| Selling Your Art by Douglas Ready |
Some time ago I found myself at one of those overcrowded get-togethers sometimes referred to as a
Party.
I'm not much of a Party Person. Swarms of barely known semi-inebriated irritants don't mix well with a
personality my loving wife has occasionally described as "direct to the point of bluntness".
Fortunately--or unfortunately depending on one's point of view--my wife possesses the charm and
beauty to compensate somewhat for my lack of face-to-face affability and we inevitably find ourselves
celebratory mired.
Anyway...
There I stood, neatly tucked into what I'd perceived as a secluded corner. I was wrong. A lumbering,
wine-swilling reprobate slithered his way through the crowd before I noticed him and planted his
expensively clad bulk in front of me, effectively thwarting any hope of escape.
"Martin"--our host--"informs me you're an Artist," the man said.
"Yes, I am."
"You need to talk with my nephew. He's seven. He draws on everything."
"What kind of work do you do?" I asked.
"I'm a Branch Manager for Bank of California."
"You should talk to my neighbor's kid," I said. "Yesterday, I saw him counting change."
My accoster slunk back into the multitude, leaving me again alone with half a bottle of Henry
Rheinhard's and the reminded notion that Art is often not viewed as a professional pursuit by those who
aren't the pursuers.
After some twenty-plus years of making a living by producing imagery, I've become rabid at the casual
dismissal of the studied proficiency required to produce competitive work, whether that work be Fine or
Commercial, and am dismayed at the willingness of so many of us to wink at that suggestion, essentially
dismissing professional effort as some kind of cheap trick. Perception, sadly, will generally be embraced
as fact, even if that perception is flawed. Since much of the world chooses to acknowledge our chosen
profession as little more than a recreational pastime, it is imperative that our product and our
presentation of that product reflects a commitment to the concept of true artistry.
It has been said that a truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn. And seldom will a unicorn
allow himself to be confused with a burro.
Douglas Ready
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