You neglected to give me any specifics, i.e. where you live, how old you are, whether you're a painter, sculptor, printmaker, what your level of education is, whether you have other marketable skills etc. However, if indeed you do decide to "go for it" you may need to relocate, work a peon job, and try to cultivate a whole new group of friends and contacts. Basically, you may need to totally reinvent yourself. This is the part where the doubt creeps in.

To really make the move you can't have any doubts about your ability or your talent. Second thoughts will only become another obstacle in your path. I've heard it many times from other artists, if they could do any thing else, they wouldn't have become artists. This may sound a bit severe but as time has gone by, I've watched many talented friends that I went to Art school with, drop the art gig. It wasn't that they didn't have "what it takes" as far as the artistic aptitude goes, but they lacked the almost fanatical dedication and drive. They even have a certain amount of disdain for the people that try too hard. Many of them have gone on to other thingsómostly teaching, or business. I actually respect the people that I know who have decided to change their vocations and hang up the Art thing. Some of the most pathetic cases are those "artists" who haven't been in the studio in two or three years but are still "serious" and know that if it wasn't for the politics of the art world they would be the next Warhol.

You mentioned the fact that being a professional artist is the one thing that your teachers can't teach you. The irony of that is" they can't teach you what they don't know". If you could possibly get a copy of the New York Times Magazine section June 27,1999, edition there is an excellent article on this very subject by Deborah Solomon. To paraphrase: the reason that so much of the stuff currently in the galleries is boring is that the academies have taken over much of the art world. The teachers at the major Art schools, (some of them well known artists,) who are supported by the universities, encourage their students to make art that is clever or novel from a philosophical stand point, but is lacking the real guts of what art is. This has caused the art market to be artificially influenced by forces that have no interest in art per se but rather have a political or philosophical agenda. Many of the current batch of "HOT" artists are kids that have latched onto a fashionable cause rather than artists who have mastered their mediums and are using them to express individual or universal truths. For an artist, philosophy is a servant to art not its master.

As I mentioned above, there are some who disdain those who try too hard. The time and effort of maintaining a presence in the art world can be a bummer. There are more politics involved than you could ever imagine if you're only reading the art magazines. I, myself, find it much more interesting to spend my time in the studio than out trying to go to all the snazzy openings and meeting all the dealers and critics, but that's part of the job. As my wife, Kate, constantly reminds me, I don't exist in the greater New York Art world. I'm currently not represented by a New York gallery but am pursuing a career as an independent artist. This requires that talent of which those at the academy are loath to speak, namely "entrepreneurship". Yes, that is the dirty little secret that so many successful artists and business men and women refuse to admit.

If you go back to your history and dig deep you will find that the better known artists were those that were able to get the business. If you are lucky enough to have someone else do the dirty work, that is, to sell the work, so much the better. If not then you will have to rely on yourself. Of course there are those individuals that don't have to go this route, those who were ether born rich or are supported by someone
who is. I will never have to deal with that burden. In short, would I like to have Mary Boone as my dealer? Yes. Will I stop being an artist if she isn't my dealer? No.

So, how does one prepare oneself for a career as a professional artist? Learn everything that you can: all forms of art, drawing, painting, sculpting, printmaking, photography. Learn anatomy, philosophy, literature, anthropology. Read poetry, history, especially art history, and not just western history. Study the classics. Spend all your free time in museums, studios, and galleries. Develop a network of friends who have similar interests, and don't be afraid to share information, and spread opportunities around. Learn a couple of languages and travel abroad for six months visiting the great museums of the world. Study engineering, mechanical drafting, graphic arts. Be able to use a computer to do it or a razor blade and a glue pot. Learn about marketing, demographics, sales presentations. Study filmmaking, script writing, dramatic arts, even journalism and art criticism. Know your tools and what you can do with them. Learn to write a resume.

One of the most important things to learn is how to talk to people, all kinds of people, about all kinds of things. Learn what turns you on. Figure out what makes you excited and learn how to follow it. Catch the wave of your enthusiasm and ride it to the beach, if not, wipeout giving it all you have. Don't be afraid to change your goals. Opportunities may present themselves that might take you on another path, but there is always time to back track if things don't work out.

As for the business end of things start by developing a portfolio of work. Don't scrimp on the quality of this, as there is nothing that turns off potential clients worse than a cheesy presentation with bad photos. You can try the cold letter approach which is simply to put together sets of slides with a cover letter and send them out to galleries and curators that you think would be interested. Be prepared to lose most of the stuff that you send out and don't get depressed if you get nothing but rejection letters. For an artist in this town rejection is like eating your daily bowl of Wheaties.

I personally think that the best way to gain entry to a gallery or dealer, if you don't have that oh so important personal introduction, is to keep your ear to the ground and approach new galleries before they codify their stable. This requires that network of friends that are watching out for you. If you can sell your own work this may also be helpful. Keep a detailed list of clients and use this as a carrot that a dealer could use to build their own client base with. Be careful with this because there a lot of sleazy types that could destroy your relationships with clients and lets face it they (the clients) are the ones that keep the biz rollin'. Ultimately the greatest attraction that an artist could have to any dealer is their marketability. In short: dollars and cents. This may sound cynical but after twenty years in this business in this town I know that no one is in the art business as a humanitarian mission. Those that say otherwise are simply presenting a sophisticated marketing ploy. If they aren't making money from the sales of art they are using it as a device by which they can access public funding and finance their vision at taxpayer
expense.

I hope that this rave doesn't turn you off on your Art dreams. There are probably a lot of things that I could have gone into but I'm sure that you could get that info from any of several books on the subject you can
check out at the library. There is no magic trick to "making it". It requires lots and lots of time and plenty of hard work. I think that this new medium of the Internet may be the best thing that's happened to the
artist since the printing press. My wife, who is a wonderful artist in her own right, and I often say to each other that "making it" means being able to keep doing what we love to do. Sounds corny, but having a family, pursuing your interests, and having a partner to share it all with to me is "making it". I'll leave you with this; it was a sign that I saw in the window of a ratty old car in my neighborhood. It said, " Artists car, No valuables, No stereo, No radio, No medical, No pension, No regrets!"

Thanks for your interest,

LOREN