Most Popular Submissions about art marketing, selling art, artist websites and inspiration

 "ironically, marketing your brand (yes, drumming up the attention that may have made you a target in the first place) is exactly what you should continue doing to fight imitators." (Molly Fisher)

 "You have only one chance to make a good first impression, and that adage certainly applies to e-mail correspondence. It is essential that we all understand and apply proper e-mail etiquette and avoid the pitfalls that may lead to immediate rejection." (Renee Phillips)

 "Stop worrying so much about comparing yourself to every other possible competitor you can imagine and start comparing yourself to nothing. Are you really worth the hassle, the risk, the time, the money? Or can't the prospect just wait until tomorrow?" (Seth Godin)

 "Looking at a blank page can be intimidating, too. Spending a bunch of time making a nice wood panel can make me feel precious about making a mark. But once it's in front of me, and I have to follow through, I don't give time to doubt, but just drop in and start painting." (Katana Barnett)

 "People who are way out of sync with the digital maelstrom of the moment aren't always bad followers. They might be great leaders." (Seth Godin)

 "Life is short, People. You're going to be dead soon. So frickin' go do something about it. Frickin' go do something that matters. Seriously." (Hugh MacLeod)

 "So if you get it right, you can just do your thing, delighting, thrilling (and selling to) the audience that you already have, without obsessing over which "A-Lister" is linking to you (or not), or how many new Twittter followers you've gotten (or haven't) since last month." (Hugh MacLeod)

 "There's nothing wrong with having many interests and experimenting with new techniques (in fact, I encourage it!), but identifying your artistic strengths can help keep you focused and lead to a more mature and developed art practice." (Miranda Aschenbrenner)

 "The painting is made or lost in the layin. There is no point in going into opaque color and thickening the painting up until you have got the design and general drawing worked out transparently. If you cheat the layin for time, you are likely to pay later." (Stapleton Kearns)

 "So if you're not making a living at art just yet, but want to - be realistic about what it takes to get there. Get started on the next step - be it education, buying good materials, or developing a body of work to present to collectors and gallerists." (Lori Woodward Simons)

 "SlideShare is a presentation tool that can you help you promote your art to a whole new audience at no cost." (Alyson Stanfield)

 "How you are going to deal with the problems in a painting is the most important thing to get out of your layin. Designing and arranging the painting have to be done at this point, later, is too late." (Stapleton Kearns)

 "So many times we have seen artists, writers, and musicians seemingly come out of nowhere and become overnight sensations. The truth, however, is that the vast majority of these people have been working in obscurity for years on their art." (Drew Kimble)

 "Good layins lead to good paintings, cursory efforts lead to gremlins." (Stapleton Kearns)

 "If you find you are stuck-in-a-rut, it might help to try something new. Read a book on a new subject, watch an instructional DVD or Youtube video, take a workshop or try using a different medium to create." (Lori McNee)

 "Why not create your own exhibition opportunities? Put together your own show just like the artists who organized the Armory Show in the early part of the 20th century." (Harriete Estel Berman)

 "Rather than running around the ship worrying about what will happen, grab the helm and get it through the storm." (Charlie Gilkey)

 "Getting up and moving around is valuable as a creative ploy as well as being good for the bones...It's an inexplicable mystery, but paintings can often be significantly improved right after a walk." (Robert Genn)

 "You can start selling art at any time that feels comfortable for you. If someone wants to buy a piece and you believe in the quality of the work, sell it." (Alyson Stanfield)

 "Making it a priority to maintain a professional atmosphere with all visitors will help you fend off the urge to be short or unresponsive to prospective customers who are demanding, time-consuming or unhappy." (Carolyn Edlund)

 "If what you are passionate about in your art carries over to the rest of your life, it will immeasurably boost your art career." (Barney Davey)

 "If you want to make and keep customers, you have to smile. It's that simple." (Maria Brophy)

 "An artist who is a perpetual student will improve. To improve means to be better able to express oneself." (Keith Bond)

 "The greatest damage that photography has done to painting may be the fact that it killed the best day job. Most of the great painters in history supported themselves by painting portraits." (Paul Graham)

 "Trim the excess fat off oversized "To Do" lists and focus on top priorities. Work smarter not harder." (Renee Phillips)

 "If you feel like your guts are being ripped out because you're letting your work go for too little, don't sell it for that price." (Joanne Mattera)

 "If you, when designing a picture, scatter subjects all over the canvas and divide that canvas up into similar shapes, measurements and intervals, the viewers eye quickly tires. They don't know what the important thing is, and at what they should be looking. When everything on the canvas demands equal attention, everything gets overlooked. " (Stapleton Kearns)

 "The making of art needs to be a dynamic, evolving event, of joyfully trying this and that. To keep both yourself and your viewers interested, it has to be. " (Robert Genn)

 "Despite repeated proclamations of its extinction, rumors of the death of email marketing have been greatly exaggerated - especially since email and social media are a powerful combination." (Brian Clark )

 "For me there is no greater freedom than to wake up with no agenda other then to paint the world as I see it and meet some of the genuine souls that inhabit it. " (Kelly Sullivan )