b u s i n e ss of a rt
Making Commissions Work For You by Romney Nesbitt
I have a love/hate relationship with commissions. I love the money but I hate doing the work. My creativity shrinks when I try to please a client - that’s when the commission becomes artwork. When I create an image from my imagination, time flies, but when I’m on the clock working for someone else, time drags. There’s a difference between doing what I want to do and doing what someone else wants me to do. The difference is motivation. Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (Riverhead Books, 2009) said, “Most of us believe that the best way to motivate ourselves and others is with external rewards like money… that’s a mistake.” Amen. By the time I hand over the finished piece and get my check, I feel financially cheated and emotionally exhausted. The previously agreed upon amount now seems too small for my time, anxiety and stress, and I rarely feel satisfied with the finished product. I want to take my check and hope I never see that person again lest they ask me to do another commission. In Drive, Pink quotes Teresa Amabile’s study about artists and commissioned art work (pgs 44, 45). Twenty-three professional artists submitted ten commissioned works and ten non-commissioned works. Amabile gave the works to a panel of accomplished artists and curators (who were not privy to the study) and asked them to rate the pieces on creativity and technical skills. “The commissioned works were rated significantly less creative than the non-commissioned works, yet they were rated equal in technical
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skill.” Several artists said commissions were creatively “constraining,” but when artists saw the commission as “enabling” in some way, their creativity shot back up. An “enabling” commission could provide the artist an opportunity to do something interesting, build on a desired skill or receive useful feedback. Sounds like the secret to conquering commission backlash is to change your thinking about the process. I offer the following nine thinking tips to lessen the frustration of commission work and boost your creative satisfaction. 1. Increase your autonomy when working on a commission piece. Is there a way you can claim more creative control over your project? 2. Uncover the higher purpose behind the job and become a partner in that process. If you’re painting a mural for a non-profit food bank focus on how your work is a part of the good the organization brings to your community. 3. Maintain balance. Visualize a tightrope walker using a balance beam. Choose an equal balance between non-commission and commission work to keep your creativity fresh. 4. Open the process to others. Can you solicit help from another artist to help you complete the work? Share what you’ve learned from the project by writing an article for an arts magazine. 5. Talk positively about your project (to
yourself and to others). Negative talk puts your energy in the tank and slows your productivity. 6. Experiment with new materials or techniques. Use the commission project as an excuse to try a new paper or paint. 7. Limit your time. A sure way to feel cheated is to spend too many hours on a project. 8. Create confidence by completing your work on deadline. Use every job to grow your reputation as a professional. 9. Invite your client to become a patron. Ask your client to advertise your next show by sending your invitation to their email contacts along with a short personal note. Doing work for a company? Ask to display work for sale in common areas. Commissions are part of the life of an artist. Don’t work on a commission, let your commission work for you! n Romney Nesbitt is a Creativity Coach, artist and writer living in Tulsa. She is the author of Secrets From a Creativity Coach, available on Amazon. com. Romney welcomes your ideas or questions for future columns. Contact her at romneyn@att.net, or at www.romneynesbitt.net.