Big Steps, Little Steps
by Debra Keirce
The FASO Way newsletter — exploring how to thrive as an artist in the age of AI
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Today’s Article
The following article was written by Debra Keirce, a regular contributing author to The BoldBrush Letter.
Big Steps, Little Steps
It sounds like the title of a Dr. Seuss book, doesn’t it? One Step, Two Step, Big Step, Blue Step.
What are you doing to build momentum enough to realize your objectives by the end of the year? Are you chugging caffeine and attacking the big steps? Or, have you been entering the little steps into a color coded spreadsheet you will never look at again? Some seasons I do both.
But which do you think are more important to invest in?
One day at a time is a phrase we have all heard. But we also know that go for broke, risking everything in a breakout effort to succeed, is a strategy. I have been frustrated with them all. Usually I get impatient waiting for the payout on the one day at a time to happen. But, my bank account and energy stores can’t handle much of the go for broke attempts.
Whether it is a large or small act, it is depleting our resources, and we are looking for a return on that investment. But in this art business, the ROI is rarely obvious. It can take years of hard work to get a single sale.
So what can we do? I often get sick of hearing that as long as I am moving forward, I shouldn’t worry if I only do a small bit of the task. That’s always when I encounter a mud puddle I know I am going to have to jump over.
I was thinking about this recently when I spoke with a friend of mine. Thomas Nash is an amazing, and very successful, portrait artist who built his career through word of mouth, one referral at a time. Half a century ago, he began by doing what he knew he was good at. The first ten years of his career were spent on the streets of Gatlinburg and other tourist towns doing pastel portraits from life. Then he “moved up” to sketching portraits in shopping malls where he could work indoors. Today, he is in his own studio, turning away five figure commissions that don’t feel like a good fit for him.
That is the kind of artistic swagger we all dream of.
Tom’s secret sauce? He identified from the start, what his interests were. He liked people and he liked painting faces. For over 50 years now, he has been working hard to be less bad at these two things, every single day. He didn’t worry about whether he was taking big or little steps toward his goals. He just focused on creating the best relationships with his clients and on becoming a more skilled artist. As a result, his collectors typically came back like loyal boomerangs, and improved skills allowed him to raise his prices. That was Tom’s strategy - be better at what you are already good at. It worked for him.
Then there’s my story, I crashed the party a little late. When I began my career in earnest, I did the math. I knew that realistically, I only had 40 to 50 years at most to live, and then only if I ate more kale and adopted a “blue zone” lifestyle. I knew that at best, I could probably only count on about 30 of those years being productive, before my hands decide they are done creating.
Naturally, I panicked. I had to try all the media, all the subjects, all the marketing ploys, in order to figure out which ones worked for me. I felt like a human pinball in a gallery-shaped machine.
After a decade of frantic situations for building a skillset, teaching, creating, advertising, and selling, I finally got to where my friend Thomas started, I think. I am taking it one day at a time. The “sprint” phase of website and social media and resume building is mostly over. Now, I am zeroing in on what I actually love. Compared to my early pace, I am taking baby steps. I just need the stamina to keep walking at a steady pace, without tripping over my own ambition.
Where are you on this chaotic continuum? Are you taking superhero sized leaps, or are you in a more eloquent high heeled part of the journey? Or are you in a weird combination of both, like wearing the high heels but walking on cobblestones?
Debra Keirce
www.DebKArt.com
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High heels on cobblestones--and I have always hated high heels! Some years I think this just isn't going to be a business at all.
Oh I can totally identify with what you are saying, and even after 40+ years at this and several "awards" and times that it looked as if I "made it big" only to dip back down into the trenches (or fall into that mud puddle), I am still working on those Small Steps/Big Steps toward that moving target; but loving it every step of the way!!