Tag Archives: art

Too Many Artists are (Still) Not Promoting Themselves

Posted on by
3

This post was inspired by a post about a video series I worked on. For that project, I promoted six local poets and was shocked to see how few of them had any kind of online presence to go with the videos.

Unfortunately, artists of all types have a real problem promoting their own work. I talk to a lot of different artist as part of my work with Another Passion, but even as a kid, I saw the same pattern with my dad and some of his artist pals. There seems to be a mental block, preventing many creatives from promoting their work, or thinking of it as a product to sell.

With all the tools available online, there really is no excuse for not using at least one of them to get more eyeballs on your work.

Some turn up their noses at self promotion, claiming that a real artist won’t need to sell themselves because quality work will attract attention automagically. Nothing could be more wrong. No one is going to “discover” you, unless you put yourself out there to be discovered.

Then there are those who are simply overwhelmed, not knowing where to begin. That I can at least understand. The options are many and you can spend all your time fiddling here and there, not really accomplishing anything. Or you can lose yourself reading books, posts and articles, trying to figure out whether it’s better to take up tweeting or blogging, videos or podcasting, Google+ or Facebook — if you even get that far.

The answer is simple: pick something that suits your personality, stop procrastinating and use it! The thing is, they are all good tools if you use them consistently and well.

Choosing the right tools is a personal matter more than anything else. If you hate being in front of a camera, YouTube is not for you. If you are dyslexic, perhaps talking is better than writing. The point is, there are options for everyone.

Being overwhelmed by the choices is a matter of eliminating the ones you don’t like and making an executive decision. With a day of research, anyone can learn the differences between the available tools and decide on one or two to go with. Learn the ins and out of your chosen tools, the basics first, the details can come as you go. With someone guiding you, you can get started within a day.

You have to see self-promotion as part of the creation process, just like putting the milk back in the fridge is part of eating a bowl of corn flakes. It’s not the most fun part, but it’s necessary. It should never be an afterthought, or something you’ll do when you get around to it, maybe next weekend or when the kids are asleep. If you leave the milk out all day, chances are you’ll be eating dry cereal tomorrow morning.

It pains me to see so much wasted talent, so I have started taking on artists who need a helping hand. Right now, I’m helping my neighbor who’s a working musician with a degree, massive skills and a great personality. He is not computer illiterate either, just overwhelmed and somewhat easily distracted. I’m giving him weekly assignments along with encouragement to explore further. You can follow his efforts here.

I very much enjoy coaching artists, helping them build confidence, aim higher and get a wider reach. If you’re an artist struggling with self promotion, you are welcome to contact me.

Will Work For Free

Posted on by
2

Singer Johan Olsen from Magtens Korridorer.

Magtens Korridorer is a Danish band I've photographed for years. It's been fun following their path to success. The free beer was cool too!

I hope I never get too busy, jaded or lazy to do the occasional free job. Anyone can take a picture, but I like to think that I am better than average (or the last decade of my life has been for nothing). That’s why I normally charge for my services. But every so often, I will offer to work for free. It’s not a completely selfless act mind you, I get something out of it too.

The people I photograph for free are almost always artists of some sort. I grew up around painters, musicians, architects and what-have-you, and almost all of these talented people could have used a good picture or three for marketing themselves and their work, and for the same reasons they would need a photo, they also couldn’t afford to hire a professional to shoot a series for them.

There are thousands of struggling artists in the world, but naturally I can’t afford to give away my photos all the time.

I extend the offer to people I really like. The people behind the work are more important than the work itself. I am a storyteller, and those always have their root in people. It ties into combining Kindness and Hard Work as well. The people I help are genuinely grateful, and they tend to remember me later. In the past this has led to referrals, more work (some of it still for free), friendships and collaborations. And with each and every shoot comes inspiration and learning, and that’s the real pay-off.

A couple of people I have photographed have later gone on to have some success, which hasn’t made me rich (nor would I dream of taking credit for their success, which had everything to do with their own hard work) but it’s gotten me lots of really cool, fun experiences that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Giving away my work also gives me a sense of applying my talent where it matters. That’s a very direct and fulfilling thing. I’ve met naysayers who claim one of two things: it’s undermining “the industry”, and you’re killing yourself for nothing. To those I say, you don’t get it. I’m not doing this for business – not directly anyway. I’m doing it because it’s who I am, how I was raised and it’s what I love doing.

The Man of Steel

Posted on by
1

This is about the absolutely greatest influence on my life, as a person and an artist. Though we do completely different things, this guy taught me many of the fundamentals of what it means to live for your art. For good and bad. The man I’m talking about is my father.

Gert Rasmussen is his name, and these days he works mainly as a blacksmith, using his long time artist name Grasart. It’s a return to the roots for him. As a teenager, he was a blacksmith’s apprentice for a while, before being lured away by working with glass, painting, sculpting with clay and porcelain and working with precious stones and metals. You might say he has come full circle. You might say he has come home. Continue reading →