Robert A. Heinlein, one of my favorite authors, has 5 rules that he gave at the Navel Academy to the midshipmen way back in the 1960s. I’d like to share that with you because it totally applies to artists of all sorts.
First, you must create art. This eliminates 50% of people that want to be artists – most dream but don’t act. Action is the way to success. If 100 people want to be an artist, 50 will be left because they’ll actually create salable art.
Second, you must FINISH a piece of art. You can’t just have stuff started and sitting around your studio. You must actually produce a finished piece. Drop another 50% – only 25 people will actually finish a piece of art.
Third, you must eventually call it “done.” You can’t tweak forever, you can’t have excuse after excuse why you’re not better than <insert famous artist here>. Drop yet another 50% – only about 12 people will actually stop giving excuses and call their masterpiece “done.”
Fourth, you must bring your work to the public – submit to a gallery, create a website, sell on eBay, whatever. You have to get it out there. If you don’t put it up for sale, you won’t sell it. We’re down to 6 of the original 100 now.
Fifth, you must persist. Your first piece of art might not be very good, but you must persist. It has been said that your first 1000 pieces of art will just plain stink. So what? Hurry up and get your first 1000 out of the way! This leaves 3 people that might actually have some tenacity.
Sixth (and this is my addition), you must try AGAIN. You must produce more art. This will leave about 1 person that gets this far. So we have 1/100, or 1% of people, that will get this far. 1% of people! So next time you’re rationalizing why you can’t make it out to your studio, think of this – if you don’t, you’re part of the 99% of people that will never succeed as an artist! Dont’ do it to yourself – get out and start pumping out the paintings!
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