Friday, October 2, 2009

Book Review: I'd rather be in the studio!

I'd Rather be in the Studio! The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion, Alyson B. Stanfield, © 2008.

One of the most dead-on statements in this book is "...high quality artwork and commercially successful art do not necessarily match up."  Have you ever wondered about that?  I call this disconnect the "pet rock phenomenon."  If you do not know about the pet rock, you are in for a treat: someone actually put a rock in a cage of sorts and marketed it as a pet rock.  People paid money to own one.  It was quite a success.  Yes, I had a pet rock.  The pet rock craze took off due to successful marketing.  Why else would anyone in their right mind pay money for a rock in a cage?  I am not making this up.

Alyson Stanfield uses a no-nonsense, no-excuse, no-whining approach to showing the artist the business side of their career.  She does not define success for the artist, but instead empowers the reader to define it for themself.  Then she details the mutiple facets of marketing and backs it up with data, case studies, and comments from other experts.  Stanfield shows the artist an organized road map that is flexible and inviting.  Offering actionable ideas and loads and loads of resources, "I'd rather be in the studio!" is one of the best tools an artist can grab onto and begin using immediately to take control of their career.  I highly recommend it for the new artist and seasoned artist alike.

For more information or to order this great book click this link:

This blog was begun the day after I began reading Stanfield's book.  And I am a procrastinator;
It is that powerful! 

Do you have a success story based on Alyson B. Stanfield's book or website?  Please click 'comments' below to post your comment.

Addendum:  The above book review was conducted independently and without solicitation or compensation by the book's author.

Artist Statement


My work deals with self-constructed beliefs or perceptions within human relationships. I examine the emotions underlying a belief and develop a story that merges the emotions and the belief.  The theme is brought into the light and either built up and strengthened or pulled apart or deconstructed.  The paintings in the series I am producing now are visually surreal and emotionally expressionistic.  Currently in my artwork I am exploring perceptions within a marriage or marriage-like relationship.

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