Weekly art practice 25. Neary half a year!
Author’s Note: Every Saturday, I share my art practice over the past 7 days. I’m fascinated by artistic practice – it’s not just about creating art but the entire process. From influences and ideas to materials and skills, each artist’s unique approach shapes their work, making it more than just a finished piece. Just imagine having a weekly update from your favourite living artist. How cool would that be? (I’m not saying I’m your favourite living artist, but if Jean Dubuffet had a weekly blog, I’d read it! Or if Shaina McCoy had a Substack, I’d pay to read it.)
If this piece is too long for email, you can read it here in Substack. Or download the app.
MasterClass with Jeff Koons continued…
I finished Jeff’s Masterclass, it was definately inspiring, but I left the course none the wiser. I’d say it’s great for inspiration but in terms of practical art world business advice, it’s not great. I’m moving onto Entrepreneur Mark Cuban’s business course…
The seductive return to TikTok
inspired me to set up a TikTok account from his post:
I thought I’d just share the same type of posts I share on my Instagram to make the process more simple. One crazy thing I’ve noticed early on is that my videos have got more views with 0 subscribers than my Instagram which has 5000+. What is that all about? My cynical side things that TikTok give you a load of fake likes and video views to keep you engaged with the app. What has your experience been?
You’re welcome to follow me if you use the platform: tiktok.com/@slart.me
The Simplification of My Artist Statement
I sometimes get caught up in ‘art speak’. Over-complicated, verbose, often pretentious words to explain an artist’s work and their practice. This week I took it back to basics, I asked myself “What do I paint?” “Why do I create art?”
It’s not finished yet but I came up with this as a starter…
I draw and paint characters and cultural icons to express my inner world, memories and insights.
I’ll have a longer version too, but I feel like I need an ‘elevator pitch’ (as much as that makes me cringe) but now, when someone asks me what kind of art I create, I struggle to articulate it.
I will dig deeper into this.
Let’s jump onto Chat GPT quickly…
So, I asked:
It replied:
“I draw and paint characters and cultural icons to express my inner world, memories, and insights.
Through my ‘Memento Mori’ collection, I delve into themes of mortality and life’s ephemeral nature with pieces like ‘Time: The Great Equalizer’ and ‘This Too Shall Pass.’ My ‘Fighting with My Heroes’ series captures iconic figures such as Picasso and Hulk Hogan, reflecting personal battles and cultural commentary. The ‘Fistula’ collection, inspired by my journey with chronic kidney failure, combines vibrant colors and bold statements to explore themes of resilience and identity.
My work is a fusion of pop culture and personal history, rendered in a figurative expressionist style that invites viewers to explore the depths of human experience.”
It’s not bad, but I would like it simplified. I’ll have more of a play and let you know next week.
One thing I will give you to take away is that GPT isn’t great at creating content the first time around, the magic happens when you use it as a refinement tool. The more you put in the more you get out of it.
Thriving Artist Business School and also Magnus Resch
I’m tired of seeing ads for art business training courses. I know I need to learn this stuff, but I feel let down by spending money on other courses that tell you to post on Facebook groups and sell through conversations on there, I tried it for a little bit, and I probably should have stuck with it, but I didn’t enjoy one moment of implementation.
As I mentioned in my last post, Magnus Resch the “art world economist” really drew my attention, so I bought his book:
I’m currently reading the part about writing press releases. I’ll let you know what I discover in next week’s weekly art practice.
One thing I notice about my interiority is that I get bored easily, or if I don’t feel like doing something I won’t. Pretty normal these days right? I am very focused when I have a goal, I’ve set up my art exhibitions, I’ve run mental health conferences in the past and I’ve recorded about 70 interviews with different people. As I said above, writing these press releases, is a useful thing to do, but I keep procrastinating on finishing my new website, so that’s my priority for the next week.
I’m announcing it here, it’ll be ready to go this time next week.
Another art business course I found…
Thriving Art Business School with Amanda Heath
As soon as she said ‘marketing funnel’ I felt physically sick. But she knows what she’s talking about. These are tasks that I know how to implement, but I haven’t. Because I haven’t believed in myself. I’m checking out her free webinar right now, and I will see how much it costs, I feel cautious about paying for yet another course. Do you get what I mean?
I’ve been on many of these webinars and I know there’s going to be a sales pitch at the end. Nothing wrong with that, but I promise you this when I ‘make it’ I will design my own comprehensive course on creating a successful art business, people can pay nothing or pay by donation. I know there’s the belief that people value courses that they pay for, but what about the people who really can’t afford them?
Jerry Gogosian and The Art Smack Podcast
I’ve been drawn to the work of Jerry, only very recently. I can’t remember exactly where I stumbled across her, but it was through her Instagram account. Jerry Gogosian comes from a play on words from Art Critic Jerry Saltz and Art World God, Larry Gagosian.
Her memes that make jest of the Art World drew my attention and I later listened to her podcast, Artsmack every day this week. If I sum up what I’ve learned in a few words from here, it would be this:
“Build your own art world”.
She has done just that, in such an incredible way! Bravo!
Check out her podcast.
Witness the fitness
I’m continuing to make simple lifestyle changes, I refuse to call it dieting! The gym sessions are helping my energy levels A LOT! The early mornings are getting easier too. That’s all I will say for now.
Thank you for joining me in my art practice for this week.
Best wishes,
