Customer Reviews

187 Tips for Artists: How to Create a Successful Art Career--and Have Fun in the Process!

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Each page had one short tip. Most were so silly that anyone with half a brain would already know. Here are some examples so you can judge for yourself.
Tip 27 - Tell the world where you're heading!
tip 46 - Go the extra mile.
tip 51 - Be yourself from the start.
tip 85 - Listen more talk less.
tip 93 - Close your mouth.
tip 94 - Mind your manners
I could go on and on but hopefully by now you'll see that this book is a rip off if you're really serious about getting good advise.
Oh, just one more!
Tip 170 - Talk a walk.
I wish I had, rather than ordering this book!

Keep this book lying around when things aren't always going the way you want it to in your art career. This book is easy to read and the author is a professional artist. Each page has a different tip on it. There's not a lot of information on how to accomplish these tips (which is the only setback I found). But it cuts all the non-sense out that you find in most art business books and allows the reader to take their business to the next level one step at a time in order to build a successful career in the arts. The author offers online classes from her website for artists. I just finished her tele-class entitled, "Business Basics for Artist" which covers this book. Thanks to the book, the buisness class, and the authors support - I went from not having any art exhibits to having three shows scheduled for the month of October 2004. Included in those three shows will be my first solo exhibit and professional show as an artist plus my first exhibit outside my home state of Kentucky. Thanks to the support from the author, I became an award winning artist with one of my oil paintings and my work will be featured on greeting cards this holiday season. I graduated from college in May of 2004 and my art business is bombing. The most important thing I have learned from Kathy is to have fun with my art and I have been having a blast doing local television interviews, newspaper interviews, and I've appeared on two local talkshows. Kathy is very friendly and offers so many great resources on her website. She has inspired me to become an art coach as well as follow my career in art to its full extent. She fully explains things when I didn't understand something. I'm also a published author and Kathy teaches you to treat your art as a business but she teaches you to still allow time creating artwork. This book is one of the best on the market and I have read many. I recommend getting involved with the author - take a class or join her on Thursdays for "Ask Kathy Live" which is a free service she offer's to artist over the telephone where we come together from all across the world to discuss art for one hour (a free service Kathy offers, and believe me we have a blast). visit my website at www.teddywaynesmith.com for more information on how this book has helped my career.

This is one of those little books to leave lying around, open at a random page, rather than neatly shelved. That way you can pick it up when you need some inspiration - or a gentle nudge. Gulrich helps us see that developing and nurturing the business side of our art represent another form of creative expression. She doesn't try to drag us into the world of business plans and spreadsheets - there are other books for that. Instead, Gulrich gives "left-brain" ideas the simplicity and lightness to appeal to the "right brain." She provides us with practical, bite-sized tips and some new ideas to roll around in both sides of our brains. It's designed to appeal to our creative nature in a creative way - and it's based on the author's real experience as a working artist, a teacher/coach, a marketer/business person and someone who knows how to have fun. And speaking of design - it looks good, too.

Unlike other books, and I read a lot, this book doesn't put you through mindless reading about this, that, and the other in order to get to the point. Some pages may have you thinking "Well that's a no-brainer," but are you doing it? I found the no-brainers were the items I most needed to start doing, like introducing my self as an Artist. This book will remind you of things you need to do, get you thinking about things you may not have realized you needed to do, and you don't have to enjoy reading to get all the benefits of the book. Simple thought provoking sentences are a sure way to benefit any busy artist. I like how I can open a page any day, at any time and be inspired to do something important to benefit my career as an artist. I love the book, I think every artist, at any stage in there career can benefit from this book. I think the price is reasonable and would make a great gift for any artist as well as yourself.

If you are looking for insight on how to build your business, this is not the right book. It may be useful for young people or emerging artists. Many of the tips are related to life skills. The tips are presented simplisticly. They are not particularly helpful for artists already in the marketplace.

For me, short, sweet, and to the point is better. I got far more out of this book than the $12 I paid for it. No filler text, or blah-blah, just right to the point, like it says: Tips not tome. I have used just a few tips and seen a difference, especially with practical "admin" and customer relations stuff like art-barters, having an annotated resume, making a collage out of old torn-up artwork (the best!), giving an "artist's pack" to collectors, collaborative ideas, etc. Even the woo-woo stuff about staying focused and personal environment is not that bad. I need the reminders.

Such a relief to find a book with facts, ideas, and tips I could use right away. Within about an hour I already started doing things to help my art. I also like the writer's sense of humor. It's great.

5 stars please :-)

I gave this book, along with others, to an artist about to go public, and he hated it. I quote from his letter:

"... surely misbilled and is a rip-ff. There are 206 pages in the book, each page has one paragraph and in many cases only one sentence. Several pages in the middle of the book are completely blank. The tips are a bit of a joke -- let me give you some exmples: 'Live in the present. Don't waste time recreating the past, or imagining the future. The's only one moment you can truly experience, and that's the one you're in.'"

"The book isn't worth $11.95, it's not worth a dollar in my opinion."

This book is perfect for someone who doesn't want to get mired down in art speak. The advise is easy to follow and straightforward. It has helped me organize my thoughts and most importantly pushed me into action regarding my art career. Many thanks!

I received this book as gift and find myself returning to it again and again. It has helped me tremendously in keeping my marketing plan focused and in using my time much more efficiently. Perfect for the creative, but maybe not so organized type.