host: Alyson Stanfield I want to talk about something that I think gets in the way of how you think about what a successful art business is or can be. I want to help you reframe your daily decisions, actions, and results (or lack thereof)—to embrace the volatility of an artist life. To understand that there will be highs and lows, and that just comes along with the territory. One of the most-used business metaphors is the ladder of success, which is problematic for two reasons:  Nobody reaches the top of anything in life by going straight up. What happens when you get to the top?  I have a different vision. Your art career is a circle consisting of 3 areas: Inspiration+Research, Studio Practice, and Business+Marketing. You’re a sphere (okay, a ping pong ball) bouncing back and forth from one area to the next as you grow your art career. Let me explain …   

The Career Journey of Growth-Minded Artists (ep. 186)

Looking for art career inspiration and ideas while you’re working in the studio or schlepping your art across the country? Alyson Stanfield helps you be a more productive artist, a more empowered artist, and a more successful artist.

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host: Alyson Stanfield It might help (but isn’t necessary) to start this episode by listening to episode 189, which is an encore of a 2019 interview I did with Ali Cavanaugh when she was making big changes in her work life. In this episode, Ali and I catch up with all that has transpired in the last 5 years. We discuss:  Her booming Patreon community that gives her so much joy. How she has pared back on the demands for her art and the boundaries she put in place to allow her to do that. The recent release of the Ali Cavanaugh Portrait Colors Set from Golden Artist Colors. The upcoming retrospective of her work, made possible because she has withheld prized pieces from sale to keep in her private collection.  Ali is incredibly generous. As you’ll hear, she is utterly devoted to her patrons and the success of her students. 

The Joy in Artist Community and Paring Back Obligations with Ali Cavanaugh (ep. 190)

host: Alyson Stanfield In 2014, Ali Cavanaugh had 11 galleries representing her work throughout the U.S. and even overseas. It was all she could do to paint fast enough to supply these galleries with new work. What a great problem to have! But it was still a problem. Then she started asking for it to be returned to her. She was rethinking her art and what her business model looked like. She worked hard to get to that point, the way things were going no longer worked well for her. She decided to take control and be very deliberate about her next moves. This episode is an encore of the inspiration-packed interview I did with Ali Cavanaugh back in 2019 in episode 33. I’ll be sharing a new interview with Ali next week, but I thought it would be fun to be reminded of where she was 5 years ago when we first talked. In this interview, Ali and I discuss how she made a deliberate decision to take control of her art career. She left 10 of her galleries and the stress caused by having to supply so many venues.   

Reinventing Your Art Career with Ali Cavanaugh (ep. 189)

host: Alyson Stanfield Elizabeth LeMaster, my guest for this episode of The Art Biz, has, like so many of us, more to balance than her studio practice and business. She has a family. A young family. A big family. A growing family. How do you find time for working on your art when you have 6 kids under the age of 8? 

Proving It's Possible to be an Artist and Mother with Elizabeth LeMaster (ep. 188)

host: Alyson Stanfield My utter bliss is to help artists make business systems that streamline their lives so they can spend more time in the studio. So when Skip Hill said he needed a system for following up with his collectors and important relationships, I knew I wanted to help. In this encore episode of The Art Biz, I walk Skip through the steps to create a plan for nurturing his relationships. We go through these steps to create his plan:  What do you want to happen? By when does it need to happen? Or … How frequently does it need to happen? What do you need to have/acquire/learn to make that happen? And/Or what tools and technology will you use for the process? Who do you need to enlist to help? What are the exact steps needed to make this system hum?  The steps in that last question provides the fuel. Miss a step, and your system crashes. 

The Career Journey of Growth-Minded Artists (ep. 186)

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