The Thriving Artist

How do we live in a robust culture? How do we produce a robust culture at a time when we are fracturing, polarized, and creative enterprise is an afterthought? Let's remind ourselves of where we are. If you look around, you see political fragility, economic uncertainty, and general unhappiness. That's depressing. That's the point. As a people, we ARE depressed. You don't look back at 2021, let alone what's going on now, and go, "it's a happy time." We're not happy and we have to face it. We've got essentially a global war, and a recession only partly driven by that war. We've got a big economic bubble. We have a politically fractured culture at a global level. Totalitarianism, never the friend of a creative culture, is coming back in vogue. We're at each other's throats. We're not happy.  The beast is slouching toward Jerusalem. The earth is heating up. We're settling into (if we're lucky) a mere detente as two nations living in one national entity. Arguably, we began going in that direction in 1945 when we settled into the Cold War and that generated the Korean war, the Vietnam war, El Salvador... and we decided to live in a state of permanent animosity, driven by munitions manufacturers, the intelligence apparatus, and munitions and chemical industries that profit from it. There was a huge amount of money to be made. Those chemical makers clean your baby and make for a sparkling kitchen and they also do deforestation in Laos. All of that to say that we're now in an understandable state of fragility when it comes to the role of creativity in our lives. We have a tenuous relationship with art. We do not even now dream so much anymore. Our dreams are smaller. We don't dream of a world that flourishes and we haven't been given a mechanism to build better dreams. The material on CHF's site is basically an insistence that there is another path—that we're working to solve that problem in a robust way. How do we get a robust and flourishing culture in the first place? That's the entrance to the conversation we are creating. As a culture, we tend to put creatives in a box. And even the goal of showcasing artists as essential workers and ensuring they're well-paid is not yet dreaming big enough. I think even those dreams are too small. I don't want to be a useful cog in someone's wheelhouse. I don't want to work for somebody because I have the skills. I want to work for somebody because without creative enterprise, we don't 'make it' as a culture. We must move away from the merely theoretical lament toward a vision of doing something practical and economically powerful. Without that, We don't build a robust creative culture. We must build a road for artists to thrive, and creativity to flourish, and it has to be done at the economic and investment level. Anything less creates the same problem we had all through the cold war, which is the starving artist syndrome. Only the 1% of artists can be famous and only those who know the right people and happen to gain the approval of the taste-makers can make any money. Everybody else is dirt poor and living on their cousins' sofas. What we're doing at CHF isn't sexy in a theoretical way, but it's actionable and practical. We're asking people to dig deep into the thought process of how we get a culture that we want to live in. And we are starting from the premise that you don't get a robust creative culture without a thriving creative economy.  I don't think we've widely connected the dots between these big questions—first, daring to ask them and then to dream of the ubiquitous, middle-class artist. How do you actually do it? What is the day-to-day? How do you actually implement it? And that's where we actually do have an answer.   It starts at the mindset and knowledge level. We foster a conversation around art as a business, and we empower art-entrepreneurs with the business training all other industries require to flourish. We connect creative...

“We're going to need more art—all of it—to solve the world's challenging problems. Creative intelligence is what it takes to inject life into the culture, to drive effective leadership, to drive new ideas. We don't have to choose. We can have one foot in the world of visceral taste and touch and another foot in the digital world without having to split ourselves in half.” ​​​​This is a bite-sized The Thriving Artist™podcast episode with Daniel DiGriz's perspective on art news and cultural change. As you may know from previous episodes, Daniel peruses the art news of The New York Times. This time, a couple of headlines really stood out! The first one is 50 years of Taking Photography Seriously. The synopsis: When the Photographer's Gallery opened in London in 1971, few saw the medium as suitable for exhibitions. Today everyone does. The second article is Hands Off the Library's Picture Collection! The synopsis: Cornell Spiegelman and Warhol browse the famous collection of images in the New York Public Library. Now a century of serendipitous discovery will come to an end if the collection is closed off to the public. This episode is courtesy of Shirley Lemmon. Support this podcast

James D. Balestrieri is the Clark Hulings Fund’s Writer-in-Residence. He is currently working on a new book on Hulings, Clark Hulings: Quantum Realist. Jim is the proprietor of Balestrieri Fine Arts, a consulting firm that specializes in catalogue research and arts writing, estate and collections management, and marketing and communications for museums and auctions. Jim has a BA from Columbia University, an MA in English from Marquette University, an MFA in Playwriting from Carnegie-Mellon, and was a Screenwriting Fellow at the American Film Institute. He served as Director of J.N. Bartfield Galleries in New York for 20 years and has published over 150 feature essays and reviews in a wide variety of national arts publications. In this episode, Jim gives us an in-depth look at the themes of the upcoming Hulings book, and discusses how Clark Hulings’ career strategy applies to working artists today. Inspired by Hulings’ successes both within—and outside of—art tastemakers’ approval, Jim and Daniel question who gets to decide which artists matter, and how the canon does and does not serve the best interest of the arts, or artists. Hulings’ accomplishments, both as an artist and a small business owner, call to his deeper understanding of the dignity of work—from running a market stall to the act of making a living as a painter—as a way of belonging to the world. A Painter of Work“Clark Hulings was an American artist. A realist—in a way. He began his career as a very successful illustrator in the golden age of illustration.” “The thing that sets him apart is the subject that he found, chose, and made his life’s work. His life’s work is depicting work. Working people in working situations—whether they’re farmers, laborers, whether it’s an urban setting, a village setting, or a rural setting. What he captured was working people at work, doing what they do. And that sets him apart from almost any other American realist of that time.” “Lots of people associate Clark with Western Art. [...] But really, the number of paintings he did that could be considered Western or Southwestern is miniscule compared to the numbers of paintings he did in Mexico and Europe. So there’s a whole idea that Elizabeth [Hulings] and I have talked about, which is repositioning Clark Hulings as an American Artist, and indeed, an international artist.” “[Hulings] doesn’t really give you a story. They’re not narrative paintings. He moves his easel painting as far from illustration as you can imagine. You see these people working and you wonder what they’re thinking, and what they’re like, and what their inner lives are. But he gives them their privacy.” Travel Beyond Tourism“For Hulings, travel—and if you look at his paintings, you can see it—travel was a way for him to find places. I would use the word 'traditional places,' where the traditions of work and of life were on a long continuum. He seems to be very interested, not only in showing, ‘oh yeah, those women are washing clothes in a street today,’ but in showing that the place around them was a place that had been inhabited for a long time, so that what they were doing was on a long continuum of existence. A kind of deep time. And for those, you’ve got to travel.” “There's a whole tradition of travel painting where there are paintings of the famous places: paintings of Notre Dame, paintings of the Ponte Vecchio, paintings of this [or that]...That's not Clark Hulings is about. The first painting that really attracted me to his work is this https://www.clarkhulings.com/2021/body-and-soul-street-in-naples/ (small painting he did of Naples). And it's this narrow street. Narrow. You couldn't even get a car, one car down there, much less two. And there are deep shadows and the laundry is hanging across it. This is not the Amalfi Coast, this is not some famous resort.” “It's travel of a particular kind that really attracts him. In order to find the kinds of places that Clark Hulings wanted to find, you... Support this podcast

“I try to put everything, all of me, into the art.” Melissa Whitaker’s work—even for collaborations with corporate clients—is always her own. The post Stock Art Can Go to Hell: Corporate Art Without Compromise—Melissa Whitaker appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“There is no one who can replace you in knowing what you want and telling your story.” Carolyn Edlund on success in tough times, and how the CHF Conference can help. Part II/II The post Virtualize Your Art Career: Part 2—Carolyn Edlund appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

Sales Strategy expert Carolyn Edlund discusses how artists can succeed during uncertain times and invites you to The Virtualize Your Art Career™ Conference Oct 19-30. Part I/II. The post Virtualize Your Art Career: Part 1—Carolyn Edlund appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

The Virtual Edition of The Santa Fe Indian Market offers an atmosphere of delight and awe at a time when most of us are cooped up in our own worlds of social distance. The post Selling Art in The New Normal: Marketplace, Native Communities, and Virtual Reality appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“It takes years of putting lots of lines in the water.” Pop artist Ashley Longshore discusses guts, strategy, and other lessons learned as a leading artist-entrepreneur. The post Build Your Own Future With Or Without The Establishment appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

It’s a timely moment to hear from Cornelia Carey and Carrie Cleveland from CERF+, a leading nonprofit focused on safeguarding artists’ livelihoods nationwide. The post Lockdown: Artists Double Down on Building Robust Businesses and Self-Help Networks appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“It was a total mind-shift this year. There is a market for what I want to do, and I am selling. There are buyers for the subject matter that I want to paint.” The post These Artists Graduated Training But are Entrepreneurs for Life appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

CHF data analysts Lily Dulberg and Daniel DiGriz prove in the Report on the Working Artist that the secret ingredient for artists’ success is entrepreneurial training. The post Data Science in the Arts: Report on the Working Artist—Lily Dulberg appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“Certainly the jobs that are going to go last are going to be the ones that require people to creative problem-solve and come up with unique new ideas.” The post Infiltrate the Business World in the Name of Art—Noah Scalin appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“The arts are not just an amenity, they’re a critical function of society and a part of the fabric of social, cultural, and also economic life and livelihood for our country.” The post Artists Are Solving Atomic-Level Problems—Cyndi Conn appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“With the advent of Modernism, there was this idea that training would ruin your creativity.” The post Classical Skills for Modern Art Careers: The Case for Training and Tradition—Mandy Theis appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“The challenge was to make [the goal] so scary and big that you can never accomplish it, and I'm making small steps towards that.” The post Fearlessly Take On The Big Daddy Ugly Goal—Willy Bo Richardson appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“I think people who know what their values are...know what their values are! So yes, they're trading, yes they're ‘sacrificing,’ but what they don't trade off is what they value.” The post If You Build It, They Will Ignore It. Unless…—Mary McBride appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“When you decide what you want to do, you become more intentional about what you choose to do.” The post Tighten Your Sales Strategy, Then Refuse to Compromise—Donna Lee Nyzio appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"If you don’t file a copyright application in a timely fashion you pay a very, very significant price. […] Artists really need to copyright their works I would say, immediately." The post Lock Down Your Rights to Your Own Art—Emily Danchuk, Esq. appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“If you always give more than you ask, then networking is effective.” The post Make the Gig Economy Work for You—Angela Heath appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“There are so many platforms now for an artist living in obscure or out-of-the way places to get their work out and be seen.” The post Get to Emerging Artist Status and Beyond—Bonnie Clearwater appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

Kristin makes work at the intersection of art and science that connects us to the “extraordinary, strange beauty of the natural world.” The post Leverage Your Non-Art Expertise for a Career Blueprint—Kristin LeVier appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“Make sure you’re always retaining the rights to the work. If someone is asking you to sign the rights, there’s a problem. Because we are asking permission to use it; not to own it.” The post Get Your Art Into Hotels and Corporate Spaces—Rachel Berg appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“I consider myself a business owner, and my business is art. So I know that I’m running a business, and every artist that I know that’s making money is doing it the same way.” The post Identify Pivotal Opportunities for Business Growth – Nadia Fairlamb appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"The tipping point in my business was being able to educate people about why what I'm doing is different." The post Generate Powerful Publicity: A Sistine Chapel Mindset – Todd Scalise appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"Your art practice will change; it’s absolutely necessary to plan for it. I don’t want to hustle to find rent money when I’m 80!" The post Leverage Your Creative Skills to Improve Your Finances – Christina Empedocles appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"The thing that trips students up the most is embracing that a commercial approach to art is OK." The post Build a Brand That Gets a Response – Jenny Darroch appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“Creatives can, and should, own the companies that creatives work at---creative people are uniquely suited to understand opportunities and problems and therefore develop solutions for market opportunities.” The post How Creative Entrepreneurs Build Investment Capital – Alice Loy appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“Having one-on-one face time with an artist is what the viewer wants, it’s a good way to sell art and look at art.” The post Do Art Fairs Pay Off? – Ray Beldner appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"It doesn’t matter what your art is, if your intention is to earn a living from it and thrive in your art, that proposal will help you figure out how you’re going to get there.” The post How to Grow Your Customer Base and Increase Sales – Steve Pruneau appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

It’s been an evolution to be a professional artist, and it’s taken me a long time to get here....I’m coming around to really seeing this as not only what I do, but my lifestyle and my income.” The post Engage New Sales Avenues to Increase Art Income – Aaron Laux appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"The best way to learn business is to start doing it." The post Identify Product-Market Fit for Entrepreneurial Success – Arree Chung appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"Successful people say 'Yeah, I failed, but I did learn, and this is how I’ll apply it to the next thing I do.'" The post The Learned Skills of Successful Entrepreneurs – John Furth appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"One has to focus on strategy instead of tactic: tactic is the thing you’re going to do, strategy is the plan of how you’ll get respect, get well-known and get people to buy your work." The post What Independent Publishing Can Teach Visual Artists – Eric Rhoads appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"There is a shame around making money off of swag or reproductions or something else that isn’t art---but that is making money off of art." The post Why Are You Working for Free? Examining Arts Labor – Alexis Clements appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“Art is a cool business---it's the only one I know where the customer often buys dinner.” The post How to Collaborate with Museums – Seth Hopkins appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

They’re not separate at all---the market and museum---there are galleries now where there’s very little work in the exhibition that’s for sale. They’re publishing books and ‘competing’ with museums. The lines are becoming blurrier and some of that is positive." The post Best Practices to Engage With Curators – Dr. Catherine Futter appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"I don’t mind letting people see the process and where I go wrong, that’s part of the creative process and what people are interested in." The post How to Meet Stakeholder Demands – Holly Van Hart appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"I see a lack of confidence standing in people's way, they don't trust what they're thinking, they don't trust what they're painting, and as soon as they get a little confident I see a huge change." The post Find the Best Representation for Your Art – Stephanie Birdsall appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"Every day something new happens in the world and art is really primed to look at those global changes and shifts." The post Translate Social Media to Sales – Gregg Chadwick appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"An artist recently said this to me about success: ‘You really just keep doing what you feel you need to be doing and if you do it long enough people believe it too’." The post On Selling Tools of the (Art) Trade – Ron Whitmore appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

"When you’re younger, it’s fun to get that pat on the back, but you learn quickly that a pat on the back doesn’t pay the mortgage." The post Control How Your Art Business is Perceived – Maria Brophy appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“I’m no Salvador Dalí, but I have built enough of a market that now I can start to work on leaving a legacy.” The post Create Your Own Success – Dean Mitchell appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“Average people were very afraid to walk into galleries. Affordability became the key. You didn’t feel the intimidation.” The post How to Find Your Audience – Mary Ann Weems appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“Sometimes they [artists] think earning money, charging for their work, is not something they want to do. They feel embarrassed to do so. It's an attitude, I have no idea where it begins, but a lot of artists just look at the word ‘money’ and see a four letter word.” The post Beyond Arts Education: Why Artists Need Business Training – Betsy Ehrenberg appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“As an artist, you need to be as prolific as you can because you will need a body of work to solidify your situation.” The post Manage a Successful Art Career – Dan Anthony appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“Documentation is a very important part of the object and the care of collections.” The post Art Collections Management: Caring for Your Collection – Maura Kehoe Collins appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“Young people need to have that experience and the effects can be dramatic over a lifetime. Experiencing an artwork in person is so much different than seeing it on a phone." The post Student Curated Art Collections: A New Way to Experience Art – James Kitchen appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“I think living artists should be very optimistic that there's still a healthy appetite for art... It's just occurring in different ways.” The post Recognizing the Legacies of Overlooked Artists – Peter Trippi appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“Many of the things that people approach in business - when they're talking about a business plan or return on investment - they're really talking about similar things to what happens in art.” The post Between Creativity and Commerce: Art Thinking – Amy Whitaker appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

Artists need to ask themselves, “What do I need to support myself and my family and my art business in the way that I'm accustomed to or want to and what it's going to take for me to get that?” The post Balancing Art, Life, and Business – Aletta de Wal appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.

“Business has a hard time understanding the arts, so… I'm advocating for the professionalizing, that within the organization, the artist is seen just as professional as the accountant, just as professional as the director and the other typical roles…” The post Economics of the Art Market – Neil Ramsay appeared first on Clark Hulings Fund.