When Worlds Collide: Art and Business

“Art of Writing Bios, Blogs, and Statements” by Lori McNee and

“Faring Well at the Fair” by Paul Dorrell

Brought to you by ArtistsNetwork.com

Writing

From 2013 Artist’s and Graphic Designer’s Market

Bios, Blogs and statements

THE ART OF

From 2013 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market copyright © F+W Media, Inc.

For many artists, facing a blank page is more intimidating than starting a new canvas! Nev-ertheless, besides your creative skills, writing is the primary basis upon which your work and intellect will be judged in the professional world and on the Internet. The importance of writing skills isn’t limited to bios, blogs and artist’s statements. It’s also important for e-mails, brochures, sales materials, grants, presentations and even social media. Writing is an art form that artists can work to master, and it is necessary for a successful career.

Many of us have happily forgotten our lessons in English classes that were filled with confusing grammar terminology. Do we really need to understand intransitive verbs, dan-gling modifiers or even superlatives to be competent writers? Must an oil painter understand the different categories of pigment formulas and their chemical compounds? Of course not!

We can write satisfying words without the worries of whether we are being possessive about adjectives or definite about articles.

“If musicians can play by ear, so can writers, but, if they can’t, it helps to know some rules.”

—Henry Ehrlich, editor

lori mcnee is an exhibiting member of Oil Painters of America and ranks as one of the most influ-ential artists and powerful women on Twitter. She was named a Twitter Powerhouse by The Huff-ington Post. Lori shares valuable fine art tips, art business tips and social media advice on her blog, FineArtTips.com. She has been a talk show host for Plum TV, and has been featured in and written for magazine and book publications and serves on the Plein Air Magazine board of advisors.

by Lori McNee

The ArT of WriTing

Bios, Blogs and Statements

From 2013 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market copyright © F+W Media, Inc.

In this fast-paced world many people suffer from information overload, and understanding how to write something that gets read is more important now than ever. Read on for useful tips for writing a bio, blog and artist’s statement.

hoW To WriTe An ATTenTion-grAbbing bio

Gone are the days when we relied solely on our boring résumés to highlight our accom-plishments. Today, you need an attention-grabbing bio to tell readers about you and your work.

A bio should contain four main factors. It should clearly explain who you are and what you do, add a dash of your personality, and then leave the reader with confidence in you.

Unlike a résumé, a bio is less formal. A bio gives you the chance to share your story, build trust and make a positive connection with the reader. Whether you are a photogra-pher, artist, designer or entrepreneur, a good bio is an essential part of your promotional materials.

Three types of bios to consider No matter its length, your bio is a branding opportunity, especially if you are in business for yourself. I suggest writing all three types of bios:

The mini: Do you use Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking tool? You will need a mini bio for your profile. It is only a

Here is the mini bio that I use for Pinterest. I kept it very simple and clean, much like the site. I added my blogs for extra marketing potential.

Here’s an example of a mini bio for Twitter. It’s snappy and fun, and shares a bit of Terri’s personality and info about her business.

From 2013 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market copyright © F+W Media, Inc.

few short important sentences—this is your “elevator pitch.”

The short: A short bio will have all the components of a long one, but only highlights the very best. This bio will be used for your blog, newsletter, interviews, brochures, mag-azines and query letters. Keep the short bio at no more than one hundred words. If it is too long, people won’t read it.

The long: A longer bio is generally used when you feel like you have more to say. For example, use a longer bio on your “about me” page of your blog or website. Keep the longer bio to a page in length, and add your picture for a nice touch.

Key components of a bioUse the following components to build your bio:

Name: Your name should be in the first sentence. This is the all-important introduc-tion of you to the reader.

Tell about yourself: Assert your business with confidence. Concisely highlight your achievements and awards, and hook the reader. A little of this goes a long way—don’t turn your reader off with ego-driven self-promotion.

Add a dash of personality: Personal branding is just that—your personal, virtual per-sonality. The reason for your bio is to sell yourself by building transparency. Share a bit about your interests and what you care about.

Contact information: Include your pertinent contact information, e-mail and websites, and hyperlink the content to your social media networks.

Add a picture: For some purposes, you will want to add your picture or avatar to your bio. A friendly picture helps to humanize you to your readers. To help with branding rec-ognition, consider using the same image across all of your social media channels.

Additional bio writing tipsWrite for the reader: It is important to understand your reader or audience before you start writing. I sometimes tweak my bio for different purposes, readers or clients.

I use this short bio in the sidebar of my blog along with a smiling picture of me. This helps to personalize and humanize my content.

From 2013 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market copyright © F+W Media, Inc.

Decide on first-person or third-person: Popular opinion states that a bio is best when written in third-person (a narrative, using pronouns such as he or she). Third-person is the best option if the bio is going to be used by others.

However, there are times when a first-person bio (speaking about yourself, I) might be needed. My first-person bio has been handy for introducing myself to live audiences during keynote addresses and webinars. A first-person bio can be used to personalize your blog.

Keep it simple: Stay away from flowery language that attempts to sound too complex or grand. Write short, easy-to-read paragraphs. Remember, most people are skimmers. Ac-cording to the BBC, the attention span of the average web surfer is only 9 seconds.

Proofread: Find another set of fresh eyes to proofread your bio. Use spell-check and even consider an online grammar checker if needed.

Evolve: You will grow and evolve, and your bio should reflect that. When that time comes, rewrite your bio so it can evolve with you.

Tips for beTTer blogging

Blogs help artists, freelancers and small businesses reach beyond the canvas or computer screen to make contact with potential collectors, customers, business prospects and like-minded individuals.

But, do we really need a blog if we use Facebook, and all the other social media networks to connect with our audience? The answer is yes.

With social sites, you do not own or control any of the content that has been shared on your accounts. You do not have control over the look and layout, and you cannot manage the comments.

I am a big proponent of social networking, but what if Facebook, Google+ or Twitter disappears, stops working, or is purchased and you do not like the changes? These social sites control all of your contacts, content and images. Relying solely on social networks that are owned and controlled by third parties to market your art is risky business. If you are unable to use them for any reason, you will have no way to swiftly connect to your people.

On the other hand, blog-ging combined with social me-dia offers artists, freelancers, and small businesses content control, a unique opportunity for self-promotion, expanded viewer-ship, and contact with prospec-tive customers.

blogging AdviceIf you have trouble with writing natu-

rally, use a voice recorder to first re-

cord your blog post verbally and then

transcribe it. This allows you to find

your own voice while avoiding the stiff

nature of writing.

From 2013 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market copyright © F+W Media, Inc.

Important reasons to consider a blogA blog strengthens your personal brand: Branding is who you are or what the world thinks you are. Every time a prospect or a potential customer makes contact with you they are forming an opinion of you as a brand. A blog offers you a great opportunity to share your unique perspective and creative voice, plus it will help bring the world to your art business.

Blog posts have a long shelf life: Once you submit your blog post it will be searchable via Google until you decide to take it down. A good blog post, optimized with searchable keywords, will likely bring in business down the road. With social media sites, older in-formation is quickly replaced by the newest information. Once you update your status, the previous post is pushed down on your page. In time, it will be gone from view.

Blog posts are searchable: Your content is easily found via keywords or the search win-dow that is in the top right-hand corner of most blogs. Blog post are also easily shared. You can categorize your content to make it easier for your readers to find. Blogs make it simple for people to search, find and spread your ideas.

Blogs create richer content: Whereas social networks are mainly for people who like to comment, blogs allow for richer content. A blog will allow you to speak your mind, and it is easy to use multiple contextual avenues such as podcasts, videos, images and MP3 files to share your ideas, portfolio and interesting stories. A blog is virtually free content marketing.

As a creative blogger, you can use this free marketing medium to receive feedback and criticism before a work is finalized, and to gain new ideas and suggestions. Posting your works-in-progress on your blog will help you see your creative process from start to finish.

Consider posting tutorials, essays and experiments to reveal details about the creation pro-cess that are often overshadowed by final pieces.

Even if you decided against blogging for now, I hope you con-sider it in the future. Blogging is the best way to have maximum control over your content and the social technology you use to run your business.

hoW To WriTe An ArTisT’s sTATemenT

Writing about yourself is never an easy task. Creative people often have a difficult time for-mulating the right words to express their art. Most artists prefer to leave the emotional re-sponse between the viewer and the art, without the necessity for words.

leArn from The prosI have learned a lot from both of these

blogging blogs:

Entrepreneurs-Journey.com: “Down-

to-earth tips and advice for Internet

entrepreneurs.”

ProBlogger.com: “Blog Tips to Help

You Make Money Blogging.”

From 2013 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market copyright © F+W Media, Inc.

Nevertheless, there are many times when artists are asked to provide an artist’s state-ment. All serious creative entrepreneurs should have a well-written artist’s statement ready to share with galleries, curators, grant foundations and collectors.

An artist’s statement should reflect the meaning of the work to the artist. In other words, it is a short piece written for the viewer to answer questions he or she may have about you, your art and your artistic process. A good statement reveals the mystery of the work and artist to the reader.

A well-written statement is a vital marketing tool to promote you and your art. It is a bridge between the work and the viewer. The artist’s statement must be informative and

extra Blogging tips

•Use thought-provoking titles: The blog post title is the first thing to grab the read-

er’s interest. It should highlight the main story of your post. Be creative and informa-

tive with your titles. Use keywords to help with search engine optimization (SEO). Short

phrases usually rank better with search engines.

• post original content: Original content will help boost your rankings in Google, al-

lowing your blog to be found more easily. Do not plagiarize or copy someone else’s

work. If you do quote someone, be sure and add the link to his or her blog. Scatter

your important keywords throughout the post. Use the main keyword in the opening

sentence for better SEO.

•Vary your topics: Keep your readers coming back for more of your fresh ideas. Vary

the cadence of your post topics and length. Be flexible because you never know when

a hot topic might need to be your next blog post.

• Find your voice: Showcase your own personality in your writing. The key to a good

blog post is to find your unique voice. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind through your

blogging.

•Check for errors: We are all busy, but take time to proofread your post before pub-

lishing.

• share the link love: Linking to other blogs is a great way to create an information-rich

post. Sharing links will also build up your relationship with other bloggers.

• encourage comments: Foster a discussion by encouraging comments with your read-

ers. Ask a question at the end of the post, and be sure to reply to your readers.

•Use images: Plain text is boring, and over 60 percent of your readers are visual learn-

ers. Readers want photos, graphs and illustration. Visual aides help readers memorize

the ideas. Use your own images or use a site like Flickr to search for images with a cre-

ative commons license. Learn how to enter a description of the image into the alter-

nate text field to make them searchable on the Internet.

From 2013 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market copyright © F+W Media, Inc.

written as though you were speaking in person about your work. Think of it as an intro-duction to yourself and your art.

The processStatements are as individual as the artists they represent, and many aspects of an artist’s statement come down to personal choice. However, there are some industry suggestions that can help you get started.

As with any writing project, begin with a rough draft. Start with the pertinent and fill in the details. Remember, you are writing for people who are interested in you and your art.

When preparing to write an artist’s statement, keep a notepad with you when you are creating. Jot down simple notes that will help you recall your feelings, emotions and thoughts about your art and creative process.

Write the statement in first-person and infuse it with your unique perspective. Is your work fanciful, aggressive or solemn? Choose prose that complements and reflects your art.

Keep the language simple and clear. An artist’s statement should be no more than three paragraphs. A word count of one hundred to three hundred words is optimal. Some of the finest statements are only three to five sentences. Be original, and try to begin your statement with some-thing more creative than “My work….”

In today’s world, artists are expected to do more than just cre-ate. We must stay current with-in the art market, and most of us don’t have the luxury of a person-al assistant or secretary. If writing really stumps you, hire someone to write for you. Try using a sec-retarial service, a college student

helpful hinTsSuggestions for writing out your ideas:

Make a list of your objectives and

goals. Include your interests, influenc-

es and activities.

• Wheredoyoulive?

•Whatinspiresyou?

•Whoinspiresyou?

Describe your creative process.

• Whydoyoucreate,andwhat

doesitmeantoyou?

• Isthereamessage?

•Whatareyourartisticgoals?

Put your art into words.

• Whattechniques,style,and

mediumsareused?

• Uselanguagefornon-artists.

• Useinformalfirstperson,“I”

statements.

Read other successful artists’ state-

ments for inspiration.

From 2013 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market copyright © F+W Media, Inc.

or a freelance writer or journalist. Remember, good writing skills can often mean the dif-ference between getting accepted or rejected for a show or gallery.

WhAT noT To doDon’t turn the statement into a résumé.

Don’t turn the statement into a biography.

Don’t catalogue works.

Don’t try to be funny.

Don’t be pretentious.

Don’t jump around from idea to idea.

Don’t be afraid to ask what the event, gallery or exhibition is

looking for in a statement.

business

77June 201376 www.artistsmagazine.com

business by Paul Dorrell

After An Artist achieves master status, he will rarely participate in an art fair unless it’s an exclusive event through a museum, gallery or similar entity. But while he’s building up his reputation, it’s essential that he participate regularly in public exhi-bitions, whatever type of gig it may be. All of the artists i represent have shown in various exhibitions and fairs, as have most successful artists i know.

for those of you who only execute installation-based or avant-garde work, art fairs will be of little relevance. instead you’ll want to seek out juried shows that are an appro-priate venue for what you do—the edgier, the better, as long as the shows have strong attendance. But for the rest of you, the right series of fairs can help give your career a serious launch.

Art Fairs in the worst case, an art fair is an outdoor event arranged by well-intentioned dilettantes for a largely indifferent public. Are they all this bad? no. Many are well run, pro-viding excellent venues for selling work at the lower price levels and for meeting hordes of potential collec-tors. The trick is learning to choose between the fairs that are worth-while and those that aren’t.

The best story i ever heard about a fair came from Vernon Brejcha, a glass artist who studied under the great master, Harvey Littleton, and whose works have been placed with museums worldwide. But in the beginning, Vernon was as unknown as any emerging artist and so decided to do a few fairs. He

told me how once, in the 1970s, he was sitting in a booth at a Dallas show when a man, woman and their daughter walked up. The trio stared at his glass, stared at him, and then the father said to the girl: “see now, Charlene. This is how you’ll wind up if you don’t start getting better grades.” They turned and walked off. Vernon was rather more selective in choosing his fairs after that.

Juried Showsregardless of whether the show is an outdoor fair or an indoor exhibition, it must be juried. it means nothing to be accepted in a nonjuried show. Besides, in nonjuried shows you don’t know what other kinds of work will be exhibited—you may be stuck next to some guy who does paint-by-number landscapes on saw blades.

Amusingly, the jury members in some shows are no more qualified to

serve on the panels than the average car salesman! in fact, they may have no background in art whatsoever, but have been chosen because a niece is chairwoman. Or perhaps they do it because they think it would be a creative thing to do, or, we would hope, because they genuinely want to see a great show result, with scores of artists selling tons of work. However the jurying is done, most shows do advance awareness of the arts to a cer-tain degree. That can only be a good thing. Besides, if you win a prize, they usually give you a little dough.

Faring Well at the FairGallery owner, art consultant and artist advocate Paul Dorrell shares advice

on how to make the most of art fairs and juried shows.

shows that are well established are obviously the best choice, like the navy Pier show in Chicago (if you can afford the booth fees) or the Brookside Art Annual in Kansas City. But, even if the show is newer and doesn’t yet have a reputation, as long as it’s well run, well attended and in a proper setting, participating in it is better than letting your work sit in the studio and collect dust. You’re in the process of building up your résumé. it’s a gradual process, and you’ll have to be proactive and patient in carrying it out.

Finding These VenuesThere are a number of ways you can research art fairs and shows:

The Internet: The simplest way to learn about shows and art fairs is to use the internet. enter appropri-ate keywords in a search and you’ll be off and running. if you’re only interested in fairs in a particular city or state, just specify that in your search. in addition, all states and major cities have arts commissions—at least at the time of this writing. Most arts commissions have listings of shows that are held in their region. search their websites for informa-tion. if they list nothing, call and

ask for guidance. Also ask to be put on their mailing lists. This will keep you informed of shows, as well as various commissions that may arise.

Arts Organizations: The College Art Association has been around for more than a century and has a com-prehensive website. it can provide you with lists of exhibition opportu-nities that occur nationwide. in the same vein, most cities have an artists’ coalition of some sort. These too will have listings of various shows, especially those held in nonproft or cooperative galleries. A coalition can be quite worthwhile in terms of meeting people who can be of help to you, such as architects, collectors and gallery owners. Like anything else, these shows can be a waste of time as well, depending on the show, its attendance—and how well you handle any opportunities that arise.

Art Galleries: You can also call any of the major galleries in cities where you want to exhibit and ask them about reputable shows in their area. Most gallery managers will be realistically informed about the viability of each possibility.

Networking: The more shows you attend, the more you’ll become aware—other artists will help inform you, as will show organizers and attendees. Who knows? You might even sell some work along the way. n

PAul DOrrell founded Leopold Gallery in 1991. His clients include Warner Bros., H&R Block, the Mayo Clinic and thousands of pri-vate collectors. He has written for numerous art magazines and spoken at venues such as the Rhode Island School of Design and the Art Students League of New York. To learn more about Dorrell and his work, go to www.leopoldgallery.com. This article has been excerpted from Dorrell’s book, Living the Artist’s Life (Updated & Revised): A Guide to Growing, Persevering and Succeeding in the Art World. Purchase it at our improved online store, www.northlightshop.com.

AbOVe: The Plaza Art Fair, a juried art show set up in Country Club Plaza, in Kansas City, is one of the municipality’s time-honored traditions. In 2012 the 240 artists’ exhibitions, live music shows and kids’ art workshops attracted close to 300,000 visitors. The 2013 Annual Plaza Art Fair is sheduled for the September 20–22 weekend.

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