Scam #1: “I’ll pay you to be on this famous podcast” scam. First of all, no popular podcast will pay you, an unknown person, to be on their show! This scam begins with a message, usually by email, saying that they are writing on behalf of XXXX famous person, for you to be on their show. They will usually offer $2,000 or $3,000 for your appearance. Of course, this is a lie. The scam is meant to get access to your Facebook account (or other accounts).

I fell for this one – and I’m a very savvy person! But, in my defense, it is not uncommon for people to offer to pay my husband Drew to be a speaker at an event, so I thought this was legit. I tell the sad story in my Podcast episode, HERE.

Scam #2: “Your Art as an NFT” scam. In this scam, the scammer first grooms you by flattering you. “I love your art and would like to buy it for an NFT.” Then they convince you to open an account so they can pay you via cryptocurrency. They offer to “help” you navigate the complicated process, and steal your money in the process.

Scam #3: “I’ll over pay you for those paintings” scam. In this scam, they are super excited to buy your paintings. But, they say, it’s a secret surprise for their wife, so they ask to pay by check. They send a check, but for more $$$ than they owe. They then ask you to wire them the surplus amount. By the time your bank figures out that their check has bounced, they are long gone. And you are out $$$ thousands.

I explain this in greater detail in my Podcast Episode, HERE.

And I also share how to avoid these scams. But, in a nutshell, if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is!

Be safe out there, my friends!

The post 3 Ways Scammers Steal From Artists appeared first on Maria Brophy.

I had a profound experience with a voice coach a few months ago and I wanted to share it, because I think it will help some of you, my dear creative friends.

Drew and I were at a private art, music and healing retreat in Costa Rica. Drew was hired to paint two surfboards, LIVE, during the 7 day event. (This is my favorite type of work trip – we get paid AND we have fun!)

Our client gifted me with a session with a voice coach. And during my time with her, I discovered that I had been censoring myself, all my life.

And then, upon my return home, as synchronicity would have it, I read on Stephanie Rose Freeman’s Instagram that she’s been doing the same (she’s a wise artist who teaches the game of life to other artists). What she wrote hit me really hard. She said:

“I’m so sick of censoring myself...”

She went onto say that she’s been holding back on her art and keeping quiet about the things that really matter to her, for fear of criticism. And now, she’s going to just say “F*ck it” and not worry about it. No more holding back.

It inspired me so much! And I realized, that many artists are holding themselves back.

But did you know that YOUR BEST WORK is when your expression is controversial and a little crazy?

That the most successful artists got the most criticism?  Like Picasso, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Prince, etc.

Well, my profound experience with letting go of the need to censor myself was in Costa Rica during a private session with Priske Dehandschutter, an incredible voice coach who works with musicians. It was an experience that freed me in a big way.

I was nervous for the lesson, because I CAN’T SING. My voice is raspy and has been since I was a child. It was hard enough for me to start my podcast with this voice!

I’ve always felt embarrassed by how my voice sounds and so I only sing when alone. And now I had to sing for Priske.

But, I was told that a session with Priske is not about singing, it’s about USING YOUR VOICE and freeing yourself.

Priske’s “office” was in a tower, high in the sky, overlooking the Costa Rican jungle. Howler monkeys and beautiful mountains on three sides, the ocean on the other.

She guided me to just make simple sounds, with notes, like “oooooh” and “aaaaaah”. That was easy. I could do that.

She then had me put one finger in my ear and another against my nose, and make sounds that way. It created some confusion in the brain, and started to break through old patterns that I’ve had my entire life around my voice. She led me to do other strange exercises also.

Suddenly, I felt very emotional. Tears started to erupt. A deep sadness welled up inside me. It was so strong I was taken by surprise.

A feeling of a memory of why I had to keep quiet when I was a child. When I was 16, my mentally ill father strangled me, nearly to death, for speaking against him.

Priske said to me, “so, speaking out meant death to you. We will work with that.”

She had me sing to the mountains. And I felt something shift. A release of a feeling of shame that was lodged deep inside from decades ago came loose and rose to the surface. I released it to the sky and felt a physical lightness after.

Later that night, as we enjoyed music by DJ Taz Rashid, I started to dance. It’s something I don’t usually do because I feel self conscious. But tonight, I was having fun. Dancing, laughing, feeling free.

At one point, I noticed that I wasn’t holding myself back like I had in the past. I was allowing my energy to flow as it wished. It felt like complete freedom. My need to hide myself was gone.

The next morning, I swam out into the ocean and sang to the sky and the mountains. I wanted to continue allowing my voice to flow, to allow it to express itself.

I thought about the artists I work with. So many are held back from fully expressing themselves, due to fear, from past trauma, of being criticized or punished. And how, when an artist breaks free of these invisible chains, that’s when they create their best work.

It’s astounding how we carry invisible wounds our ENTIRE lives. How old memories stay lodged deep inside us. And then one day, when we do the “work” it comes loose and frees us. I’m so intrigued by the power of our traumas and how they dictate our expression. And that we ultimately hold power over everything, once we understand it.

I thought I’d share this because it will help at least one of you. If you were told at a young age that your ideas were stupid, or that you couldn’t sing, or that you needed to shut up, it might be why you don’t fully express yourself. And you could break through that barrier by noticing it, and then, by using your voice to break up the old patterns. Sing, chant, make sounds and allow the old stuff to break away.

Going forward, I’ve committed to dancing and singing more. I want to not let this new freedom of expression slip away. I’m going to experiment with and continue to expose more of myself that I hid away as a child. In this way, life becomes more fun as I get older.

And as I lean into my next chapter in life, I am drawn to helping others break through their invisible barriers, also. Through meditation, breathwork and deep healing work.

I’m so grateful for the insight and for being guided to it by Priske. When one life changes, many others follow.

I will be doing a Podcast on this topic, and soon it will be released on my youtube video and my podcast  . (I would LOVE if you hit “subscribe” and leave me a comment or a review.  It would mean the world to me if you do!)

I hope this was helpful for you. As I dive deeper into healing all of my trauma from my childhood, and my recent fears of dealing with Drew’s near death, I learn so much about who I am and how I fit into this world.

And as I learn, I will share it with you, my dear friends!

Because as I do the work on myself, I help others.

Love,

Maria

PS:  I just released a new book for women titled EMPOWERED WOMEN’S CIRCLE. You can see it on Amazon HERE.

The post Have you Lost Your Voice?💥 Expression and Trauma appeared first on Maria Brophy.

And here I am, still “wrapping up” my next book, titled Covid, a Love Story. I started writing it a year ago, and I thought that by now, the book would be finished.

Covid, a Love Story is my ONE BIG THING that is going to impact the world in a huge way.

And, it is literally my retirement plan. It’s a memoir that tells the wild story of when my beloved Drew was put on a ventilator and I had to say goodbye through a window. And, then the miracle that unfolded, helped by thousands of people. It is a true story of unbreaking spirit, love and faith. It will help many people who are struggling with what feels like an impossible diagnosis.

Creating your NEXT BIG THING, like a book, a sculpture, art series, or album, requires dedication. And like my wise husband Drew says when he’s working on a big painting,

“You just have to put in the time. This thing isn’t going to paint itself.”

I planned to have this book finished by now and I was going to start my next project, my monthly Artist Business Mastermind membership. But, my plans were thwarted.

The book is my top priority, and, I cannot have two giant projects going at the same time. So I had to choose to stay focused on the book and not do anything else until it’s finished.

It’s been hard, because to stay focused putting in the hours of writing every single day, I had to stop doing my monthly sound healing events. I had to stop putting on events at the art gallery. I had to take a break from my social activities. It’s what it takes to get one big thing accomplished.

So, I thought of all of you, my dear creative friends, and how so many of you struggle with the same affliction:  wanting to accomplish ONE BIG THING while trying to do all the other things at the same time!

The purpose of this post is to remind you – if you are going to make a huge impact in this world with your next big creation, you have to focus entirely on that creation, until it’s complete. Let all the other things go and stay focused.

So, what are you going to focus on this next six months?

What is that one project that you would LOVE to bring to life before 2025? You have six months to do it. And boy, those six months are going to fly by

SHARE YOUR NEXT BIG THING IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!

Love you all,

Maria xoxo

PS:  If you want to be notified when my memoir book, Covid, a Love Story, is released, please SIGN UP HERE.

The post Focus on ONE BIG THING Changes Everything appeared first on Maria Brophy.

I grew weary of setting new year’s resolutions a few years ago. I seemed to always disappoint myself. At one time, I saw that for five years in a row, I wrote three of the same “resolutions” year after year, and did not achieve them.  Though, I did get other things done. But for some reason, my resolutions were where I was stuck, always.

And now, there’s a trend of people choosing a word for the year. That also does not do it for me. I’ve never been one to follow trends!

The post Fortify Your 2024 appeared first on Maria Brophy.

Sometimes people will ask for a discount (actually, a lot of the time), and after decades of being in this business, I learned a few things about this topic. I’m going to share just a few of those things here.

When you have your original artworks set at a certain price, and someone asks for a discount, you have to keep in mind a few reasons why you shouldn’t discount it:

1 – If you discount an original art piece, you lower the value of the other works you sold previously. This is not fair to people who have supported you in the past and paid full price.

2 – When you give in to a request for a discount, in the buyers mind, you just lowered the value. This is especially true if you discounted it by a large amount.

3 – You ruin it for other artists who are trying to make a living with their art. You just lowered the bar for everyone.

Now, there are some times when it’s okay to discount art, within reason and in a strategic way.

*When you have a collector who has bought originals from you before, it’s common practice to discount any additional purchases by 10%.

*If someone is haggling and really, really, really wants to negotiate with you, don’t lower the price of the art, but instead, offer to pay for the sales tax and/or shipping, or offer to throw in something extra that doesn’t cost you much.

*If it’s a family member or a really good friend, do a friends and family discount (of 10% – 20%).

I have a lot more to say on this, and if you want greater details on when and when not to discount your art, go to my ART MONEY SUCCESS PODCAST and listen to This Episode!

I hope this helped someone out there. Drop me a comment if it did!

Cheers,

Maria

The post Should you Discount Your Art? appeared first on Maria Brophy.

I bring this question up because during a coaching session with an artist yesterday, I was reminded of the fact that many of us make choices based on what’s best for SOMEONE ELSE, not for US!

This came up around the question as to whether or not you should make print reproductions available of your work.

There are two schools of thought on this:

1 – DON’T DO IT

and

2 – DO IT!

Just like every other choice one can make in life, you can find people who are passionate about choice #1 and then others who are passionate about choice #2.

So how do you make a choice that’s best for you?

I share a checklist for you in my most recent ART MONEY SUCCESS podcast.  You can listen to it HERE.

Please, if you enjoyed the podcast, give me a follow!

Thanks for being here,

Maria xxoo

The post Art Prints – Do this or FAIL?! appeared first on Maria Brophy.

It was so much fun!  The local community showed up and brought beer and wine, we threw pillows on the ground and everyone gathered around to enjoy the music.

Unexpectedly, a few art pieces sold that night.  So I decided to share the wealth at the end of the night with the musicians.  I called them into my office one-by-one so I could privately give them a little cash.

The first musician came into my office and I thanked her and held out a $100 dollar bill.  She said “oh no, no, I can’t take that.  We were just having a good time!”  I made her take it, but she gave me a fight!

The second musician came in next, and we had a similar exchange.  I made him take the $100 bill also.

Then the third musician came in and I told him the same thing as the others, about how much I appreciated his music and I wanted to share in the sales revenues that night.  He looked at me and said “Thank you” and he graciously took the $100 bill and went on his way.

It got me to thinking about how some of us graciously accept the abundance that comes to us while others resist it.  And I started to think about how the WAY YOU ACCEPT MONEY translates to the way you are financially.

In my latest podcast, I share more on this topic and I also tell about a time that a friend offered me $10,000 FOR FREE and what I did and how I regret it now.

Tune into the ART MONEY SUCCESS podcast episode #12 HERE.

Please, leave me a comment below if this article resonates with you, and if you have any suggestions for someone who is having trouble being a good receiver!

Maria xxoo

The post Being a good RECEIVER earns you more income – are you good at receiving?! appeared first on Maria Brophy.

Creatives often ask,

“How can I become known for what I do?”

The answer came to me in a flash yesterday, and it’s so simple!

It came to me after we picked up Visionary Artist Chris Dyer from the airport.  We are doing an art show with Chris in Brophy Art Gallery tomorrow.

Chris has been traveling with his art, painting murals and canvas all over the world, non-stop for years.

When he arrived yesterday, the first thing he did was stop at the art store and pick up supplies.

Jet-lag be damned, just minutes after arriving at our gallery, Chris set up a canvas and went to work, painting his passion with spray paint and Poscas!

He painted for hours, never stopping to take a break, not until Drew said “Let’s catch a surf before sunset!”

Chris had just finished painting murals before he flew into California.  Last night at dinner I asked Chris why he didn’t need to rest before jumping into a new painting, and he said:

“This is what I do….”

This is who Chris is being; someone who creates art and spreads positivity and high vibes to all who are blessed to cross his path.

Of course, last night after dinner I laid in bed and analyzed it all.  I thought about how at a young age Chris has literally millions of fans and nearly 240,000 Instagram followers and never ending commissions.

And I came up with this formula, which isn’t totally new to me, but now I have a great example (Chris Dyer) to show why this formula works.

Here’s how you become known for what you do (and how to build a super fan base and business with your creativity):

Create a lot of art
Do it your own way
Put it out into the world
Make a lot more art and repeat!

AND a bonus:  Be nice to everyone, spread good vibes and leave a positive mark everywhere you go.

What do you think?  Do you agree this is a great way to make a huge mark on the world?  LEAVE A COMENT BELOW, I would love to hear from you!

xxoo Maria

PS:  We are having an Art Show with Chris Dyer at Brophy Art Gallery in San Clemente, CA on Saturday, July 10th from 4-10 p.m. Come see us!

The post How to become KNOWN for your ART and build a Huge Following of Fans appeared first on Maria Brophy.