Many artists shy away from numbers and spreadsheets, but we both believe it’s vital to track key metrics in order to measure your progress. But don’t panic! This week we’re discussing the idea of success… what does it mean to be a successful artist and how do you know if you are achieving your goals?
A listener questions if she will ever have ‘success’ if she keeps switching direction so the discussion starts there and then we talk about what metrics might be right for YOU to track which are aligned with your own aims.
These metrics change at different stages of our career – in the early stages we can track the numbers that tell us if we are showing up consistently (things like hours spent painting and number of social media posts). Later on, we might be more interested in sales, expenses, web traffic, and social media engagement. But before you can decide what numbers to track, you really need to understand what success looks like for you – everything else flows from that key decision.
Are you more interested in selling your work or in living a fulfilling creative life (or both)? Once you know where you are heading, you can determine what to measure.
Mentioned:
Abigail Bowen Dark Days http://www.abigailbowen.com/
Hicks Gallery https://www.hicksgallery.co.uk/abigail-bowen-dark-days/
Jackson Pollock documentary Mural:
Yvonne Lyon https://yvonnelyonmusic.com/
Susan Hart https://www.susanhartart.com/
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Credits
“Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
HI Louise and Alice
This was interesting and a subject I would like to return to in a year’s time when i am happy with a body of work. As I am new to painting there is much to learn.
I feel like i have had a successful fourteen weeks by being true to myself and expressing myself. Painting classes were on a wish list for three years before I actually did something about it by following your amazing taster and ten weeks course Louise.
I am excited to explore new ideas, materials and techniques with composition and contrasts in mind.
Thank you Jane