Painting In The Dark: The Right Way To Paint Wrong Part I

 

Introduction to Part I

Back in September 2025, I took a second round of the grey painting class lead by Heather Bullach, oil painter and teacher extraordinaire. My first round with this class back in 2023 was transformative, but it took me nearly two years to finish my lesson horse, Wahy (pronounced “why-he-on” which is Arabic for “revelation”). He just had so much to teach me, it took me that long of intermittent work to figure it out and for my subroutines to digest it all. But learned it all I did, and I learned it so well that I naturally decided to dive in again to put his lessons to work in a new way, on Ta’alaq (pronounced “ta-alikun” which means “brilliance” or “sparkle” in Arabic). How so in a new way? Well, as a much lighter shade of dapple grey, a white-grey, because I thought this would provide a new challenge unlike what heavily-dappled Wahy presented and I was eager to test my new skills. 

But lo…did this turn into an unexpected twists n’ turns journey of discovery and hard-won revelations! As such, I’d like to take you along with me on this curious adventure in the hopes that maybe you’ll find some of what I explored helpful and inspiring. And if you’d like to take one of Heather’s wonderful oil painting classes, go here to learn more. And don’t worry, she makes oils completely friendly, easy, affordable, and fun! And no icky chemicals! Yay!

So let’s just dive right in and get this party started!...

The Goal

Out of all the types of grey to choose from, why did I chose this particular super-light phase of grey? Well, for two primary reasons. First, I love the look of dark skin peeking out from underneath a fine coat, sometimes found around the elbow, flank, chest area, base of the ears and such sometimes seen on “thin skinned” breeds like the Amazigh, Arabian, Teke, and Marwari. I just think it’s cool plus it’s a real challenge to capture effectively in a paintjob so it looks like dark skin and not just paint shading of some kind. I’ve only done it a couple of times (timidly) on my own work previously, and more boldly on a 2025 NaReViMo horse, Ibn Monsata, inspired by the greys Thomas Bainbridge painted in the 80s and 90s. I also gathered a bunch of reference photos of this effect so I’d get the intensity and placement right, too. Then secondly, vast expanses of white on the body can end up looking flat and boring so I was curious to see if I could liven it up by using oils with a certain strategy, the same strategy that could potentially mimic that dark skin effect all by itself. 

So what was that strategy? Welp, it was to paint the “wrong” way, from dark to light! See, across media, more or less, we’re typically advised to paint light to dark, of starting with your lightest colors and then getting progressively darker. And this makes absolute sense for certain effects and certain media so it’s not an untrue tenet. For what I wanted to achieve in this particular paintjob though, I thought going at things from the opposite direction would be just the ticket. Why was that? Well, I hoped that applying a dark basecoat and then painting progressive layers of white on top wouldn’t only lend dimensional interest to the expanses of white, but would also recreate that dark skin effect in key areas. Two birds, one stone. Ultimately though, I hoped this approach would lend a more realistic feel to the paintwork overall by mimicking the underlying dark skin grey horses have under their coats. Now I’ve already gone this direction in acrylics with two older VCMs of mine, Rhymnik, a customized PAM I did back in 1989, and Rhynegade, a customized CMOW I created back in 1991. It worked great in acrylics, but I was curious to see if it would work in oils, too. You see, I suspected it would work really well because of oils' luminescence, and end up looking particularly super cool. At least it was in the vision in my head, but we all know about the impossible perfection our visions embody! So Ta’alaq was painted entirely on this curious wing-and-a-prayer idea. Would it all work?! Can I do this? Will this all end in bitter tears? Well, the only way is to futz around and find out, right? You betcha! Make FAFO work for you!

The Start

PRIMER AND BASECOAT

So to start this safari, Ta’alaq was primered in Dupli-color Sandable Primer in White (ideally allowed to dry for at least two weeks to de-gas and truly dry). Then I basecoated him in acrylics with make-up sponges first to create a really good, sturdy layer and then with an airbrush to get an even layer and into areas I couldn’t reach with the sponge (ideally left to dry for up to a month to really evaporate the moisture out). 

Acrylic colors used for the basecoat: Liquitex Soft Body Titanium White and Soft Body Mars Black, mixed into a medium grey.

Note on the Dupli-color Primer: This is a thinner, more transparent type of primer so don't gob it on to make it opaque. It'll do its job with one of two thin layers just fine. Indeedy, it's "tight" and chalky in finish, and provides good adhesion to the surface plus a solid "tooth" for pigment.

FIRST LAYER

This entailed two coats of an alkyd paint so no acrylics would peek through in the dark skin areas. Call me a purist. To create this first layer then I mixed together an alkyd black, an off-white, and a brown to create a neutral medium dark grey. Specifically, the brown was added to counteract the very blue bias of the black so it would better mimic a dark skin tone. Then I painted that on and buffed it smooth, then let the initial layer dry about two days then I added the following layer then let all that dry for about two weeks when the class started. Ready for class! Phew...just in time!

Now I used alkyd paints here rather than true oil paints because I just ran out of time. Ideally, I would’ve used full blown linseed oil-based oil paints, but I simply needed this first layer to be dry very quickly for class. But why was that an issue? Because true oil Titanium White and Ivory Black take for-ev-er to dry, sometimes up to a month, and I just didn’t have that time. In contrast, alkyds use a fast-drying resin rather than an oil as the binder so they dry much faster, in as little as three to four days. And with having to apply two layers for a truly opaque, even finish, I needed that quick-dry feature big time. 

Alkyd colors used for the first coat: Winsor & Newton Griffin Alkyd Ivory Black, Winsor & Newton Griffin Alkyd Mixing White, and Winsor & Newton Griffin Alkyd Burnt Umber.

Six cautions with the alkyds: 1. They have a rather peculiar and strong odor, so if scents bother you, especially chemically-smelling ones, avoid these paints. 2. You have to work fast and in sections when you brush on 'n' buff out. Those who've taken Heather's classes will know what I mean. So with these paints, just do a body section then buff, then the next body section then buff, etc. You have to do it this way cuz this'll all start drying on you pretty quick and you don’t want a weird finish. 3. Wash your brushes immediately. This stuff dries quite fast! Go go go! 4. These paints stain like bananas, so wear studio clothes or a smock or apron when using them. Like the Black took a pure white brush and permanently stained it charcoal! 5. An alkyd paint basically uses an oil-based polyester resin rather than an oil to suspend the pigments whereas oil paints use an actual oil, often linseed oil or sometimes walnut oil, safflower oil, or even poppy seed oil. As such, alkyds dry far faster than oils,  to a hard, durable glossy finish. In terms of use, they were designed for underpainting, but can be used just like oil paints given you work faster. In fact, you can mix them together with oils to speed up oil's drying time. However, only layer alkyds on top of oils when the oils are truly totally dry as the different drying times can lead to cracking over time otherwise. And be careful layering these paints with traditional oils if you're impasto painting as the different drying times can lead to cracking over time. Remember the "fat over lean" rule! But that said, the way we paint our horses is with super thin layers, so I'm not sure if we'd have such a problem. Maybe? No? I don't know as I've not tested it yet. I guess just make sure that your oil layers are completely dry before proceeding with alkyds.

What’s more, I also had some PearlEx MicroPearl and BrambleBerry Super Pearly White Mica I toyed with using in the White but I was concerned it would interfere with the effect I was after. So I toyed with them on a junker first, opting for the PearlEx MicroPearl as I preferred its finer grain. Now I didn’t use a whole lot as this guy is an Arabian and not a Teke, so I dabbed in a medium-ish amount. But, wow, I was happy to discover that there was zero interference and what actually happened was — as promised — a beautiful pearly sheen that mimicked a slicked out coat so nicely. So heck yes I decided to include it in the White! Oh my gosh is Ta’alaq going to be stunning if things pan out as I imagine! I’d just have to remember to put it into every layer so it would all be cohesive.

Oil Paints and How They Dry

Okay, before we actually dig in here, let’s talk about oil paints and how they dry because this sort of stuff is important to know. As we probably already know, oils take longer to dry than other paints like acrylics, watercolor, and gouaches. However, this gives artists a lot more “open” time to manipulate the colors, textures, and whatnot, often resulting in a beautifully blended, smooth surface for the purposes of our particular brand of paintwork.

But what are oil paints? Well, in the most basic sense, oil paints are made of pigments suspended in an oil medium, usually linseed oil. However, walnut oil, safflower oil, and sometimes poppy seed oil are used as well. This oil medium helps to give oil paints their famous luminosity and translucent quality as well as their richness and intensity of color along with their lovely, fatty, buttery texture. Even so, it’s the nature of these oils that contribute to the drying process of the paints. That’s to say, it’s the oil that “dries” in your paintjob, cementing the pigments in a solidified body forever.

So why is “dries” in quotations? Well, technically, oil paints don’t dry, they cure. In this, they cure in a process of oxidative polymerization in which oxygen is absorbed and peroxides are formed, creating a cured polymer body. Said another way, it’s basically the exposure to oxygen that initiates the curing of the oil paint into “drying,” forming a strong, durable layer of pigment. This is in contrast to acrylics and watercolors that dry when the moisture in them evaporates.

Now some will tell you that oil paints never really dry, but they actually do, only it can take a very long time. Like they may be dry to the touch on the surface, but the paint underneath may still be wet and unoxidized. As such, some paintings can take months, even years to fully dry. And oil paint dries in stages ranging from a couple of days to even some years later. Knowing these stages is important in order to make informed decisions about subsequent steps like continuing on (if you restart too soon, you can lift up the previous paint), glazing, creating certain effects (like scratch roaning), and especially when to varnish. These stages are:

• Dry surface: The paintjob feels dry to the touch on the surface while the underlying paint remains wet. This process can take hours or days, usually about 24-48 hours, generally speaking.
• Dry to the touch: The paint can no longer be easily smudged when touched carefully, but the underlying layers are still wet. This stage can take many days to a week.
• Solidified drying: The paint is dry to the touch and also won’t smudge, but some areas may still be soft and damageable. This stage is a good one to apply glazing, but it’s still not ready for varnishing. This stage can last weeks or up to many months.
• Fully dried: When the paint is fully cured and solid so no part of it is soft to be damaged by smudging or squishing. The paintwork can now be varnished safely. This stage will take several months or up to a year, or even more, depending on the thickness of the paint layers.

These dry times can be manipulated, either sped up or slowed down, but only to a point. For the most part, the cure time is the cure time and we just have to work with it. Specifically, the dry time is influenced by these factors:

• Environmental conditions: Obviously, exposing the paint layer to the O2 in the air will initiate the cure. However, the presence of UV light, ambient temperature, humidity, and air circulation can speed up or slow down the dry time. For example, a dry, warm room with good ventilation and exposure to UV light (like sunlight) will facilitate faster drying whereas cool, humid, dark conditions with poor air flow will slow it down, often significantly. Indeed, UV light, or sunlight, can increase dry time as effectively as a siccative (a metallic salt drier), but they shouldn’t be allowed to dry too long in the sunlight as this can actually cause damage to the oil binder. As for too much heat, like a hair dryer, that's ill-advised for drying oils. A hair dryer will evaporate the water vapor necessary for proper oxidation and can even cause your paintwork to crack. The hair dryer can also cause solvents in the paint to evaporate faster which can cause fumes to be released into the air to impact your health. But more times than not, a hair dryer just doesn’t increase the dry time enough to make it worth it. Conversely, cold delays drying, which is why you can store your unused palette in the freezer for later use. High humidity also delays the dry time, however, normal humidity (65% - 75%) affects oxidation favorably because the absorption of water during the process is necessary. Indeed, oils left to dry in too arid conditions may not polymerize properly, losing a significant amount of their oil volume to gaseous vapor during the process which can become a problem with thickly painted layers such as on an impasto painting.
• The thickness of the paint layer: The thickness of the paint film has a direct influence on the speed or slowness of the dry time. In this, the thicker the layer, the longer it’ll take to dry. This is why impasto paintjobs can take years to fully dry. However, we usually paint our sculptures with exceedingly thin layers, just a whisper of paint, which is why they can dry significantly faster and be ready for further steps or varnishing so quickly, relatively speaking.
• The use of driers or which medium used: Drying agents improve the absorption of oxygen by the oil and therefore accelerate the formation of peroxides, i.e. they speed up the polymerization process. (The Old Masters added mineral driers to their varnishes like lead, in the form of lead white pigments, minium or red lead, and lead tin yellow, or manganese in the form of umber, zinc in the form of zinc sulfide, iron in the form if iron sulfide, and calcium in the form of lime.) For instance, Liquin, Galkyd or alkyd mediums such as Walnut/alkyd can be added to speed up the dry time. Adding in some alkyd paints can speed up the dry time as well. Driers that use cobalt, zirconium, and others can also be used, but some can be toxic and can cause cracking or wrinkling so research them first. This website is a terrific resource to start your exploration of driers and this is a great one for exploring mediums.
• Pigments: Different pigments can speed up or slow down the drying time. For instance, some pigments contain minerals that speed up the polymerization process such as the Umbers (which is why they’re so often used in underpainting, particularly Raw Umber, which is often the fastest oil paint to dry), Cobalt Blue, and the Siennas. On the other hand, some pigments slow it down such as reds (especially Cadmium Red and Alizarin Crimson), yellows (particularly Cadmium Yellow and Naples Yellow), the Blacks (Ivory Black, Lamp Black, and sometimes Mars Black), and notoriously Titanium White. The Hues, cadmiums, and “transparent” colors also take a long time to dry because of their greater percentage of oil binder in them. As for the reason why Titanium White takes so long to dry and why something like Burnt Umber dries so quickly is because the White lacks the chemical properties or minerals (like cobalt or manganese) that act as natural drying accelerators unlike Burnt Umber with its manganese content. What's more Titanium White also contains titanium dioxide, a substance that slows down the oxidation polymerization process of the oil binder. Then the reason why Ivory Black takes so long, too, is because carbon, the primary pigment in Ivory Black, has an antioxidant property that slows down the oxidation process oil paints need to cure. What's more, Ivory Black often contains more oil binder for better flow because the super-fine particle size of the pigment creates a really dense paint film, which also happens to limit oxygen's access and thus slowing down dry time even more.
• Binders: The various oil binders can have different dry times as well. The most common oil used in oil paint is linseed oil, the fastest drying oil binder. However, poppy, walnut, safflower, and stand oil can also be found, each with their own properties. For instance, stand oil can be added to slow the dry time and create a glossier finish with less brushstroke texture. (Safflower oil can often be found in white pigment for a purer, less-yellow white paint.)

Now if you really want to slow down your dry time, you can use certain essential oils because they require oxygen to dry and therefore “steal” it from the oil binder, preventing the oil binder from absorbing it and so slowing its dry time. One such popular essential oil is clove oil. Indeed, putting a cottontail dabbed a touch in clove oil on your palette and sealing it up can nearly stop those oils from drying on your palette. It does this by creating an antioxidant-rich atmosphere on the sealed palette with its eugenol content. However, don’t mix the clove oil into your paints as this will negatively affect their durability when fully dry.

As for a fully dry paintjob that has softened for some reason, which has been observed in paintjobs done with poppy, walnut, or safflower oils, put it in sunlight outside (UV light) and it should harden up again.

Conclusion to Part I

Phew! That was a lot to process. We do need some basic working insight into our chosen medium though if we're going to be successful, especially when it comes to oils. I'd also like to reiterate how the thinness of our layers we paint on our sculptures doesn't present such a crisis when it comes to drying as it would on a normal oil painting and especially on an impasto painting. Truly, that thinness is a real boon and a great technique to get our paintjobs to dry relatively fast. Like on some, I can wait ten to fifteen days and then my paintjob is fully dry and ready for Testors Dullcote and eye glossing! Now note that I didn't mention solvents? I don't use solvents. That is a gift given to me by Heather's method, and I find that it works just fine for our purposes. But if you'd like to use solvents, here's a handy resource here and here and here. For cleaning my brushes, rather than a solvent I use Murphy's Oil Soap as per Heather's suggestion, and it works like a charm! It even smells nice, too!

In Part II then, we'll actually dive into my painting process on Ta'alaq and explore some of the challenges I ran into careening through this dark-to-light approach.

“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” 

― Vincent van Gogh

Painting In The Dark: The Right Way To Paint Wrong Part I

Reversed Rivalry: The Power Of Shared Success

 

Introduction

So — you want to make it big in the equine collectibles world, huh? You want to make a big splash and become a nice big fish? But, hey, what artist doesn’t? It’s good to be a big fish. You garner nifty opportunities and connections not afforded to others, you enjoy certain privileges that come with being of a certain stature, you tend to earn more openings, and gallery and company relationships, licensing deals come your way more easily, and your sales improve as the regard for your work amplifies and expands.

But the truth is we don’t do this with skill and talent alone. Nope. Those things will only take you so far, particularly when it comes to earning real opportunities and relationships. And there are plenty of highly skilled and talented artists out there who fail regardless, so those factors just aren’t enough to get you going or sustain your momentum. Why? Because to actually become a big fish, it takes a lot more than going it alone — you need a community-minded attitude. 

Indeed, I’ve seen so many artists blow apart their potential not because they were incapable artistically, but because they underestimated the power of connection, even abused it. They got into feuds, they lashed out, or just generally behaved as a persona non grata that not only put off collectors, but also professional peers and companies as well. So what could’ve been valuable professional networks and lucrative company contracts simply dried up, and all because the concept of shared success wasn’t appreciated and practiced. 

Shared success? Yeppers. Those at the top of the game are collaborating, not competing. They’re building up, not tearing down — or more specifically, they’re building each other up rather than tearing each other down. Absolutely, if you want to succeed, you need to share your success! Without a doubt, sharing is the highest form of participation be it sharing information, doling out kudos and support, giving credit, lending a helping hand, providing a referral, or actually creating work together. In other words, the big fish keenly understand the power of shared success and actively seek to spread that around with their peers at every opportunity.

Conversely, those at the bottom compete, the lowest form of participation. Lowest? But the equine collectibles niche market is founded on competition! How is competition a problem for artists? Now yes — that’s quite true. We're an art form founded on comparative competition, let’s face it. However, that doesn’t mean this focus is the best one for the actual artists creating the work. See here’s the thing: While the collectors enthusiastically compete in the ring, the artists themselves do better with a different perspective. Why? Because competition between artists is fundamentally toxic and founded on inferior motivations. Honestly, one-upmanship and art rarely mix well. Insecurity, professional envy, resentment, annoyance, frustration, humiliation, disillusionment, despair, or perhaps even a flat out feud will poison the well, no matter how well-meaning that competitiveness may be. Unfortunately, I've seen so many competitive-minded artists really muddy their own experience with their cutthroat drives, usually ending up miserable, confused, and embittered on some level. There's this, too: The need to beat another artist smacks of insecurity and fear, definitely not a good look, and few good things come of that in the long run. On the other hand, the truly poised and confident artist doesn’t care one wit about beating their artistic peers as opponents. They’re too focused on improving their own work on their own terms, building bridges, and thinking up ways to elevate the art form for everyone. As such then, you can tell a lot about an artist’s character simply by which category they fall into — pay attention.

In the hopes then of inspiring more community-mindedness to improve our own chances at a happy future, let’s talk about the power of shared success and how we can dampen artistic dueling to create a more beneficial and balanced atmosphere for everyone.

Reversed Rivalry

The fully developed artist isn’t only skilled and talented, they also know exactly where any form of rivalry should exist: Within themselves. It’s them pitted against their older work and their worn out conventions and blindspots, not them pitted against their peers. As Ruelle sings in her song, Rival:

The tide is high

It's sink or swim

My only rival is within

Giants calling round the bend

My only rival is within

I won't let my demons win

My only rival is within

I will fight through thick and thin

My only rival is within

Kingdoms rise and kingdoms end

My only rival is within

This is where it all begins

My only rival is within

The tide is high

It's sink or swim

My only rival is within

That’s the headspace of the secure and successful artist! So if you want meaningful progress and actual evolution, you’ll be striving to better your own work rather than beating the work of others. You’ll also seek personal growth by inverting your focus into your own portfolio rather than gauging your worth through comparison with others. “Comparison is the death of joy,” as Mark Twain observed, and he’s absolutely correct. Without fail, with comparison usually comes envy on some level which is soon followed by resentment and disillusionment, things hardly conducive to sustained happiness and meaningful growth in the studio. If it gets really bad, in fact, you can even compromise your own Voice, a devastating blow for the unique purity, authority, and power of your work.

Now this isn’t to be confused with being inspired by the work of our fellows. Honestly, this is a wonderful thing! But it’s to remember that your fellow artists are your colleagues — they’re your innovative inspirations and fellow trailblazers to be supported and learned from, not your rivals to be crushed. Always remember that the truly successful artist seeks to elevate the art form, and a great way to do that is to look to peers as beacons of revelation and kindred souls. Hey, we’re all in the same boat, right?

Cheerleading 

This brings us to a very healthy behavior with our fellow artists and within the community at large: Cheerleading. Become a cheerleader and advocate for our artistic community — talk up work, show it off, share it on social media and in your business networks and social circles, and give referrals regarding the availability and talents of your peers. When we lift up the accomplishments of our fellows, we’re not only building a more cohesive arts community, we’re also role-modeling better behavior, building bridges, and, even better, potentially making someone’s day. It’s just a win win all the way ‘round!

So when an artist posts a finished piece or ongoing project on their social media, or an award, a triumph, or any sort of accomplishment they’re proud of, slather on the praise, talk it up, and share it within your own circles. Spread the love! Imagine what a positive and supportive landscape we could build if we're cheerleaders for each other!

The thing is, too, cheerleading also encourages people to actually take up our arts. Like, they see the positive reinforcement for arting and maybe that’ll inspire them to ignore their hesitations and just try it. And if we’re working to expand and elevate this art form, we’ll be writing or filming how-tos, or hosting how-to get-togethers even, to help others achieve their potential, also making a tremendous resource for beginners. In this dynamic way, sharing our success can actually grow the arts base and who knows how that’ll elevate the art form over time! Indeed, feed the arts and you also feed your own potential in the long game! Which brings us to…

Sharing Knowledge

Sharing success also means we share our knowledge not just with each other, but with beginners, too, to give them a leg up in this very difficult art form. So become a teacher, give seminars, host workshops, retreats, or classes, write or film how-tos, write an educational book, blog or vlog, become a depot of continued education, or mentor a beginner. Any which way, share what you’ve learned from your techniques and materials to your creative sensibilities and suppliers to your knowledge base about equine color, structure, and movement. The whole kit ’n’ caboodle! Because really — why are you holding back? Dig deep — why?

Because the truth is that confident, progressing artists share, they don’t hold back! They keenly realize that anything shared is going into fresh, new brains that’ll put their own spin on that information and probably in innovative, novel ways to ultimately come back to them, improved and refreshed. In short, they know all too well that whatever they share will come back upgraded to improve their own work. Hey, it’s an inevitability when so many brains work the same problem! But this is exactly why the artists most open with their methods and materials tend to evolve and grow the fastest — they understand the power of shared learning. Absolutely, we’re so much better together than apart!

Indeed, great artists rarely grow in isolation. Creating our work may happen sequestered away, but artistic growth hardly ever does. For instance, seeing how other artists tackle challenges, even how they process mistakes and techniques, can be immensely illuminating, or observing how they translated the same lesson in a wholly different way can be so insightful. Then having conversations with fellow artists can help us along our Path, even inspiring us in ways we never imagined. Really, what seems like a small observation from a peer can become art-changing for us! Indeed, observing how other artists work and interpret the subject can bust us past our own worn-out habits, leading to whole new levels of achievement and sustained growth in ways out of left field. But perhaps most helpful of all, community reminds us that we aren't alone in our struggles and confusions inevitable in the creative process in this difficult art form. We clearly see that every artist struggles, processes, and evolves, just like us, a deeply affirming realization. Honestly, if you really want to bust past a plateau or level up your work, stop trying to go it alone all the time! Dive into community, whatever that means to you, gleaning and giving back what you can in that creative symbiosis that elevates everyone's efforts, including your own.

There’s this, too: When we share what we’ve learned, we also have to plug up our own knowledge gaps and attend to glaring blindspots to provide others with the best information we can drum up at that moment. Honestly, there are few better ways to learn than by becoming a teacher ourselves. In all these ways then, when we endeavor to help others, we’re really helping ourselves in pro-active, tangible ways. It’s no coincidence then that those artists who pro-actively spread knowledge tend to become the most knowledgable themselves.

The Benes

According to many gallery professionals, the vast majority of gallery representation, show openings, and contract work are garnered from professional referrals, not from “cold calls” so to speak. That’s to say an artist or collector recommending another for representation, a show, or a contract has a much stronger influence than a portfolio from a complete stranger, or even an agent promoting their client. It’s not just a matter of who you know, it’s how you know them. This means that being a well-liked, respected, relatable, and well-known professional is more important than we may realize. Because it’s going to be other people who open the door, right? So it’s the artists who keep showing up for other artist’s openings, who celebrate their peers and colleagues, who make the introductions — their names are the ones that stay front and center, and so it’s usually them who get the most opportunities. 

And it's not necessarily because they’re “networking,” it’s because they keenly understand that art doesn’t exist in a vacuum — not the making of it, the promoting of it, the showing of it, or the selling of it. It’s a community that creates the art market, and you truly need to become a positive part of the community to earn the most opportunities. And here’s the thing: When you dedicate yourself to promoting others, you become a happy force in that community, and people notice — the right people notice — and with your good reputation, they’ll want to associate with you through new projects. To that then, always remember that your brand reflects on theirs, and if you do a good job curating your brand, it’s amazing how many new doors will open for you. Indeed, there's no savvy gallery owner, agent, company, or collector who’ll want to associate with someone known for problematic behavior, personal or professional. Heck, even one ill-advised outburst can destroy everything you built! Truly, I've seen more artists wipe out a good reputation with a single bad post than I care to count, so learn to self-regulate like a boss. In short then, if you behave like a liability, you’ll find those doors quickly closed tight, but be nice, play nice, and support your fellow artists, and you’ll go a whole lot farther. Because when you’re well-liked and respected by the community, you’ll find more support whether from professionals, fellow artists, or collectors. This is one of the big reasons why feuds are far more costly than they appear on the surface — you just don’t know how many doors are shutting tight against you in the larger community when you act out! Not a smart move! Remember this, as Einstein advised, "Weak people revenge, strong people forgive, intelligent people ignore." Words to live by when you're building your bridges.

What's more, being an active part of the community also gives you access to a bigger pool of news and knowledge from details about materials and techniques to those events where the collectors are congregating. Other artists also understand your frustrations, self-doubts, fears, challenges, and your triumphs and defeats, and with their wider net experience, can provide some real tangible help. Fellow artists also likely know who or what might be a good match for your work in terms of gallery representation, shows, collectors, commissions, contracts, or museums, and so make no mistake, other artists can make or break your opportunities. Don't treat them poorly! Just as importantly though, being an upstanding, supportive and active part of the community tends to bring opportunities to you rather than you having to chase them down, always a blessing and a bit of a relief.

So always honor the practice of helping, supporting, and uplifting other artists. They’re not your competition, they’re not your opponents. They’re your colleagues and peers, and in supporting them, you're helping to build a ton of positives in our genre. Indeed, vision, skill, and talent are rarely the problem. Those who get stuck are often overflowing with these. Instead, the real problem is that they’re trying to do it solo, not understanding that getting their art out there successfully is also a social dynamic built on support, reputation, and reciprocity.

Public Image

All this brings us to your public image, the baseline for your success. Indeed, the smart artist astutely knows that all behavior is a function of their brand, their public image. That’s to say positive, professional behavior builds our brand whereas problematic, unpleasant, or combative behavior destroys it. And be careful with what groups you follow and people you associate with — people notice and it will blowback on you. Because here’s the thing: No matter how you spin it, negativity is negativity, and when it comes to selling art, negativity will whip around to bite you in the face, especially in our niche art form. You see, the work created by the most well-liked artists — likable as themselves, that is, not just well-liked work — tends to sell the best and earn the most opportunities while those with sketchy public images will have a much harder time of it. Remember, people usually support those artists they personally like and avoid those they don’t. Why? Because when they buy art, they also buying a part of the artist to have in their lives — art is a reminder, a memory — and so that memory should be uplifting for sustained good vibes. Never forget that our work is a representation of us and so it should embody all the best of who we are.

Now this isn’t to say that toxic positivity is the answer nor is it to say that being fake-y to be liked is necessary. Nope. Absolutely not! You must be authentic and sincere, be genuine. Rather it’s to say that being a jerk, being tone deaf, being a problem, and having problematic associations has its consequences, which can be far-reaching as it expands exponentially through the grapevine. Just not a smart move.

Conclusion

The fact remains — who you are as a person will make or break your standing and opportunities in any art community. In other words, the community is a microcosm of the world as people gravitate towards those who radiant goodwill and away from those who exude toxicity. In short then, don’t be That Guy as that will assuredly compromise your opportunities, potentially burn bridges, and diminish the performance of your work in the market. In contrast, those who propagate altruism usually have the opposite experience in spades, so get out there and start spreading the good will! When we share our success, we aren’t only building a more solid community, but a better future for ourselves as all that good juju gets reflected back onto us, often amplified. 

Never forget that art doesn’t exist in a vacuum — it needs a community to support it. So when we foster that community, we’re actually cultivating a better future for everyone involved, including ourselves. Quite literally, what’s good for our community is good for us, too! So elevate others! Indeedy, the more positive, supportive vibes and information we pump out then, the more we get back to improve our own situation with improved work, expanded opportunities, deeper and more expansive relationships, stronger bridges, higher regard, and a host of other positives that come no other way. So never hold back when you feel that compulsion to spread the love and education! Success is really meant to be shared to uplift those around us and we can absolutely help that along in wonderful, tangible ways.

Ultimately, it’s those who understand the community-minded power of shared success who end up being the most successful in the long run. So never be miserly in your kudos or information, but splatter that good stuff all over the place! It’s good for your standing, good for your long game, good for your potential, good for the community, and most of all, good for your heart. It just feels good to spread those happy vibes around, doesn’t it? So reverse that rivalry and share your success, and you’ll soon reap great rewards from such positively-minded community participation! Your art deserves the success and our community deserves all that good stuff — so let ‘er rip!

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”

— Henry Ford

Reversed Rivalry: The Power Of Shared Success