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ArtMatters! Vol. #109 August 2009
Artist Career Training helps you make a better living making art.
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ACT ArtMatters!: 
Teaching Your Inner Strength


This tip continues the A.C.T. Life Matters! topic Tapping Into Your Inner Strength introduced in ArtMatters! Vol.#108

Eyes tired? Listen to "Teaching Your Inner Strength"

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Teaching art workshops is a great way to hone your craft while you bring in income. You have to keep learning to help others learn. The most inspiring art teachers know this. Billie Mathis is one of them: "Experimenting in painting gives you many paths and solutions to an investigation of what is in you.  It takes courage to experiment and go into a new direction.  You become stronger."

Billie Mathis HeadshotBillie Mathis compares what it takes to be an accomplished artist to a concert musician. First you learn the keys - the fundamentals. Next you practice (and practice and practice) playing music others have written. Over time you learn to play these pieces with feeling. It takes years before you are ready for Carnegie Hall or to compose your own work.
 
"I remember when I was a student and how frustrating it was. I try to teach everything I learned by trial and error. There is no room for arrogance or the supposed 'secrets of watercolor.' There are no secrets, just 'stick-ability' as I call it  - passion and dedication."

I asked Billie to share some of her ideas about teaching and inner strength:

1. Start with the fundamentals of your medium.
"Design principles and elements are fundamental. There are seven elements: line, shape, direction, value, color, size and texture. Eight design principles guide my students on how to apply and arrange these elements: balance, dominance, repetition, conflict, harmony, variety, graduation and unity.  I have papers explaining these along with exercises to clarify the meaning of each element and principle."

2. Create from your feelings and your own color sense.
"Art is a communication tool. You convey what you see, sense and feel about a subject along with your emotional content. We work with color intensity, mixing values and using strength in our color. I encourage my students to use their favorite colors to get them started on the journey. This strengthens their confidence and passion to work, explore, and experiment in finding new ways of creating color harmony."

3.Create what you feel and then resolve any problems.
"At the end of each painting day I critique my students' work. I also give them the opportunity to tell me how they feel about their painting and what they wish to accomplish. I look for three good things they have accomplished.  I point out how they can improve where they may have missed the mark.  We review the design principles in each painting.  This gives them the skills to resolve their own problems."

Billie inspires her students with her own passion for making art. One of her students compiles her most inspiring quotes into a book each year. Here is one example to help you reach for your inner strength the next time you run into a roadblock.

"Obstacles are to be used as stepping stones to something greater. Masters at one time were only students and kept getting up after they were knocked down. In my journey I will never go back to where I was.  Each day I will discover a new progressive step that leads me forward."

Mathis' Moving ShapesBillie has produced over 4,000 watercolors in 40 years. She is a signature member of the Regional Directors of the Georgia Watercolor Society. She has received numerous awards and her work is in many collections in the United States, Germany and Turkey. You can see more of her work here: http://www.georgiawatercolorsociety.com/galleries/BillieMathis.html
 
If you want the company of experienced artist mentors and the company of other working artists on your journey, please visit www.ArtistCareerTraining.com for ongoing classes or our sister site www.ArtBusinessLIbrary.com for books and recordings to help you on your way.

We love to hear from you, so please e-mail your questions, comments and insights to Aletta@ArtistCareerTraining.com or call me at 650-917-1225 Pacific Time.

P.S. Welcome new subscribers and thanks to loyal readers. If you like these tips, please help us spread the word to all your friends and ask them to subscribe today! We want to help artists everywhere make a better living making art and YOU can help. To spread the word, just forward this tip or let artists you know read sample issues of ArtMatters!

Thank you and have an artful day!


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StepsToSuccessPrefer talking about your art business in person?


Get out from behind your computer and meet with artists in your local area who make a living making art. All forms of 2D and 3D fine art, including painters, photographers, sculptors, artists who draw, etc. are welcome. Discuss the business side of art, and get practical advice you can use right away on art marketing on the Internet and on the ground.

Register now for live Social Networking Events. We'll send you a map and info: Click Here   A.C.T. MeetUp groups are $20 per artist. 

What members are saying about the inaugural A.C.T. MeetUp in Los Angeles with Aletta de Wal and Robin Sagara:

"Where else can you get expert information in a relaxed atmosphere for only $20 and the cost of a cup of coffee?"

We saved one artist in Los Angeles several hundred dollars and hours of time with info on better (and cheaper) ways to do her web site and emailing.  She also left with solid ideas on the next steps in building her career.

"If you want to make a living making art, Artist Career Training is the place to go."


Thanks for taking the time to invest in your art career. Now go make art and feel your creativity blossom, just like spring flowers.

View ArtMatters! online:

View ArtMatters! online at:
www.artistcareertraining.com/artmatters-newsletter/


___________________________________________________________________
Aletta de WalCONTACT:

Aletta de Wal
Author of the forthcoming book "No More Starving Artists!"
Director & Artist Advisor
Artist Career Training
(650) 917-1225 Pacific Time
www.ArtistCareerTraining.com
www.ArtBusinessLibrary.com

aletta@artistcareertraining.com
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