The art industry is quite a competitive field. Artists can make or break it, trying to make their art out and about. With this complexity, how did artists like Jeanne Henderson successfully become a known name publicly?
Barlow. Castiglione. Van Boucle.
These are household names in the art industry, each with unique styles, stories, and journeys toward becoming universally renowned. Yet, despite their distinction, they have something in common. Besides their passion for the arts, popularity, and being experts in their craft, they all have a common ground. And no, it has nothing to do with body parts or their affinity for drawing animals. In fact, it’s something that everyone has, as well.
Personal Branding.
This refers to an individual’s name, style, essence, and aura that every individual exudes that makes them uniquely them. While they’re all artists with niches focusing on animals as muses, they each have distinctive styles that differentiate them from the others. Such can be considered their branding. Something they can call theirs that makes them stand out and distinct from the crowd.
Printing a Name
Art can be simplified as a play of shape, creativity, and an expression of imagination. Success in this field or breaking it in the art industry can also be simplified to one word: brutal. It may not be as physically and mentally taxing and competitive as sports. But it’s still a field with some rivalry requiring grit and the creative capacity to craft a distinctive art style.
Compared to sports, making it in the art industry isn’t highly dependent on calculations and training. While an artist, like an athlete, still needs to practice and hone their skills, the field can be random in selecting who to put into the limelight and who to hide. Especially in today’s technologically dependent world, gaining traction as an artist is unsystematic.
Jeanne Henderson is an artist that has successfully and proudly made a name among several renowned artists. She has focused years on honing her skills and mastering an art style uniquely hers. Sure, she studied under various artists and practiced day and night to become where she is now. However, like any other artist, her road to popularity was challenging.
How Did She Do It?
It’s been established. Making a name in the art field is random.
It’s like spinning roulette and where it lands, whether famous or not, becomes an artist’s fate. But despite this randomness, there’s still a way to wriggle toward art stardom. An artist only needs to attempt to hit the jackpot amid randomness repeatedly. This means doing other businesses that aren’t directly related to the craft but helps put the art out there.
Choose a Niche
As with Barlow, Castiglione, and Van Boucle, who used animals as their muses throughout their artworks and career, starting artists should choose a niche. This allows proficiency in one medium, making it easy for them to build a reputation around it. A niche will also help artists establish a loyal customer or patron base.
A niche might mean focusing on one form or subject to specialize in. However, in the process of choosing it, artists are also provided an opportunity for people to experiment with other mediums before arriving at something special for them. This process can mold them into flexible artists.
Advice from Professionals
Who else can help budding artists establish themselves in the field more than those in the same position before? Mentorship can help them improve, as professional artists can offer constructive criticisms and insightful tips regarding art or the journey in general. Every artist started in the industry as an apprentice or amateur and built their way up through hard work and practice. It pays to build a network of artists who understand what happens in an artist’s life. Not only is this a way to help improve, but it can also boost one’s morale to stay in the industry.
Explore Style
Art is constantly evolving. A single style and technique can’t encompass it, and because of this ever-changing nature, nobody has truly mastered the best way to become a great artist. But the good thing about art is it doesn’t impose any restrictions on whoever practices it. Artists can do absolutely anything to express themselves and call it art.
Exploring one’s style means experimenting with different art styles. It also means finding what purpose one’s art should serve. Do they want their art to inspire others? Or do they want to evoke emotions from others? Since art is something put out in the world, it must serve a purpose. One shouldn’t do a piece simply for the reason of doing it. There must be a reason behind it.
The Damsel’s Files 