Jill Rumoshosky Werner writes an interesting blog over at Redefined.

I discovered her blog when Alyson Stanfield of Art Biz Blog linked to her very funny post, Top Ten Reasons For Becoming An Artist. Too true!

I particularly agree with her latest post about knowing when to get outside help as an artist.

"When I started, I never thought I'd need to know web design, digital imaging, search engine optimization and mass marketing techniques to become successful, but unlike most artists, I have a heavy marketing, computer and writing background...Even with all that experience, there are things I can't do by myself and for those, I look for outside help."

This is such a key realisation for any artist. I had a conversation with another artist last year when she told me that she always budgets for someone else to do the documentation of her work because she hates to do it. That moment was very instrumental in me deciding to pay someone else to design my website. I'd been trying to do it myself for years but just didn't have enough design or technical skills. I'd been coming to the realisation that I needed to pay someone else for quite a while but like most artists, I was used to doing everything myself on a shoestring budget so I was quite resistant to the idea of paying for something that I thought I ought to be able to do myself. However, while it's useful for artists to learn stuff like marketing and publicity, there comes a point when you have to say 'I can't do this as well as another professional and it's false economy for me to try'.

Do this today: Make a list of the art things you know you suck at or really hate to do and work out ways in which you can delegate that responsibility.

Can you pay someone else to do it for you?
Can you share or swap hated tasks with another artist?
Can you find creative ways to make it more interesting?
If you think you could do it but just lack confidence or knowledge, can you take a workshop or learn from someone who does know how to do it?

Remember to do the maths - if something is going to take you ages to learn and you'll never need to do it again, then it might be a false economy. Unless you actively enjoy it and it feeds into your art, it might also be an excuse for not working on your art. Remember that while you may be a 'starving artist', your time and energy are also important and worth valuing.