Art Heroes Review

Art Heroes Review— where an MFA meets an MBA

• What is Art Heroes Review?
• Acting on what you learn
• Invest in your art

As an artist, your business model has to be as creative as your art

There's no one right way to do things when you do creative work— no one system, plan, guide or set of rules is perfect for everyone. That's why I think the diversity of ideas, practices, and outlooks in Art Heroes Review will be of value to you.

Over the course of months, you'll have a collection of stories and practical advice from some of the best minds at the intersection of art and commerce. You'll find ideas worth trying and hopefully be inspired to take some of them even further and try something that's never been done before.

Art Heroes Review is a weekly digital magazine* presenting the best information contained in each episode of Art Heroes Radio. Starting with the transcript of the show, each issue is edited for clarity and then boiled down to the very best material. In some cases, I've added new material that was not in the show but should have been, so it's not just a rehash of what you've heard. When you download an issue, you'll actually get two files— the Review and a corrected version of the full transcript as well.

Designed to help you act on the knowledge you've gained

The format of Art Heroes Review is designed to be a resource you'll use over and over again. There's generous white space on the page for taking notes. Pull quotes call attention to the best ideas in each episode. A summary page at the end presents the most important ideas you can act on. There are clickable links to resources so that you don't have to Google for things you want to follow up on.

The show is a lot of fun to listen to, but it's not always the best way to take in information. Many of us learn better and remember more when we read. Sometimes you really want to be able to skim a topic or skip ahead. Reading is also faster than listening to audio, so if you're busy, the Review might be a better resource for you than the radio show.

Text has a lot of other advantages too: you can take notes in the margins, bookmark the parts you want to return to, search for keywords, copy and paste ideas straight into your business plan or to do list. It's easier to pick up where you left off if you want to read it a bit at a time. And you don't have to wonder what someone said if they've gone all mumbly for a moment.

I refuse to set a bad example by giving away the store

One of the recurring themes in Art Heroes Radio is getting paid for your creative work and being transparent about the actual costs of doing that work.

The radio show is totally free and always will be, but Art Heroes Review is $15 an issue. As much as I would love to make Art Heroes Review a free resource, I can't afford to. The design work and the software to use it were $1500. Hiring a good transcriptionist costs about $70 an episode. It takes about 30 hours a week to produce Art Heroes Radio and the Review. I value your time, which is why I strive to make every episode rock from top to bottom. I value my time as well.

My goal with the show is to show you where an MFA meets an MBA and inspire you to make art a sustainable career. I don't want to just entertain you— I want to see you take action. I believe that actually paying for information is a much stronger commitment to moving forward towards acting on it.

For now, the Review is available only as individual issues, but I'm working on putting together a subscription plan which will include all issues of Art Heroes Review, as well as some exciting new content just for subscribers. The subscription will be less expensive than buying individual issues and you'll get exclusive membership content as well.

*Weekly schedule will begin as soon as I catch up on the backlog of episodes recorded before the Review was created.

Art Heroes Review No. 005, Artistic burnout + creative block

Art Heroes Review, No. 005 Causes and Cures for Creative Burnout $2.99 at Amazon.com

No matter how much you love making art, writing, playing music or being creative, there's times when you just don't feel it. Maybe you feel you've run out of ideas, or just don't have the energy, or can't find the time, or need something new? Maybe you're afraid that no one will appreciate what you're making, or that you're doing it wrong, or that it won't be good enough? Sometimes you can't even tell why you don't feel creative… this can be terrifying because you don't know if you'll get it back. A big part of fixing the problem of block is to figure out where it comes from. Learn a variety of techniques to deal with creative block and creative burnout. I'll talk about a variety of ways we shut down our creative output and fixes for each of them.

Art Heroes Review No. 004, Brad Aspey

Art Heroes Review, No. 004 How to Tell Your Story on Radio, a Conversation with Brad Aspey $2.99 at Amazon.com

Many artists are shy when it comes to speaking about their art, whether in person, in print or on the air. But most art purchases are about more than whether the painting matches the sofa. Your buyers want to know about you as an artist— who you are, where you came from, why you make the work, what your ideas and influences are. Radio is a great way to tell a story that resonates, and inspires your audience to identify with your work. This Art Heroes conversation is with Brad Aspey, veteran public radio announcer and producer. He is currently Interlochen Public Radio's Arts Reporter. He has interviewed thousands of people, from opera stars to jazz musicians to movie stars and even dozens of stand-up comedians.

Art Heroes Review No. 003, How to price your art

Art Heroes Review, No. 003 How to Price Your Artwork $2.99 at Amazon.com

Does pricing your artwork make you nervous? Are you worried that higher prices might result in fewer sales? One of the questions I see most often is variations on how to price artwork. This ebook covers both the strategies and realities of creating a price structure for your artwork that can grow with your career, will make sense to customers and insure that your art creates a profit and not a loss.

Art Heroes Review No. 002, Hugh MacLeod

Art Heroes Review, No. 002 Why Art Success Can Suck— a conversation with Hugh MacLeod $2.99 at Amazon.com

Hugh MacLeod is an artist who first made his name with “cartoons drawn on the back of business cards”. Although originally resistant to the idea of selling his art, Hugh found that his ideas and his engagement with his audience have created a strong market for his work. He now makes his living mostly drawing “Cube Grenades” for clients and publishing fine art prints via the internet. Hugh started blogging at gapingvoid.com in 2001. He started off just publishing his cartoons, but as time wore on he started blogging about his other main interest, marketing. In 2005 he scored his first major blog marketing success with EnglishCut.com, a blog he started with Savile Row tailor, Thomas Mahon. It tripled Thomas’ sales within six months.

Art Heroes Review No. 001, Austin Kleon

Art Heroes Review, No. 001 Gimmicks, Poetry and Presentation— a conversation with Austin Kleon $2.99 at Amazon.com

Austin Kleon is a writer and artist. He’s the author of Newspaper Blackout, a best-selling book of poetry made by redacting newspaper articles with a permanent marker. New York Magazine called the book “brilliant” and The New Yorker said the poems “resurrect the newspaper when everyone else is declaring it dead.” His new book is called Steal Like An Artist — a creative manifesto based on 10 things he wish he’d heard when he was starting out. His work has been featured on 20×200, NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS Newshour, and in The Wall Street Journal. He speaks about creativity, visual thinking, and being an artist online for organizations such as SXSW, TEDx, and The Economist. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Meghan, and their dog, Milo. Visit him online at www.austinkleon.com.