It was true in 2002 and it’s just as true in 2024: 

The more ways you can reach your artience, the greater your chances for selling your art. 

Yes, most likely, your creative strength lies in your visual language, whatever the genre. And words—the language of everyday communication, the language of our culture and family, the language in our thinking minds, the language we depend upon to clarify an image—hold a far more complicated place in our psyches, which I’ll explore in another blog post.

Most of us accompany any visual image with some word-language, even when the visual image is more compelling or dominant.  

In fact, the very dominance of visual imagery often seduces us into believing that the visual trumps words, which is why the cliché “a picture is worth a thousand words” is quoted so often. And in my estimation, so thoughtlessly. 

What’s important to remember is this: all humans respond to word language, be it verbal, written, or via thought.  

And ignoring the power of words to amplify the power of your visual work means you are also ignoring a powerful pathway into the hearts and minds of your artience—the people who love your work and who only need one, extra push to buy it. 

The most direct, and most elegant container for words that relate to you and your art is the simple, if challenging, artist statement. 

But, where do you begin? What do you need to know before you tackle what I call a grain of sand in an artist’s shoe? 

When you’ve read as many truly awful artist statements as I have, it begins to dawn on you that maybe, just maybe, the awfulness starts at the very beginning.   

Here’s the most basic question—What the heck is an artist statement? 

It turns out you need a definition to start, but there is far more at stake here than just a definition. 

For a compelling, engaging artist statement, which truly catches the attention of your viewers instead of making them yawn, here are five major things to keep in mind. 

First: Accurately Defining An Artist Statement 

When you have an accurate definition, that becomes the very first step in deciding if you’re headed in the right direction or not. 

I’ve tracked down ten different sites with ten different ideas about what an artist statement is. And, as far as I can tell, none them really understand three things:  

1. What an artist statement does for the viewer who is reading it. 
2. What an artist statement does for the artist who is writing it. 
3. And how these two trajectories affect each other; both for what is written and for the statement’s final effectiveness.  

During my years of one to one coaching, I discovered one of the most confusing aspects of an artist statement is deciding, exactly, what it is.  

As I was working with painter, Bob McMurray, I asked if he had an old artist statement we could compare to the one he had just written. 

Not really, he said.  I wrote some things for a web site, but it’s not an artist statement. I’ve been thinking about writing one for ages, so I was primed and ready to go when I got your book. 

Imagine my surprise, when I surfed over, to find a perfectly coherent artist statement on his site. True, a few touch-ups and a stronger central theme would be a plus; and, what he had worked. So, why was this clear to me… 

…but not to McMurray, who, after all, wrote the artist statement that he did not think was an artist statement?  

It’s Not Obvious, But The Answer Is Simple 

Many artists suffer from LOI:  Lack Of Information.  

If you don’t know what an artist statement is, then how can you be sure that what you’ve written is an artist statement? 

When I ask artists to tell me what they think a statement is, one of the most common responses I hear is: I’m supposed to tell my viewer something about my art.  

Well, yes, that’s pretty much it in a nutshell… only who is telling you about this nutshell? Is it the hull of a hazelnut? An almond?  

When you have a vague definition like this, it becomes subject to a steady stream of individual interpretations, much like the ten websites I just reviewed. Ten different, often vague and disconnected characteristics of an artist statement, but not the deeper purpose of it.   

Consider This:  

Does An Artist Statement Support Your Art Or Reflect On It? 

The problem, when you don’t know exactly what an artist statement is, is that you end up cobbling together a statement out of resumes, biographical statements, and critiques about the artwork and technique. Or, you opt for academic mumbo jumbo. 

This usually happens when how you use an artist statement—support material for your art—gets confused with what it is: a very personal reflection on what, how and why you do what you do. 

Defining an artist statement has the same benefits as setting a goal: it tells you if you are headed in the right direction. If you don’t know where you are going, then getting there becomes a dicey affair.  

You could end up driving aimlessly around for hours. On the other hand, if you establish where you are going, you have a marker for knowing whether or not you have arrived. This single step will save you hours of grief.  

So, in case you blew past it a few paragraphs ago, here’s a definition based on your deepest truth that simultaneously holds the power of viewer engagement: 

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An Artist Statement Definition:

An artist statement is a written, personal reflection on your insights about your relationship to what, how, and why you do what you do—from your perspective as the artist-creator. 

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Its purpose is to give your artience a peek behind the scenes, to let them have a taste of what your experience, as an artist, is really like. 

But wait… there’s more! 

Counter Intuitively, It’s Not Just For Your Artience 

There’s another side to the artist statement that no one usually articulates: the artist statement is not just for art patrons and gallery owners.  

It is also has the capacity to deepen the creativity in your ArtLife.  

The very effort of searching for words, which reflects your relationship to your art, increases your creative flow. This is true whenever we engage in a form of self-expression that pushes us out of our comfort zone. Like sweat from physical exertion, the struggle to articulate an artist statement has the added benefit of getting your creative juices flowing. 

Writing the Artist Statement focused my connection to my art in a new way. The whole process primed me, gave me a sense of direction. 

Now when I’m faced with choosing what to paint out of hundreds of photographs, understanding what moves me, this core place of nostalgia, gives me the reference point I need. ~ R. McMurray, retired Pres. of the Federation of Canadian Arts 

As Uncomfortable As It May Feel…It’s About You 

We have been conditioned, in so many ways, to feel awkward saying anything complimentary about ourselves. While, conversely, our culture encourages us to make demeaning, belittling self-comments, especially under the guise of humor.

And because an artist statement is so deeply personal—as personal as your art—this tendency toward the Negative Self often pushes us in the opposite direction. 

Keep in mind that a good many in your artience think you are magic and if they stand close enough, some of the magic will rub off.  

With an artist statement, you give them permission to stand close enough to get a contact magic-high. At its best, an artist statement is honest in the same way that your art is honest. They both reflect a true expression of your being. 

When an artist statement speaks from that place of what’s real, then, and only then, will the truth of your statement and your art effortlessly support each other. 

Because It’s All About The Personal, Keep This In Mind … 

An effective artist statement is as personal as your art. Which is why I insist that artists use first person, I, even though the very thought of writing “I” statements about your art might strike dread into your heart. 

It’s very tempting (and artist do it all the time) to write your artist statement in third person because it feels as if that will keep strangers from judging you.  

Even though you see artist statements written in the third-person (she/he) all the time, this is never a good idea.  

Usually, an artist does this fearing that their statement, and by implication the art, doesn‘t have enough authority to be believed, respected or taken seriously.  

Because authorities write about others in the third person, the artist tries to make it sound as if an authority is doing the writing.  

But a third-person artist statement becomes easily confused with a critique, and as we have said, an artist statement is not a critique.  

Third person also drops the artist statement squarely into a lie, since the artist purposefully sets the reader up to believe that someone else, besides the artist, is doing the writing. 

Third person feels more credible, as if some expert wrote all this cool stuff about your work and isn’t that just too neat!  

Unfortunately, that removed quality, which third person offers, is exactly what will kill the very reason for an artist statement in the first place: to give your viewer another way to bond with you because now they know something real about you and your art. 

The Sticky Factor  

An effective statement creates a personal connection to the artwork and stimulates our human thirst for “story.” This, in turn, triggers longer memory storage, and increases the sticky factor about your art, by immersing the viewer in two languages: visual and linguistic. 

Writing in prose works best because prose is a friendly, accessible form. Prose lends itself to narration and storytelling, which helps the reader engage with what the artist is saying, which in turn encourages the reader to engage with the art.  

Once in a while, poetry or prose-poetry is effective, when an artist is comfortable and skilled enough to pull it off. 

The content of a statement is simple: It’s made up of specific words, which the artist chooses, and their construction. 

Details Matter 

Even if collectors love your work, an artist statement that comes off as arrogant, naïve, pushy, academic, or fluffy taints your artwork by association. Why take the chance?  

Your work deserves an artist statement that gives you the professional edge you need.  

Even though Artdex’s definition of an artist statement is only partially accurate, this bit of their advice might motivate you: A compelling artist statement can break a tie in an art competition, an artist grant application, or secure your spot in a coveted artist residency program. 

And, to help you with the “detail” end of things, here’s one tip I’ll share about compelling writing: always use specific details in place of generalities. 

“A tree” becomes “A gnarled oak with one branch blackened from lightening.” 

“A sliced orange” becomes “One slice into the skin and the pungent, orange fragrance rose up from the cutting board.” 

If you would like a comprehensive understanding of what an artist statement is—and how to leverage the purpose it serves for you and for your artience—alongside a step-by-step process for how to write an artist statement, keep in mind that the learning curve is similar to taking a class in a new technique for your artwork.  

Does the artist statement help you in selling your art? Besides vibing on Instagram, your artist statement improves the process for selling your art in 20 other places. 

When I stumbled upon artist statements it was 1992. The Internet was barely off breast feeding. Twitter didn’t exist, much less its decadent descendent.  

In 2002, when my artist statement book first came out, the art world reserved career for an artist who had died (and were “given” a career retrospective), or a famous, old, alive artist also being “given” a career retrospective. 

At that time in our culture, the collective perspective of artists was moving away from the maverick outsider to the more accepted, business person, albeit one with a flair. At that same time, the artist statement was an elusive element in an artist’s portfolio that no one considered overly consequential (including artists), much less worthy of a whole book. 

In 2002, all that changed with the first edition of Writing the Artist Statement: Revealing the True Spirit of Your Work, where I uncovered the logical, practical, and reversible flaws in the artist statement resistance movement. You know the one… where artists proclaim with bravado that they have nothing to say that someone can’t already see in the work. 

Never mind that this was silly on its face since what the artist sees and what a viewer sees, in spite of any overlap, is essentially a deeply personal “seeing” that arises out of the unique experiences of each individual. 

Spin forward into 2007, when I realized that, for artists, the concept of selling your art had zero professional support. So, I created and produced held the first smARTist Telesummit conference for visual artists. Over the next six years, thousands of artists from 16 countries and over 40 US states, attended the first ever, annual, online, 7-day, art-career conference.  

At the time, art, artist, and career were culturally clipped by a perceived incompatibility because career was reserved for a certain class made up of doctors, lawyers, educators, etc. 

The collective WE had already concluded that Artists were too… flaky, too creative (i.e., not dependable), independent (i.e., not stable), marched to the tune of their own drummer (i.e., not reliable)…starving (by definition)…and certifiably crazy (you know, the Van-Gogh-minus-one-ear syndrome)… you get the vibe. 

The sad part back then in 2007?  

Artists got the same vibe. And so, as self-fulfilling prophecies always go, artists failed to considered themselves career viable. A business, yes, as artists began wrestling with the idea that they could at least sell their art if they had the right venue, usually galleries or local art fairs. 

Now, in 2024, all of this has changed. Search online for “art career coaches,” and they are everywhere. In 2007, there were only a handful of us. 

Search online for art career and you’ll come up with a plethora. Back in 2007, all you would find is one or two “art career retrospectives,” or art as a career in other fields: design, education, cartoons, etc.  

But now, in 2024, Instagram has turned visual fine art into a financially viable career with coach after coach focused on selling your art to the exclusion of anything else that might, or might not, be part of your viable art career. 

Some argue, now, that the artist statement is no longer needed. It’s passé. Some galleries don’t even require it. Well, that’s not new. Some galleries, even before Instagram, resisted and questioned the need for artist statements—a standpoint I logically wrestle to the ground in my book.  

Here’s what you need to know: Artist statements deliver a fundamental function that impacts how well you are selling your art, which the current naysayers are thoughtlessly ignoring.  

A unique-to-only-you artist statement can never go out of style in the same way your art isn’t going out of style. Fashion… style… trends… these come and go. But the language of your soul remains as authentic and engaging today as it will 500 years from now in 2524. 

The trick is to understand how to use your artist statement in any venue. 

Let’s take Instagram for starters, and answer this question:  

Here’s three: 

1. It lets you vibe with your social media followers so the word-language of your Original Self becomes as consistent and strong as the visual-language of your art.  
2. It gives you a signature-language bond between art, artist, and audience that encourages more engagement because it reveals the true spirit of your work. 
3. Once written, it can be repurposed, expanded or miniaturized, and adapted for multiple channels. 

Even on Instagram, it’s a rare artist who throws up an image, but says nothing below it, right? 

An artist statement, like your art, establishes who you are in a sea of other artists. 

But its usefulness goes even further. 

Here’s an excerpt from the “just released” 3rd edition of my book:  

Writing the Artist Statement: Revealing the True Spirit of Your Work 

WHY WRITE AN ARTIST STATEMENT? 

Because an artist statement affirms what you do, and by extension affirms you. And none of us can ever have too much affirmation. 

Because an artist statement calls out for you to recognize the true faces of your deepest self: truth, beauty, and goodness. 

Because an artist statement invites you to experience another level of awareness about yourself and your art. 

Because an artist statement strengthens the relationship you have with your work. 

Because an artist statement builds a compelling bridge between your audience and your art. 

Because an artist statement enriches the connection between the artist and the art. 

Because it is practical. You can use your artist statement for: 

And then, there is my favorite reason for writing an artist statement: Personal Power, which I elaborate on in Chapter 6 of Writing the Artist Statement: Revealing the True Spirit of Your Work. 

Here are the two sidebars in that chapter: 

Personal power is the power emerging from our deepest connections to life: of feeling, embracing, creating, and celebrating.  

The only way to expand our personal power is to embrace ourselves exactly as we are; neither more nor less, but as someone in a state of constantly changing grace. 

When you have your own encounter with your own artist statement, then you will come face to face with your personal power… 

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Oh, btw, the brand new 3rd edition of Writing the Artist Statement: Revealing the True Spirit of Your Work is now available along with the 3-Part Ambitious Bundle to help you reach the end of the book with an artist statement in your hand!