Hey, artist, After months of preparations for my gallery opening day, I remember that grand opening day so well because that was the height of my fear. My first gallery was a lot of work. It took me six months to assemble my collection of 27 paintings, fix the gallery space with my husband, create the signage, got my collection photographed, etc., the to-do list was mountain-high, and finally, the door was open for business. I was nervous, my palms sweaty, and my heart racing like I had run a marathon. I felt anxious and inadequate when customers walked into my gallery.
Friend, On my first day, I sold just a few prints and no original paintings. The prints sold primarily because I shared stories about the artwork. For instance, I shared the story of how a particular painting was inspired by the changes that I've made in my life, how I transitioned from hardship to enlightenment, and how another piece reflected my emotions during a difficult time. These narratives and the conversations that followed were what sold my prints.

As I arrived home after a lackluster opening day, a sudden spark of inspiration illuminated my thoughts. I envisioned the potential of sharing the rich stories intertwined with each of my 27 paintings. I could foster a deeper, more meaningful connection with my customers, inviting them to experience the emotions and inspirations behind my work.
So I did just that. In the beginning, it was rough. Since English is my second language, I struggled with it. The stories weren't great, but they did make a difference in my sales and the way I felt. That year, I sold 20 out of my 27 paintings.



The following year, I honed my storytelling skills and created a writing style that resonated better with my customers. This personal growth in my sales techniques led to a significant improvement in my collection's sales. That's when I started selling 80-90% of my collection each year.
I credit my originals and print sales to my art and the stories they tell. These stories taught me to become much better at closing sales by setting aside my inferiority complex and share with my heart. And you know what? The method was painless and enjoyable.
After the first year, selling became easier and more manageable. I remember putting red dots on my wall, and feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment. It was a testament to what I could achieve by making a switch to my marketing. By learning how to tell my stories well, my business life changed for me, and I felt a deep sense of confidence.
Artist, if you resonate with my journey and want to overcome your own inadequacies in sales, my proven method of storytelling can help. Consider enrolling in my scintillating mini-course, Selling Through The Power of Connection. It's a step towards a more successful and fulfilling sales experience. Click the link below to learn more. I would love for you to join.

With Joy,
Ting

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She explained to me with much sensitivity how her old lifestyle wasn’t serving her well anymore and she knew she had to make some drastic changes. So she picked up her courage, gathered her energy, abandoned her familiarities and forged into the unknown with fearlessness and determination. Her strength has prevailed and now she has made the transformation into self contentment and happiness, hence Courage was painted. 
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All images and content © Ting Yuen​

The above image, Courage, is a powerful example of the transformative potential of storytelling in art sales. The prints continue to generate thousands of dollars every year, even after the original was sold. This is a testament to the fact that selling art based on emotional desires is both a science and an art. By learning to tell stories with our art, you can tap into our audience's hearts and transform our sales potential, leading to tremendous success. .  

Selling art is not just a transaction but about the meaning your art can foster. Our art should create an ambiance and open conversations, fostering a deep connection with your audience. Invite them into your world because art is not just an aesthetic benefit. It is an emotional, subjective, healing, motivational, and inspiring experience. It's about sharing a part of yourself through your work. The story differentiates you from other artists; it makes you a cut above them in marketing. 

Now, before I sign off, I challenge you to consider how you can weave stories into your interactions, work, and life to create meaningful connections. Storytelling is a powerful tool; the more you embrace it, the more engaged and connected your audience will be.

And the easiest way to do this effectively is to tell stories with your art. 

With Joy,
Ting


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Dear friend, I just returned from Vancouver, B.C., where I attended my father's funeral. It was a bittersweet occasion, bringing together family and friends to honor the life of our beloved dad while also creating new memories during our reunion.

Moments like these remind us that life is meant for the living. We should celebrate each day with passion, hope, faith, and energy.

My father imparted many valuable life lessons, but the most profound was to savor every moment of life while we were here.

As I look at his pictures, the pain of his absence is palpable. Yet, I find solace in the memories he left behind, like a warm blanket on a cold winter's day.

I am committed to upholding his legacy and embodying his unyielding passion for life, always cherishing the memories we create.

The funeral was a deeply moving experience. The open mic session, where family and friends shared their cherished memories, was a testament to the impact my dad had on all of us. Here is my tribute to ​my dad, Siew Ming Yuen.

It is with great sadness that my dad, Ming Yuen, passed away on Monday Morning, January 6th, 2025. He was 93 years old.
His family and friends will miss him greatly. Ming was a memorable man; his resilience and tenacity inspired everyone who knew him.
Ming came from poverty and worked hard to achieve success. He was a creative and talented architect and shop owner. He had a knack with people, and he made friends quickly. If you saw him on the road, even if you were a stranger, you would most likely get some good wishes from Ming because he was a real people person.
One of the things I admire most about my Dad was his endless pursuit of happiness, even when times were challenging.
Ming was not oblivious to life’s challenges, but he chose to see the rainbow in every curve ball thrown at him.
Ming also loved to travel, he continued to travel till he was in his late eighties. He wasn't rich by no means, but he prioritized his passion.
Here is another memorable trait about Ming: He barely skipped a day of self-care. Ming was a health advocate. He never missed a day of Tai Chi or walking. He continued with his health habits until the very last day.
My dad, despite his slim figure, was a true foodie. He knew all the best hawker stalls and restaurants, and you'd often find him sharing a meal with loved ones.
One of our favorite pastimes was enjoying a good meal together. I remember a particularly funny incident during a Mexican resort trip, where my sisters and I had to remind him that the buffet was open 24 hours. He could have stopped and returned, but he was too engrossed in his meal to listen.
After my dad retired, he joined community centers and participated in many senior activities, including Mahjong, dancing, badminton, swimming, and karaoke.
As Dad aged, he lost his eyesight, but he didn’t let that slow him down. Instead, Ming thought he’d sing more, which became an obsession. He sang three to four times a week at karaoke clubs with his beloved friends—his activity schedule was hard to beat.
This continued until his last few weeks of life. He couldn’t do it anymore because it was his time.
Ming lived an adventurous and entire life filled with interesting stories. His love for life was infectious, and we will miss him greatly, but we are also uplifted by the memories of his zest for life.
Thank you, Dad, for everything. We miss and love you for eternity. 


Dear artist, cherish your loved ones and life, for they are both precious and fleeting.
Pursue your dreams and let your inner light shine. You have only one life, so make sure you live it well.
Whatever your heart desires, go after it. Prioritize your dreams and pursue whatever brings you happiness.
Thank you for reading this tribute to my dad.🙏
If you have recently lost someone, please email me and share your story or tribute. I would love to hear from you.
With Joy,
Ting ❤
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​https://www.buildyourartbusiness.com/​
​https://www.tingyuenart.com​
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​There are only so many meaningful moments in our lives. Going after your dream is one of those unforgettable times when your decision will impact and enrich your life and the lives of those around you.
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Through my work, I seek to inspire and bring positivity to the lives of others. This painting, Sky Is The Limit serves as a reminder that we should never hesitate to pursue our dreams and live our lives to the fullest potential." - Ting Yuen

As a community of artists, we are dedicated to creating and spreading joy through our art while prospering from our endless talent.

Let's celebrate the new year and the possibilities it brings. I hope you are as excited as I am about this fresh start, where everything is possible, and you can align your dreams with your soul.

New Year is a special time to start anew. It is vital to self-reflect, learn from your past, and apply those lessons to your future. Let your discovery motivate you to make changes, and drive you toward success for an inspiring future.

Listen to your soul, artist, identify what you want, and take action towards achieving it. Whether it's applying for an art show, starting your creative business alongside your job, or breaking through as an artist entrepreneur, know that you are capable of achieving your dreams.

Remember that success is a process, and it takes time. Be a warrior, trust the process, and have faith that you will achieve your goals.

When you reach success, celebrate and share your wins with your loved ones.

There are only so many meaningful moments in our lives. Going after your dream is one of those unforgettable times when your decision will impact and enrich your life and the lives of those around you. Embracing this journey can lead to profound personal growth, deeper connections, and a lasting impact that resonates far beyond yourself.
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Artist, Here's to 2025 and to making your dreams into reality!
Tell me what inspired energy are you going to do today to kick off your year?

With Joy,
​Ting

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If the past few years have been disappointing because you were not ready to tackle your dreams, then you owe it to yourself to see your goals through this year. Life is too short not to live your ideal life.
If you want to make your dreams into reality, you need to set them up strategically to knock them out of the ballpark one at a time.
I want to teach you a formula for becoming a successful artist-entrepreneur with a balanced spirit and mindset. To do this well, we need to establish business, self-care goals and mindset goals separately.
Are you ready, artist?
Here’s how I approach my goals and ensure they stick:
Business Goals Steps: Choose business goals that are a little out of your comfort zone so you can grow, but make them attainable and measurable. For instance, when I started my art business, I set a goal to create 30 paintings in four months, which was challenging but achievable.

1. Establish: Choose 3-4 big goals for your business goals and get specific with these goals.
2. Rank: Number them by importance
3. Breakdown: Break them down into four quadrants. Start with the most important ones. Allot three to four months to accomplish each of the goals.
4. Clarity: Map each of your goals to smaller actionable steps.
5. Schedule: Write down your detailed steps on your calendar and hang your goals on the wall where you can see them daily.
6. Track: Monitor your detailed goal every month to ensure you are on pace to accomplish it and readjust if needed.

Self-Care Goals Steps: Your self-care goals are usually something you do on a daily basis that gets you the results you need in your physical and mental health. These goals could be yoga, meditation, running, power-walk, journaling, etc. and they can be as short as half an hour or as long as one hour a day. So, keep them measurable, challenging, and consistent.

1. Establish: Pick one to two self-care goals to commit to every day.
2. Commit: Establish how long and what time of the day you are committed to it.
3. Schedule: Put them on your daily schedule.
4. Daily Setup: Set an alarm for self-care daily and get them done. Make them into a non-negotiable ritual.

Mindset Goals Steps: Choose your word of the year. Future forecasting begins with Mindset, which is why the word of the year comes in handy. The word you choose for the year will be your intention and touchstone. This could be a word like 'growth ', 'courage ', or 'abundance '.
When choosing a word, think of:

• What do you need for the new year to set you on the right track?
• Think about who you want to be.

Well, friend, these are my ways to accomplish my business, self-care, and mindset goals. They help me grow as an artist, entrepreneur, and a well-rounded, balanced individual who contributes my time and effort to serving others.
And here’s a question for you: what is the one goal you are most excited about for 2025? Hit respond and let me know.
Chat soon!
With Joy,
​Ting

​When you lack the art industry knowledge, your experience can feel like a series of rejections.
Are you feeling the weight of rejection, friend? Well, you are not alone. Many emerging artists just like you face the challenge. And the thing is when you get rejected, your confidence suffers and you think that you are not enough. But that is not the truth.
Usually the underlying issue has nothing to do with your talent but everything to do with how you organize your art curation, marketing and sales strategies to maintain a sustainable business.
Let me know if you resonate with these scenarios:

• You are frustrated about your art portfolio. Although you've been painting for a while, you could never curate a collection; your portfolio remains a hodgepodge of scattered art genres.
• You are deflated. You want to be taken seriously as a skilled artist, but your painting will only sell if you price it "basement artist's" low.
• You feel like a failure because you don't know how to market your art in a way that will make your audience fall in love with it and want it in their homes.
• You are intimidated by sales and no matter what you say to your fans, they just don't buy.
• You are tired of customers walking away from your art booth because you have nothing for them. Unfortunately, you don't know who your target audience is therefore you are clueless on what to offer.
• You are overwhelmed with your online channels because no matter what you do or how many times you post on social media, it does not equate to sales.
• You are deflated because although your art sells, your business is still not making enough money to be sustainable, you wonder what you are doing wrong.
• You feel discouraged because you don't have enough time in the day to become a working artist, you must figure out or how to handle marketing, selling, social media and studio time.

Artist, If you can resonate with these scenarios, I’m sure you are tired of feeling like you are at the losing end of the stick. You are afraid your dream of having a creative business will never be fulfilled.
But imagine a different scenario. Imagine overcoming these struggles, regaining your confidence, and feeling empowered, accomplished, and successful. This is the transformation that awaits you when you learn with me.
Like you, when I started, I never felt good enough, which was horrible for my self-esteem. I felt invincible. I had much to prove in my beginner's journey.
That's why I've created the Be A Thriving Artist Academy. I want to share my formula with you, to show you that success is within your reach. This course, if you learn and implement it along the way will transform your life, and you will move forward to your dream life with no regrets.
When you learn to build a business from an art veteran, your rejections, such as being turned down from art shows, or losing sales will become approvals and sales.
Now for the part I couldn't wait to offer you:
For the next 72 hours, when you sign up with Be a Thriving Artist Academy at a special price of $497, I’m also offering two additional lessons on Online Marketing for FREE! These excellent guides will remove all the misconceptions about operating an online business effectively and help you build an online presence to sell art.
When the time runs out, these great Online Marketing resources will disappear.
​So give yourself a lovely present this year that will reward you for many years to come and help you build the business of your dreams. Let 2024 be your year to take charge of your artistic future. See you at the course site!

With Joy,
Ting

At ​​Be A Thriving Artist Academy, you'll learn the ins and outs of creating, marketing, selling, and launching your collection year after year. By the end of the course, you'll have built a sustainable and systemized business that operates easily, giving you more time to focus on what you love-creating art.
If you are not ready to plunge into a full-fledged business, you are welcome to start as a side hustle and build from there. The important thing is that you commit to it with intention; once you have the art marketing and making formula, you can build a business suitable for your lifestyle. 
Artist, I am a committed coach who prioritizes your success and well-being. When you sign up with me, you’ll receive my undivided attention and support.
Therefore I ONLY recommend that you consider a spot inside BATAA if you can check off 3 of the following.

1. You already know that owning a successful art business is your calling. You were looking for the right program or the accountability to commit confidently.
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2. You have been painting for a while; you know you have the talent, but your art is not selling enough to help you quit your 9-5 job. You are disappointed that the time and energy you spent are not rewarded, and your dream of being your own boss seems unachievable.
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3. You are willing to step into the trench and take the necessary steps to build your dream business because you are tired of wasting precious time going through trials and errors.
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4. You are excited to start investing in yourself and do the work now because you will end up with a business that you can count on for as long as you wish. ​
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5. You don’t mind doing the work as long as the proper knowledge and support will validate your commitment.
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6. You are excited to build an art business because that is your dream career, and you have been putting it off for way too long. You are ready to prioritize your goal and take care of your future indefinitely.

Artist, If you found yourself nodding your head to at least 3 of those check-list, then you are ready! I would love to invite you to Be A Thriving Artist Academy; check out here.
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Also, there's more to come next week. I am including a few pieces of training that are new to the program which I only offer to my subscribers, and I can't wait to tell you more. 

With Joy,
​Ting

Hey friend, Do you know your life purpose? Since you are here, I bet yours is similar to mine. 🎨
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​I have always felt a pull towards creativity, a natural talent that I was discouraged from pursuing by my parents. This led me to the restaurant industry, a stepping stone until I found my niche. I dabbled in fashion and contemplated on graphic design, but it wasn't until I picked up a paintbrush that I truly discovered my life purpose. The sense of fulfillment that comes with this discovery is unparalleled.

When you pursue your life purpose, you will enter the world of self-exploration, discovery, and rewards. I know because I’ve traveled that journey for over two decades with no regrets. It wasn’t always easy, but it was worthwhile and fulfilling.

I did what I was meant to do, what I was good at, and got rewarded for it. Most of all, I got to create women-empowering art and share my mission with my audience and met many amazing, like-minded fans.

Before Covid 19 hit, my husband and I were on a 4-month sabbatical in Asia, planning to return to open our gallery right after.

However, the pandemic took us by surprise. But we didn’t panic because we knew we had our talents to fall back on. And that is when I buckled down and created my dream program to teach artists like you to follow your dream.

Artist, This is the beauty of following your life purpose and having your own business. You can always pivot and adjust according to what life throws at you. I always felt that I was in control of my destiny, and you can too.

You can design the business that you desire and the lifestyle that you want. You can decide if you wish to have a profitable passion business or one that thrives and yields enormous results. The decision is yours to make.

It doesn't mean you go full force with it like I did, but it is beneficial to learn the rope of doing an art business so that you have the fundamentals to get you started successfully.

Perhaps you are now in one of these scenarios:

• You desire a passion business to earn extra income to fund your vacation or pay off debts
• You want to start a retirement business to make money from your talent and supplement your pension.
• You are a stay-at-home parent who wants to bring in extra income to contribute to the family.
• You want to own a thriving art business to quit your 9-5.

​These are all valid dreams. For the past two decades, I have been in two of these scenarios and depended on my talent to achieve all my goals in life.
All I know is that if you devote some time to your life purpose, it will become your life compass and direct you to a well-lived life. A life that makes you feel powerful and worthy.
Tomorrow, I will share how I can guide you to make this happen. See you soon!

With Joy,
Ting

And then Covid 19 hit, so I decided to work on my dream-program to teach artists how to build an art business from the ground up. Since it was a brand new business, I returned to hustling, working 12 hours a day and into the weekends.

It was the same time that I lost my mother, and the pain of losing my beloved mom took hold of me so deeply. I didn’t know my heart could hurt so unbearably, and it did. I cried for two years while working like a workaholic. Eventually, I burned out; I was depleted of energy.

It was during that time that I remembered the words my mom said to me. She told me not to work too hard because life is too short and I was letting life pass me by.

It was a moment of awakening when I realized my tendency to consistently push myself to burn out. This unhealthy habit made me understand the importance of self-nurturing. More importantly, I came to the realization that I was equating my self-worth with my work. Does this sound familiar to you?

This led me to a crucial decision-to prioritize self-care and find a balance that promotes abundance in both my work and personal life.

And so I stopped hustling and started listening to my body and most importantly my divine soul. Now, I work differently; I finally found a system that supports my energy, fuels me throughout the day, and gives me time to work, play and rest. And most of all inspired.

Today, I want to share how you can have it all without overextending yourself and accomplish the things that mean the most to you without burning yourself out.
 
Artist, I have put together eleven components to equip you with the right mindset and habits to help you generate energy throughout the day so that you always work optimally, no matter what stage you are in your life. Click here to grab your guide and take charge of your success without the relentless hustle. 
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Download your guide now and start achieving your goals effectively!

With Joy,
​Ting
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