Art Resources Round Up: 25 Helpful Articles for Your Art Career

Photo caption: Like brushes and tubes of well-used paint, the best art resources are tools that exceptional artists return to again and again. Image by Bilge Can Gürer from Pixabay.

Excellence guru Anthony Robbins has often said: “Repetition is the mother of skill.” This is a sentiment that resonates strongly with us here at the Milan Art Institute, because it’s more than possible to have the art career of your dreams if you employ enough hard work, determination and courage. 

That being said, those ideals can feel out of reach for people who haven’t been given the tools they need to succeed in their art education and subsequent art careers. That is why we occasionally create art resources posts for our readers. The artists who get the most out of these posts are artists who are trying to motivate themselves to become better artists, to forge a more clear vision of the art careers they’d like to have and ardent culture warriors who want to stay ahead of the game.

To that end, the following 25 links include some of our best art resources posts, as well as some posts from cultural institutions of distinction, like The Met and other organizations. Hopefully, you’ll want to bookmark this page and come back to it again and again when you need a bit of help or some artistic inspiration. They’re catalogued by topic to allow you to easily peruse through the list.

Art Marketing and Business Resources

The following list of resources were designed to help you further your art career.

1. 5 Ways Artists Become Influencers
   In the coming Art Revolution, artists are positioned to master society via the strength of soft power. This post talks about how artists can become influencers in society. Even better yet, artists who have influence on social media platforms, like Instagram, enjoy long and rewarding careers to boot.

2. 5 Things You Should Know Before You Choose a Canvas
   Sometimes, artists don’t know which canvas to choose for their artwork. This post gives you some pointers when it comes time to choose a canvas for your next portfolio piece or artistic commission. 

3. Becoming a Professional Artist: Piggyback Marketing Ideas
   Learning art marketing techniques, like piggyback marketing, allows artists to increase the reach of their artist brand and with less money to boot.

4. Where to Find 100s of Free Images to Use in Your Paintings
   Professional artists are only as successful as their next painting. This list of free-to-use resources can help you create your next painting or drawing. 

5. Becoming a Professional Artist: 5 Home Art Studio Ideas
   Setting up your artist’s studio is a big step in creating the art career of your dreams. This post gives you some  ideas for creating your studio, even if you live in a small space. 

6. 5 Tips for Pricing Your Art
   This post is an introductory look at how to price your art. It offers practical tips to help you make money from selling your art. (If you’d like a more in-depth explanation of how to price your art to market, take a look at our Mastery Program.) 

7. Elli Milan: How to Overcome Your Fear of Failure as an Artist
   In this post, MAI founder and lead instructor teaches artists how to overcome their fear of failure so that they can become the professional artists they’ve always dreamed they could be.  

8. 4 Environmentally-Friendly Art Supplies for Your Art Studio
   This list of products helps you create beautiful art and keep the environment beautiful at the same time. 

9. Basic Materials all Artists should have for Drawing and Oil Painting
   Getting your studio space set up requires more than just putting up an easel. It requires art-making materials. 

Art Education

The following art education resources take a closer look at the role the arts play in education from arts integration to psychology.

10. The Role That Arts Integration Plays in Visual Memory
    Educators and scientists have learned that memory improves when the arts are integrated into education.

11. 5 Tips for Excelling in Your Online Art Courses
    Studying online can be tricky for those who are not used to the online learning format. This post helps you acclimate to your online art school classes. 

12. Arts Edge
    Brainchild of the Kennedy Center, this portal gives artists and art educators a place to find information and resources to help broaden their prospects and their horizons. 

13. Why Study Art? A Case for Arts Integration and Visual Literacy
    Adding art to the curriculum not only helps students to have better scores, it also teaches students how to develop the visual literacy skills they’ll need to succeed in the modern mediated society.

Art History 

Like most online art schools, the Milan Art Institute gives students a foundation in art history. However, learning about art history is a lifelong pursuit for serious artists. The following posts were designed to give students a closer look at art history.

14. The Top 10 Virtual Museum Tours for Fall of 2020
    Modern technology allows art lovers to see some of the world’s most stunning art collections in the comfort of their own home. Here’s a list of 10 of the best online art collections for art history buffs.  

15. 3 Da Vinci Drawing Tools You Might Not Know About
    Although Leonardo da Vinci was known for his drawings, he used different tools than most artists use today to make his drawings. Here’s a look at some of the art tools he used to create some of his works.

16. From Apprentice Artist to Master: Art Lessons From Da Vinci
    Here are a few more lessons from the drawing board of one of the greatest artists of all time, Leonardo da Vinci. 

17. Google ART Project
    This site is a compendium of art history and art education resources, including resources on painting, architecture and more.

18. Caravaggio: Lighting a Dark World
    Caravaggio played an instrumental role in bringing the appearance of light to the canvas. Here’s a quick look at this Baroque artist. 

19. 5 Movies About Artists: The Christmas Cottage, Loving Vincent and More!
    Who says learning art history has to be dull. The lives of many artists are the stuff that great movies are made of. Here’s a look at five such films.

20. The Tate Digital Collection of Artists’ Sketchbooks and Artworks
    Having access to the work of master artists is one of the best ways to learn about both art history and art techniques. The Tate offers a digital collection of sketchbooks, letters from artists and more.

21. The Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Study Art History
    Learning art history has a number of benefits for both the novice and professional artist. Here is a look at five of the reasons why artists are encouraged to study the history of art.  

22. Art That Changed the World: The Freedom From Want
    Norman Rockwell’s painting Freedom From Want captured the imagination of a generation and has since gone on to capture the essence of abundance. This post looks at this famous American painter and his painting. 

Right Brain and Creativity Resources 

23. Inspiration for Artists: 5 Tips for Finding Your Creative Groove
    Even the most dedicated, hard-working artist can get stuck for inspiration sometimes. Here are five tips for finding some art inspiration when you lack it.

24. The Positive Effects of Art on the Brain
    Art skills do more than just help you make pretty pictures. They help you to have a pretty brain, too.

25. Right Brain Exercises
    Artists who have the most power and influence know how to tap into their right brains. This post offers some tips for accessing your right brain.