What Called You to Create?
A free guide to help you tell the stories collectors want to hear
What called you to create?
That’s the question collectors would like to have the answer to.
At the end of this email, we’ve got a free PDF download for you called Stories that Sell Art. You can use this guide to help you craft the stories that resonate with collectors. But I’d like to explain the philosophy behind crafting these stories first....
Most artists do not start creating with a business plan. They begin because they feel The Call.
Maybe The Call came through beauty. Maybe it arrived through grief. Maybe it was felt through the “divine wound” of wonder. Maybe a teacher, a parent, a landscape, a museum, a song, a childhood memory, or a sudden moment when the world seemed more alive than usual triggered the spark of inspiration.
But somewhere along the way, something in you said:
Create.
But, the music of The Call is easy to lose in the noise of the modern world.
The world asks artists to become content creators, social media managers, shipping departments, photographers, copywriters, bookkeepers, and marketers.
But underneath all of that, the The Call remains. And your website should serve that call; it should tell the story of that call.
😊 We built FASO to push back against a world that treats art like content and artists like algorithms. Your work is more important than that. The world needs beauty more than ever. If our mission appeals to you, then you need a serious, beautiful home for your art, the details are below, after the essay.
—Clint
A proper art website should not bury your work under clutter, gimmicks, or generic marketing language. It should not annoy people with popups or be littered with ads like a Nascar rum runner. It should make your artistic path clearer. It should help your visitors understand what you are drawn to, what you notice, what you love, and why your work exists.
It should tell your story because humans think in terms of story, myth and magic. Stories are what actually move the needle on selling art. Before people buy your art, they have to buy into your art. And that means, by and large, buying into the story of you. So it’s worth spending some time to tell your story well.
Hemingway said that all that was needed to write well, to tell a good story, was to write one true sentence; a sentence that bleeds.
So today, try this:
Write one true sentence that describes The Call behind your work.
Don’t write a marketing slogan. Don’t try to think of a clever tagline. Just write something true.
Examples:
“I capture the disappearing quiet of rural places.”
“My work explores emotion through color.”
“I paint the dignity and beauty of ordinary people that modernity ignores.”
“My landscapes are an attempt to preserve wonder in a world that has forgotten it.”
Once you have a sentence like that, you can use it to shape your bio, your homepage, your collections, and even the way you talk about individual artworks.
The clearer you are about The Call, the easier it becomes for the right people to recognize the stories your artwork tells.
And, when your bio is ready, if you have a FASO account or have started a trial, you can update it easily on your FASO website here.
I started this article with a question, What called you to create?
We’d love to know the answer to that question in the comments. Please let us know!
If our philosophy resonates with you, please join us. This is about more than just where you host your website. In a world of growing AI, this is about joining with others who wish to protect the ecosystem of human artists. It’s about working with people who view the importance of human art the same way you do. If we don’t band together in this time, we risk losing something important to the all-consuming beast of the algorithm.
PS — Here are the links to the free ebook, Stories that Sell Art. I worked hard on it, so please, after you’ve taken a look, please hit reply and let me know what you think and if you’d like more content like this. —Clint
Sometimes, the most extraordinary beauty is found in ordinary places. And often it's simple things transformed by light that attract my artists eye.
Okay, that's two sentences. But I couldn't help myself!
There is something powerful about the word ‘call’. It suggests that creativity is not only a decision we make, but also a relationship we enter into - one that asks us to listen, respond and continue …