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How to Deal With Change and Improve Your Art Career Success

By Renee Phillips Leave a Comment

If you have fears around the notion of having to change you’re not alone. In an article in Psychology Today writer by Gustavo Razzetti reminds us, “We fear change because we can’t anticipate the outcome.” As a career coach I’ve learned that having to change may be one of the most difficult challenges an artist can face and I’ve developed many ways to help them.

In this article I share how to deal with change and improve your art career success and achieve rewards.

Albert Einstein. Photo by Taton Moïse on Unsplash
Albert Einstein. Photo by Taton Moïse on Unsplash

Different Types and Degrees of Change

“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” ~ Albert Einstein

We can agree there are different types of change that range from making slight alterations to major transformations. For example, there is a big difference between making minor changes to a work of art and totally changing your style or begin your life as a full-time artist.

Change is different for everyone. It may be easy for you to change in one area — such as embracing new art materials or changing your art techniques — while you may find it extremely difficult to keep abreast of changes in technology or social media. While you may be very comfortable with moving to another country and making new friends there, you may abhor the idea of having to give up your separate art studio across town and downsizing to working in a small room in your house.

Knowing what changes you resist and why will help you navigate much easier and help you go with the flow. It may be tempting to keep things just as they are, even if they are not satisfying but if you cease to grow and evolve in several areas of your professional life for too long you will suffer the consequences.

As an art career coach, I’ve have learned that when an artist steps outside their comfort zone and ventures into new territory, this new experience can bring up past wounds, fears and the urge to shut down and give up.

How I Helped Artists Adapt to Change

L'Arlésienne: Madame Joseph-Michel Ginoux (Marie Julien, 1848–1911) by Vincent van Gogh, oil on canvas, 36" x 29". Bequest of Sam A. Lewisohn, 1951. Public Domain.
L’Arlésienne: Madame Joseph-Michel Ginoux (Marie Julien, 1848–1911) by Vincent van Gogh, oil on canvas, 36″ x 29″. Collection of the Metropolitan Museum. Bequest of Sam A. Lewisohn, 1951. Public Domain.

Changing Your Mindset About A Skill May Build Confidence

Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is sh*t.” He knew the importance of being committed to writing every day.

When I began coaching Anne to help her prepare her for her solo exhibition, one of the exercises we chose was for her to write her artist’s statement since the gallery director required it. Rather than feeling excited about the desire to express herself, she felt completely stymied. She told me as she began to write words and phrases to describe her artwork she was okay. But, as soon as she started to construct sentences and paragraphs memories of flagrant criticism made her feel increasingly uncomfortable. She was reminded of teachers who reprimanded her for lack of writing skills.

I reassured Anne her this was not a pass or fail experience, but a step-by-step process that was attainable. She began recording her thoughts on a daily basis. As she took her time with the assignment and used fun techniques such as the Mind Map exercise, she eventually began to enjoy herself and her artist’s statement emerged as something she was very proud of. She now writes artist’s statements for every series with very little effort and no agony.

Changing Your Actions May Help You Overcome Your Fear of Rejection

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”  ~ Lao Tzu

Photo credit: Priscilla du Preez on Unsplash
Building relationships is an important activity for art career success and for adapting to change. Photo credit: Priscilla du Preez on Unsplash

When Mark came to me to help him attract more sales and galleries he knew he had to build relationships if he wanted to achieve his career and financial goals. In the past, he had waited for people to approach him, but he was running out of business connections, as his current ones were retiring, relocating or dying. We decided his best first course of action should be to reach out to new connections  in his city as well as on  social media. I helped him visualize the beneficial results that would occur and he was eager to begin taking the action steps I gave him. We began with creating a People Power List.

Then, a couple of days before our next scheduled appointment he sent me an email saying he stopped doing his homework assignment. He explained that when his first attempts were not reciprocated as fast as he had hoped for, the feelings of rejection surfaced and he couldn’t continue.  To his surprise, I encouraged him to reach out to 4 times as many people, knowing his results would eventually improve.

They did. In a short period of time he managed to schedule  appointments with 10 art consultants and gallery owners. I also showed him how to triple his connections on Linkedin by taking two simple steps.

He also joined a local business professional organization. He learned from other professionals that rejection happens to all business owners and eventually developed skills for dealing with it.

Art career goals. Photo credit: Brian Mann from Unsplash
Photo credit: Brian Mann from Unsplash

Changing Your Behavior May Take You to the Next Level

“Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.”  ~  Maya Angelou

Sometimes having to make a change may be as simple as learning to say a simple word “no”. When Susan came to me for coaching sessions her desire was to take her art career to the next level. It required that she not accept her current gallery’s invitation to remain with them for another year. The gallery hadn’t sold any of her work in 18 months. She knew why. She had outgrown the gallery. It was time to move on. We discussed how she could alter her relationship with the gallery in an amicable way but remove her artwork so she could make it available to potential galleries that had a better suited clientele.

It turned out the gallery owner totally understood. They reached a favorable agreement so Susan could sell her smaller, more affordable works in the gallery. To Susan’s delight, the gallery owner recommended Susan to a private dealer with a more affluent customer base.

Final Thoughts

Don’t be afraid to change if a plan, behavior, attitude or strategy isn’t working. Tap into your innate strength and wisdom to alter or replace it.

Have faith that there are many different alternatives and solutions to changing situations and attaining your art career goals.

Consider change to be a positive experience through which you can grow and become more empowered.


 

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Articles Tagged With: ability to change, art career goals, art career success, deal with change

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About Renee Phillips

Renée Phillips is a mentor and advocate for artists helping them achieve their fullest potential. She provides career advice, writing services, and promotion for artists from beginners to advanced. She organizes online exhibitions as Director/Curator of Manhattan Arts International www.ManhattanArts.com and Founder of The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS www.healing-power-of-art.org. As an arts' advocate she has served on the advisory boards of several non-profit arts organizations. She lives in New York, NY.

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Welcome!

My purpose is to help artists achieve their fullest potential. On this website I share decades of knowledge and experience as an art writer and artist career coach.

I am also the Director of Manhattan Arts International and The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS where I maintain online galleries and curate exhibitions.

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As the Founder, Director and Curator of Manhattan Arts International I maintain online galleries and curate exhibitions.

Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS Gallery

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I am the Founder, Director and Curator of The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS.

The website features an online gallery, exhibitions, and hundreds of articles and art reviews.

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