Will Galleries Call You? ~ The Art's Big Glass Of Wine

Will Art Galleries Invite You to Hang on Their Walls?
The secret one gallery director admitted

Dear A Big Glass Of Wine,

When I teach art marketing, the most frequent question I get is: "How do I get into art galleries?"

The answer is always the same.

Gallerists are busy people. They are running a business, dealing with customers, employees, accounting, marketing, payroll, and other business.

One gallery director told me…

"I love artists, but they don't think. They waste my time with unsolicited e-mails and packages. That simply doesn't work here."

He went on to tell me about the excessive amount of time he spends opening mail and e-mail, only to find out it's from artists soliciting to get into the gallery.

When I asked him the best way to get into the gallery, he said…

"Artists only get into my gallery if I invite them in. And I don't invite people I don't know or people who drop in, send me packages, or send me e-mails. I have a business to run, and that eats into my time."

By now, you're asking, "Well, then, how do I get invited in?"

Another gallery owner admitted to me that he is secretly watching dozens of artists:

"I use a fake name, and I follow them on social media. I watch the art magazines and who is advertising. Often I find artists who are promising but not quite ready…. Sometimes they never improve and I lose interest, because if an artist isn't seeing improvement, he or she will never sell. "

He went on to say…

"...but artists who make vast improvements, I watch more closely. And then, when the time comes, I invite them into the gallery. It can change their life."

If you want to be in galleries, or in better galleries, ask yourself this question …
and be honest with yourself.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how am I doing in my artististic growth?"

What are you doing to take a giant leap forward in your artwork?

Is there something specific you need to work on to get to the next level?

Do you have an accurate perspective on where your work stands today?

How important is it to you that you get better or get into a gallery?

How would your life and income change if you got the right major gallery behind you?

Another gallery director told me this…

"There was a time when most of the top-selling artists in my gallery were not good enough to be invited in.

"But as I watched them improve and saw their commitment to growth, they got my attention. As a result, I invited them in, and some of these artists went from poverty to wealth because they took the time to invest in themselves. That's what I look for."

Because of what I do for a living, I've studied learning and growth. There is not an easy fix, no easy answer. To grow, you have to put in the brush mileage. But practice without great mentors will slow your progress.
We've discovered that total immersion for short bursts of time can be very effective, and often fosters rapid growth.

When you attend Realism Live for three days, from morning to night, watching some of the finest artists in the world, your skills can increase rapidly. I've even found things I've seen on Realism Live popping into my head when I'm trying to solve a problem.

Realism Live is a three-day online conference (with an optional fourth Beginner/Refresher Day), featuring 28 deeply experienced, high-level artists who are world-renowned.

It covers realism in all forms … loose realism/impressionism and tight or academic realism.
Subjects range from portraits, figures, still life, and landscape painting to florals and other topics. And different mediums, from pastel to oil to watercolor.

The best surprise of all is that you'll learn something important from sessions you may never have expected to benefit you or your approach. Tight realists learn from loose realists, oil painters learn from watercolor painters. It can all be applied to what you do.

Yes, I want to work toward massive growth as an artist. Tell me more.

What great artists have in common
Spending the last couple of decades with some of the best of the best, I've discovered that even the most experienced and most highly paid artists are always learning and growing. Every artist on Realism Live will provide you with an unexpected answer to a problem and help you be better at drawing or painting.

And, for less than the price of an in-person workshop or even a Zoom workshop, you get three days and 28 artists teaching their systems and techniques. And you can meet other artists worldwide in our breakout rooms and evening paint-along cocktail parties. It never hurts to have more friends or people you can call for some quick painting advice.

Yes, I want to work toward massive growth as an artist. Tell me more.

"But I have a job and can't be there"
Ask yourself this: Is growing as an artist a high priority? This event runs Thursday-Saturday (plus optional Beginner/Refresher day on Wednesday). If you can take a couple of days off, you'll be able to watch live. If not, you can get up to one year of replays (different packages are available, but every ticket comes with replays).

"But I'm not in the U.S.A."
You'll be in good company. At our last event, we had people attending from about 28 different countries. Some watch live in the middle or the night or early morning, some watch live part of the time and replay the rest of the time. What matters is that you grow to the next level as fast as possible.

I've seen huge transformations
We suggest people do a drawing or painting before the event, then one right after. Many people have posted their results. Keep in mind, one small tip can open your eyes to a world of change. Last time around I learned one little tip that made all of my portraits instantly better. I not only have seen transformations personally, each time I've attended one of these, people have shown me how their work has changed.

If you paint along, or follow the lessons and paint along later, you should see a big change in your artwork. And if you put in the time and practice using the hundreds of tips you've discovered, you should see massive progress rapidly.

Yes, I want to work toward massive growth as an artist. Tell me more.

Why you should not attend Realism Live
You should not attend if you are happy with where you are in your painting ability.
You should not attend if personal growth isn't on your radar.
You should not attend if you're not curious about the techniques the masters have used to become masters.
You should not attend if you're not committed as an artist.
And you should not attend if this is going to take food off the table. It's OK to stretch a little, especially if you believe growth will help your paintings sell better.

"What if I am caring for a family member?"
When you get on an airplane they say, "Place your oxygen mask on before assisting others."
What you do is thankless hard work. And if you're doing everything for others and never taking care of your own interests or needs, you'll burn out faster. Perhaps someone can step in so you can watch live, or if not, you can probably sneak in some viewing after hours. You give a lot, but are you taking care of yourself?

People have told me this one event has carried them through a whole difficult year.
They appreciate the energy, the fun, and the great learning. They like that they have access to watch top masters at work, who in some cases no longer teach and don't even have videos available. And in at least one case, we know this is the final time this artist will ever appear.

Buy yourself some extra art supplies
We offer an early-bird rate, something we can do up to a certain date. But after midnight November 6, the price is increasing. You could use the money you save for more art supplies.

Why you can't go wrong
How do you know if this is as good as we say it is? What is the worst that could happen if you sign up, and feel as though you made a giant mistake? We offer a 100% money back guarantee. If you watch the first full day, and don't feel as though that single day was worth the investment you made in the entire three-day event, just let us know by the end of day one and we will refund 100% of your money, and you will have had day one for free.

Yes, I want to work toward massive growth as an artist. Tell me more.

"What exactly is realism? I don't do that kind of work."
Realism is anything representational (looks like something). It's not abstract or experimental work. If you paint tight academic work like the Old Masters, or if you paint loose impressionistic work, you'll be happy. We cover both, and one informs the other.

"I'm not sure I'm good enough to attend"
Which is better? Start your art life with a lesser teacher, one who is not deeply experienced? Or is it better to learn from someone who has spent, in many cases, decades learning how to draw and paint, how to teach it more effectively, and how to cut unnecessary corners and prevent mistakes? Start with the best. You might feel like all the information is like a firehose into a teacup, but you'll retain a lot, and you'll see improvement if you practice what you learn. And we have an optional pre-event Beginner/Refresher Day to help overcome the jitters of being new.

"I'll wait till next time. There will be a next time, right?"
Well … yes, no — maybe. Sure, we hope to do it again next year, but these days, nothing is predictable. We do know that the faculty we've gathered for this event will never be together again as a group teaching these exact things. Sure, we may have some of them repeat, but what we have for Realism Live this year will never be the same.

"I attended the first Realism Live during Covid. I got what I needed."
That's good news if you got what you needed. But what do you need now that you have a year or two more experience? I find that when I grow, I discover new problems I don't know how to solve. Plus, the faculty this year is entirely different. And we've changed the presentation and format, so there is a big difference. The most important question is: "Can I stand to grow more?"
Is a potential year of growth worth what you would spend to go out for dinner with two couples? Is it worth the cost of your cable bill? Will making your artwork better make you less frustrated? Will you make more money?

"What if I don't want to be invited into a gallery?"
You might not be invited in even if you improve. But lots of us paint for ourselves, not to make a living. Yet when I walk into a museum or gallery and see work at a higher level, my first question is, "Can I get to that level?" My second question is, "How can I get to that level?"

"Is it over my head?"
The way we learn is interesting. When I attended the first time, there were concepts that were over my head, and there were things I didn't pay attention to because they did not seem important. Yet after a couple more years of experience, those things matter to me more than they did then.

Yes, I want to work toward massive growth as an artist. Tell me more.

A personal experience from three weeks ago
I've attended Realism Live twice, as host. I'm busy behind the scenes and can only watch about 10% of the entire show personally, yet I watch when I can.

I had not painted a portrait in over two years, and yet this fall, I sat down at my Fall Color Week on portrait night and I knocked out one of the best portraits of my life, in less than an hour and a half, and under horrible low-light conditions.

How did it happen?

Well, I had not been practicing. The only thing that had changed since my last portrait was attending Realism Live. Something stuck.

Will this happen to you?

It's all about the accumulation of information, where you are now plus what you've just learned. There are no guarantees it will happen to you, but I can pretty much guarantee that if you're not growing, you'll be frustrated and wishing you could do a better job drawing or painting.

The only question is whether or not you're ready and committed.

There is never a perfect time.

There was a guy I wanted to study under. For years I told myself one day I'd go be a part of his group. I also told myself I was not ready to spend the money. Then I got a call that he was in hospice and expected to die within days.

Not only did I feel awful for him, but I kicked myself for always putting it off. I told myself "someday," but then I learned someday wasn't going to come.

The good news of the story is that this artist had a miraculous recovery. So the first thing I did, after waiting till I heard he was available again, was ask him to work with me. I signed up and paid my money — and suddenly it did not seem like a lot of money.

And the best part is that my gut had told me I'd see a massive transformation from spending time learning from this top guy. Turns out, the transformation and growth I received was bigger than I could have expected.

I don't want to be morbid, but if the last three years taught us anything, it's never to assume that anything that is here today will be here tomorrow. My favorite restaurant is gone. Some of my favorite stores are gone. And, sadly, some of my favorite people are gone. If we've learned anything from these difficult times, it's to call people when you think of it, go visit them as soon as you can, and do the things you want to do in your life.

"But what about inflation and the economy?"
It hurts. My 401(k) has lost a lot of its value. I'm cutting back where I can. But I'm not putting my life on hold. If it's important to me, I'll find a way. And these things don't last forever. Plus, if our costs go up, it won't be as cheap next year.

"What about the election the day before Realism Live?"
Your world is about to come crashing down. That's what both sides want you to believe. Watch any news, and you'll see they are selling fear: If you don't elect the right people, everything will get worse.

They say it at every election, and we continue to believe it. Though I care (and so do you), no matter what happens, I'm living my artistic life and focused on growing as an artist so I can escape all the political nonsense. Art brings peace. Art is an escape. When you are growing as an artist, you feel better about yourself. And the best news of all: When you wake up after Election Day, you will be watching Realism Live instead of endless play-by-play of what went right or what went wrong.

Yes, I want to work toward massive growth as an artist. Tell me more.

"I work full-time. I don't have the time."
Thank you for all your hard work. Many people I know are working hard to save money so they can become full-time artists when they retire. Others jump in sooner. Still others never plan to make their living as an artist — it's a hobby or an escape. In any case, if you're not happy with your work, it's probably a good idea to do something about it when you can. If you can't watch live, you can still watch. You can get replays for up to a year, so you can watch a little here and there … on your phone or tablet or PC between meetings, or on weekends, or whenever you get a few minutes.

"I'm happy with where I am as an artist."
That's good news! Then Realism Live probably isn't for you. I go through phases like this. I feel I'm in a good place. Then I get exposed to something really good somewhere, and when I walk into my studio, I want to be sick. All it takes is one great painting by some great artist to make me realize I want to get better. If you're good enough, and happy with it, there is no argument. But I will tell you that when you watch these masterful artists at work and see the things they will teach you, you'll be happy you took the leap.

"So what about getting invited into art galleries?"
That's where we started. There are many other tools to get into galleries, but being the best you can be is a great starting point. Growth keeps our brain elastic, makes us feel better about ourselves, keeps us feeling younger and more satisfied. Whether a gallery is important to you or not, growth is always a good thing. I hope to see you at Realism Live next week.