Advice To Artists From Bren Sibilsky and Hamish Blakely

Prior to becoming the founder of Manhattan Arts International magazine and director and curator for Manhattan Arts International and The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS online galleries, I was a full-time self-supporting artist. But I didn’t do this alone. I continuously exchanged information with fellow artists. That’s why I am delighted to present this “Advice To Artists From Artists” post. Bren Sibilsky and Hamish Blakely, two award-winning Manhattan Arts International Artists, have answered some questions to help other artists succeed. They both have more than two decades of professional experience and many accomplishments. I’m sure you’ll find their answers very helpful.

Bren Sibilsky – “Be Your Biggest Cheerleader”

Bren Sibilsky, brensculpture.com, is a full-time sculptor, painter, and teacher/founder of Algoma Atelier of Sculpture and Art, in Wisconsin. She has exhibited in several Manhattan Arts International exhibitions and won top awards. She has been a Manhattan Arts International Featured Artist since its inception. She has won two First Place Awards in our curated competitions. Bren has won awards in exhibitions sponsored by Manhattan Arts International and The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS online galleries.

Bren Sibilsky, has a busy and rewarding career filled with many commissions, awards and juried exhibitions. When I conducted this interview she was “Making a mold of a life-size portrait of a horse plus many other pieces that I sculpted, that will be cast in bronze.”

RP: If you mentored younger artists who are beginning their art careers what single most important piece of advice would you offer?

BS: The most important single advice would be follow your intuition and passion. Early in my career everyone would offer me suggestions on what I should be doing to earn a buck. I think that is fine if it also feeds your passion. If you don’t wake up excited about what you’re doing or creating, you won’t last in the long run. The road to art has many ups and downs, so it is important that you be your biggest cheerleader and be fully engaged in your passion of making your art.

RP: What resources do you use regularly to improve your art marketing skills and knowledge?

BS: I use my computer — the Internet — to see what is happening in the world of art. Renee, your articles have helped me avoid many pitfalls and scams and advice on how to navigate in the art world. Another thing is the availability to learn new art techniques and new ways of creating. I love to watch the many YouTube art videos. I also have some seasoned mentors as friends, who have long careers in the arts. I enjoy talking to them and getting their take on things, but I always know in the end it has to “feel right” to me.

RP: What invaluable art marketing lesson did you learn recently that took your career to the next level?

BS: I am a pleaser and I spent much time trying to keep everyone happy, sometimes at my own creative expense. To make great art takes a lot of alone time to plan, learn and create. I am getting better at giving myself that time. I still help others, but no longer at the expense of my own career. I am a work in progress on this and It is an ongoing balancing challenge.

RP: What is your major most important career goal now? What steps are you taking to attain that goal?

BS: My goal is to give myself the gift of knowledge and time while I hope to create the best works of my career. All artists have a story of life to tell and messages to teach. I will be challenging myself everyday on how to do that on a higher level than before while also enjoying the art of other artists working to create their story too.

Hamish Blakely – “An Artist Must Have a Good Team”

Hamish Blakely, (no website available), is a painter who lives in the U.K. His art was selected for the Manhattan Arts International “New Beginnings” exhibition and also won a Featured Artist Article Award. In addition, Carolyn Edlund chose him for the ArtsyShark Award of Excellence.

Blakely’s career highlight in 2015 was a major solo exhibition “Out of Work Angels”, in Mayfair, London, “that explored the idea of Heaven’s guardians becoming unemployed due to humanity’s disenchantment with the Church.”

RP: If you mentored younger artists who are beginning their art careers what single most important piece of advice would you offer?

HB: Let your passion be enough. In changing times and shifting tastes, an artist will have to cushion him/herself during the peaks and troughs. It is important to remind yourself why this is your vocation. Vanity and the need for affirmation can push artists off course in an obsessive attempt to keep afloat in such a competitive field. You compete with yourself and must enjoy that personal challenge for its own sake. You can be inspired by others but you do not have to follow them.

RP: What resources do you use regularly to improve your art marketing skills and knowledge?

HB: Gail, my wife, is the most valuable source of knowledge and insight I have. After many years, I can see how she views my work, which is full of support but not blind admiration. She is hugely passionate but does not let me off the hook if she believes I can do better. She does not just provide rigorous quality control but has her own strong ideas from individual pieces to new projects. I listen to her and always will because I would not paint the way I do if I simply listened to myself.

RP: What invaluable art marketing lesson did you learn in the past year that took your career to the next level?

HB: Presentation and planning is all. From the framing of the paintings to the invites to the show, every detail is influential. An artist must have a good team to work with, so that everyone is working towards the same thing. This has to be done with as much passion as the artist can muster. In this sense, it is all a collaboration. The painter or sculptor is not the only creative agent in the equation; the curator, the PR company and the Gallery staff all have choices in the way they manage and promote the work. If they are all passionate, it makes a huge difference to how that exhibition will be received.

RP: What is your major most important current career goal? What steps are you taking to attain that goal?

HB: I am very happy doing what I am doing right now and while I intend to exhibit my work in New York and Europe, I am listening to my Angels, so will wait to see where they take Gail and me.

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