After more than two decades of working with artists, I can tell you the word *ambitious* doesn’t describe every serious artist. Some of the best ones I know don’t relate to that word at all.
In episode 274 of The Art Biz, I lay out three paths a serious artist can take. I also share what’s changing at Art Biz Success and introduce a new coaching group starting in October.
What’s changing at Art Biz Success
I’ve been teaching online since 2004. My first classes were delivered by Yahoo Groups!
Over the years I’ve built up an enormous library of 70 or 80 learning modules. And I’ve watched people pay for programs and then not do the work. That breaks my heart, because I got into this to help. You waste your money when you aren’t able to implement what you’re trying to learn.
So I’m changing how I work. After August 2026, there will be no more multi-month or year-long courses. I’ll still run a couple of workshops this season, but I want to work more closely with fewer artists in coaching groups and private consulting.
In those settings, I can share the right lesson, strategy, or tactic at the right time. I’ve been doing this long enough to know when something is going to land and when it’s too soon.
Three paths a serious artist takes
The first path is the ambitious path.
These artists want more. More recognition. More opportunities. More influence. They claim the word ambition without flinching. This is what my coaching group The Next Opening is for.
[ Episode 272 explains further. ]
The second path is walking away.
You’ve done the ambitious thing. It didn’t work, or it didn’t work the way you wanted. You might keep making art, but you’re not building a career from it.
This is often the right call. Being an artist is not easy, and not everyone wants to keep fighting for it.
The third path is staying with the work on your own terms.
This one has no roadmap. It’s for serious artists who are recalibrating the pace they’re on to fit the place in life where they are now.
Some are philosophically done with the promotion machine and just want the practice back. Others are aging, dealing with lower energy, managing health issues, or caregiving. The specifics vary.
What they have in common: they still want to make. They still want a dedicated studio practice. They just don’t want to run the machine that was attached to it.
Listen
Why this path has no precedent
The art business conversation is built around ambition and growth. That’s what sells. More shows, more galleries, more visibility. Artists who don’t identify with any of that don’t see themselves anywhere in it. It doesn’t fit the story the internet rewards.
No one is selling The Great Art Career Slowdown. But I’ve talked with enough artists at this stage, sent questionnaires, and read the answers to know they’re out there in numbers.
Many, but not all, of them describe themselves as slowing down. Decelerating.
They’re all tired of the stress of promotion. Tired of hacking algorithms. They want to stay focused on the work in the studio.
What The Third Path is (and isn’t)
The Third Path is a coaching group starting in October. It’s not a course. It’s not about competing, accountability, or accepting challenges. There’s no curriculum to hand down.
What it is: a room where artists at this stage figure it out together. I bring what I know from more than 20 years of working with artists and a decade in art museums before that. Members bring what they know from being in this moment.
I don’t have all the answers, because this has never been done. The first group will help shape what it becomes.
Which path are you on?
There is no shame in any of the three paths, but it helps to know which is yours.
Naming it changes what you say Yes to and what you say No to.
If you’re on The Third Path and you’d like to explore this with us, email me and I’ll send you a short set of questions.
The post The third path for artists that we aren’t talking about (274) appeared first on Art Biz Success.