Salvador Dalí never denied that Gala, his wife, was the brains behind his operation. He had always given credit to Gala for efficiently running his books, marketing, and public relations and managing his schedules—you name it, she did it. Gala also modeled and was the main subject of many of Salvador’s works. Gala held everything together for Dalí so much so that after her death, Salvador noticeably declined and “lost his will to paint or even live.”
Why Did Dalí Fall Apart Without Gala?
What was it about Dalí that led him to fall apart once Gala died? I find that there are two kinds of artists. One is like Dalí, who can be fully immersed in art, constantly creating, testing, painting, and building. He was free to create, and Gala planned, organized, and kept him on track. The second kind of artist is the one who can create, but after all is planned, organized, and sorted. Financials are properly accounted for, and the artist, organized and without debt, creates but only once things are sorted. Which type of artist are you?
One of the best jobs I had was assisting a local artist. It didn’t take me very long to realize the guy I was working for was absolutely artistic but not as structured as he’d like to be. I was recognized for my organization and for being able to cut through the art and lay down each piece on a budget to ensure the art was produced but profitable. Frankly, I was just doing what I knew best: running a business.
If you’re like Dalí and trying to be Gala for yourself, I’d say it may not be in you to organize everything. The older I get, the more I understand that you can improve as a person, but there are innate characteristics we have that we can’t change and have to work with rather than against. For those of you who struggle with managing creation and operation, hiring someone to teach you to take control of your business and run it may be the best scenario. For those of us who can’t afford to task our responsibilities out, here are my streamlined operation tips.
How Can an Artist Organize Their Art Business in One Day?
Take a day to do absolutely nothing but organize the following items:
Inventory
Count what you own related to your art business and record quantities. If you can be specific, ensure you associate a price or cost with each item.
It doesn’t matter when you bought these items; it matters if you actually use them to create your work.
Bills
Not all costs exist physically. Software subscriptions, studio rent, and internet are all things most artists require for their business to function. List your bills, their prices, and the dates they’re due so that you can track them.
Revenue
How much do you make before you pay taxes? How much do you make per month? Record what income you’ve brought in daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly.
This will help you understand which days or months you bring in more.
You may find that your work performs better seasonally in the winter months over the holidays than in the summertime.
You want to understand what you bring in quarterly (according to federal IRS dates) so that you know what to set aside for taxes.
Taxes
Many businesses fail for not paying taxes. Depending on how much net profit you make, you will pay out taxes yearly or quarterly. Either way, taxes must be filed and paid on time to avoid being penalized.
Make a separate high-yield savings account for taxes, and set aside 25% of your net profit, or of your revenue if you’d like to be safe, each time you make a sale. This is a safe rule-of-thumb ratio (definitely consult a tax specialist for your exact witholding.)
If need be, keep track of state income tax and ensure those funds are placed in your tax account.
The last thing you want is for the IRS to hunt you down for unpaid taxes.
How Often Should Artists Review Their Business Numbers?
The listed points above are the bare basics needed to run a business properly. If you understand how much you spend on your art and which pieces cost more to make, you might consider spending less time on them or changing your price. While all this can be daunting to an artist similar to Dalí, I don’t think it’s so overwhelming that these things can’t be done at least twice a week to stay ahead.
What If You Can’t Afford to Hire Help?
Lastly, I get that reading this is easy. Actually doing it can cause some artists to freeze. My advice there is this: eventually, you have to face this. If you can’t afford to pay someone, consider asking a friend to come and sit down with you and help you go through each one of these tasks and build a list. Place the list within spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel to update easily and collaborate with your friend. You might not have a Gala yet, but you can ask for help and develop yourself into her.
There is a lesson in all of this. The untold story of Dalí and Gala is this: Gala eventually fell under a gambling problem and had Dalí sign blank canvases that forgers would complete. This would eventully help fund the Salvadors but is a lesson to all artists- learn your business, understand what’s normal and what’s not so that when you do hire help- even those who meant well at first can’t go astray too long before they’re held accountable.
On a side note, I saw Dalí’s Corpus Hypercubus in person and wrote about it here- The Crucifixion Painted as a Hypercube
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.