"The Multi-task Artist," a Response to Robert Genn's May Newsletter on Multi-tasking

I too am a muti-task professional teaching artist creating  multi-genre art for galleries. Here is my take on this to your readers. After making art in many genres, I now embrace that I am a multi-genre and multi-tasker artist. I once was told a professional artist should stay with one genre. I disagree at this point in my career. When a professional gets to the place where the work is solid, multi-genre can be a strong suit in galleries. BUT, you must prove it to the galleries. You have to deliver first.

I too painted plein air in Portugal in Cais Cais. The painting there is overwhelmingly stimulating. We once were rewarded with a plate of fresh sardines by a restaurant owner while painting outside his place. We did a still life of it. I showed mine to one of my represented gallery owners and she wanted to show it. I am known as a landscape painter, but love to explore other genres of painting. Good galleries will embrace that if you approach it after you are established with them. You have to pay your dues and stick with what you do and know best first, before going into many genres. Most galleries want to stay with what they can sell of the artists work and keep it consistent. I love what one of my galleries does. They ask their stable of artists to do sometimes theme shows, like all paint birds, water or flowers, and we all explore that together. it is fun and received well, but the fact is that the galleries accept that as a  professional tool to explore opportunities of sales. Not all galleries like doing that. But, when they do, it is so stimulating for an artist to participate and deliver. When the artist is confident in their craft, only can that be accepted. If an artist goes to a gallery with multi-genre work, it can backfire. Tread slowly, and respect that the galleries can sell work for you if you stay consistent.

I also teach multi-task techniques in my classes and workshop. I often can teach a group of 7 in a 3-day advanced workshop letting each stay in their genre, and I punt with the group teaching tasks. Often, the group learns from the multi-task sharing. One will do landscape, another a still life or abstract and they all can see the beauty of crossing over genres to learn techniques that can be interfaced in each genre. I find that multi-tasking in this manner a great way to learn as a teacher and grow with my professional work.

So, before you become a dog portrait painter with your landscape paintings, and then next an absractionist as I often am, know where your galleries want you to be with them, and stay there with them. I once thought of signing my abstracts with a different name, but re-thought that and did not. Now I embrace it, and know my limitations where to tread with the multi-genre work. But I know where my abstracts will sell, and where my dog portraits can be consigned, and where my landscape paintings are welcomed. It is a challenge to be a multi-tasker, but so much fun in the challenge with the variety. Happy Painting!