The author presents a step-by-step method so that any artist begin assembling a career that works. It includes things like instructing on how to get your work into a gallery, and handling self-doubt. He also tells the story of his gallery's shaky start, from his initial failures to his many successes.

Award winning fine artist Joe Pearce brings wisdom, humor, and creative perspective to the trials, tribulations, and party that is life. After growing up in the drug culture of the 70’s, Joe Pearce turned to a fundamentalist church for personal redemption. He felt called to become a traveling evangelist and musical artist, which is how he met his wife. Joe eventually transitioned away from that belief system to become part of corporate America. Joe was working a job in financial services, 20 years into marriage, when his wife developed severe schizophrenia. The Art of My Life explores Joe’s struggles with care taking for, and coping with, his wife’s illness. Joe tells a raw, blatantly honest narrative of his unique life experiences while weaving in themes of his and other's art with the hopes of helping people find their passion along their own unique paths.

Why is this art? The world of contemporary art can seem intimidating, absurd, and self-obsessed, while the sums of money exchanged are baffling. Writing on contemporary art is often tortured and confused, ignoring the important questions: What is contemporary art? How does it relate to money and power? How is it made? Will it survive? To answer these questions, Katya Tylevich and Ben Eastham offer a series of short biographies on eight great works of twenty-first century art by Martin Creed, Barry McGee, Camille Henrot, Marina Abramovic, Philippe Parreno and Pierre Huyghe, Erwin Wurm, Michaël Borremans, and Gregory Crewdson. They follow these paintings, films, installations, experiences, experiments, sculptures, and performances through all the key stages of their existence so far – from the delicate quiet of the studio to the grand chaos of the art world. A funny, engaging, personal guide through the world of art today, My Life as a Work of Art takes as its starting point the only really important thing: the work of art itself.

A candid guidebook about art-making in the midst of oppression—"a slim, necessary revelation" (Maggie Nelson, The Argonauts). Visiting the Andy Warhol Museum as a teenager, Beth Pickens realized that art was imperative for reflecting—and thus remaking—the world. As an adult, she has dedicated her life to arts nonprofits and consulting, helping marginalized artists traverse the world of MFAs, residences, and institutional funding. Writing in the aftermath of the 2016 election, Pickens reminds emerging artists that their art is more important than ever. She gives advice on fostering creativity and sustaining an innovative practice as conversations about grants, public programming, and arts funding in schools grow ever-more heated. Part political manifesto, part practical manual, this resource reminds us that art has always been a tool of resistance.

Is art just a nice-to-have? Or is it deeper, far more integral...even necessary? Is there something from Beethoven to help us with that career setback? Is there something from Shakespeare to help us with our relationships? Is there something from Rembrandt to show us who we really are? It is these, amongt other questions that this book probes; through painting, music, literature, architecture, sculpture, photography and filmsspanning cultures - from Europe and Africa to India and Australia, and artistic periods - from the ancient to the modern. Leveraging his considerable experience as a research professional, Ivan Fernandez combines riveting insights from diverse artists of the past and the present, a dazzling variety of astonishing facts and powerful questions for us to reflect on. In language that is simple, elegant and imbued with passion, Ivan utters an urgent, sincere plea; urging us to draw actionable life lessons from art that can help us rise above ourselves. To make a masterpiece of our own lives. And as a guide on this epic voyage, he takes us on a fascinating journey inward; ploughing not merely the depths of artistic insight, but of the inscrutable human spirit itself! Fernandez talks about bliss - a term Ive often used. It was through writing about my practice, together with making my work, that I found my bliss. I wish Id had Fernandezs book back in those times when overwhelming doubt inhibited my practice. He brings enlightenment to thinking about art and why artists do what they do. This can help give an artist conviction, and therefore confidence, and a lay person a heightened appreciation of art. This most enjoyable read will bring great insight to artists and lay people alike. A truly inspiring read! - Archibald Prize-winning artist and art teacher, Cherry Hood Ivan Fernandezs cross-disciplinary approach - infusing insights from philosophy, literature, music and art - make this book a great read! - Sculptor, Vince Vozzo; member of the decade club (exhibited at Sculpture by the Sea ten times or more)