Susan Morrison - Drawn from My Life: A Guide to Becoming a Professional Fine Artist

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Copyright 2012 Susan Morrison. All Rights Reserved. No content may be reproduced without the express written permission of the author.

First Edition

ISBN 978-0-9849866-2-0

This e-book edition was created at FoliumBookStudio.com

A Guide to Becoming a Professional Fine Artist

by Susan Morrison

(Cover photo copyright Richard Quick)

The time has come

The Master said

To talk of many things

Of steps and maps

Of creative acts

How artists find their wings

Susan Morrison

The information in this book is intended for general information only. You should consult a legal or financial expert for advice on your particular circumstances. Any corporations, products, books or websites referenced in this book are for informational purposes only. No endorsement is implied.

This book is dedicated to my husband Randy Woodward, entrepreneur, marketer, corporate art gallery owner, and an absolute genius at right ideas for the right time. He came into my life at the beginning of my career to be the Man Behind the Artist and has done more to contribute to my success as an artist than any other person involved in my professional life.

Three decades of art, love and adventure...

1979

2011 (Photo by Barbara Kerbox)

When I first met Susan Morrison in her gallery nestled in the Ozark Mountains, I knew she was a special person. When she introduced me to her art, I knew she had a great gift, one she had successfully shared with the world, a bright and shining gift very few people have and that she was probably the best wildlife artist I had ever met. Indeed, as an international art broker, many of my clients rate her right up there with John James Audubon. But when I learned how she not only had become a gifted artist but also a very successful businesswoman, I knew she had a story to tell, one that aspiring artists need to read for themselves. In Drawn From My Life, Susan has not only put her artistic life on paper but also the pathway to being a professional and successful artist.

I have bought and sold millions of dollars worth of art around the world as an art broker and consultant, and I know what it takes to sell a picture. What Susan has been able to convey through this book is just how to take your art to the next level and become one of the select few artists who can actually make a living doing what they love to do - create fine art. Her passion and creativity was evidenced early in her career but she had to learn the ropes the hard way in order to make a living doing what she was born to do. There were really no roadmaps for her when she committed herself to the world of art. Her first encounter with Andy Warhol in New Orleans was a million-dollar education in how to run a successful exhibition; her meeting Walmart heiress Alice Walton (who has become one of her greatest patrons) was but a stepping stone for her, leading to a remarkable Animal Tracks exhibition seen nationwide, a substantial part of her oeuvre. And it is not every artist who receives a one-woman show at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC; but Susan has.

Susan Morrison bares her soul in this candid book that is a story of both Susan the talented artist and her corporate self, explaining her support mechanisms and business rigor. It is the story of a professional artist who spread her work to the wider world through art fairs, gallery exhibitions and good, solid business sense. When I first read this book I was amazed at what I had learned from it - and I have been in the worldwide art business a long time. She is direct and complete, honest about her early setbacks and lessons learned the hard way. At times humorous, at others poetic and always making you want to know more, this should be the first in what I hope will be a series of books on this tough but fascinating business of professional art. Her artistic talent is evident at every turn of her gallery and of these pages, but her business sense is what she shares the most in this book. There is something here for the beginner artist and the gallery owner as well.

This is a touching and straightforward insight into what it takes to be the next successful artist. I can tell you that, unfortunately, it takes more than talent. Michelangelo reminded us so long ago when he said that we paint with our brains, not our hands. Susans intellectual vision is evident in this book and her business acumen is laid out for others to follow. I have made my living by offering and buying other peoples artistic work, drawn to it not because I sought it out but because the artists had a plan to put their passion and creativity into the market, to support themselves. Successful artists have a good plan; otherwise their work will remain in their studios, undiscovered, unappreciated and never shared or sold to people like me or anyone else. I can say it no better than James McNeill Whistler who declared that, An artist is not paid for his labor, but for his vision. Susan Morrison is a visionary. This book is a template and route to success for the aspiring as well as the established artist. Follow her lead.

L. Douglass Brown, PhD

London

Over the years I have come to know what a terrible loss it is when a really talented artist falls by the wayside. Ive seen it happen too many times. This profession is riddled with an endless quagmire of heartbreak. Most artists who are starting out, regardless of their artistic ability, are poorly equipped for the task.

But, with the right kind of help, you can avoid these pitfalls and have a long and rewarding life doing what you love best. This book is filled with true-life lessons and tried-and-true methods that have worked for me for decades. It describes some of the struggles I went through and horrible mistakes I made. Its not complicated, but it is thorough. Im writing about all this in the hopes that it will help you as you try to make your own way.

This book is intended to be a kind of Artists Bible for you to carry around in your backpack, your car, on your e-reader, or keep handy in your studio or home, so when those nagging questions or that need for direction come up you can just thumb through and find some answers. Answers based on the real life experiences of a real live successful professional artist, who just happens to have turned out to be a good educator in the bargain.

So if you have ever thought about taking that exhilarating, terrifying step of becoming a professional artist, read on and find out if it is the profession for you.

My goal is for you to use the advice and experience in this book to advance your own career from that of promising amateur to professional artist. If I help you in any way to make that step and to succeed, then I have achieved my goal in writing this book.

Good Luck!

Susan