The Art Whisperer
or, The Power of Identifying Your Mission
My client Krista is a talented abstract painter looking to turn her hobby - her passion, really - into a viable business. Late last year I designed a website* called KristaSwishersPaintings.com for her to establish an online presence and showcase her paintings. Now that her art has an online “home,” the work of getting eyeballs on that art has begun.
To that end, we’ve embarked on some online marketing activities, established her email list and posted to her blog. She’s made some introductory videos and even auctioned off a couple of her paintings for charity to support UNICEF’s efforts in Ukraine. The initial introductory phase of building her online presence is well underway. The time has come to put a finer point on Krista’s artist persona by expressing her mission.
In a recent consultation with Krista, I offered some suggestions on ways we could strive to accomplish just that. I challenged her to describe her “ideal client” - the type of person most likely to appreciate her art. Her answer was similar to that of many new business owners - something to the effect that her “product” is for anyone and everyone. As I encouraged her to elaborate and explained the importance of marketing to “someone” lest you end up marketing to no one, Krista brilliantly identified the “someone,” organically and from her heart. I’m paraphrasing here, but she went on to say that she wants to make art accessible to those who would otherwise be intimidated by it or who might think art is too “high brow” to really impact them on an emotional level. In essence, she wants to be the “art whisperer” - a person who builds a bridge between art’s lofty, mysterious reputation and “regular people” so “anyone” (with a desire to do so) can appreciate all that it can communicate. I love that!
What I love even more is how Krista authentically knew her mission. She may not have been able to articulate it as anything more than a deeply-held desire, but in stating that desire, she has encompassed the identity of her “ideal client” as someone who desires to cross that bridge. Someone who longs to experience art in a new and liberating way. And Krista can teach that not only through painting, but by helping people appreciate art in all its power, the way she does. Bottom line, she’s not selling works of art; she’s selling her very special, unique, enlightened perspective on art. While it’s tangibly a painting, it represents something bigger than can be hung on a wall. Now that’s a thing of great value!
It’s my job to help her express that noble, creative mission. I feel a door has been unlocked and that when we step over the threshold, we’ll be standing squarely in a space of clarity and purpose. That’s when marketing transcends into storytelling. It’s a beautiful thing.
*My marketing consultancy is Shine a Light Marketing.
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