As a professional artist you've probably been told all about the need to identify your 'ideal buyer'. And that on Instagram you should be 'talking to your audience'. And then there's the old classic, 'show up with authenticity.'
But has anyone ever really helped you understand HOW to do those things? If you're anything like me you'll have received the advice without really feeling like you could confidently put it into practice, and before long you were back to posting on social media without any real purpose, and submitting your open call applications with high hopes and low expectations.
Having finally figured out how to unravel the advice that we've all been given (spoiler: the answer is in the missing first step - understanding the 'why' behind your work and practice), I've been able to use that clarity to grow my audience, boost my visibility and ultimately to build an art career that's representative of who I really am.
And now I want to share that missing part of the jigsaw with you. I believe everyone deserves to live the life that they really want, and so I'm going to lift the lid on the methods that I use to shape my career, and show you how you can use them to shape yours.
Karen Turner is an award winning artist who went from a 25 year gap since her A-Level art studies to growing a truly engaged social media following, featuring in numerous magazines and guesting on podcasts and radio shows.
She was the winner of the VAA Professional Artist Award in 2022 and was awarded the President's Prize by the Institute of East Anglian Artists in 2021. She has been a finalist in the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, the Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize, the Theo Paphitis Art Prize and the Women United Art Prize.
Since 2023 Karen has hosted the Visual Artists Association's regular Instagram Audit Clinics and Reels Workshops. She is currently a judge for the Visual Art Open 2024, and one of ten finalists in the Dubel Emerging Artist of the Year Prize.
