know, over the age of 18, complained about having too little to do? 

“Busy has a dangerous allure. If your normal is busy, it’s tough to sit quietly with your thoughts or to really feel what you’re feeling,” writes Dina Kaplan in “The Cult of Busy.”For instance, I have been so busy it has been difficult keeping up with these posts. Of course most of us are working harder than ever before to make a living. Keeping some balance is important to keeping our sanity. Here is a great article by Ryan Stevens Marketing that dives into some of the reasons why we are so busy these days and ways to keep it from burying us. 

I present Artist As Brand classes predominately at Colleges and Universities. However, when I have the opportunity to work with small groups of people, or even better with one or two individuals then the focus goes incredibly deep and it is amazing what can be be revealed!Joan Marie is a talented, high energy, extremely positive, forward looking, visionary artist who flew in from St. Luis to Los Angeles for a mentoring session. Talk about commitment! Her daughter Brittany Bishop a Landmark Forum representative and biofeedback assistant joined us to see about getting more clarity about her career path. We had some amazing breakthroughs!One of the segments of the AAB curriculum is to create  a Vision Board that defines those parts of ourselves that bring us tremendous joy. These parts turn into specific projects or products that are then directed toward a niche audience. It is surprising that most artists do not use an inside out approach to defining their talent and its potential.Even though Joan is very intuitive she was not certain of what she really wanted to create. After some digging it became apparent that latent theatrical talents (dancing, acting, lecturing) had been hidden from sight, but now they burst forth with the power of a tidal wave. Now her art vision includes a very personal theatrical production (in the works) that will include all her paintings and a message of confidence and hope to people everywhere. It is auspicious that Joan has been a high school art teacher for decades!

Joan's Core Virtue

Brittany is a very smart, self confident individual but was still defining her career path. It became clear that she was intimately connected with the science of the heart and nature, specifically the trees. It was also learned that she loves EDM's (Electronic Dance Music) and events. So we put these elements together and now she is researching how to produce an EDM type show that connects people's hearts to the trees or more succinctly, to their own essential nature.

Brittany's Core Virtue

It is an honor and a blessing to facilitate this work with people and a joy to see the result! In fact no sooner had Joan returned home  The Mogal Muse Magazine printed an article about her! Go Joan!

Are you are goal setting, goal getting maniac? If you are reading this you probably have some ambitious genes floating around your DNA.

Defining your goals creates a blueprint for the path you can take, then you must start with those first steps. There is an art to being a goal getter, and this article by Joy Cho, the founder of the graphic design studio, "Oh Joy" shares some wonderful insight on the finer points of staying the course. HERE.

If you want some direction and empowerment on setting these goals for yourself don’t miss out on The Artist As Brand® Online Workshop! This is a great opportunity to work through your goals as an artist to create your own prosperity and abundance!

Get ready for some transformation!

Next workshop begins Feb. 1, 2023 - Sign Up Now! $295 until Jan 15! ($495 after!)

I have been following Chris Guillebeau and his Art of Non-Comformity newsletter for a few years now. He has felt his way through the entrepreneurial maze with wonderful result. It is always fascinating when you go it alone because you must confront yourself day after day. Your success depends upon your effort.This journey can take some interesting twists and turns and may not turn out as you expected. This article by Chris reflects this sentiment and why going your own way can bring delightful results, even if it takes a while to see them."A long time ago, I sent a thick packet of information to Yale, explaining in considerable detail how awesome I was and why they should accept the honor of my giving them tens of thousands of dollars a year.They sent me back a short, polite letter, saying that while they were happy to accept my initial contribution of $75, they had plenty of other applicants, even more qualified and more awesome than me, all willing to pony up the tens of thousands of dollars for the next few years.Regretfully, I was informed, the $75 was all I'd be able to pay them. "We wish you well in your future endeavors" was how they ended their brief reply, and they didn't even follow me on any online social networks.Every year, a large number of young people go through the same ritual -- hours upon hours spent explaining why they deserve the privilege of becoming indebted to a system that probably won't train them for a job. For many (not all, but many), the main benefit of graduate school, or even college or university in general, is a form of life avoidance: I'm not sure this is what I want, but at least I won't have to think about it for a while."More...

Love this woman!

Every decision you make - every decision -is not a decision about what to do.It's a decision about Who You Are.When you see this, when you understand it, everything changes.You begin to see life in a new way.All events, occurrences, and situations turn into opportunitiesto do what you came here to do.

- Neale Donald Walsch

There are so many movies that reflect the art spirit– usually stories about individuals who believe in something so completely they have no choice but to follow that muse.In "The Worlds Fastest Indian" we see the story of New Zealander Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins), who spent years re-vamping a 1920 Indian motorcycle -- with the goal of setting a land-speed record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.I reference this film because the art of the start is really about diving in there, giving it a go, then not stopping. Like Munro in this sweet spirited film, you keep moving forward no matter what with increasingly greater speed and success.

 I plan to start showcasing more artists who really have their social media together. Your High Tech promotion is vital for a thriving art business. Social media platforms are always changing, hence everyone who relies on Facebook for instance may have a rude awakening when they have put all there energies into promoting themselves there and it goes belly up.

Prioritize your online presence with a website that authentically represents your vision.

Your website is your home. Entice people to stop in, and help them get so comfortable they do not want to leave.Mammoth & Companyhas designed their website intelligently. It looks stellar and has all the e-commerce and social media principles working together seamlessly. Check it out. They are using Shopify as the design platform.

Art by the amazing Anthony Russo

The new science of spending points to a surprising conclusion: How we use our money may matter as much or more than how much of it we've got. This article by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton shows that the art of spending can be a sort of transcendence. More Here.

There’s something to notice about successful people: they act quickly, even if they may fail. [This piece is excerpted from Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can Help You Win by Ryan Babineaux, PhD., and John Krumboltz, PhD., with the permission of Tarcher/Penguin. Copyright 2013 Ryan Babineaux, PhD., and John Krumboltz, PhD]In the book, Art and Fear, the artists Ted Orland and David Waylon share a story about a ceramics teacher who tried an experiment with his class.The teacher divided the students into two groups. Those sitting on the left side of the studio were to be graded solely on the quantity of their work, while those on the right, solely on the quality. The instructor informed the students in the quantity group that a simple rule would be applied to evaluate their grades: those who produced fifty pounds of pots would get an A, those who produced forty pounds a B, and so on.For the quality group, the instructor told the students that he would assign a course grade based on the single best piece produced over the duration of the course. So if a student created a first-rate pot on day one of the course and did nothing else for the term, he would still get an A.When the end of the quarter arrived and it came to grading time, the instructor made an interesting discovery: the students who created the best work, as judged by technical and artistic sophistication, were the quantity group. While they were busy producing pot after pot, they were experimenting, becoming more adept at working with the clay, and learning from the mistakes on each progressive piece.In contrast, the students in the quality group carefully planned out each pot and tried to produce refined, flawless work, and so they only worked on a few pieces over the length of the course. Because of their limited practice, they showed little improvement.More...

This post is about the courage it takes to create a career your way. Artist and writer Debbie Millman presented a commencement speech on the virtues of following your path (also in her new book, Looking Both Ways). This is her art...

Continue to read more and also listen to Debbie HERE ...

"12 QUOTES"

To honour the entrepreneurial spirit in us all, Shopify put together a list of great quotes from a number of accomplished business owners that will make you want to stop thinking, stop talking, and start doing.

"Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you."-Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO

"If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it."-Elon Musk, Tesla Motors & SpaceX Founder

"I try not to make any decisions that I'm not excited about."-Jack Nickell, Threadless founder and CEO

"Embrace what you don't know, especially in the beginning, because what you don't know can become your greatest asset."-Sara Blakely, SPANX Founder

"Some 80% of your life is spent working. You want to have fun at home; why shouldn’t you have fun at work?"-Richard Branson, Virgin Group Founder

"Find your one thing and do that one thing better than anyone else."-Jason Goldberg, Fab Founder

Six more quotes at Shopify.

Connecting your vision to a cause that is larger than yourself can energize your fan base with people who are interested in the same.WhenWhale Tails Tortilla Chip company decided to use art for their environmentally conscious product and packaging they wanted to align with someone who was as passionate about the ocean as they were. Connecting the iconic marine artist,Wyland to their organic product was a match made in heaven.

Wyland ©

When your art is aligned with a strong purpose a vibration is set in motion that will connect with others who are in tune with it. I have seen this principle happen over and over again in my thirty year art career. It is a profound testament to the potential power of your vision.

Artists with a store front?Yes, artists can embrace the brick and mortar store as well as a digital shop. Check out Three Fish Studios who do it all in one space, with classes too. This is an option for a group of artists who want to make a splash in their local community as well as online.Annie Galvin and Eric Rewitzer, painters and printmakers, husband and wife, create original and affordable art in their home/studio/store near San Francisco. Go here to see how they do it.

I feel that Sir Ken Robinson is a kindred spirit in the context of empowering human potential and creating new educational models. He is an internationally recognized leader in education, innovation, creativity and human resources. There are many informative and inspiring videos of his talks on education reform and the creative life. This is one of my favorites.His latest book is entitled The Element. As Robinson states: “The element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the element, they feel most themselves and most inspired and achieve at their highest levels.”He could teach my Artist As Brand Workshops! If you have been a part of the educational system this is a must see.

The well known street artist, Bansky set up a booth in central park and sold pieces of art for $60.00 each. People did not know it was the famous artist's work, but some bought the art anyway, and now own art investments worth thousands of dollars. Ultimately this was great promotion for Bansky (which he a master of), and it made a fun comment on the art world, but more importantly he also made $420 in one day, with a stripped down booth and an elderly man who sat out front doing absolutely nothing.What I love most about this piece of theater is that it affirms what artists in SOHO, NYC have told me before– you can make a living selling your art on the street. The artists I spoke with made between $250-$500 a day with a booth on the street. That is pretty good money folks. Add it up. If you make an average $400 a day and sell five days a week that is $2000, or $8000 a month. Not bad.Thank you, Bansky for reminding all artists that street art can make for a very profitable business.Go here for more-Three older AAB posts about selling art on the street- Taking it to the streets. Artist As Brand Grassroots. Artist As Brand Grassroots Part 2.