Tag: how to become a successful artist

People Didn’t Want Me to Become an Artist | Liron’s Podcast Episode 97

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Today I’d like to talk to you about the start of my journey of building a business around my art, and some of the resistance and negativity I experienced on the way.

This is a topic very close to heart. Making the right decisions in that context can ENSURE you’ll have the potential to succeed.

Making the wrong decision? You’re done before you even got started.

When I Started My Business…

I started this art thing towards the end of my military service. I actually got started by writing and publishing books independently on Amazon.

That went well and I think it was a combination of skill and LOTS of luck too.

Resistance and Negativity

I encountered A LOT of pushback from family and friends when it came to pursuing a career in art, and building a business around art.

A lot of it was definitely not ill-intended. Many times people have your best interest in mind (or at least that’s what they think).

But you have to understand that they don’t have your vision, wants and needs. They have no idea what makes you happy, or how important something is for you.

People Just Don’t SEE You

A mind-boggling thing I mention in the episode is how – nowhere between 5-17 was I ever “Huh, you’re actually really good at this art thing, maybe you should do something with it!”.

It’s amazing to really think about it this way, as I was doing quit a good job even when I was around 6-7 years old, copying drawings from one of my Dr. Seuss books.

For some reason I was pushed to learn physics and computer engineering. I found those somewhat interesting, but only to a very limited extent.

Again, I can’t really blame anyone for this. Art isn’t the obvious career path, and computers and sciences were and are still on a pedestal.

But I do think the world will be a MUCH better place if people would at least notice others’ gifts and mention something. A simple compliment can go a HUGE way.

The Positive Note & A Word of Warning

Despite the pushback / resistance / negativity / limiting beliefs – my vision was clear enough for me to follow through. These clouds never really blocked it for me.

But I’m afraid SO MANY people don’t have that clarity, or aren’t as positive to see a way. I’m scared people will allow their dreams to slip away due to negative feedback from their environment.

And THAT’S what I want to make sure you avoid.

If you give up – you’re done. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

Conclusion

I know I’ve been all over the place with the TEXT version of the episode. But I want to keep it like that, in it’s raw authentic form.

I hope you got something out of this episode.

Please feel free to let me know – in any of the ways below…

Take care and we’ll talk soon!

— Liron

How to Reach Out

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Can Anyone Become a Successful Artist | Liron’s Podcast Episode 95

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Hi there! In this episode I’m discuss the question – can anyone become a successful artist?

My general answer is YES, with a few caveats.

Here’s what we’ll talk about:

  1. Definition
  2. Internal Challenges
  3. Talent and Skill
  4. Financial Success

1. Definition

A big thing to think about, is how do you define success?

I believe success is ultimately happiness. This means that if you have a job you love, and you make art on the side and are happy – you won!

So YES – anyone can become a successful artist if you look at it from this angle.

2. Internal Challenges

Many people I meet and talk to have INTERNAL obstacles only. They don’t believe in themselves, and this prevents them from creating.

Art is ultimately self-expression. I’d like more people to understand that if they WANT to create – they should. The rest doesn’t matter.

3. Talent and Skill

Even talent and skill are in question. You see plenty of artwork that doesn’t necessarily have a lot of skill behind it, that is still successful, and celebrated in museums and galleries.

The word “skill” is arguable in and of itself. Who says, for example, that an abstract painting that took only a few brush strokes to make does’t require skill?

And if so many people say – “I could have done it” – well – why didn’t you?

Food for thought, especially if you feel judgmental of these types of works (which I know can be fun sometimes, haha!).

4. Financial Success

This is a little trickier. I do think different people have different potentials for money-making.

BUT, could almost anyone create SOME financial success around their art? I believe so. You just have to figure out your true gift, and the format.

Are you a good teacher? Manager? Story-teller?

Perhaps you are SO OFF THE CHARTS when it comes to art, that you should focus ONLY on that, and hire people to do the rest (which for most people would mean have friends help out, as not a lot of people can actually really hire someone when just getting started).

In Conclusion…

Yes, that is my answer. If you are having doubts, or are unsure – use this podcast as permission to AT LEAST believe it’s POSSIBLE.

And let me know if you have any questions or there’s anything I can help you with.

Here’s how to contact me:

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

3 Hacks to MASTER Watercolor Painting | Long Term Strategy – Liron’s Podcast Episode 92

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In this episode I’m sharing with you three “hacks” I learned for continuously improving, FAST, in watercolor painting. This could probably also be applied to any other different drawing & painting medium.

Here’s a snippet of the hacks!

Hack #1 – Master Studies

This is one of the things that have really helped me expend my horizons and improve fast.

By doing paintings based on masters’ works, you “force” yourself to see things the way they do, and to create using a similar process to theirs!

This will help you improve, but also break your own patterns and make sure you never plateau.

Hack #2 – Plein-Air Painting

Plein-air, or in other words – painting on location – is one of the activities that constantly help me preserve my spontaneity and authenticity.

Painting inside all the time, and working from photos, can really limit the creation experience.

It can lead  to you following  the same familiar path you’ve been following for a long time.

In addition, it’s more detached from your painting subject. The photo has been taken for you. The process has been edited.

Painting outside cuts all interferences.

Many struggle with shyness or people looking at them. That goes away very fast. Also – help yourself by painting in more rural and less densely populated areas, if possible.

Hack #3 – Both Techniques AND Premium Finished Paintings

You want  to allocate time to both these different activities.

One – you want to spend isolated time practicing the basics and techniques of watercolor, without worry of producing a specific final result.

Second – You want to spend time creating the BEST, largest, most detailed paintings you can (and want to), and not just small quick studies.

This will also depend on your goals and style of choice. If  you like abstract art, simplified paintings or scenes – go for  it! But if you aim for a higher level of detail and impressionism / realism – this will be beneficial.

Conclusion

I hope you find these helpful.

Remember these are simply my suggestions. Figure out what works best for you – and do that ^_^

Good luck!

— Liron

Want to Reach Out?

Got any questions? Want help with your paintings? Feel free to reach out to me in any of the platforms I’m on, and I’ll be happy to help (:

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

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You Only Need One Yes to Succeed – Artist Career Advice | Liron’s Podcast Episode 88

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In this episode we talk about how to get things going and be more proactive, and how you only need ONE yes to succeed.

* I mistakingly say it’s episode 87, ignore (:

Grabbing Success Proactively

One common theme in this episode is GRABBING opportunities as opposed to waiting for things to happen, or to “be discovered”.

I believe that if you want to achieve something, you have to sometimes go for it and reach out. You have to ASK.

How I Sold My Book’s Foreign Language Rights

This is a story I went through several times.

In this instance, I decided I want to publish one of my books in a language different than English.

This is called selling a book’s foreign rights.

The advantage for the book author is that they don’t have to do anything. The publisher who purchases the rights does the translation, design and distribution.

And the author basically gets a percentage, like most book deals.

So how did I do it?

I REACHED OUT to over 200 different publishers, in several languages (mostly Spanish).

I got 196 NOs, 3 maybes and, at last… 1 yes.

And it was by a pretty serious publisher.

And that’s ALL I needed.

You Are the Driver of Your Career

If you want to go to places, you HAVE TO do things proactively. You are the one who wants to GET, so you have to ASK, and make the deal worthwhile. Always.

My book in question was a consistent bestseller on Amazon for the past 5 years, and so I actually offered real value to the publisher.

And someone eventually said yes.

Galleries & Magazines

I had two more recent similar experiences.

Galleries – I recently put some of my paintings in a gallery for the first time. This came after the same thing – a lot of reaching out.

Art Magazine article – I’m having an article published in a magazine in October (shhh, it’s a surprise so don’t tell anyone (; ). Same thing – reaching out.

I hope this episode encourages you to chase what you want and try getting it – for real.

Remember you always have to offer real value to the other side you’re asking from.

And this is it for today!

Reach Out to Me

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

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