Creative Entrepreneurship: Is there such a thing?
by Angelia Ong in Creative Arts | 4 Comments | Add your comment

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In the first segment of this two-part article, I wanted to interview a recent influence on the way I think or approach our creative consultancy and Maria Brophy kindly agreed. What she tweets or blogs about definitely are subjects that our local creative industry should consider, in particular those who create and market their own IPs. I hope that you will take away the same “ah-ha!” moments that I have gotten from reading her work.

1.What made you decide to pursue the artist representation route and to educate others?
I started working with my husband, artist Drew Brophy, about twelve years ago part time. Back then, I was working in the insurance industry and doing well financially, but I didn’t love my job. Eventually, Drew convinced me to leave the corporate world to work with him full time. The idea was that with me handling the marketing and business end of things, Drew could focus on painting more and we would double or triple the amount of work produced with two heads rather than one.

2. I first heard the term “Creative entrepreneur” via your web site. Could you tell us more about that term?
I felt that the phrase “creative entrepreneur” explains my target audience, which is someone who wants to create for a living.

Creative people, regardless of their medium, all face similar challenges, like how to handle rejection, how to price their work, what to do when they are ripped off. At first I thought my core audience was traditional artists, but found that the feedback I got was from people from many different backgrounds. The topics I write about are dealt with by most entrepreneurs, or people who are working for themselves, or who dream of doing so. I find myself drawn to helping people who long to make a living being creative. That includes writers, sculptors, musicians, or anything. I, too, fall into that category of a creative entrepreneur. I’m not an artist, but I design my job as I go. I may not paint, but I’m creating new things every day.

3. What are the many pitfalls faced by creative people, in particular artists and what are some of the ways they can get past those stumbling blocks?
The biggest pitfall is the need to be loved and accepted by others. It is so hard to put yourself out there, either in the form of a painting or writing, and be wide open to criticism. Every time I write something controversial, I am afraid to hit the “publish” button. It’s hard for us humans to be okay with criticism and to continue on our paths regardless of what people say. But continue on we should, because if you look back on some of the most relevant artists in the past, they all were criticized in the beginning, as they were greatly misunderstood. There’s only one way to get past that pitfall; to just ignore the nay-sayers and do that which you are driven to do. Cultivate the confidence to be who you are. And if you have trouble with confidence, practice it until it becomes second nature.

4. What is a typical day in the Brophy household routine?
I wake up at 5:30 so I can do my yoga, meditating and journaling before Drew and our nine-year-old son wake up at 7:00. It’s Drew’s job to take Dylan to school at 7:35 every morning, and I pick him up in the afternoon. Drew and I spend most of our day at the studio, which is only a mile from our home. Once we get to work, there is no routine! It’s different every day, week and month. We are always busy, even during our slow months. Sometimes it just gets so crazy, trying to keep up with all the projects we are working on.

5. How has social/new media helped you and your business?
It’s helped us connect directly with Drew’s fans and has given him a vehicle to communicate with them. It’s also opened up a lot of media interviews, both in print and online. That has been really wonderful.

6. Many artists wonder if pimping their work constitutes over-promotion- is there such a thing?
For everyone it’s different. I believe that you have to decide what you want for your own career. Some artists want their work to be exclusive and only sold in galleries. If that works for you, then do it. We haven’t made enough money in galleries to survive off of that business model. We like to take on most of the opportunities offered to us for Drew’s artwork. Drew will accept commissions to paint just about anything, as long as the customer wants it in his style. Where he draws the line is that he won’t paint something in another artists’ style, and he won’t paint something that he absolutely doesn’t want to paint. He says that it just won’t be of good quality, and he’ll usually refer it out to another artist. If a company wants to print Drew’s art on kid’s boogie boards, Drew’s feeling is that it will bring joy to kids. And in his mind, that can’t be a bad thing.

I can only think of one artist that I have ever thought was over-exposed, and that’s Ed Hardy. The only reason I feel that way about him is that I’ve seen his artwork on low quality items in the liquor store down the street from me, and I’ve seen it on $90 t-shirts in boutiques. I don’t think that’s a good plan, going high quality and then low quality. But so far, he’s still selling strong, so maybe it doesn’t matter if anyone thinks he’s overexposed. People are still buying his stuff.

7. Does the support of your partner/family help a great deal in pursuing those creative dreams, in your opinion/experience?
Absolutely. If you have someone to support you, either through encouragement or financial, you are going to be able to go so much further in art career, so much quicker. But, for those artists who don’t have the support of their families, I would recommend this: Spend less time with your family, and more time with like-minded people. As a matter of fact, move away from the people who are discouraging you and spend all your time with those who encourage you. Seek them out. It will make the difference between success and failure.

8. What advice would you have for new artists starting out?
The best advice I can ever give is this: Spend time thinking about what you want; Where you want to be; Who you want to meet. Dream about what you want to create and how you want your career to go. Then write it down. Make lists of these things. Trust that it will happen. Enjoy the journey. And know that there is no finish line. You’ll die with a list of things to do, everyone does. Have to have fun along the way. The more fun you’re having, the more things will come to you. It’s a choice, you know. Everything you do is a choice.

ABOUT MARIA BROPHY – An advocate for artists, Maria Brophy has helped many artists to become adept at handling the business of art and create success for themselves. In a few short years, she used her expertise in art marketing and licensing to build up Drew Brophy’s surf lifestyle art brand, earning him the status of being the top licensed surf artist in history. Maria writes an art business blog on http://www.mariabrophy.com with the intention of helping creative people to design the career and lifestyle of their dreams. Maria Brophy’s vision is that all creative people get to live the life of their dreams and make a good living doing it. And she’s going to do everything she can to see it through.

Find Maria Here:
Blog: http://www.mariabrophy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/mariabrophy
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-Lifestyle-Inspiration-with-Maria-Brophy/205275597570

ABOUT THE COLUMNIST

A lover of words and storytelling, Angelia co-runs a creative consultancy that also works with a collective of creative talents. She is also involved with Pekomik and believes that comics aren’t just for kids and good storytelling transcends all mediums and languages. She believes in the motto “Fortune Aids the Brave” and that passion in whatever you do will get you far. You can reach Angelia via Twitter or Facebook.

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