The Artists center featured artist Lorrie Whittington

Lorrie talks about business and art

by Bill

One of the my primary reasons for initiating the Featured Artist series last year was to spot light artists who are successfully selling their work so other artists, whether emerging or veterans, could have examples and role models. Each of the artists selected are in various stages of turning their creative energy and passion into a sustainable living. They may not be doing it over night but each has a strong commitment to finding ways to both share their art with the world and make a living from doing so.

Not everyone is suited to undertake the journey, but those who do have decided that their passion for creating outweighs any other c0ncerns. Consciously or not, they all share in the vision that a world without art would not be very nice, and they recognize the effect their ability or inability to produce has on us all. Our ability to experience the benefits of their creative visions is directly linked with each and every artists' ability to sell their work.

Like many of the previous Featured Artists Lorrie has been working steadily towards her goal of artistic sustainability. Each artist has also been able to recognize the role risk plays in their adventure and each has chosen to accept the up and down process inherent in growth.

Please read on as Lorrie shares her adventure...

You recently decided to abandon Etsy in favor of your own self hosted sales venue, talk to us about your decision, your goals, and motivation.

As I said, my goal is really to try and make some kind of success for myself, not necessarily monetary to any grand extent, but more importantly, artistic recognition. I decided to close down my Etsy shop primarily because I felt that Etsy is such a hard nut to crack for an artist, and that if I was going to put so many hours into promotion and marketing, I would rather do so for my own online shop.

My plan is to continue selling from my own shop, Art4Sale, add to the prints catalogue and introduce more original art there, including hand pulled prints from my Gocco printer.

However, I have decided also to try and raise my artistic profile locally, and show my work publicly within my home area. To that end, I am looking for gallery representation. This is not easy, as many galleries have closed down due the recession, but I remain optimistic. This is quite a big deal for me, as I have not shown my work in a gallery for many years now. I am also thinking quite seriously about putting on my own solo show. This was something I did when I was younger, and in the days when the only way to gain any kind of audience for your work was to exhibit.

My ultimate goal is to continue to draw and paint, improve my craft, and hopefully gain some recognition. I already have quite a solid fanbase/following which is continuing to grow, particularly online through my website, blog and Facebook page, and friends are very supportive and encouraging.

Tell us about your marketing journey, what has worked for you and what has not

My marketing journey has not been as well planned as I would have hoped or advocate. However, I did write down some SMART goals of what I wished to achieve, and wrote a loose business plan, which I need to update. Having done some business courses, the skills and tools I learnt from those have stood me in good stead, particularly when it comes to planning, marketing and measuring performance.

It is important as an artist in today’s technological environment to have an online presence, whether that is a website or a blog. Social networking is also important as well, utilizing platforms like Twitter, Facebook etc. I did have a My Space page, though it did not work well for me. I feel that My Space is intrinsically for young people, and took more work than I felt it justified. Facebook has worked very well for me, and people who are not necessarily net savvy like it for simplicity of design and use. Facebook is a level playing field. Because of its tight design and lay-out, you don’t need any design skills to make it work, and that makes people feel more comfortable in many ways, there is no competitiveness.

A blog is a great way to market ones work and keep people updated with works in progress, ideas, projects etc. Plus which, people like to feel they can interact with you and have a voice, which makes a blog an ideal choice as they can comment and provide feedback. Also, if you have little or no web design skills, then a blog is the next best thing to profile your work on the Internet.

Do you have a marketing plan, strategy, if so please tell us about it?

As I said in the last paragraph, I do have a loose business plan and a set of SMART goals, which I try and adhere to. SMART stands for:

Specific
Measureable
Attainable
Relevant
Timely (or time bound)

The importance of setting goals and objectives was something I learnt when studying business, and it’s a pertinent and necessary task. They help one to maintain focus and direction, rather than casting about wildly and becoming unfocused and haphazard and help to measure and keep track of performance. Even if you don’t have a specific ‘Business Plan’, it is important when undertaking any kind of project or business venture to have constructed some kind of plan, which includes goals, objectives and targets. E.g. what do I want to achieve, what do I need to do to get there, what tools do I need, what skills do I need, how long do I want to take to reach my ultimate target? It doesn’t have to be written in stone, and indeed shouldn’t be. A project/business plan and objectives should be organic to some degree to keep pace with a changing environment and economies.

What is your greatest challenge as an artist/business person?

Maintaining a healthy balance. This is a constant challenge for anyone who is trying to make a business from their creative endeavors. Trying to market, promote and sell as well as paint and create is an exhausting one. Also, take into account running a home and raising a small child. I am constantly trying to juggle the two, and always feel I am struggling to maintain an even and fair balance. I don’t know if this is something I will ever be able to get quite right.

What do you wish someone had told you when you started out?

Don’t become disheartened and don’t expect quick results. Just because you have something to sell, doesn’t mean to say people will rush to buy it. It’s all about visibility and presence. Having a shop in the High Street will attract sales, because it pulls in passing traffic. Trying to sell online is a completely different ball game. No one knows you exist unless you tell them. Also, I wish I had devised a clear pricing structure at the start. Initially my prices were up, down, up and down again. It’s important to work out what price you want for your art, taking into account costs, time and creative effort, and then stick to it. Don’t become drawn into what other people charge for their art because it’s all subjective.

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