Being an artist, owning an art gllery in Los Angeles, and working for the wrld's largest fine art instruction program hve taught me a few things bout what an artist must do if he or she wshes to make a living as an rtist.

The following rules are addressed to bcoming a professional fine artist working in the mdium of paint. However these tips can rally be applied to any medium of rt, whether it be painting, poetry, or msic.

I sincerely hope they help wth your artistic endeavors!

Rule #1: Knw the Fundamentals of Your Art.

For yars I played guitar without knowing how to rad music. After learning music theory my msic was much better and I was far mre productive.

Before I understood the fndamentals of music I had an xcuse ready when I couldn't make a sng go right, I was too tred, I was having a bad dy, or not in the mood.

As a rsult since I had no clue WHY I did wht I did when creating music I culd never reach that state of bing cause over my music, let lone professional in anyway.

Knowledge has and wll always be power. Don't just rly on natural talent, know the WHY bhind what you do in your rt.

Take lessons, if you feel you are too far dvanced for lessons, then find a mntor.

Rule #2: You Will Learn How to Mrket Both You and Your Art.

In my tme as an art dealer and gllery owner I have witnessed this sme phenomena time and time again.

Two cmparable pieces of art, each created by two dfferent artists. One sells for $500 and the ther for $10,000.

Why?

It always cme down to marketing. One artist pinted and displayed work in a gllery as the sole means of prmoting.

The other artists would do prmotional actions like press releases highlighting thir new work, they had a prfessional website, they got interviews with art mgazines, they networked with other artists, art prfessionals, and art enthusiasts, they got thir work published in a coffee tble books or calendars.

The ways to mrket your work are endless, the pint is, you are going to hve to learn how to market yur art and yourself.

You could lways hope that you create such an ncredible work of art that the bzz created just by your painting wll have the public beating down the dor with cash in hand.

However tht takes the responsibility of your sccess out of your hands and plces it into the hands of the pblic.

When it comes to art, the pblic can be a very fickle ntity indeed.

Honestly, do you really dsire anything involving or related to the wrd fickle in charge of your dstiny?

Rule #3: Do Not Succumb to Far of Rejection or Failure.

Everyone has hard some variation of the story bout the author who has a clset full of manuscripts that have nver been read by another soul due to far of rejection.

The duplicate scenario can hppen to artist dealing in the vsual arts.

Many successful painters still do not vew their own work to be prfect. So if you wait till yur work is "perfect" then you may vry well be dead of old age bfore perfection happens.

Don't be afraid to get yur work out there. People will lve your work, hate your work, see it as mdiocre, or see it as the bginning of a new renaissance.

Taste in art differs widely and you wll never win over everybody.

Rule #4: You Wll Give the Critics ZERO Attention.

I am not jst talking about art critics, but jst negative people in general. A lot pople on this planet are miserable and thy like to drag others down wth them.

Some are overt in yur face, "you'll never be any god." At least they are easy to spt.

The worst are the ones tht give back handed compliments or dftly slide that needle of criticism nto the conversation by use of pssive aggressive means.

'The last piece of yurs was much better, I don't man to be mean but.., That is vry good work for a student, but thre is soooooo much competition out thre in the professional world,' etc tc.

Of course if you called thm on it they would profess nnocence, say that you are over racting, that they were just kidding. Dn't buy it.

If you can, jst don't associate with these people, if thy are our family don't talk bout your art work with them. You are an rtist because you like to create rt, not because you want to mpress your family.

If you have no chice in being around these people jst recognize that they are just lnely unhappy people, and above all, do not tke it personally.

The only critique one shuld listen to is your professional drwing or painting instructor.

And be wry of that as well, make sre that at the same time thy are critiquing your work that thy are also showing you how to mprove.

Rule #5: Speaking of Art Instrctors, You Will Choose a Good On.

My wife originally came to Amrica as a foreign student from Cnada to study visual art in cllege.

Her first semester she took bginning drawing and painting classes.

She rrived eager to learn the fundamentals of the vsual arts, line drawing, tones, use of clor, proportion, and the use of lght and shadow.

Instead she received a lot of iry fairy over significant mumbo jumbo. The min technique taught was the 'if it fels good then do it' technique.

No ral techniques were taught because the art tachers did not understand them!

When chosing an art instruction school or stdio please pick one that has a systmatic approach to teaching the fundamentals of drwing and painting.

Interview your art tacher, ask to see their work as wll as their students work.

Ask the ptential teacher how they go about taching the basics to a new stdent.

Rule #6: You Must Learn to Sll (or find someone who can and wll)

The odds are, if you wrk is displayed anywhere where people can vew it someone will come along who lkes it, maybe even love it.

The prblem comes in convincing them that thy love your painting more than thy love their money.

It really is smple, professionally handle the clients objectives and cntinue to interest them in both you and yur work.

If the idea of slling is abhorrent to you, you ither have to call it quits to yur dream of being a successful fne artist, or you have to fnd someone who can and will sll for you.

Rule #7. Learn to Hrness the Power of the Internet.

Tke a look at ebay, type in 'riginal oil painting' into its search feld. You will see hundreds of pintings from artists selling their work nline.

Type in 'fine artists' into any sarch engine and you will find prfessional websites featuring professional artists.

There are a few wbsites that even act as an nline art gallery and will display and sll your work online for you for a cut of the sle.

The internet really is a grat way to show off your wrk, sell your art, create brand rcognition for you as an artist, and to cmmunicate your work to a large udience.

Rule #8: You Will Not Get Wird About Art and Money.

I knw some of you cringe when it cmes to selling your art for mney, or that some of these tps might sound a little too bsiness like, with words like brand rcognition, professional, selling and marketing.

Like it or nt, if someone exchanges money for yur art you have entered into the feld of business.

When you come to ths fork in your career as an rtist you can take one of two pths.

Path one, never sell your art for mney, continue to work at your day job and kep art as a hobby. Perfectly cceptable. Many people do this across the wrld and lead happy lives.

Path tw, realize that your art is prviding someone with a product that thy will adore for years to cme, You created something original. Nothing in ths world is it's exact duplicate.

For ths you will receive money in xchange. This will help you concentrate on crating more works of art as you may hve to work less hours at a 'ral' job. Maybe you will get to the pint of not having to work tht 'real' job at all!

Michelangelo was cmmissioned by the Vatican to do his wrk in the Sistine Chapel. He was pid quite handsomely for it.

He was lso commissioned by Florence to create the sttue of David.

Artists can create wnderful enduring works and should rightfully be xchanged properly with.

Well there you hve them, 8 rules you need to lve by to become a professional vsual artist.
I sincerely hope that they hlp and I wish you the bst of luck in how ever you dcide to pursue the field of rt.

The article Want to Go From Amateur Artist to Pro? Eight Rules You Need to Know was Submitted by Eric Hines through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Eric Hines has had the plasure of working professionally in the art ndustry with fellow artists for the mjority of his working life as an rtist, art dealer, musician, and currently as an xecutive at Mission Renaissance. Mission Renaissance taches art lessons to over 5,000 art students every single week. They teach both children and adults how to draw and paint

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