Mindsets of a Successful Artist — Interview with Lori Putnam

In this post I am speaking with Lori Putnam. Lori is a renowned Plein Air and Studio painter of Nashville, Tennessee. Despite taking up painting later in life, her career and work have reached astounding heights. Today she recognized as one of the finest American Impressionists of out time; she has been Featured in numerous issues of American Art Collector Magazine, Plein Air Magazine, Southwest Art, Fine Art Connoisseur, and Art of the West. 

Additionally, Lori is a member of and has exhibited with many notable organizations such as Salmagundi Club in New York City, the Portrait Society of America, The American Impressionist's Society, and the Oil Painters of America.

Today she shares with us a glimpse into her journey as a professional artist. Without further ado, here is Lori Putnam:

   Q: I always like to start off with the same question, because I believe this answer determines the entire direction of your career, and therefore life: What is your definition of success?

"That has changed over the years. I remember being asked this same question on an application for a Scott Christensen workshop back when I was first beginning. My answer then was that I just wanted to be able to be a better painter and to pay my bills.  While I still want those things, it also means a great deal to me to have the respect of my peers."

Q: Can you tell me in your own words a little bit about yourself?

"I’m a workaholic. As for pure talent, I’m not sure that exists, as least for me. I’m just super grateful that so many other talented people have helped and inspired me to hang in there and keep digging. Because I took up fine art a bit later in life, I think I was more prepared for the hard work it takes. Before I began painting, I was a freelance graphic designer for 13 years. That taught me how to run a business well, keep good records, and meet deadlines. Prior to that I had been an administrative assistant which taught me the value of details, tracking, and communication. Somehow it seems everything before 2005 was part of the prep work for doing this."

Q: The big question aspiring artists everywhere are dying to know is, simply, how do you make a living as an artist? Based on your experience, what are the fundamental steps towards making a living as a professional artist?

"Unfortunately that is not a simple answer. I’m not dodging here, it is just that there are many ways and everyone has to find their own. This is good news, though! It means that if you love to teach and are good at it, you can supplement income by doing that. If you enjoy plein air, you can work your way up to high-end festivals. If your passion is people, commissioned portraits are still a huge business in the east. Wanting to make a living as an artist and having the willingness to work for it are two different things. Begin by being honest about what you want, what your strengths are, and what you are (or are not) willing to do to make it happen."

Q: What would you say was the biggest challenge you faced in the beginning, and how did you overcome it? When was the turning point?

"Every day is a challenge. A great friend of mine says that the two things that keep us from growing as artists are fear and ego. Well I have zero self-esteem (and in fact am very sensitive and introverted), so for me it is often fear. For the past several years I have worked very hard to remove that fear from my work. What are we afraid of anyway? Failure? Wasting materials? Wasting time? Realizing we have nothing to say let alone have a clue how to say it? As for overcoming it, I’m not really sure that’s entirely possible."

 Q: I think a common notion is that art and business don’t mix; how applicable is business strategy to the art world, and are there any major differences that we should be aware of?

"No matter what you choose to do for your living, it is a business. As artists, we just happen to work at something for which we feel passion. Just like musicians or chefs or anyone in a creative field, our passion must be marketed and managed like a business. I’m sure there are a few who succeed despite having no business model, but it is rare. If you want to be a professional, your art IS your business. Respect what you do and others will respect it as well."

Q: One of the first questions emerging artists are faced with is whether they should market themselves or partner with a gallery; do you mainly market your paintings yourself, or through galleries? Why did you choose this route?

"I work with my galleries to market my work. It is a relationship. My main task is to produce; theirs to sell. But together we can come up with better ideas than if we work all alone. My day averages 8 hours of painting and 3 hours of doing other business – such as marketing. Marketing and selling are two different things, of course. I am good at marketing but not so good at selling. I much prefer a gallery to handle that!"

Q: As artists, we are attempting the near-impossible of putting a price-tag on something priceless; How did you determine how to price your work in the beginning, and how does the value of artwork evolve over time?

"There are so many factors that come into play when pricing your work. My advice is to be honest with yourself about where you are in the current market with others of your caliber and experience. As your work grows and your list of accomplishments grows, you increase your prices… slowly! Say you have paintings in the $250-range and you sell most of them and get asked to do a local group show. Next year a painting in the same general size could be priced 10% higher at $275. That’s just one method, but many people have followed it successfully. Again, there are always exceptions and outside factors that need to be considered."

Q: In my own experience, one of the biggest challenges hasn’t been reaching people; it’s been reaching the right people --that niche audience most interested in what I have to offer.
How do you go about finding clients, and, do you have a strategy for reaching your “target market”, so your message reaches the right people?

"Most of what I see happening today is that artists are swinging at anything thrown at them. Now I’m not immune to that because I have so many interests in so many areas. But I have to be careful and pay attention to the bigger picture. That’s where making a list of long-range goals is helpful. When I start chasing rabbits, I can just revisit those goals, see if they are the same or if something needs to change, and get back on track. Reaching the right people will usually happen quite naturally if you follow your goals."

Q: In business there is a term, Client Retention: The preservation of connection with past clients, as opposed to the generation of new ones.
What is your preferred method of staying connected with past customers?

"I use many methods, email and social media of course, but also written cards and other forms of printed mail. Building relationships is how your retain customers. Those customers, in turn, share their latest purchase when people visit their homes and you get new clients."

Q: Do you find location to be important to success in any way? Why or why not?

"Not really. There are a lot more opportunities for artists who live in certain areas. I don’t live in one of those so I may have to travel more. When I think of those who are really making the best living at this, however, I realize that they are scattered all over the world."

Q: Today we have so many online promotional materials at our fingertips (social media, e-mail newsletter, etc.), I sometimes wonder if we are neglecting more traditional approaches, (word of mouth, traditional paper methods, etc.); What is your preferred method of promotion?

"Again, I don’t see that there is one right way to do it. Wouldn’t it be great if there was?! Having said that, it certainly helps for someone to be able to find you. These days, that means on the web. I still believe in having your own website and driving people to it. The key to doing that is watching your analytics, monitoring trends, and using your time on social media wisely. I also believe that collectors still enjoy print. Anyone can have an account on social media sites, but not everyone has written press. Sharing those articles with my collectors and sending them copies brings me to mind. If they happen to see it on their own, all the better. I love it when a collector mentions seeing an article that I had forgotten about."

Q: Sometimes it seems that to be a successful artist you have to have a lot of alternative skills—marketing, accounting, etc.; what are some of the alternative skillsets artists need to develop to be successful? 

  

"It is crazy that we are supposed to be able to do it all. But especially in the beginning this seems to be a reality. Few people start their business with the means to hire out those tasks that seem unnatural. As soon as you possibly can, however, do what it takes to find other experts in their field to take over any positions you can. Our time is best spent painting. Unfortunately, for most of us, we also clean our own toilets."

Q: It seems like in the beginning there is a lot of investment involved; investment of time, money, relationships; What has been the best investment you ever made for your art career?

"Time. We have invested every penny we had, but I would still say time. It takes a LOT of time: time to paint, of course; to travel away from family; to experiment, try, and fall; to keep up the bookkeeping; to prepare marketing materials; to write blog posts; to pack and ship; to network; to scrape  off unsuccessful paintings, re-coat, stretch canvas, and begin again. Time."

Q: What is your “daily strategy?” i.e. what does the average day-in-the-life of Lori look like?

"That depends on which hat I am wearing, painter or teacher, and if I am in the studio or at some other event somewhere. Let’s say it is a painting day in the studio. I work by natural light. Winter months are brutal because the daylight is so short. However, in the best of all possible days, I am up early, coffee and protein shake in hand, getting the mundane computer work out of the way before the studio light gets perfect for painting. When the north light is ready, I try to be as well. That can mean a number of things: photos, plein air reference, thumbnail sketches all ready to go, and paint on the palette. Sometimes that just isn’t going to happen. I may dedicate entire days to the prep work like sketches or shipping paintings or working with my online mentoring students. But let’s say it’s 9:00am and I’m painting. Music playing, sometimes dancing and singing, my hope is to get in the zone. Around 5:00pm my husband usually calls from work to say he is on his way home. Where did the hours go? Who needs lunch? That’s a good day! Of course, then it is clean up, answer more emails, get things ready for the next day’s work. I usually end around 8:00 when all is said and done.

Q: We all know there is no magic formula to succeed; but if you had to boil it down, what would you say, based on your experience, is the ultimate key to success?

"Determination."

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Thank you Lori for sharing the lessons you've learned in your experience as a professional artist.

Dear Readers, if you'd like to learn more about Lori, click here to view her website.

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