Am I Really an Artist?

"I am not really an artist," I said to a friend recently. "I am an art seller... I make art. I sell art... "

Of course I am playing with words and ideas here. I am an artist, no doubt, but to earn a living from art I need to be more than an artist :

I have become an Art Seller.

An artist recently introduced herself to me. She was eager to show me her art, beautiful gorgeous artworks that fill her home. "I almost sold a piece, " she told me, "But then I changed my mind. I couldn't let it go."

She is NO DOUBT an artist, though she is not (yet) an art seller.

It is more than ok to be an artist yet not an art seller. I made art at my kitchen table for more than a decade with never a thought of selling. I made art for myself and for my friends. When I finally did tiptoe into art selling, I was sporadic about it. Selling art was infrequent and I felt clumsy about it.

Today, I am growing my art business and selling art on a regular basis. I negotiate commissions and art displays as well as art events. I have learned the

Art of Being an Art Seller.

It is a different kind of thinking that has required me to learn some new skills. Recently I hired a business coach to help me structure my growing art business with best practices.

I never shy away from a sale. I easily let go of my art into the wild with a kiss and quick goodbye. I relish that others welcome my art into their world. It is an honor I feel every single time with every single sale. EVERY SINGLE TIME !!!!!!

I have been blessed with the best patrons an artist could hope for !

As an art maker and art seller, I strive to grow in understanding how to best provide art to people who welcome art into their home and business. Connection is what drives me with my art making and art selling... connecting to the art itself, for every artwork tells a story, but really, connecting to the art buyer, The Patron. I love knowing who has bought my art or commissioned me, and when I get to know Why a certain piece has resonated with someone or why they are commissioning me to do a certain project, I literally

S W O O N

in heart, mind and soul.

I LOVE MEANINGFUL CONNECTION.

This is my W H Y for what I do.

Like this artwork below. It was incredibly meaningful when a buyer told me she gifted this print to her young adult son after he had endured a particularly stressful challenge. "He burst into tears," she told me. Her motherly comfort to her son included a work of my art. This fulfills a deep need in my life to make a positive difference in the lives of others.