There are a lot of "gurus" out there that will tell you how to succeed in business. They make their money by telling others how to make theirs. There are a lot of artists out there who will tell you how to make a good work of art. They make their money by attracting other artists who like their brand of art and are willing to pay them to learn their techniques. That's all well and good. It would be nice if we could all be on the speaking circuit and get paid to lecture others on what was successful for us personally. But that's not the case.

In the case of a not-so-famous working artist, like me, the challenge is to be working to constantly improve upon our existing knowledge and technical skills as well as creating lots of good art, and at the same time, be out there marketing and showing our best works. I've spent much of this year doing just that and finding disappointment that my work has been overlooked for potential artist grants, awards and potential buyers. It's really easy to start to introvert on all the losses and failures, wondering what I'm doing wrong, considering changing my style, etc. But I'm lucky in that I'm also a tenacious person. It takes a lot to stop me. I persist. It means overcoming the self-doubt, the low balance in the bank account and the high cost of continuing to purchase the needed and sometimes very expensive art supplies to sustain my "habit".

Ironically, the success gurus will, almost one for one, advise you to persist through the failures, the disappointments and the self-doubt. Some call it "believing in yourself", some call it stupidity or pig-headedness. Some latch onto a "mantra" or meditation to help them tide the storm. Either way, the result is the same. You refuse to be defeated and give up.

I've had well over a dozen exhibitions in the past eight months. I've painted about one hundred paintings, both large and small, and most of them, I must say, were pretty darn good. I've promoted as broadly as I can on a limited budget, including getting my work into some very prestigious venues. As a result, I've had a lot of positive feedback and a lot of wonderful emotional support. But nothing, not a single work of art, has sold.

What I have had, in an overwhelming amount, are gurus telling me to pay them (sometimes exorbitant amounts) to teach me how to sell my art, or how to make my art "better". I must confess that some of the advice was helpful, and I did integrate those ideas into my work and/or my marketing. But it really wasn't worth the price of admission. And when you're spending more than you're earning to pay someone else, who became successful by milking off of you, it's time to just double down and make your success happen and damn the torpedoes. My thought is "if you're going to do this, then give it your all, go the distance and do it!"

Well, after all this time, my persistence is paying off. I promote on Facebook and Instagram. I've had lots of friends, old and new, start to follow me. I post on both sites often, showing my latest works of art. Some people always comment, provide feedback and even re-post my posts. Several just "like" or "love" my posts. It's all good. I mention this because one such person, who has been a friend of mine on Facebook for a long time, suddenly messaged me that she was interested in purchasing a painting. What took you so long!?!? Well, it has now evolved into the purchase of two of my paintings! Holy cow! The point of all this is that all the hard work and all of the investment of time and money is beginning to pay off. And someone is going to have the joy of owning two really nice original works of art! What a wonderful feeling to have done that! And to have begun the process of becoming a successful artist! Yay me!

So, a word from this battle-worn artist...don't give up. Just work on getting better and better and promote your little heart out. It'll happen. :)