My fingers are crossed. Will there be a lump of coal in my stocking this Christmas? Will there be anything under the tree?

You see, I was naughty.

When you're naughty, you make Santa's naughty list — and that means you don't get what you want.

Why was I naughty? Simply put, I didn't practice what I preach. And I learned an important lesson.

For 2014, I tried something new. I decided my system for getting things done needed an upgrade, so instead of writing out my to-do list each day and reviewing my goal list in my journal, which is always at my side, I converted to a digital solution. Now all my goals and "to do's" are on the cloud, and I can access them everywhere.

Seems like a reasonable solution, but my digital approach failed me — or I failed it.

Last week I was killing time on an airplane, poking around all the programs and documents on my iPad because I was bored and didn't feel like working. I opened my goals document for 2014 and started checking them off one by one.

Then something terrible happened: I realized I had missed over 30 percent of my annual goals. Gulp.

I also realized that I hadn't opened my goals document for several months. Had I opened it and looked at them, I would have achieved most of those missed goals.

I'm frustrated.

What's the lesson in this?

I'm big on annual goals. It's important to have them, but only if they are realistic, measurable, and believable (though we all need to stretch). But goals don't work if you don't refer to them frequently.

In hindsight, my new system failed because I wasn't forcing myself to transfer my daily to-do list and my monthly goals to a new sheet of paper each day. I thought I was saving time, but when Charles Hobbs first taught me his system decades ago, the key to success was taking the time to evaluate your goals and to-do list each day so they remain on your mind at every turn. By not doing that, I failed myself and missed 30 percent of my annual goals.

What does this have to do with marketing your art?

I'm a strong believer in setting and following goals, even very simple ones. You're more likely to achieve them if you look at them and work toward them in small bites. Something as simple as setting a goal of devoting 20 percent of your time to marketing can change your life. If you work an average 40-hour week, you'll make amazing progress if you force yourself to spend eight hours a week on marketing. But if you forget to do it, your sales will suffer.

Did you achieve what you want to achieve this year?

Did you make progress toward your goal?

I made progress, and I achieved some of what I want to achieve (including a new event, which I'll announce in February). But I missed more than I'd hoped to miss. Now I have to add those goals to my 2015 goals, which means I'll have to work harder to catch up.

As artists, it's more fun to paint than it is to focus on marketing or other goals. I don't like to take out the garbage either, but there are things we simply have to do to keep the flies out of the house.

This was a giant wake-up call for me. Rarely do I miss my goals, but I allowed my system to fail me. My fault — I simply wasn't paying attention.

I'd like to encourage you to use the peaceful time over the holidays to do some dreaming, set some goals, and then break them out into small monthly, then weekly, bites. Then look at them every day, or at least every week. It will change the outcome. It's a little thing that makes a giant difference. Just don't make the mistake I did.

Because I'm on the naughty list, I'll not be receiving all the things I hoped to achieve this year. Naughty was my own fault.

Merry Christmas. Happy Chanukah. Happy Holidays.

Eric Rhoads

PS: I'm so grateful. Thousands of artists have watched my Art Marketing Boot Camp videos and I have heard from hundreds of them that their lives have changed. It does my heart good to know that my system can help artists live their dreams. In my first video, Art Marketing Boot Camp I, explain my goal-setting system and my system for deeply discovering what you really want in your life. You can find it here. If you know an artist who wants to live the dream, give it to them for Christmas. It's life-changing.

The Pearl inlay surrounding the guitar I made in the summer of 2014.

As I approach a giant milestone birthday, my friends and family have asked me about my plans. On the past two big birthdays, I've had my closest lifelong friends visit the Adirondacks to help me celebrate, because the Adirondack Mountains is the place I love the most. This year, I wanted to do something different, but I wasn't sure what. Then it came to me. Since I started playing guitar just two years ago and have come to love guitars, I decided to challenge myself to make a guitar to celebrate this milestone.

 
Cutting the boards for the side of the guitar.

Making a guitar seemed like a giant challenge and something I'd never do on my own, and that was the attraction. I simply wanted to push myself, as my way of celebrating. I also thought about it a lot and knew it was so far out of my routine that I'd probably never do it. I didn't want to keep thinking about it, and I knew that if I didn't tell others of my plan it would be a lost dream, so I started spreading the word to a few friends, knowing that I'd be embarrassed if I didn't produce.

 
Bending the wood with heat.

The problem with making a guitar was that it was bound to take time. I had no idea how to build a guitar or where to do it. Plus, I wasn't sure I could pull it off and run my business simultaneously. How would I find the time?

 
Putting the bent edges together to form the guitar body.

Of course, I also had to find someone to teach me to do it. And I didn't want just some homemade guitar, I wanted something special, something with an incredible sound, something visually stimulating, a world-class quality guitar, which meant I not only had to find a top luthier (guitar maker), I had to find one willing to take on a student who knew nothing about making guitars.

 
Clamping and glue to keep the kerf-lining in the guitar

My research led me to a lucky break. My criteria required a top guitar maker, a top inlay artist, someone willing to teach, and someone who could teach me in the summertime, when things are a tiny bit slower. Though I was willing to go just about anywhere in the world for a couple of weeks, my research lead me to Tracy Cox, who lives just about an hour away from our family summer place. So rather than taking a couple of weeks off at a time, I was able to build my guitar one day a week until it was done, which made finding the time much easier. I took Wednesdays off and worked really late on Wednesday nights and Thursdays to catch up. Tracy has a reputation as a top guitar maker and inlay artist who has worked for Martin Guitar in its custom guitar and inlay department.

Sanding the edges to the proper radius. Guitar tops and bottoms have a slight bow.

I won't bore you with the sordid details of guitar-making other than to say I'm happy I had previous woodworking experience, which sped my progress substantially. My teacher made me do everything. He showed me how to do something once, then it was up to me to do the rest, though I have to admit there were a couple of critical cuts that intimidated me and that I asked him to do because I knew that if I blew that cut, I'd have to start over or would ruin a priceless piece of wood.

 Braces to glue in the interior braces on the top.

Though the process was difficult and challenging each of the six days I was building my guitar, the hardest part was choosing what kind of guitar I wanted. I had to select body style, and woods for the front, back, sides, fretboard, and neck. Plus, I needed to pick a neck length and thickness to work with my unique hands and playing experience.

The unique pieces of wood I'm about to glue together for my guitar neck.

Three years ago, at our Convergence conference, a guitar player, Bert Keely, was playing a 1938 vintage Gibson guitar. I fell in love with the sound and the worn, vintage look. Further, my friend Rick Wilson plays a 1956 Martin guitar, which is aged-looking and has a rich sound and a deep bass. I'd also played a Collings guitar belonging to a friend, and, loving how easily it played, I wanted that in my guitar. Was it possible to combine the best of all those guitars? It appears so.

It all starts here. This piece of wood will be shaped into the guitar shape and make up the back.

Tracy took me through a wood selection process. As he flipped though some rare pieces of wood he pulled out a vintage top for a "Triple O" Martin body style. The top had been reclaimed from the Martin Guitar factory in the 1940s or 1950s. "That's it," I said. "It's already aged." Aged guitars tend to sound the best, and this top had been aging for 60 or 70 years, which was bound to give it a special sound along with its wonderful patina. Tracy said, "I've been sitting on this for a long time, waiting to give it the right home with someone who appreciates true vintage." But it was so rare that if I screwed it up, there would be no other top like it again. No pressure.

The body and the neck, almost ready to put together.

The guitar-making process involved lots of cutting, planning, measuring, sawing, routing, carving, sanding, bending, clamping, and drilling, and at the end of the six days, I had produced a fabulous guitar. We strung it up with Martin Phosphor Light strings, and the sound was magical. In fact, several highly accomplished musicians had a chance to play it when visiting the shop, and each one wanted to buy it from me. The special sound comes from the aged wood and the technique Tracy taught me to craft the bracing on the inside of the guitar.

More clamping!

The second tough decision was the rest of the finish. I wanted some high-end appointments, but I wanted to keep the vintage feel while making it my own. I also wanted to represent my muse: the Adirondacks. So we made this an Adirondack Guitar. Tracy taught me how to do inlay work with mother of pearl, so I trimmed the top edge with rare blue pava shell from New Zealand and carefully placed the pearl next to tortoiseshell bindings. I also inlaid birds for the fret markers, which involved my cutting out birds in mother of pearl and then routing out the exact shape. This was pretty intimidating because if I messed that up, I'd have to take the neck off and rebuild the guitar.

Placing the back on the body of the guitar.

I drew out a special design for the headstock, which was the view from our family Adirondack camp: our mountain, our trees, and our lake and its special Idem sailboats, which are over 120 years old. Tracy cut that inlay for me because I wanted some of his inlay work on my guitar and it was more complicated than I was probably capable of without some more practice. The trees in the inlay are Brazilian rosewood, the mountain is Madagascar rosewood, mahogany, and koi wood. The water is dyed pearwood, and the sky is mother of pearl. Best of all, the sail is ivory that came from fossilized woolly mammoth tusk. This ivory is very rare, but legal.

Inlay on the headstock. The view from our Adirondack camp. 

I should also mention the rest of the wood in the guitar. The back and sides are Chechen rosewood, the fretboard is McCassar ebony from Sulawesi, Indonesia. The neck is made up of local Adirondack cherry, plus some very special reclaimed wood that came from a 19th-century mahogany church pew and from a door from the USS Maumee, which was used from 1968 to 1971 in the Navy's Operation Deep Freeze II, where it was used to transport fuel supplies to McMurdo Sound at the South Pole. The Maumee was the largest ship to visit Antarctica, and was led into the ice pack by icebreakers. I was drawn to it because the Maumee river was one of three that flowed through my hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The neck of my guitar came from a reclaimed door in this ship the Maumee. Maumee is the river, which goes through my hometown of Fort Wayne.

You can see the woods I used in the neck: Cherry, wood from the reclaimed ship door, and wood from a church pew. I used vintage tuning keys.

Birthdays don't always have to be about parties and gifts. Though making this guitar was a gift to myself, it was the creation of something special and irreplaceable that had personal meaning for me. Challenges and doing the impossible have always been important to me, and I wanted to challenge myself and stretch my brain while doing something with my hands to commemorate this milestone in my life. I've created a family heirloom, and now I have a guitar that has a very special sound, created by the rare guitar top and woods that are unique to my taste. I'm very pleased with the sound and the appearance. The inlay of the Adirondack scene will live on as a reminder of this special place in my life and the lives of my family.

 
I did the inlay on the neck using Adirondack birds as the fret markers. I cut them out in pearl, routed the shape in the neck (frightening!) and then laid them in and glued them.

Life is about making and creating special moments and memories. If I just got a guitar as a birthday gift or bought one for myself, it would probably not be remembered years later. I can barely recall what I got for my last birthday. I'll never forget this birthday and the special experience of building a world-class guitar. And I've used this as a special chance to teach my kids about stretching and challenging yourself. Through the process I have a great appreciation for what goes into creating a custom guitar, and, spending many days with a master guitar maker and inlay artist, I made a great new friend as well.

 
Pearl inlay of my signature on the neck.

I've had a lot of hobbies over the years, including woodworking, photography, collecting antique radios, and painting. Each had their season. And though oil painting landscapes and portraits is my current passion, it was nice to step away and try something new. Will inlay and guitar-making become my latest obsession? Probably not, but I'm glad I challenged myself to do something out of my comfort zone, and I might inlay some custom frames for my paintings at some point. This guitar-making experience has indeed been a unique way to celebrate a milestone and gives me a new story to pass along to my friends.

If there is a lesson in all of this, it is set your mind on something you percieve as an impossible or difficult goal, share it with others so you're forced to make it happen, then find a way to do it. Though I have plenty of challenges in my life, work and family, I needed a different kind of challenge, something to push the limits of my ability. I wanted to try a new kind of art, which in this case was making an incredible-sounding guitar.

 A coat of sealer, then some gun stock oil gave my guitar a perfect vintage feel, especially with this 60-70 year aged spruce top.

Tracy Cox, master guitar maker and inlay artist was very patient to spend six days with me, pushing me to my limits and making me do most of the work on my first handmade guitar. The end result was an unbelievable sound.

The great debate among those of us who make art is whether we are selling out when we strive to make a living. For some, complete purity is a must. An artist, they say, must never allow outside influences to affect his or her art. It's a very romantic concept.

I know of an artist who lived this life. Let's call him James. Never in his life did James sell a painting — he only worked ON his art. I was contacted and shown his work by a friend of his, and his work was amazing. He had a body of work of hundreds and hundreds of paintings and had determined it was time to sell them. Up till then he felt his work was not ready, and he never want to be influenced by something so crass as a commercial gallery.
James' goal was to sell his entire collection to a museum, showing the progression of his work from a young age to his mid-60s. As I inquired about his life, I learned he supported himself with a job he despised, one requiring hard labor. Most of his life was devoted to this go-nowhere job, and now that he was near retirement, the thought of selling paintings may have actually been motivated by the need for money and the need to downsize for storage. I passed on the opportunity.

This week I attended a celebration of a life cut short by a freak accident. The show, at the Southern Vermont Art Center, was a retrospective of the life of painter Brian Sweetland, who died in October 2013, far too young. It was among the most crowded openings I've ever attended, and it was filled with adoring fans, many of whom had contributed their paintings for the show.

Which is better? To live a life uninfluenced? Or to live a life in which your paintings have brought joy to hundreds of homes and spread your art, your message, your soul to others? Brian lived most of his life as a painter, supporting his habit by selling paintings. James held on to a job he barely tolerated, which enabled him to paint and not be "commercialized." Yet he came to the later part of his life unrecognized, without the encouragement or gratification of knowing people loved his work, without someone helping him gain freedom from his awful job by showing him how to sell paintings.

I didn't know Brian, nor do I know for certain if his galleries made his work more commercial or otherwise affected his paintings, but, judging from the show, his work was strong and consistent.

James, on the other hand, may never see a painting sold because of his desire to sell an entire body of work to a museum. His work was good, but not that good. Further, momentum toward painting sales takes time to build. People buy a brand, and James will have to start building that awareness, which takes time. He is starting late, and, though it can be done, he has lost a lot of years of opportunity — assuming he ever comes to the conclusion that his work can be sold in a gallery.

There is a misconception among artists, I think. We tend to think that gallery people who ask us to paint something that sells are being "evil" in some way because they want to sell more of that kind of painting. Yet gallery people play an important role in the lives of artists. We often do not perceive what they can clearly see. They know when we're ready, and they know when we need to make adjustments to our work.

Galleries are run by professionals who make a living selling paintings and who can provide you, the artist, with a great deal of value. They not only offer perspective, they are your marketing department, your sales department, and your promotion agency. They build your collector base, they hang your work on their walls with no up-front charge, they pay the light bill, they pay the employees who are showing your work, they have their people talking about you, and they pay for food and wine to attract customers. And they advertise, at great expense, to bring people in the door.

Best of all, your gallery is your coach. They'll tell you what you need to hear and help shape your work. Frankly, you'd have to pay a lot more than a 50 percent commission to cover the cost of marketing yourself and the value a good gallery can bring to your work and your career.

I suppose one could make the argument that a gallery is reshaping you into an artist who sells, but it seems that, for most of us, that is important. Maybe there is a limit to what you're willing to do or where you're willing to go, because your soul still needs to be satisfied. But many artists are ready to take some direction, or make some small compromises, in order to eat. After all, doing a painting once in a while to meet a gallery's needs might be a better alternative than working on a road crew. It's kind of like the dad or mom who will take a second or third job to pay the bills. If painting helps pay the bills and you have to stretch out of your comfort zone once in a while, perhaps it's worth considering.

Seeing Brian Sweetland's life cut short and the celebration of hundreds of people who loved his work was an eye-opener. Brian was a local Vermont artist, mostly known regionally. He lived the life he wanted to live, painting and selling art. Had he waited like James, he would have never seen that recognition and may have had to make great sacrifices to keep painting. Neither decision is wrong — but it is a decision.

I speak to hundreds of artists, and most I know are playing it safe and not going for the life they really want to be living. They have a lot of reasons — some of which are practical, like waiting for the family to grow up and move out. Yet I recently met a woman who thought she needed to do that, but found a way in spite of it.

Your life is your choice. Most of us never make choices; we simply live the life expected from us based on our family and circumstances. I have a friend who grew up in a family of line workers in a factory. She is living her life as a line worker in a factory, yet she is a brilliant artist, and she looked forward to retirement so she could paint full-time. When that day came, she decided she couldn't live as an artist yet, so she took another job at another factory. "Someday," she tells me. Yet I predict someday will never come, because her fear is holding her back.

One of my biggest goals in life is to help you take the leap, to give you the encouragement you need, to help you think through the options and offer you the tools to help you make a living as an artist on your terms. But at the end of the day, most will stay in their go-nowhere jobs and groan as they go off to another day of doing what they don't love. Most will give excuses for why they cannot make the leap. I totally understand, I've been there. I wasted a lot of years doing what I didn't love until one day I broke the chains. Now I'm living a dream life. Is it perfect? Not quite, but it gets closer every day because I refuse to let others dictate what my life should be. I went through a process to design my ideal life and a plan to get there (I talk about this in Marketing Boot Camp 1).

A life cut short is a reminder that we need to go for it when we are able and not allow anything or anyone to prevent our dreams from coming alive. Yes, there are circumstances that can block you, there always will be, but a plan can move you forward.

If you're on the fence, if this is speaking to your heart and you know you need to make a decision, take some action every day toward that decision. You can be James or Brian. It's your call.

Eric Rhoads

PS: Last April at the Plein Air Convention I met a young man named Jonathan Luczycki, who told me that by following the advice he'd received in Marketing Boot Camp 1 and 2, he was able to quit his job and become a full-time artist, and he'd sold over 400 paintings in one year. I was approached by dozens of artists who had also transformed their lives. When I hear this, I get energized, and I want to do more and more to help.

So I'll be launching a whole new series (to be announced) at next April's Plein Air Convention, and I'm releasing the third in the series of Marketing Boot Camp DVDs this week (look for an announcement.) This content is not theoretical. I've made a lot of businesses successful with these concepts, which I've applied to selling art. It's different from other art marketing programs out there because it's rooted in marketing products and in business. All I know is that I'm seeing lives transformed and people breaking their chains. I hope you'll respect the fire that is burning inside of you and live the life you dream. It IS possible and ANYONE in any circumstances is capable of it. It starts with your determination to make a decision and make a plan. Go for it.

"I'm depressed. I feel like I've got a giant dark cloud hanging over my head. No matter how good my art is, it's simply not selling. I don't get it. I know painters that are not as good as I am who are selling more art. Why? What am I doing wrong? How long will I have to wrestle with this? I can't seem to find a solution, and I've tried everything. I tried advertising, and it didn't work. I've done art shows, and people just pass by. It's now starting to affect my work because it's robbing me of all the joy of painting when no one seems to want what I do. Is seems like day after day, this problem plagues me and brings sorrow to my heart.

"What am I doing wrong? I need the answers. Painting alone isn't enough. I need that validation from knowing others want what I've put my heart and soul into creating. I need to know others appreciate my art enough to buy it. Plus, I want to paint full-time, which means I need to sell art in order to escape my go-nowhere job. I know there's got to be a solution. I've tried everything. I know there is answer, and I'll be elated when I solve it. I can see success, I can taste it, I know it will come … but it's hard to believe it when I've seen no evidence, and this problem is consuming me."

Sound familiar?

I hear from a lot of artists who are at the end of their rope. I don't mean suicidal, but discouraged enough to give up painting, which they truly love, or to give up trying to sell their art. Artists who either have to solve the problem of why their art isn't selling or go back to a career they don't love, or just continue to struggle. I also hear from artists who were counting on selling paintings to fund their retirement, and others who can't survive financially much longer without selling their art.

The worst part is that their minds start to play tricks on them. They start believing there is no hope, believing that their artwork isn't as good as their friends or family tell them it is. They think in their hearts there is no solution, or that others are just more talented than they are. They start feeling like they don't deserve success and dread the idea of more rejection.

Your Art Is Not the Problem
I'm here to tell you that it's not you, and it's probably not your art. You and I have seen a lot of bad artists become giant sellers, creating work we don't respect. We also know great artists who are better than we are who don't have success selling their work. Most likely the problem is your marketing.

My Mission: Help You Sell More Art
It's my mission in life to help artists sell more art. I can't stand it when artists don't see their dreams come true, which is why I'm putting my decades of experience in other industries toward helping artists solve their greatest challenge: how to sell more art. It's proven to succeed.

In the last 10 years I've had contact with thousands of artists, I've coached hundreds and hundreds of them, and most are really good at their art, yet most of them have problems selling their work. Most have attempted some form of marketing and failed, thrown their money away, seen no results, and become deeply discouraged.

Let me tell you about two buddies:

I have two really good artist friends. Both were depressed because their art was not selling. I sat with both for dinner one night and told them exactly what they needed to do. I walked them both through a basic plan. Both artists told me all the reasons I was wrong, told me that it wouldn't work and how it wasn't what everyone else does. One of the artists called me six months later to tell me he had tried everything else, and though he still thought I was wrong, he was out of ideas and decided to follow my advice. And a year later, he told me he'd had his best sales year in history.

The other artist was convinced it would not work and kept painting for a while, but had to give it up under pressure from his wife to produce a reliable income. He took a job he hates and that doesn't use his creativity. He sits at a desk, has a long commute, and is in a totally unexciting industry. Now, three years later, he tells me he is miserable and wishing he was painting, but he's still unwilling to do what it takes.

Which artist are you most like? The one who is willing to try something new? Or the one who assumes nothing will work?

An Example of Success
Any teacher will tell you they have prize pupils. Rarely does everyone listen to everything I advise them to do; most pick out one or two things to help them begin to sell more art. But one person who attended my first Art Marketing Boot Camp™ two years ago followed most of my advice. I don't want to embarrass her so I'll keep her name out of it (available upon request), but here are her exact words from an e-mail I received on March 8.

Profits up 135% in 2013 over 2012, and 183% over 2011 (entire year). 

First quarter profits up 138% this year over last.

9 workshops planned this year through mid-Nov. Many are full with waiting list. Newly introduced workshops are filling in record time.

In the past 12 months, articles in PleinAir magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur, and two others. Another in the works. These are NOT paid editorials (meaning because I bought ads).

In one year, sold over 200 copies of my first book.

– Invitations to the nation's biggest plein air INVITATIONALS. No longer applying to events due to demand of time. They are approaching me.

– 13 significant awards.

Major gallery connection with yet another top gallery this year.

Upcoming DVD to be produced.

All because I took your marketing advice.

Marketing Isn't Easy
Can this kind of success happen to you? Absolutely. But it's not easy. Nothing good ever is. In fact, the majority of people who attend Boot Camp or buy my DVDs will never be willing to do what it takes. If you want to succeed at selling your art and changing your life, it requires that you think differently (the definition of insanity is repeating the same behavior and expecting different results), create and follow a simple plan, and follow that plan religiously. You can grow your art sales as big as you can dream. My system can work for slow, steady career building or, if you're older and want to speed up the process, it can bring rapid success. But marketing is something most artists refuse to do, and most completely misunderstand it. That is why they are not seeing the success they need.

Invest Where You Need Success
You invest thousands of dollars in a workshop to make progress in your painting. You'll invest hundreds of dollars in DVDs to improve your art. Yet most artists want to be successful painters and won't invest in learning how to market. You need to invest where you need success, which may well be in marketing your art.

You Can Still Live Your Dream
Imagine your life without the stress of not knowing how you'll pay your expenses. What if you were able to be a full-time artist and live the dream of travel, attending and participating in events? What if galleries were chasing you rather than your approaching them and risking rejection? What if you were being invited to events as a special guest, people were lining up to attend your workshops, paintings were selling, and your financial worries were gone?

If you are living with that dark artist cloud over your head and want to break out of it, you can. It is possible, and I can show you the solutions. I'm not one of these people who is going to tell you that if you believe it, you can do it. Though mindset and positive thinking do matter, without a system, they are just thoughts.

The Impossible Is Possible
I know it seems impossible at this moment. We've all been there. I can remember a time when I survived on peanut butter sandwiches because I couldn't afford any other food. I didn't think my plight would ever end. I've been down and out, been broke and on the edge of bankruptcy two different times, and yet I've recovered, used what I've learned to build successful enterprises, and have had some of the world's great mentors teach me their secrets.

Today I'm living in my dream job because I get to travel the world to see art and to paint, attend events, get my portrait painted by the world's great portrait artists, jury shows, spend days shooting art videos with top painters, all while doing what I love, which is writing and running my magazine business. Though I've been blessed and had a lot of good luck, I also know that most of what happened was by design because I practice what I preach. I have a plan, and I follow it.

The First Step Is the Hardest
The first step, they say, is always the hardest. Sometimes we have to bottom out before we take action to change our lives. The artist I mentioned above told me, "My husband was out of work, my work had not been selling, I didn't even have the money to make the trip to the Plein Air Convention to attend Marketing Boot Camp 1, let alone pay for the ticket to attend. Yet I found a way, and it was the absolute most important step in my career, which is why I return each year, even though I know I can buy it on DVD later. As you can see, my art sales are soaring. Though I'm the one who did the hard work, jumped in face-first to commit to following a plan, it was Art Marketing Boot Camp that gave me the step-by-step plan to success."

Understand Why Your Art Isn't Selling
On April 7-11, I will present my third Marketing Boot Camp series live each morning during the Plein Air Convention. The artist above, and dozens and dozens of others, have told me that the Boot Camp alone was worth the entire cost of the trip and admission to the convention. They have seen their lives transformed because they are now selling art. This is an investment in your marketing education, and if your artwork is not selling and you don't know why, things will become clear to you after attending — and you'll have specific action items you can make use of right away. The only question is whether or not you are really ready to make a commitment to selling more artwork.

I'm Investing in Your Success Too
I've built Art Marketing Boot Camp as a series. I'll be presenting three new modules this year on three mornings from 6:30-7:45. Not only do things change from year to year, but I strive to learn new things by attending seminars and events throughout the year, meeting with top marketing minds, and experimenting with new ideas. One three-day seminar alone cost me $1,800, just so I'll have a new module to share on one of the three days. I'll distill the information down, convert it for artists, and present it to you during Marketing Boot Camp 3.
You have my guarantee that if you follow the advice in this new series, you'll build on your current success dramatically. If you follow my full system, you'll double your art sales in one year or less.

Marketing Boot Camp is just a tiny portion of the Plein Air Convention, and you don't have to be a plein air artist to attend. Each year we have portrait and still life artists at the convention. In fact Daniel a brilliant figurative artist is one of our faculty. They come for the experience, the chance for personal and professional growth, and the new friendships. Many are there for the convention; others come for Boot Camp but enjoy the convention as well. Everyone has a great learning experience and a great time.

Eric Rhoads
Publisher PleinAir and FineArt Connoisseur
Author Art Marketing Boot Camp I & II

PS: Artist Success Is Never Accidental
I've had the opportunity to know personally many of the world's great artists. I've spent hours talking with many of them. You may look on their success and wish you were in their position, in some cases making millions of dollars and living amazing lives. Yet each of them started with no advantages, no awareness, no sales. They all had frustrating moments, and some even quit and returned to art later. Others wanted to give up but persisted. But the one thing they all have in common is that they figured out that being a great artist was not enough to sell like a great artist. They have all learned about marketing, whether they learned it by personal experience or through specific study. Some have a natural instinct for marketing. But almost all of them are aggressive marketers following the very principles you'll learn in Art Marketing Boot Camp. I'll teach you a system and three very specific areas to generate new revenue from your art that you've probably never thought about. There is still time for you to make plans to join us in Monterey on April 7-11. If you care deeply about selling more art, this is the best opportunity to learn live. Call now — 561.655.8778 –or go to www.pleinairconvention.com

PS II: I've been told we have room for 40 more people to register at this year's convention. There is typically a lot of activity in the last couple of weeks and even a few walk-up registrations. It would probably be a good idea to secure one of those 40 seats ASAP.

To register, call 561.655.8778 or visit www.pleinairconvention.com

A Marketing Message from Art Publisher B. Eric Rhoads

Room where Vincent Van Gogh died

 A few weeks ago I visited the
grave of Vincent Van Gogh, in the quaint little Northern French village of
Auvers-sur-Oise, as part of our annual art cruise. We were walking the same
streets and trails Van Gogh traveled and painted.

Van Gogh has become the model of the "starving
artist." How many people have told you the life of an artist can't be a
good one because it's such a struggle?

It's a lie.

Though adversity stimulates growth and
life's problems do typically make us better people and artists, the idea that
success in their lifetimes is not possible for artists is simply a lie. In that
same town, artists such as Daubigny, Pissarro, and Corot were great successes,
as were many artists around Normandy and Paris. Yet we hold on to this romantic
notion that we as artists have to struggle.

The Church Van Gogh painted

What lies are holding you back as an
artist?

We have all been held back by lies — lies
others have told us, lies we absorb, lies we tell ourselves. You can either
choose to believe them and allow them to affect you, or you can choose to prove
them wrong.

We all cling to the lies we've heard
from family members, friends, teachers, and colleagues, yet those are the very
thoughts that may be keeping you from achieving success. After all, it's a lot
easier to give yourself an excuse for failure when it's common knowledge that an
artist as great as Van Gogh had to struggle all his life.

It's time to bury the lies.

Vincent and Theo buried together

Last night I watched a movie called "Seven Days in Utopia," about a golfer
who could not perform at his peak because of the voices in his head — things he'd
heard from his father, mother, teachers, and friends Those voices unknowingly interfered
with his success. The premise of one scene in the movie was to focus on truths
and to literally bury the lies. The golfer is instructed to write his epitaph, in
order to help clarify his priorities. (I do this in my Marketing Boot Camp
video.)

What are the critical voices in your
head saying? Though we each have our own, here are some of the lies you may be
holding on to:

• Artists never really
  make a lot of money.
• The life of an artist
  is filled with sacrifice.
• Artists are weird.
• Artists are social
  misfits.
• The artists who are
  rich had special advantages.
• Success is about who
  you know.
• No one wants my
  artwork, really.
• Being successful will
  prevent me from painting what I want.
• There is no room for
  more "greats."
• The only successful
  artists are modern artists.
• I have to put in my
  time and can't succeed till I'm older.
• I'm too old to get
  good.
• I don't deserve
  success.
• My parents were
  right, this art thing will never amount to anything.
• I'm an artist because
  it's what my parents wanted me to do.
• I could never sell
  enough paintings to quit my day job.
• There are so many
  artists who deserve success more than me. 

What lies are rattling around in your
head? It's time to find out.

Shut yourself in a quiet room and start
writing down everything you know about yourself and your art. Take careful
notice of what creeps into your mind. Now ask yourself which of those thoughts are
lies, which thoughts are limiting you and giving you an excuse for failure. Whether
those lies come from others or are things you've told yourself, it doesn't mean
they should have power over you.

You'll find this exercise to be
cleansing, and you'll find that you've been spending a lot of your time letting
untruths govern your life.

Every single artist I know, including
some of the most successful artists in the world, have to deal with some form
of negative self-talk. The only difference between the successes and failures
is that the successes have learned to push most of it away the second they
realize it's there, and they don't let it affect their performance.

What about you? Find the lies and bury
them. It will change your career and impact your success immediately.

Eric Rhoads

PS: I battle negative thoughts every
day of my life. In fact, it's a constant battle, and sometimes the lies win.
There are things I've avoided because I tell myself I'm not the right fit, not
good enough, not smart enough, not successful enough. In fact, after the first Plein
Air Convention, where I presented Marketing
Boot Camp, I told myself people
wouldn't be interested in a MarketingBoot Camp II, about how to get into galleries, how to make websites sell
more product, how to build a brand, and how to use social media for success. In
fact, I almost decided not to do it. What swayed me was a call from an artist
who had followed my advice and seen her career transformed. Then and only then
did I stop listening to the lies in my head. This may seem like a silly
exercise, but do whatever it takes to remove negative "truths" that
are really lies that hold you back.

Imagine being a collector, seeing a painting on ebay for $100,000 and bidding on it. In spite of the documentation demonstrated on the ebay page you find out that you’ve been sold a fraud.

Though web marketing is a powerful tool, which increases your reach and potential customer base, there are pitfalls. Trust is the biggest pitfall.

A collector spending a high price (or not a high price in many cases) needs to feel comfortable that they are dealing with a legitimate, known art dealer who will not sell them a fake, and who will stand behind a purchase. This is true whether buying in person, by phone or on the Internet. TRUST is a critical factor with buyers.

If a potential buyer sees your advertisement of a painting she wants to own she will not respond to the advertisement to buy the painting unless she is convinced you can be trusted. Its not unlike family and friends. You would not meet someone new and ask them to babysit your kids until you got to know them. It is not until several meetings and interactions that you form a bond of trust with an individual. To some extent the same is true with the collector-dealer relationship. Trust is built through multiple impressions. If they have seen you multiple times trust begins to build. A SOLID BRAND mostly represents trust. Do you trust Graff Diamonds more than XYZ Diamond company? I do. Its about brand, about hearsay (people talk), and its about frequent impressions.

I had this discussion with a dealer who had been in business for twenty years. He said, "Everyone in the art world knows who we are. We don’t need to build trust, we already have it." He was not wrong. Yet I was consulting a collector who wanted to purchase a specific painting. This man had been collecting for five years and when I took him to the gallery for a visit he told me he was not aware of them and wondered about their reputation. I assured him of their reputation and they ended up doing business.

I mentioned this story to the gallery owner and his response was, "I thought everybody knew us. This must be an exception." When I asked him how they had built their reputation he mentioned that they used to advertise consistently, however their business was doing well, so they stopped heavy advertising a few years back and only advertised for special events. Obviously this new collector had entered the market after their campaigns ended.

I remind dealers that an established brand can ultimately be diminished without consistent visibility. I also remind them that attrition is the enemy. Old collectors die and new collectors are always entering the market. Do the new collectors know their brand? Don’t assume they do. I have met scores of new collectors as a result of the magazine. Most lack history and knowledge of the art world.  I had a collector I consult recently ask me if I thought Warren Adelson was a good dealer. He was thinking of buying a painting. Of course I told him Warren was one of the world’s leading dealers yet this mega-millionaire had no clue and did not know if Warren could be trusted. I assured him he could. This man only recently had the free cash to begin his collecting and in his first year of collecting has spent about three million dollars on art works, yet he did not know about most of the dealers who had been established for generations.

I also tell dealers that each publication has some shared readership and some exclusive readership, meaning they have readers who do not read other publications. If you have been advertising in one place for 20 years then only the shared readership portion of the audience will know of your brand, the others may not. This is why I advocate frequency and consistency. Ultimately its about trust. Do they know you, do they trust you. If they cannot trust you they won’t buy. Of course once you get them on the phone you can probably give them testimonials or find ways to increase their trust, but if they don’t call because they don’t know you there may be no sale. 

I got this question from a gallery start up recently. What would you do if you were new and wanted to get established?

1. You cannot leap frog time: Marketing a new business takes time. All the techniques you employ will make an impact but time is the most powerful tool. The longer you show up the more you are noticed.
2. Dominate What You Can Afford: New businesses want to spread their marketing to lots of places. OK if you’re cash supply is unlimited but… that’s rare. So it is best to dominate what you can afford. One impression does not do anything. You need multiple impressions over long periods of time to build trust. But pick an audience (a single magazine or perhaps two) and be in every issue with the largest ad you can afford. (If you cannot be in every issue, use one fewer publication and smaller ads.) Being seen consistently is critical.
3. Look Successful: How? Size, design (elegance) and what you are featuring (quality art).
4. Halo Effect: They may not know and trust you. Who do they trust? Hire that person as your spokesperson or at least offer a testimonial. It helps.
5. Put Customers to work: Those who love you should tell others. They won’t think of it on their own. Ask (graciously) for recommendations. “Is there a collector you know that might not be aware of us?
6. Be everywhere that matters. Be seen. (Tastefully)
7. Generate Publicity: Find something newsworthy you can do. Local press is a great place to start. Newspapers, Magazines (local), Radio and Television. Have a lecture series, a celebrity come to town, hold an event, make a major donation.
8. Don’t let up. You may think you’re everywhere and visible but it takes many impressions before people notice you. Meanwhile you think your message is getting old. It’s not. Be consistent in message and keep it visible.