Beyond Comparison and Jealousy with Jason Kotecki (ep. 191)

host: Alyson Stanfield Originally from a large metropolitan area, Tracey Hewitt married a rancher and, like Lisa Douglas in Green Acres, said goodbye to city life. But she never said goodbye to her art. Host Alyson Stanfield wanted to talk with Tracey because every encounter she has ever had with her as a member of our Art Biz Connection community has been positive. Tracey is funny, warm, and generous. And she knows how to live life to its fullest. Tracey helps run the family cattle business in the Australian bush, which takes up a good hunk of her time. Aside from her duties on the ranch, Tracey is and always has been an artist, though the label of “artist” wasn’t easy for her to adopt—a hurdle many artists must overcome. [ See How Do You Know When You’re an Artist? with James Holmes ] Today, through her teaching and life coaching practices, Tracey helps other artists get comfortable with their creativity and, if they like, with calling themselves artists. You’ll be inspired by her optimism. 💁‍♀️ There are 4 ways that I can support you in your art business: 1️⃣ art-marketing training in my Essentials course 2️⃣ a community that provides structure to your days 3️⃣ higher level artist group coaching, and 4️⃣ private consulting. Find details: https://artbizsuccess.com/work-with-me/ 📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit artbizsuccess.com/optimism-hewitt ⭐️ Connect with Tracey and see more of her art: https://traceyhewitt.com/ 🎧 RELATED EPISODES These episodes feature other artist-teachers. Maintaining Your Studio Practice with a Busy Teaching Schedule with Sally Hirst ****(ep. 164) Using Patreon as a Teaching Platform with Kimberly Santini (ep. 156) Making a Living as a Teaching Artist with Elizabeth St. Hilaire (ep. 4) The Joy in Artist Community and Paring Back Obligations with Ali Cavanaugh (ep. 190) ⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes. ~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~ This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

What “game” are you playing in your art business and in life? Artist-writer-speaker Jason Kotecki makes the point that you have a unique game plan to follow—one that can’t be compared to another artist or online personality. In a conversation with host Alyson Stanfield, Jason shares his experience of overcoming comparison and jealousy, emphasizing the importance of focusing on your unique talents and contributions. He talks about the pivotal moment in a Philadelphia ballroom that led him to merge his art with his speaking engagements and how this fusion has shaped his career. The discussion covers practical steps artists can take to combat comparison, and the benefits of having a “talent stack” to differentiate yourself. Jason also delves into his income streams, his collaborative work with his wife, Kim, and upcoming events like Wondernite. 📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/kotecki-comparison ⭐️ Connect with Jason and see more of his art: EscapeAdulthood.com   💁‍♀️ There are 4 ways that I can support you in your art business: 1️⃣ art-marketing training in my Essentials course 2️⃣ a community that provides structure to your days 3️⃣ higher level artist group coaching, and 4️⃣ private consulting. Find details: ArtBizSuccess.com/work-with-me   🔄 Related Episodes 6 Ways to Be [Even] Happier About Running Your Art Business (ep. 155) Risk, Rejection, and Resilience with Christine Aaron (ep. 114) What Your Failures Are Teaching You with Laura Petrovich-Cheney (ep. 95) Are You Playing It Too Safe in Your Art Business? (ep. 92)   ⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.   ~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~ This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

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. 🎧 RELATED EPISODES Maintaining Your Studio Practice with a Busy Teaching Schedule with Sally Hirst (ep. 164) Leaving Gallery Representation to Reach More Art Buyers with Adele Sypesteyn (remix) (ep. 163) Using Patreon as a Teaching Platform with Kimberly Santini (ep. 156) 📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit artbizsuccess.com/joy-cavanaugh ⭐️ Connect with Ali and see more of her art: alicavanaugh.com 🔶 Does your art business need a boost or a refresh? Please see my comprehensive art-marketing program, Essentials for Artist Success 🔶  full of tools, strategies, and process you need to establish your professionalism and increase your visibility. For those with beginning and emerging art careers and those who need to approach their business with more thought and intention. ⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes. ~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~ This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

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.   🎧 RELATED EPISODES Self Sales, Open Studios, and Relationships with Interior Designers with Carol MacConnell (ep. 171) Leaving Gallery Representation to Reach More Art Buyers with Adele Sypesteyn (remix) (ep. 163) She Knows Exactly How Much Her Art Income Will Be Every Month with Kelly Pelfrey (ep. 162)   📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit artbizsuccess.com/ali-cavanaugh-encore ⭐️ Connect with Ali and see more of her art: AliCavanaugh.com 🔶 Does your art business need a boost or a refresh? Please see my comprehensive art-marketing program, Essentials for Artist Success 🔶  full of tools, strategies, and process you need to establish your professionalism and increase your visibility. For those with beginning and emerging art careers and those who need to approach their business with more thought and intention. ⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes. ~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~ This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

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? 😳 Elizabeth and I talk about how she has done it because she wanted to share her tips with all artist-mothers out there. She is also very honest about the bumps along the road. Here’s my special Mothers’ Day Conversation with Elizabeth LeMaster. HIGHLIGHTS 06:12 Selling her art through a focused audience and relatively small subscriber base 10:06 Adapting art practices around motherhood 15:44 Strategic systems for productivity 19:51 Embracing the artist's life while parenting 36:28 Elizabeth’s Artisan Christmas magazine 40:32 Elizabeth’s future plans 🎧 RELATED EPISODES Raising Prices on Your Art, Valuing Community, and Balancing Motherhood with Bri Larson (ep. 166) She Knows Exactly How Much Her Art Income Will be Every Month with Kelly Pelfrey (ep. 162) Running an Artist Residency Alongside a Studio Practice with Shannon Amidon (ep. 151) Injecting Personal Narrative into Your Art with Sara Lee Hughes (ep. 131) 📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit artbizsuccess.com/motherhood-lemaster ⭐️ Connect with Elizabeth and see more of her art on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lemasterartistique/ 🔶 Does your art business need a boost or a refresh? Please see my comprehensive art-marketing program, Essentials for Artist Success 🔶  full of tools, strategies, and process you need to establish your professionalism and increase your visibility. For those with beginning and emerging art careers and those who need to approach their business with more thought and intention. ⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes. ~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~ This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

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. 🎧 RELATED EPISODES Tools to Shape Up Your Art Business with Jennifer Printz (ep. 79) Systems to Effectively Manage a Dizzying Increase in Your Art Business with Betty Franks (ep. 80) How to Squeeze More Time from Your Busy Calendar (ep. 152) 📖 To read the exact steps we created for Skip, see images, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/skip-hill-encore ⭐️ Connect with Skip and see more of his art: SkipHillArt.com 🔶 Does your art business need a boost or a refresh? Please see my comprehensive art-marketing program, Essentials for Artist Success 🔶  full of tools, strategies, and process you need to establish your professionalism and increase your visibility. For those with beginning and emerging art careers and those who need to approach their business with more thought and intention. Current focus: Cultivating Connections and Collectors. ⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes. ~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~ This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

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 …   🎧 RELATED EPISODES Calculating Risks in Your Art Business with Leah Smithson (ep. 94) What Your Failures Are Teaching You with Laura Petrovich-Cheney (ep. 95) Risk, Rejection, and Resilience with Christine Aaron (ep. 114) How to Feel Like a Successful Artist (ep. 165)   📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/growth-minded-artists   🔶 Does your art business need a boost or a refresh? Please see my comprehensive art-marketing program, Essentials for Artist Success 🔶  full of tools, strategies, and process you need to establish your professionalism and increase your visibility. For those with beginning and emerging art careers and those who need to approach their business with more thought and intention.   ⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.   ~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~ This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

host: Alyson Stanfield Some artists are fine working by themselves in their studios. Other artists need to move their art beyond the studio walls and into the public in order to be fulfilled. My guest for this episode is Marilyn Fontaine, a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in East London. Her work is spiritual with a strong foothold in feminine themes. She has begun marrying that work to the history of the local community—in particular, the stories of those who share her Afro-Caribbean roots. Marilyn and I talk about the work she does within her community, including how it is funded and why her growing network is essential. We also discuss: Her ritual upon entering the studio for a day’s work, which is always a favorite topic of mine. Why she’s leaning into rejection and learning to be curious about negative reactions that some people have to her work. How she is learning to let go—to not hold too tight to the idea that she wants something so badly—and to allow it to come by creating that space. 🎧 RELATED EPISODES Injecting Personal Narrative Into Your Art with Sara Lee Hughes (ep. 131) Committed to Telling Native Stories Through Her Art and Activism with Danielle SeeWalker (ep. 153) How Your Art Makes People Feel (ep. 184)   📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/community-fontaine ⭐️ Connect with Marilyn and see more of her art: https://marilynfontaineart.weebly.com/   🔶 Please join me for THE PEOPLE PLAN 🔶 a planning workshop to identify, establish, and nurture stronger relationships with buyers, collectors, curators, students, gallerists, and more. May 7-9, 2024. https://artbizsuccess.com/peopleplan   ⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes. ~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~ This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

Host: Alyson B. Stanfield For so long, I asked artists Why they make art. Some artists have a Why. For other artists, being asked why they make art is unfruitful—even debilitating. They feel unworthy if they can’t come up with a good Why. A better strategy is to focus on the people who will be viewing, talking about, and living with your art. How does your art make people feel? Bernadette Jiwa says, "People don't buy why you do something. They buy how it makes them feel." If you think about it, this, ironically, leads to your Why: Connection.   🎧 RELATED EPISODES Episodes that focus on your relationships: Following Her Curiosity and Making New Connections After 60 with Jan McCarthy (ep. 158) Being Seen—Networking for Artists (ep. 148) How to Guarantee that People Remember You with Skip Hill (ep. 147) 📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/make-them-feel/   🔶 Please join me for THE PEOPLE PLAN 🔶 a planning workshop to identify, establish, and nurture stronger relationships with buyers, collectors, curators, students, gallerists, and more. May 7-9, 2024. https://artbizsuccess.com/peopleplan   ⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes. ~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~ This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

Host: Alyson B. Stanfield In this episode of The Art Biz I talk with Lori Sokoluk and Susan Purney Mark, who met in my coaching group many years ago and started a collaboration during the pandemic. When I teach about collaboration, I’m usually talking about an exhibition or event. Lori and Susan took it to the next level and collaborated on the artwork itself—resulting in a two-person exhibition that recently closed. I wanted to know what the artmaking process was like when you’re presented with someone else’s marks on the canvas. I think you’ll enjoy hearing about it and what they discovered during the process We also discussed: The parameters of the collaboration. The challenges they faced, such as Lori’s physical limitations. How they titled the pieces together (a fascinating theme and process). How they divided up the business stuff. How the exhibition was organized. How it has affected their individual work. The advice they share with any artist who is open to collaboration. 🎧 RELATED EPISODES Here are a few more episodes about collaboration: Multiply Your Audience and Expand Your Show’s Impact with Jill Powers (ep. 27) Knit Democracy Together with Eve Jacobs-Carnahan (ep. 64) Play Tops Work, Connection Tops Solitude, and Confidence Tops Fear with Willie Cole (ep. 126) Expanding Your Skillset to Respond to Opportunities with Detour (ep. 128) 📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/sokoluk-mark   ⭐️ Connect with Lori and Susan and see more of their art: https://lorisokoluk.com https://susanpm.com   🔶 Please join me for THE PEOPLE PLAN 🔶 a planning workshop to identify, establish, and nurture stronger relationships with buyers, collectors, curators, students, gallerists, and more. May 7-9, 2024. https://artbizsuccess.com/peopleplan ⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes. ~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~ This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/