What skills do you need to be an artist?
The first thing you need to think about is what is it that would define you as successful? For some artists this may be having a solo exhibition, for others maybe it is making some extra income from art or even to go as far as making a living from your art. You could even just define your success by completing artwork that you are happy with and that is what you started out to achieve.
Having an Exhibition
Many may class success as having exhibitions on their home country and abroad. In this case you need to remain true to yourself, be original and create something that others are not. Go to the galleries and get yourself known by the owners. Start local and try and get a small group exhibition with some other local artists. Build up your contacts and keep pushing with the local galleries to get a solo exhibition. Once you have that exhibition under your belt this will be a good lever to get more exhibitions further afield. Keep pushing the boundaries and get noticed by exhibiting at any place you can!
Creating Artwork You Love
This is harder than it sounds. Often I have an idea of what I want to create but at the end my painting is not like my idea at all and I am disappointed! One way to end up creating artwork that you love is to learn the real techniques that will achieve this for you. Often paintings look simpler than they actually are so go about learning the underlying techniques that are required in your particular style of painting. Find an artist whose work you like and see if you can learn from them.
Making Money From Art
Most people would probably class themselves as successful if they were regularly selling their art. To do this you need to look at a number of things. Is the artwork you create commercial? Sometimes you have to sacrifice maybe being a little too original for popular taste and go with what the masses want. Another thing you need to do is look for many avenues in which to sell your art, be that online through your website or other art websites or through an auction site like eBay, at craft fairs, through furniture shops or art galleries. Marketing yourself is key. Get a distribution list of prospective buyers, build a website and maybe a Facebook page and market yourself!
So firstly, define success for you, then build up a plan of how you are going to achieve it and give yourself time to get there. Success rarely happens overnight so stick with it, keep following your dreams and anything could happen!