DO THIS FOR YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS

People ask me how they can support their favorite artists if they can’t buy from them.

Here are a few ideas you can try.

• Do you know any gallery owners? If you think your fave artist’s work would fit the gallery, send the gallery owner or acquisitions manager a link to your artist’s website or IG page, with a personal note suggesting that this artist would be an asset to their gallery.

• Contribute to the artist’s patreon.com or kofi.com account – even if it’s only 5, 10 or 100 bucks a month. You’d be surprised how much that can mean to the artist.

• Do you have a favorite art magazine? Email the art editor about your artist friend, include a link. Say why you love the work, and how interesting the artist is, and wouldn’t it be cool to have an article written about them.

• Take pix of the art you bought from the artist, and post it on FB, IG or other social media, with a link to the artist’s website, FB or IG pages.

• Brag on how much you love the piece you got, and why! Say more than “I love this painting’ – say why you love it! Like, it helps me feel calm, or it inspires me, or reminds me of …

• Take your artist to lunch, or out for coffee once in a while, just because.

• If you live far away, keep in touch over messenger or texting. A simple hi how are ya from you can really perk up their day.

• Offer to create a home show for them at your house, or place of business. Invite your art-loving/buying friends, and ask them to bring their art-loving/buying friends.

• If you are tech-savvy, you could:

• Build the artist a simple one-page website if they don’t have one. Show them how to use it so they don’t have to depend on you later.

• Show the artist how to make and sell NFTs

• Show the artist how to set up a mailchimp account so they can start building an email list.

• Show the artist how to create a pdf portfolio and post it on gumroad to sell for a low price.

• If you’re a coach, offer a 1-1 to help them not feel stuck anymore, or if they are not stuck, help them get to the next level.

ARTISTS: RECIPROCITY!

Artists who receive anything like these ideas need to understand that they are part of a loop of connections, and reciprocate!

• Like, tell your friends about the amazing website so-and-so built for you – do not mention it was free/low cost.

• Thank the person who helped you in social media (unless they ask you not to – some folks like to remain anonymous.)

• Mention the tech person to your other artist friends, and tell them you love the pdf the tech person made for you, or how cool it is that you sold your portfolio ebook on gumroad with the tech person’s help, and that your artist friends need one, too.

And so on.

When we help each other, we ALL rise.

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