We all know that the support for art is changing, and artists and patrons alike are searching for the most appropriate way to sell and buy art. Lately I have been seeing innovative thinking along these lines. I’ll share 4 examples with you.

1. An artist I know, John Wells, was accepted into the School for Visual Arts professional summer residency program for painting and mixed media. That was great news for him, but it was expensive so he came up with the concept giving a drawing he would do for anyone who would send him at least $20 toward his goal. It’s going to take him a while to do all those drawings, but he gets to do his internship! You can find John on Facebook.

2. James Pryor, an old friend from The Melodrama in Bakersfield, always wanted to create a theatre company. Well, now he is doing just that with SNP Entertainment in Portland Oregon. He has asked for a little help from his friends and accepts contributions to make his dream come true. You can find James on Facebook, learn his story, and give him some help.

3. Justin Gordon, and actor friend of mine, wants to create a new style horror film where the horror comes from character development instead of gore. With FallBack Plan Productions, he created an awesome website to get pledges to back the film, and he offers fun incentives for your contributions ranging from being listed in a special thanks section of closing credits up to co-producer credit for a large donation. Check out their site at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fallbackplan/absentia-a-new-vision-of-horror-from-mike-flanagan-0 Their deadline is coming up fast, so check him out!

4. Ben Dowling, master pianist and composer known from his work at Michael Beckwith’s Agape Church in Los Angeles, has come up with the ultimate way to support his work. He’s giving it away. In Ben’s words: “Firstly, I’ve decided that the proper response to apparent scarcity is generosity. So, I’m going whole-hog and giving my music to you all. I’m “paying forward.” When you visit bendowling.com you will be able to download almost all of my music for free. In the end, I decided that it was more important to share the music and have it heard, than protecting it, defending it and leveraging it. That just felt so contrary to the creative flow. And if it ever was a valid model, it certainly isn’t anymore.” How awesome is that! Check out his website at bendowling.com, listen to his music, and send him some love!

So my message here is that there are many ways to support the arts and artists, and to get support for your art. Just broaden your thinking, get creative, and do something! Then let me know what you did so I can share your story, too!

There are a few reservations left for the Ventura/Ojai Art Tour for June 4-6. Go to http://www.theheartoftheartist.com/art-tours/ to sign up. See you there!