Journal Entry for November 17

Posted by Suzanne Hill Nov 11, 2007

Delacroix’s November 17, 1852 entry from his famous “Journal” reads:

“…Man is a social animal who dislikes his fellow men. Explain this idiosyncrasy: the more intimately a man lives with another human being as foolish as himself, the more he appears to wish to harm this unfortunate individual; domestic bliss. Two friends, who enjoy meeting once a week and miss one another when they are parted, conceive the strongest aversion for each other if circumstances, such as a voyage, compel them to live together for any length of time.”

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Artists often work long and unsociable hours alone in their studios immersed in their work. But Alyson Stansbury, art marketing coach, states another truth of the artist’s life: they must meetmore people. She insists that most artists’ livelihoods depend on networking and meeting new people.

Stansbury advises: “Meet more people. Not just artists and people in art circles. If they wanted to buy art, most people outside of the art world have no idea where to find art. Why? Either we're not doing a good job telling them about us, or they are too intimidated to find it. What is an artist to do? Make more people aware of you and your art. Get involved in your community. Sit on committees and volunteer for posts that don't have anything to do with art. Everyone has some form of art in their home. They'd probably like yours if they just knew who you were.”

Finally, Rachelle Disbennett-Lee, business coach, says, “You can be anti-social once you're famous."

I agree with Stansbury that the more people that artists know, the more potential buyers they have. List five opportunities in the next month to meet more people, then go out and meet them!