About Maria Brophy

My passion is to help artists implement new strategies so that they thrive $$ financially! And I know how to do it, read on…

Many artists are struggling. They dream of supporting their families with their art. But, they are told that art is not a viable career, or that “art and money shouldn’t mix”. They do what the art world tells them to do, but get very little results.

On the other hand, some artists are thriving; they are making a great living with their art.

So what’s the difference? It all comes down to one thing: BUSINESS STRATEGIES.

If you are struggling to make art a viable career, understand that IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT. We have all been fed untruths about art that have trained us to behave in a way that has held us back from success.

The good news: the moment you decide to implement new strategies, you will break free of that “starving artist” paradigm forever.

I can help you. I’ll share the easiest strategies that I’ve used, that work, so that you can transform your struggle into a healthy art business.

FIRST, understand that you CAN earn a good living with your art, once you implement strategies used by other thriving artists.

I’ll share with you the most powerful, yet simple, strategies that will grow your art sales and earn you enough money to quit your day job. (To get started today, sign up for my 11 week free coaching course by email, here.)

Sometimes, just a few small changes can make a big difference.

I’m here to show you what those changes are. And if you implement them, you WILL see results.

WHO AM I:

My driving force is to help empower people to take action to create a life that they want!

In the late 1990’s, I decided what kind of life I wanted to live; I wanted to travel most of the year and work for myself in a creative business. It took a few years, but I eventually arranged my life in that way.

You could say that I live a dream lifestyle, traveling the world while running a gallery space in San Clemente, California and selling art for a living. But I have to warn you, I work very hard for it all!

I have dedicated the last twenty years to developing strategies to sell the artwork of my husband, Drew Brophy. After thousands of hours of study, research and hands-on-experience, I became an expert on art licensing, deal making, and selling art. I learned how to grow our art sales beyond multiple six figures, every year since the late 1990’s.

All while traveling two to three months a year; and sometimes more than that.

I started writing a blog in 2009, so that I could help other artists along the way. And then I started sharing my information in books:

Amazon best-selling book ART, MONEY & SUCCESS
Co-Authored HOW TO DRAW WITH DREW BROPHY published by Walter Foster
Co-Authored PAINTING SURFBOARDS CHASING WAVES

WHY I AM ABLE TO GET RESULTS FOR ARTISTS:

I don’t just talk about how to earn a living selling art, like so many other art business experts do.

I actually make a full-time living DOING IT – and it is what has supported our family of four, living in a Southern California beach house for two decades.

My art business strategies have earned my family over $300,000 consistently, year after year, since 2002. All from selling the artwork of a little-known surf artist, Drew Brophy. We have never had a year, not even during the recession, where we sold less than $150,000 in art.

This is significant, because, galleries and companies rejected Drew’s art the first ten years he was an artist! But we didn’t give up….

Drew and I don’t run our art business like the art world has told us to. We tried that once, and it didn’t work.

In our early days, we followed some of the “rules” of fine art and galleries and tried to do what a “real artist” is supposed to do.

That didn’t work out. When we tried to follow the rules of the stuffy, elite artists, we were broke.

But we didn’t give up. Instead, we said, “Now, let’s try doing things our own way.” And we started to study businesses that were thriving and artists who were doing well, and we modeled our business after them.

It wasn’t long before we saw a turn-around in our own art sales. I remember the first year we made $350,000 in sales. It blew me away that we had cracked the code! And that’s when we said “wow, we really can do this!”

Artist friends started to come around, asking for advice, because they wanted to know how we were doing it. Soon, so many artists were coming to me for help, that I had to start blogging to answer all their questions. Then, eventually, I offered one-on-one Consulting .

I’ve consulted hundreds of artists since 2009 and I’ve taught thousands, guiding them to create a viable business for themselves. In the process, I have learned even more about what works and what doesn’t work.

I have found, through these personal connections, that artists in other countries are making the same mistakes as those in America. It’s as though we all have fallen into the same “starving artist” trap, around the globe!

AND the great news is, mistakes can be corrected easily and quickly once you know what they are and how to correct them.

You are probably wondering “what are these mistakes” and “how can I change them.” I’m glad you asked!

START HERE:

1 – Sign up for my free email coaching newsletters. This is where you get the most value, as I share a lot of secrets in my newsletters that I don’t share on my blog. AND IT’S FREE.

2 – Read my blog articles, which are chock full of mind-blowing ideas and strategies.

3 – If you have a specific problem, deal, pricing issue, etc., set up a paid consulting session with me for one-on-one personal assistance.

4 – Get my life-changing, Amazon best-selling book ART, MONEY & SUCCESS – it will be a resource that you will refer to for years to come.

5 – Visit my ARTIST RESOURCES page for more solutions and for my ONLINE COURSES.

Most of my material is free; I limit my paid one-on-one consulting to only a few sessions a week, as I’m too busy selling art!

But, I put my heart and soul into all of my coaching, even the free stuff, because I’m passionate about ending this crazy “starving artist” paradigm.

WHAT ARTISTS ARE SAYING ABOUT MY GUIDANCE:

“I read every email you send. Each one is so valuable to me! I have a file of all of them and refer back often. Thank you for sharing your gift. You are a treasure! Just an update for you as well on the case you helped me with a few months back…everything is going extremely well; I feel like I really dodged a bullet with your help. Thanks again! Many blessings, Tabitha Paige”

“I haven’t had a conversation with someone this knowledgeable in my whole life! A lot of people tell me that I should sell my work, but you are the first person who has been able to tell me HOW, in a viable way.” Joe Mahoney

“I took a lot of great steps toward furthering my career after we last spoke. You motivate me without the heavy duty or covert shaming pressure I have felt from other coaches. I need a positive encouraging you-can-do-it attitude. I know this because you have it and it works for me.” CutZy McCall