ArTips©-The newsletter dedicated to the business of art.

Sometimes practical, sometimes techy, always helpful.

Being an artist doesn't mean being unprofessional.

Over the past year I've seen and heard of many things that make me cringe. Submission packages sent without cover letters. Business cards being ripped off from a sheet of paper. Paintings framed with duct tape (where the framing technique had no relevance to the artwork). And museums being approached with a disorganized box of slides and paperwork.

The quality of your art is only part of your image. Consider who you are talking with or who you are trying to reach. Look at yourself with an outsider's eyes. Are you providing a complete picture or have you left holes in the information? Are you coming across as confident or unprepared? Does your submission package look well thought out and organized, or hastily and carelessly thrown together? As Brian Peterson, Sr. Curator of the James A. Michener Museum put it, "Your work is your children. Don't send your children out to do a performance in raggedy clothes and in need of a bath."

In the next month I challenge you to make one major improvement in your presentation.

Remember the cliche about having only once chance to make a first impression. Don't put yourself in a bad light with an unprofessional presentation.

If you're in the Philadelphia area, look for my ARTBiz column each month in Art Matters.