Well put.

Thanks Clint! You are so right! It took me a long time to develop my USP, or "unique sense of style". It wasn't until I started painting daily (and finished 170 paintings last year) that this style found me! If you are still looking to define your USP, just paint more.

Thanks, Cling, for redefining the usp for us artists. I'm still working on my own Unique Style of Painting and I think you're right on with your suggestions to go to the easel and work on it there.

Clint, thank you, words are cumbersome for some of us visual people, so I'm quite relieved I don't have to wrack my brain and wring it inside out to come up with a lame slogan. Though, a few words are always somewhere present in my text: Painter of Colour and Light. But, they're just descriptive.

In shows, I've noticed that people are mainly interested in a few things, in this order:

a) how *they* look
b) who is there
c) the refreshments, especially liquids
d) oh, yes, the art, too

Words doesn't even make the list. Kick-ass paintings do capture attention.

The feature in the FASO statistics showing most poplular paintings (on our own sites) is wonderful, it gives a hint as to what might be a 'kick-ass' painting. Thanks!

Charlotte, you cracked me up!!! I was just at a grand opening of our southern California plein air association`s new gallery on Saturday. It was mostly artists that showed up, while they looked at the paintings right away, they also lined up immediately to the smorgasboard of shrimp cocktails, salmon with caviar, roasted nuts, veggies and artichoke/spinach dip, fruit tray and of course the wine! I did too, you can`t beat some of these receptions. Then only three paintings sold, but they were the kick-ass ones. Plus everyone is admiring or gawking at what people wore. I wore some Fashion Island silver and cream platform shoes on a rainy night. I got the stares. People were asking why isn`t so-and-so here? In your order stated above, you were right! Funny!

Thanks Clint!! I've played with a USP, and use it to some extent, but I've never felt it really said it all - and felt I was screwing up my marketing somehow in the process. But I'm definitely developing my own unique sense of style in mixed media and people are drawn to my work, with or without the "right" words. Whew! I'm so glad I'm not screwing up like I thought I was. ;)

Clint, do you feel the same about Artist's Statements? I know they are not the same thing, but I wonder how important they are, too. I'm wracking my brain trying to come up with something impressive to write in a statement about my artwork. I find it is easier to let my artwork "speak" for itself, but it seems people are looking for statements. I wondered if it was more important when galleries were the main venue for selling art, where now people can pull up your website and get an idea of what your art is about for themselves. Maybe I'm not getting the idea about artist statements...perhaps they have a purpose I'm not aware of.

UNIQUE STYLE OF PAINTING
By Jeanean Songco Martin


In Response to Clint’s article “The Wordless USP” I agree that marketing art is unlike selling other retail goods. it is very unique and takes more than just a gimmick to make it work for you. The reality is in the studio not in a catchy phrase or hyped up resume.

Paint for yourself and no one else. As a young art student in College I painted for my teachers. I sought approval and acceptance from artist that I admired. I still get pleasure from positive remarks and enjoy the same gratification from a good critique of my work. But the difference is now as a professional artist I paint for myself first and hope the work will appeal to others. Hopefully, as my work continues to grow it will attract a “unique audience”

Developing a personal style is a result, a by-product of hard work. Stay on the true course of painting, which is to communicate your feelings. Finding the poetry and essence of painting is a personal journey that only you can take. If your work reflects your own personal vision a “unique personal style” will inevitably develop.

Thank you for the great advice. I have never heard about developing a slogan and would not be inclined to do so, but it is a good reminder to focus on developing a unique style of painting. I am hoping I get there before I am too old to hold a paintbrush.

There are no words to describe the feeling one has when they look at inspiring art. Sometimes artists will work hard to create a style using techniques they learn from others or copy other artist styles. If an artist really wants to leave their mark on the world, they need to do what they love. When something inside inspires the artist to create, that feeling goes into the work. That love becomes what the artist is known for.

Thank You, its so hard to wear all the hats and move your art to the next level with out worry about a logo or a catch phrase to hook a buyer.

and thank you for the permission to paint - enough about words! LOL

By the time I paint my required thousands of paintings, I should either have been found by MY OWN style, or be left, coughing in the dust. Maybe then I could find time to paint a sign with my UPS on it !

Thanks, Carole,

Now I realise that I should have been categorizing each painting, too--how else will I know which style of the many I have created is to be THE ONE ? Let's see what I have: beginning amazements, rescued disasters, absolute disasters, "did I really do that"s ?, wow, it worked !, what if I tried ...., complicated simplification, too simple, the cat walked through it, too gaudy, ah-perfect !(until a year later when they join the growing pile of just plain rejects), and, it's a keeper ! How does one even find time to paint ????

Clint,
WUSP, is almost an acronym for What’S UP! Which, as you’ve already cleverly pointed out, should be a person’s quality when producing art. It’s interesting how different people will try different things, trying this gimmick or that one, hoping that it will make a difference and they will suddenly be a big time, world famous artists, whose paintings sell for millions. I wish them luck.
“90 percent of my time is working on painting exercises, only 10 percent painting.” Barry Jon Raybould
“The key to becoming a great musician is 10 percent skill, 90 percent practice.” Roy Clark
Donald