Elizabeth and I talk about how she has done it because she wanted to share her tips with all artist-mothers out there. She is also very honest about the bumps along the road.
The post Proving It’s Possible to be an Artist and Mother with Elizabeth LeMaster (ep. 188) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>I would not be working anywhere near the field of art if it weren’t for my mom.
I had one of those mothers who enrolled me in every extracurricular from piano to dance to golf to art.
Piano … I did okay and took lessons for years. Dance … Still my favorite performing art and can get lost in it. Golf … I think I lasted 3 holes when we finally got on the actual course. Enough of that.
But art classes? That was my jam. I couldn’t get enough and Mom paid attention. She signed me up for everything she could find. And always encouraged my pursuits without questioning, as so many parents do, where it might lead.
At the same time, Mom had her own interests. She was a professional volunteer who seemed to have her hands in everything.
When I think of all the artist-mothers who give up on their art to focus on children, I am sad. I recall what a blessing it was to have my Mom and her life outside of me as an example. It still inspires me.
Elizabeth LeMaster, my guest for this episode of The Art Biz, has, like so many of us, more to balance than her studio practice and business. She has a family. A young family. A big family. A growing family.
How do you find time for working on your art when you have 6 kids under the age of 8? 
Elizabeth and I talk about how she has done it because she wanted to share her tips with all artist-mothers out there. She is also very honest about the bumps along the road.
Here’s my special Mothers’ Day conversation with Elizabeth LeMaster.
Listen
Highlights
06:12 Selling her art through a focused audience and relatively small subscriber base
10:06 Adapting art practices around motherhood
15:44 Strategic systems for productivity
19:51 Embracing the artist’s life while parenting
36:28 Elizabeth’s Artisan Christmas magazine
40:32 Elizabeth’s future plans
Join me!
Not as consistent with nurturing your list as Elizabeth is?
I’d love to you create and implement the networking part of your marketing plan in a new training season: Essentials for Cultivating Connections and Collectors.
We start by making you a plan in Your People Plan and then roll right into implementing that plan.
Mentioned
Artisan Christmas magazine
Photo Tip
If taking photos isn't easy, it isn't going to happen. Choose your branding to include the colors of your favorite sweater or house dress so that when things happen, you can prop up your phone and snap it. Crop out what you don't like. Lighting matters more. This is while we were turning our garage into a bedroom. Dropcloths on the floor, drywall and shelving leaning against the walls, but it was where I was. Plunk the kitchen sink plant on the top of the lumber stack, and voila! Do with what you've got.
Elizabeth LeMaster Quotes
“I don’t actually paint during nap time very often anymore, because if I can get everybody asleep or quiet, that’s gold.”
“When you have more than three children all of that for me came crashing down. I couldn’t juggle all of that until I completely rebuilt all of my systems.”
“Children are such a blessing and it’s such a joy to be able to take these kids and get on their eye level and say, ‘How do I want them to respond as an adult and teach them how to be good adults.’ ”
“If your priority is your kids, then make a no painting zone.”
”If I don’t get enough painting, I’m grouchy.”
“I consistently get in time on the business every single day, but I’m consistently making art every week.”
“People on Instagram, if you’re missing, they don’t notice. If you’re missing off your newsletter, my people notice.”
“Don’t give up on your God-given gifts and abilities because that’s where you will find that refilling and refueling that will do for you so much more than scrolling and Netflixing and all those other things where we go to be amused.”
Related Episodes
These episodes feature artists who discuss balancing parenthood with their work.
About My Guest
Elizabeth LeMaster works in both watercolor and oil to paint the beauty and light in roses and motherhood. Her #1 goal is to encourage mothers. She has sold online, in the Goddard Center art gallery, at artist led pop-ups, and at local arts and crafts shows. She is also the editor of the Artisan Christmas magazine and grows the peonies and roses you see in her paintings.
Follow her on Instagram @lemasterartistique
The post Proving It’s Possible to be an Artist and Mother with Elizabeth LeMaster (ep. 188) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>To My Mom . . . Who is forgiven for not taking me to museums because she didn't want me to misbehave in public. (She was probably right.)
The post An Appreciation of Mothers and of My Mom appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Here’s to the mothers who are artists.
And to the mothers who raise healthy, informed artists who make the world a better place.
To My Mom
Who had almost no interest in or contact with art, but who nurtured it in me (and her father).
Who encouraged me when I drew that first cardinal and blue jay in oil pastels and thought they were masterpieces.
Who signed me up for oil painting lessons when I was about 8 years old.
Who found every extracurricular art lesson available in Oklahoma City and paid for me to go.
Who framed my art, gave it as gifts, and even kept that ratty ashtray on the end table long after smoking was acceptable or mushrooms as decoration were fashionable.
Who hung my paintings, stored my large life drawings, and stuck dried flowers in that coiled vase that had an accident in the kiln.
Who still argues with me when I tell her it’s okay to get rid of some of that stuff now. She knows I’d plan a bonfire if she gave it to me.
(Update 2024: She finally let me throw out the life drawings from undergrad.)
Who didn’t flinch when I declared an art history major.
Who stuck by me when I went to grad school for, again, art history.
Who traveled to Eastern Tennessee with me so I could write a review of a show; to Lawrence, Kansas so I could see a dance performance; to Houston with me to visit the Rothko Chapel; and to Ohio to listen to a keynote I gave to an artist group.
Who threw a 30th birthday party for me at an art gallery, invited 100 of my closest and lifelong friends, and who installed 30 years of my art, with Dad’s help, throughout the space.
Who attended all of the openings for the exhibitions I curated at the museum.
Who dug weeds at the museum when our budget was so small that we couldn’t afford groundskeepers.
Who is forgiven for not taking me to museums as a child because she didn’t want me to misbehave in public. (She was probably right.)
Who worried for me when I quit my museum job, sold my belongings, packed up a U-Haul, and moved to Denver.
Here’s to you, Mom.
And to all of the other amazing mothers who will read this. You have a huge job just being a responsible parent. I commend you for also nurturing your life as an artist.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Related Content
These episodes of The Art Biz focus on artists who are balancing their art with their roles as parents.
This post was first published May 11, 2014 and has been updated with original comments intact.
The post An Appreciation of Mothers and of My Mom appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>We discuss how she leans on her artist community, structuring her days into pockets of time around her baby's schedule, and how she overcame the mindset that her art needed to be affordable.
The post Raising Prices on Your Art, Valuing Community, and Balancing Motherhood with Bri Larson (166) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>There are only a few things that break my heart more than seeing an artist give up her career when she has children. And it is usually a her.
My sadness isn’t just for the artists who gave up a part of themselves, but for their children who never saw their parent, usually mother, following their dream.
Bri Larson is my guest for this episode of The Art Biz. We discuss:
- The value of her artist community—how they have supported her growth as an artist and, equally important, her journey into motherhood.
- How she has been able to maintain a studio practice with a baby, including how she structures her days around the baby’s schedule.
- Why having pockets of time rather than a blank schedule makes her more productive.
- Her decision to raise her prices and how she overcame the mindset that her art needed to be affordable.
- Her #1 piece of advice for would-be artist-parents.
a concept that I think many of us are familiar with but might not label it as such. Listen
Mentioned
Bri Larson Quotes
“I was still stuck in that mindset that a pot had to be affordable.”
“If I wanted to continue being an artist, I had to raise those prices.”
“It’s really important for me to prove that I can do this as my income and show my daughter that you can also do something creative and make money.”
“I am the sole caregiver because my art business gives me that flexibility where I can care for my child and do my art.”
“We’re doing it as a family, we’re doing it as play, we’re doing it as an activity to bond together, and so that kind of also frees me up to do that art and to keep going.”
“I was almost too afraid to get focused on the art and actually do the things that I find interesting.”
“I don’t really want to give Meta more money.”
Related Episodes
My guests in these episodes bring up parenthood and how they juggle family responsibilities with their art.
About My Guest
Bri Larson earned her BFA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, majoring in ceramics and minoring in painting. In 2018 she moved from Minnesota to Rhode Island to start a two year residency at The Steel Yard in Providence, RI. Being among blacksmiths, welders, jewelers and potters was transformative for her work.
Her studio is currently located at the Nicholson File Artist Community, in Providence, RI along with a small home studio she uses for short periods of time while her baby sleeps. Her work is an invitation for people to build connections and celebrate the objects and themes that reflect the things we all love.
Follow her on Instagram @brilarsonart
The post Raising Prices on Your Art, Valuing Community, and Balancing Motherhood with Bri Larson (166) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>In this episode of The Art Biz, Kelly shares her income sources, which are dominated by sales of commissions, followed distantly by releases of small paintings.
The post She knows exactly how much her art income will be every month with Kelly Pelfrey (162) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Lately, I’ve been diving into money on The Art Biz.
As much as I do NOT want to talk about money, I know it’s necessary. I also know it’s more necessary for some artists to make money from their work than for others.
If you’re lucky enough to have outside support for your art business—even if it’s from a day job—count your blessings. Because the pressure on the work is real when you don’t have that extra source of income, which is why I will continue to bring up the topic of money.
Let’s continue the conversation in this episode.
Kelly Pelfrey’s goal in 2020 was to replace her $50,000 teaching salary, but she quadrupled that. Her income has allowed her husband to leave his job to focus on his doctorate, feel comfortable about taking maternity leave, and save for college for her children.
Kelly shares her income sources, which are dominated by sales of commissions, followed distantly by releases of small paintings. She also sells art for TV screens, has a monthly print release, and a coffee table book.
[ Procedures for Art Commissions with Sema Martin ]
Kelly obviously has the pulse of her best collectors. Her work is strong for sure, but I also believe that people are buying into Kelly’s joy and optimism. When you hear her and detect that in her voice, I think you’ll know what I mean.
Listen
Mentioned
- Kelly’s Guides for artists
- Kelly’s “TV art”
- Palmetto Publishing
- Teil Duncan’s book, The Color Teil
Kelly Pelfrey Quotes
“I had all this work and I just decided to think about and want it to be something that points people to beauty, that brings people joy—like a book. You open it, take a deep breath and you just can flip through a couple of pages, enjoy art.”
“I have no regrets, but I would encourage any artist that thought about [making a book] to look at making sure that it will be profitable. You don’t want 500 books sitting in your house reminding you of your poor decisions.”
“I typically advertise about seven spots [for commissions] per month…. I also will add in 1-3 spots for designers who reach out to me asking me to create a piece for their clients so that they don’t have to book out that far in advance. They are the ones I’ll make an exception for and slide them into my schedule where I have room.”
“Steady growth and learning what works, slowly increasing pricing, matching demand. So not doing big price increases that the demand wasn’t there for, but slowly increasing.”
“Everyone is their own boss of their inbox. They’re happy to unsubscribe but they need to.”
About My Guest
Kelly Pelfrey graduated with a BFA from the University of South Carolina in 2003. She was a lifelong resident of the Palmetto State until 2022, when she started a new adventure in Kalispell, Montana with her family.
Kelly continues to highlight the beauty of the southern landscape, its hospitality and deep sense of home in her still life and interior works, as well as create commissions for collectors throughout the United States and Canada.
Follow her on Instagram @kellypelfreyart
Watch
Prefer video to audio? Check out our conversation here.
The post She knows exactly how much her art income will be every month with Kelly Pelfrey (162) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
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