Fields Jonathan - Art, Inc. : the essential guide for building your career as an artist

To my mother, Gerrie,
for showing me its never too late
to find your bliss.

Text copyright 2014 by Lisa Congdon
Foreword text copyright 2014 by Jonathan Fields
Illustrations copyright 2014 by Karolin Schnoor

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN 978-1-4521-2826-9 (pb)
ISBN 978-1-4521-3584-7 (epub, mobi)

Designed by Meg Mateo Ilasco.

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Art and business? In the same sentence?! What are you... nuts?! Maybe yes, maybe no. There is so much mythology, judgment, and suffering around the idea of art and money.

When I was a kid, my mom was a gifted potter. One wall of the basement was lined with rows of industrial shelves weighed down by hundreds of mysterious powder-filled mason jars labeled things like Celadon, China Red, or Low Fire. A prehistoric-looking kick-wheel anchored the space, boasting a two-hundred-pound concrete flywheel that took out shins of unaware passersby on a regular basis. Then came the four electric wheels and a cacophony of tools that allowed for high-speed manhandling in the name of art.

On the weekends, we would pack up the Ford Custom van and head off to a local outdoor street fair or market to sell the weeks wares. I cant remember a time when we werent surrounded by artisans and craftspeople, from weavers and glassblowers to painters and sculptors.

So it wasnt unusual when, in my early teens, I propped an old door on some clay boxes at the far end of the studio, clamped on an old swing-arm light, grabbed my grandfathers acrylics, and began to paint. And paint. And paint. As soon as I was good enough, I started hustling gigs painting album covers on jean jackets in exchange for walking-around money.

Though Ive traded paint for words and denim for paper, Ive lived, breathed, and been surrounded by the process of creation for as long as I can remember. Whats so interesting is, as a kid, the notion of any tension between art and money simply didnt exist. I loved to create. I worked to become decent at it. People paid me to do it. Simple as that.

But, for some reason, when you hit a certain age and a certain level of seriousness, and you start calling yourself an artist, making a living at it becomes a source of great controversy. People who have nothing to do with the exchange between you and those who would enjoy your work start to pass judgment. Money, they proclaim, bastardizes both the process and the output.

Why this cultural rift emerged, I really dont know. Maybe it has to do with the establishment of a power and money structure defined largely by gatekeepers and chosen onesexternal arbiters controlling the flow of not only eyeballs, but income. Maybe it comes from the ire of those whove not yet figured out how to make their calling their profession seeking to tear down those who have, labeling them sellouts and hacks. Maybe it stems from something entirely different.

Whatever the source, whats become clear to me is that you no longer have to wait to be picked.

While the traditional path to love and money in art is still alive and well, the last ten years have seen the emergence of an extraordinary array of alternative paths. Those that allow you to eschew the traditional gatekeepers and go straight to the buyers. Those that empower you to stake a claim to your own global digital gallery space and generate a legion of raving fans. Those that fuel your ability to build and generate a real living, serving everyone from collectors to consumers and even large organizations. And the best part is, you often dont have to find them; theyll find you.

Theres no better example than my friend, illustrator, artist, and author Lisa Congdon. Lisa was anything but a born artist. In fact, she came to art later in life with very little formal training. Yet, in a matter of years, she built not only an astonishing body of work, but the ability to earn a very nice full-time income making art. No side gigs. No occasional shift at the local pub. No excuses. She makes art. All day. Every day.

Lisa wakes up and does what she loves. A lot of what she loves. So much that shes become exceptional at it. And she makes a living doing it.