Tell us about your journey to becoming a professional artist.
Like many artists, I’ve always loved creating things. Though my education was not in art, I always enjoyed arts and crafts, but only as a hobby. I my early fifties I decided to get serious. I began taking painting courses. These were in traditional representational art in oils—still life, landscape, and so on. Though I think my paintings were workmanlike, they didn’t excite me. I knew something was missing. Finally I realized I needed to be painting in a whole new genre, and I tried abstracts. I was hooked! Abstracts excited me in a way representational painting hadn’t. Especially intriguing was experimenting with mixed media.
I realized I needed to learn how the art business works. I joined several local art organizations and read books about the business of art and the lives of famous artists. Gradually, as I entered my work in shows, it started winning awards and people started buying it! That first sale was a wonderful feeling. I continued to work to enhance my art practice. I created a website with a shopping cart (www.evanstuartmarshall.com), joined several social media platforms, designed marketing materials, entered more shows to increase my exposure, began giving talks and demonstrations. I always find that one thing leads to another. Today I am at a point where I am building on my strengths to grow my practice. I find there is always something to learn, something to do to improve, whether it’s a technique or a business practice.
Tell us about your work.
I work primarily in acrylics with additions such as inks, pastels, paper, fabric, found objects…I have even created a painting entirely out of makeup! I love combining vivid, highly saturated colors in unexpected combinations. Invariably, people call my art “happy art” because it makes them happy. I am a happy, optimistic person and this is how my work always comes out. I can’t help it!
Tell us about your process.
I basically create two different kinds of paintings. First there are my more customary abstract paintings. I usually begin one of these paintings by creating an interesting background. It might consist of amorphous clouds of color, highly textured patterns, or interesting combinations of collage papers. Over this background I will put down a shape, usually a large one, in a color that pleases me at the moment. Then I sit back and think about what to do next. I am a strong believer in the concept of the “adjacent possible”: the idea that each thing we do determines the next thing we do, and so on and so on. In this way my process with this kind of painting is an iterative one.
The other kind of paintings I create I call my “Storyteller” paintings. These fanciful works usually consist of a loose grid that presents a certain place or milieu in great detail, often showing activity behind the scenes or under the ground. Some of my subjects so far have been Victorian London, Havana, New York City, the Salem witch trials, and the New York City art world. I design these paintings so that each time someone stops to look, they discover something new.
When you are looking for inspiration, what resources do you turn to?
For my more customary abstract works, I often go online and look at the work of artists whose work I admire. I will often find that a color scheme or pattern of shapes or lines inspires me to begin my own work.
Walk us through a typical day in your studio. What is your routine?
Mornings are for “housekeeping”: adding new art to my website, online galleries and social media; adding posts to my blog; sending out invitations to shows; recording sales details; preparing entries for shows; sending out my newsletter. I write books for artists and art collectors (my latest is Building Your Art Business), and I will often do some writing on one of these. Afternoons are for creating, and I find this creating much easier knowing that my “housework” is done!
Finding the right rhythm to be productive in the studio can be a challenge, what advice do you have for staying productive and focused?
I believe creating abstract art is more difficult than creating representational art, because rather than having a still life setup or outdoor view to reproduce, we are faced with a blank white canvas. I use the “adjacent possible” concept: just intuitively put down a line or a shape, then sit back, study it, and decide on what your next step will be. One step leads to the next.
I separate business from the creativity. I find it very difficult to mix them up and can’t do either one well this way. You can do business on a certain day or days, confine it to mornings or afternoons, or even certain weeks.
Finally, I do something relating to the creative end of your art every single day. That can range from creating an entire painting to forcing yourself to put down a few shapes on a canvas. Even if you don’t feel particularly creative, force yourself to do at least one thing!
What is your advice for combating creative block?
When I am not feeling particularly creative, I look online or peruse books of work by artists I admire. Sometimes I go for a walk with my Instax camera and take closeup photos of patterns in nature I find interesting, such as rocks, tree trunks, leaves, and even the sky. I also keep an eye out for more human-made patterns, such as peeling paint, rusted metal, interestingly engineered metal doors or panels, and so on. Once I am back in my studio, I pick a photo and start converting it into an idea for an abstract book. Yet another method I use to fight creative block is to read about an artist’s career. It needn’t be a famous artist. Learning about how others have progressed in their careers and learning about all the hard work they have put in makes me want to keep going on my own art career.
As an artist, how do you measure your success? Can you recall a specific event or milestone(s) in your career that made you feel successful?
When I first got serious about being an artist, I wondered to myself whether I could ever have a solo show. When I was first offered one, I felt I had achieved a level of success: someone liked my work enough to feel it deserved to be viewed by a number of people. Today, my greatest measure of success is whether painting is making me happy. I am pleased to say that it is! Another measure of success for me is selling my work. I am not in this for the money, but seeing my work go into other people’s homes and offices gives me a thrill.
How do you see the art market changing? Where you do see yourself in this transition?
Even from when I first got serious about being an artist not that many years ago, the whole art world has changed. The biggest change is that the “gatekeepers’ are gone. Artists no longer need traditional galleries in order to reach collectors. One example is working with TurningArt, which has been a highly enjoyable experience for me. Many artists now sell through online art platforms or through their websites without the “middleman.” Though I would love to work with a traditional bricks-and-mortar gallery someday, I have been successful on my own by taking advantage of the many methods now available, mostly thanks to the internet.
What advice do you have for artists who are beginning to build their careers? Have there been any habits or strategies that you have adopted that you feel have created more opportunities or visibility for your work?
Don’t try to copy anyone else’s work. This is easier said than done. You have to clear your mind of all outside influences and create work that is truly unique, truly you. I tell my students, “Being YOU is the only marketing edge you have.”
Say yes to everything you can. I have never said no to a solo show offer, even if it coincided with a number of other commitments. I have found that if you say no, people usually don’t return to ask you again.
Within reason, take advantage of free platforms to show your work and gain exposure. I post my work on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and X (formerly Twitter) and have sold a number of pieces this way. But even if I hadn’t sold, I still got my work in front of more eyeballs.
Create an art website and include a mailing list / newsletter signup! Your mailing list is your most valuable possession. The people on this list know you, or have already bought from you, or are simply interested in following you. As this list grows, use it to reach these people directly with news of new work, awards you have won, shows you are participating in, and so on.
Do you consider yourself, and all artists, to be entrepreneurs? Why or why not?
Not necessarily. It depends on what the artist’s goals are. Some of my artist friends create art simply for the pleasure of it and have no desire sell it. Some refuse to let go of their work at all. I don’t consider these people entrepreneurs.
Artists who want to sell their work must become entrepreneurs, just as anyone trying to sell a product must do. People can’t buy something they don’t know about. It’s this way with art. We have to get our art in front of people so that they can know about it, fall in love with it, perhaps buy it!
Failure is an inevitable part of success in any field. Do you have advice for overcoming setbacks?
For me, the heart of this issue is that any creative endeavor is subjective. I may dislike the art, books, movies, plays, food you love. If you don’t win an award, don’t sell a painting, aren’t accepted into a show, it’s all due to subjectivity. When these setbacks occur, you haven’t failed; you’ve simply approached the wrong people. You have to keep going in order to reach the RIGHT ones!
What does having your artwork in the workplace and other commercial or public spaces mean to you?
I love knowing that someone has selected my work believing it will have a positive effect on a large number of people. I think that’s the greatest compliment an artist can receive.
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