Author:
Bob L Cauley

As an artist I find it hard to survive in a rural area where I live now. When I lived in Omaha I had shows just about every month. Now that I live in the small town of Hugo, Oklahoma I find it very difficult to get shows. When I am able to get shows, they are far away and are very few & far inbetween. I now find my best outlet to be the internet. It is not as much fun as it does not get me the reviews like when an artist deals straight with the public. I have also noticed that my art is not selling as good on the net as it had in person. In fact I find most of my sales are going thru EBay & the art is not bringing as much as it had from shows.

As far as getting gallery representation when you live in a rural area as I do now it is next to impossible. Most galleries only want you if you are close to them. When I was in Omaha I had 2 galleries represent me. But when I moved away from Omaha, they no longer wanted to represent me because I was going to be to faraway. Most galleries that claim to be looking for new artists usually won’t take artists that are not in their area. But if you talk to their employees you will find they always claim that, but in reality they have not taken any new artist in several years. Why they do this is beyond me! I have found when checking out a new gallery they are friendly until they find out you are an artist out of their area, then they seem to put on another face.

It seems it is harder for artist to sell their art, get gallery representation, or even get articles written about them nowadays than in the past. In the past art was something that was considered newsworthy and most newspapers were glad to print the articles and give reviews about shows. These days that is not so, it is very hard to get local newspapers to print much about art or artists. They claim that there is not a public interest no matter how good the story may be. National newspapers and newspapers from New York, Chicago, Atlanta and big cities as such usually still give reviews of art and artists.

To put it mildly, as an artist living in rural areas, promoting your art is difficult. It takes innovation and intestinal fortitude in order to be able to get recognition as an artist and to sell and promote it. But with the high cost of fuel and the high cost of shipping art it may now be that the only way to survive as an artist is the use of the internet with all its many connections and downfalls.

About the Author:

ARTIST’S BIO

On May 9, 1960 in the small town of Langdale, Alabama, there was born the eldest of six children Bob L Cauley. He had two brothers and three sisters. At the tender age of eleven, he had to go to work in the cotton fields to help support the family. His family was sharecroppers and migrant workers. Due to having to help support the family financially, he had to drop out of school in the seventh grade. But when he was grown and married with children, he went back to school and received his GED. He then continued his education and received his Associates Degree in Business Management. Over the years, he has worked many of jobs from sharecropper to Business Manager and has had many successful ventures in owning his own businesses.

In 1998, Bob and his wife Judy began collecting and studying art pieces. Bob has always been fascinated with art since he was a child. With a stressful management position at this time in his life, Bob decided to create his own artworks as a way to relax. In 2000, he left his management position to devote full time efforts towards his art. Bob has been primarily inspired and influenced by Jackson Pollock and the Impressionists. Bob considers himself to be a self-taught impressionist and abstract expressionist. He has experimented and used many different media. But is personal preference is oil on canvas. He has devoted countless hours of reading, studying, experimenting, and hard work to create his artworks.

Bob has participated in twelve solo shows and twelve group shows since 2001. He has attended five juried shows. In the second juried show he was in, he won an Award of Excellence. His third juried show, he achieved Best of Show. His fifth juried show he won Judge’s Choice Award. In a short time, Bob has proven to be an accomplished visual artist.

Bob currently lives in Hugo, Oklahoma with his wife and children. His plans for the future involve improving his art skill and techniques. He also plans on exhibiting his art as often as possible in the future. His art can be viewed online at
http://www.bobcauley.artspan.com.

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
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Surviving as an Artist in a Rural Area