Art Money Success: Finally Make Money Doing What You Love: A Complete and Easy-to-Follow System for the Artist Who Wasn't Born with a Business Mind

I was was originally interested in this book because of the high reviews, but was disappointed that there was no solid advice for getting customers from just starting out. The other thing I was disappointed in was that this is from the standpoint of a marketer, not the artist - another disappointment. Its great that she can market all her husbands stuff while her husband just does art all day but for an artist working full time, trying to market their own stuff and get pieces to sell? This book isn't very helpful. She does have some good advice for artists already selling their work hence the three star.

I’m a professional airbrush artist. I’ve always approached my art commercially and having a marketing management background I’m not a newbie to business. However, I’ve always found that marketing and selling art provides unique challenges. My airbrush business really picked up since last year, but now I’m looking to reach a new level. I’ve read Maria’s blog in the past. This book was released at exactly the perfect time for me. It expands on a lot of topics she has written about in her blog, but it’s all in one book and organized in a logical order and there’s a lot more info and background. I love the worksheets at the end of chapters. Some of her advice I was already practicing before I read the book, but I also picked up a lot of great ideas from her book. A big one for me were her chapters on pricing and of course art licensing. What I really like about her book though, is that it’s full of great advice, without the condescending tone of some other art business books I’ve read. I highly recommend this book.

I certainly wasn't born with a business mind, much artistic talent or any inclination to surf. So this most Californian of how-to books that focusses on how the author went about selling her surf-loving husband's art should have rubbed me – a cynical Old World Brit who merely dabbles in water colours when he's had too much to drink – up the wrong way. And yet, despite the odd mix of woo-woo spiritualism and crass Yankee commercialism (you have to emanate true love for other people before you can close the deal) I found myself, dare I say it, agreeing with her. After reading this personal guide to negotiating the choppy waters of making a living through creating art I was inspired. OK, I don't have the talent (yet) to make a living from my art, but I do have the tenacity. Put a cork in the wine bottle, and get to work. Business and art don't have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, as you realise the further you get though the book, good art and good business go hand in hand. The bottom line? If you have any desire to make a living from your art, I recommend you read this practical, inspirational book.

This book is a gold mine for anyone in a creative field, but definitely incredibly helpful for illustration artists like me. I've been freelancing since 2010 doing illustration and graphic design, but I was barely making it. I had no business training whatsoever, but this book was a perfect resource to teach me the ins and outs of the art business and it helped me immensely. Just following Maria's advice to get focused on what I really want to do was super helpful. I realized I didn't enjoy doing graphic design or taking on commissions that didn't mesh with my core values as an artist just to earn a paycheck. Now I only focus on making fantasy illustration and portraits. I'm doing what I love, so the work I'm producing is so much better and people are taking notice. I've implemented so many of the strategies Maria laid out, and I'm finally seeing the success I've yearned for all these years. Suddenly doors are opening and there's more opportunities than I could have ever imagined. I can't thank Maria enough for writing such a heartfelt, insightful book to really help artists achieve their goals and make money doing what they love. A+++++ and a must have for all artists out there!

I buy art and business books frequently. While many have very good and practical information, some, like this one, are treasure troves of inside perspective. Few things are as frustrating as reading advice from someone who has not actually accomplished what they are writing about. I've wasted plenty of money listening to "experts" who are really only interested in marketing their marketing materials. It's refreshing to read a book like this detailing specific plans of action and offering practical exercises to help clarify your path.It's a very substantial review of the tried and true methods of both traditional and guerrilla marketing as well as an honest appraisal of what it takes to succeed. I like that the author suggests that every artist must forge their own artistic and marketing path and style. Additionally, she does a great job using her own challenges to illustrate the roadblocks and solutions that she and her husband discovered along the way.I'll be re-reading this guide a few more times. I'm sure there are gems I'm missing.

I have my bachelors degree in Fine Art from a prestigious art school in the United States that I will not name. All through college I remember students asking the professors “How can we make money from our art?” The professors would laugh at us and replied “If you are trying to make money from your art, you should probably seek another profession.” There were never any classes that taught us anything practical about selling art, finding clients, online sales, how to network etc. The only thing they “taught” us was a minimal class on how to try and get into galleries. I graduated 10 years ago and had given up on being a full time artist. I didn’t know how to even find clients. The only people I ever met were unwilling to pay money for artwork. My dream was dead until I found this book. I just finished reading it and I can’t wait to start re-reading it. When I finish my next body of work I will immediately use the techniques from this book. If you are an artist who wants to make a living at what you love, buy this book. I have never read any of this information in any other book about art. Thank you Maria Brophy!!!

After I gave up teaching to pursue my dream of making my living as an artist, I bought this book on the recommendation of Michelle Lloyd, the founder of United Artspace. It is the most useful and informative book on building an art career that I've read. My fine art degree didn't equip me to survive in the modern world (the career advice I got basically boiled down to: "Try to get picked up by a big London gallery. Oh, and good luck"). It turns out that there are plenty of ways to survive, make money and even positively thrive as an artist in our connected society. Maria Brophy demonstrates it clearly in this book. What's more, she shows you how to do it in a way that avoids "selling out" or slimy aggressive sales techniques. You can sell your art by being principled and straightforward. Who knew? It was also news to me that the gallery system is no longer the only way (or even the main way) to sell your art or craft. Instead, Brophy shows that using the internet, and being willing to step just a little outside your comfort zone, allows you to be in control of the money your art generates. If you don't want to be dependent on a gallery, you don't need to. Woohoo!! Her advice is applicable to all artists, designers and craftspeople and it hits home because what she writes is what she has practiced since the 90s with her painter husband Drew Brophy, probably the world's most successful surf-art painter.Brophy starts with the basics, such as "What do you want from your art career?" finding your niche and how to identify your ideal buyer. Short exercises with worksheets help you to establish these. She then takes you step by step through promoting your work, live events, copyright issues, negotiating, making sales, contracts, and pretty much any situation or problem that you are likely to come across as an artist, designer or craftsperson. After some simple business habits and systems, she ends with some inspiration for executing grandiose visions.I feel better equipped for my new career having read this book and I know I will be referring back to it again in the coming months and years. It's all solid practical advice and information! I've read quite a few artists' guidance and personal development books and they can often have flabby bits you can skip, but this book is packed from start to finish with great ideas and sound advice! If it were a burger, it would be 100% prime beef.

The advice given in the book would only suit someone with a background in sales as it talks about aggressive marketing and selling tactics. Most artists are introverts so this wouldn’t be relevant at all.

Many people nurture the dream of successfully bringing their art into the world and earning a living in the process. This book shows how it can be accomplished.Via the well-crafted chapters of Art Money & Success, Maria guides us first inwardly (because mindset is so very important and unless our psychological compasses can be relied upon, we may not end up where we intended to go) and then outwardly: in the process of finding ways to earn money from artworks, Maria shares the many challenges, revelations, successes and pitfalls that she encountered in over two decades of working with her artist husband Drew.As I see it, Maria is the best ally that an artist could have.Each chapter covers a different subject to study and master - these pillars of knowledge will serve the reader in other departments of life too - not just in the business of creating and selling art (e.g. the advice pertaining to Negotiation and the chapter on Networking).There is so much actionable material in this book that even highly established practitioners will discover strategies that could augment/enhance their existing way of operating and magnify the value of their works.The value of this material to an emerging artist or debutante is potentially huge - when projected into their future - as long as they ACT on what they read.... which brings me to an important point:This is a book that MUST be acted upon: it presents a receptive reader with so much knowledge that to not follow through on it would leave some pretty existential questions in the reader's mind... Questions to which the book, incidentally, has answers!.. It's more than just a Book: it's also a Mirror in which a person can perceive a reflection of their desire to make their art a success.So, I heartily recommend that people involved in any creative endeavor read this book, work through these valuable pages and implement the advice to be found here.In the business of making a living from your own artwork, the trajectory of the journey and the ultimate destination are both decided by you.

I’ve honestly not read a book for over twenty years for fun but am now half way through this one - I’m an illustrator (11fingersart) and have been for many years in different avenues and have always struggled to think out the box when it comes to the next step - making money and getting noticed - obviously I’ve not seen the fruit yet but already my mind is open to new ideas and how to approach the marketing side - Maria really writes as if she’s speaking to you over a coffee - she has a great open approach and just gets your mind thinking differently - I can honestly say I can’t put it down and along with a notebook ( writing this time ) you should follow the instructions as it opens your mind set - gives you ideas not answers , gives you a path to explore - she’s honest , openMinded and pushes some marketing buttons you wouldn’t of thought of - no hesitation from me

This book really blew me away, I haven't been able to put it into words, still can't really. All I can say is thank you, thank you, I have never read a book like it. I love Maria's honesty and down to earth ways and she has altered the way I think about my art and business for the better. Jutta, Chainsaw Artist, U.K