Deidre Tao

I think that staying consistent and faithful to my creative practice, learning, and setting goals has been important to finding success along the way. Having mentors has been very helpful. Whenever I would feel unsure, I would think about my family who believed in me enough to encourage me to attend art school for undergrad. Later, my husband and children became my inspiration and my number one reason for working hard and reaching for higher goals. Finding professional vendor partners who help me present my work at the highest quality professional level has been key to my success as well. Finally, I attribute much of my success to having a strong community around me, including my local church community and art enthusiast community. No one can succeed alone.

I was told early on that if you can afford even a small studio, take it. When I look back, this was probably the #1 reason why I stayed active as a painter. By securing a studio space outside my shared apartment, almost as soon as graduating from undergrad, I was faithful about keeping up my creative practice. It was like joining a gym - when you pay for it, you want to go there, and you feel so good once you have followed through with your workout. It has been the same with having a studio. I felt my confidence build year after year as an artist because I kept up my practice in this way, participated in my city's Open Studios, and invited others into my creative space in order to share my work with the public. Once I had completed enough work, I could have my own first solo show, and that built more confidence as I sold work from that show. Professionalism kept building from there, and it started by being faithful to a consistent routine at a dedicated work space.

Don't dismiss small beginnings. It's going to take time to build an art career, so surround yourself with people who believe in you. Draw inspiration from other artists - present and past. It is helpful to have a religious practice or a spiritual practice, because you will spend a lot of time by yourself. Find a studio space outside the home. Honor your own commitment, and be around other people who honor that commitment too. Stay consistent with your routines and take things step by step. The visual arts career is usually not a linear path or ladder to climb, it's usually a winding road with hills and valleys. For young women entering the industry in particular, it can have certain challenges. Try to stay firm in your commitment to your creative practice and don't look at it as "less than" or as a hobby. I have found at times it has been helpful to read the biographies of male artists for inspiration and to emulate them in certain ways and take pro tips from them. Others will be more likely to take you seriously if you project that you are a serious artist. The artist's life can be all-consuming, so try to come up for air by doing other things and meeting other people. You may find that it is easier or more natural to befriend other artists who are just like you or who look like you, and that's fine, but I would challenge young women to try to diversify your friend group to include others outside the arts. You can do this by joining a faith community, clubs, charities, or associations that may have nothing to do with art but who serve the community in another way. This will not only help create balance in your life and give you other perspectives, but it will bring people into your orbit who will appreciate you as an artist... they will be the friends who will show up for your gallery openings, attend your artist's receptions, and maybe even follow your career longterm and purchase your work. You will have people to get to know, support, and share your life with -- outside of your art life -- and that is so important and enriching. You can support them in ways that they may need encouragement or help as well. Support comes in many forms, and having and being part of a supportive community is key to everyone's success.

I would say that a big challenge and opportunity in the art field at this moment is AI. The use of AI is causing the arts industry to panic and collapse on many levels. We have an opportunity to decide how to set ourselves as creative humans apart from the regenerative machine. I have been doing a lot of thinking about this and am still formulating my thoughts.