If you're looking for info on the career side of being a painter, this handbook co-published by Artspire and the New York Foundation for the Arts deals with all the basics in an accessible style.
It's stated purpose is to: "demystify the business of being an artist and to provide a structured framework of information that will help you move toward profitability, stability, and/or sustainability" and reminds us that we shouldn't being artistic as an excuse for not being business minded as "artists are not only capable of interweaving art and business, but that they are uniquely qualified to do so".*
This book is like a crash course in the business side of being an artist, dealing with the fundamentals of career planning, fund-raising, marketing, sales, networking, finances, legalities, etc. It covers the performing, literary, and visual arts. It's written in an accessible style, with a three-page Artist's Roadmap or set of questions to help you think about and pin down the specifics of your artistic practice.
If you're starting out and want an accessible introduction to what you ought to know, it'll be indispensable -- and far cheaper than hiring a business adviser or accountant. This book ought to be on any first-year art student's compulsory reading list, along with a reminder to work through the questions in the "Artist's Roadmap" on graduation and every few years thereafter. Brushing up your plan for your art career should be given studio time too!
If you've been a working artist for some time, or moved into art after a career in another field, you may find some of the info lightweight, not going into great depth on any specific aspect. But reading it will ensure your information is up to date, will likely include things you hadn't thought about or needed reminding about, and each chapter does provide details of website for doing further research into a topic. For instance, when I was first reading the book for the purpose of writing this review, I was also working on an art grant application. I found myself wishing the book had examples of actual expense budgets set out for a sample grant submission, not only outline suggestions of what to include.
The book loses half a star for lacking an index and page numbers of cross-references in the text. Yes, the contents page lists what each chapter covers, but you then have to browse through the subheadings in the chapter to find the section you were after or do an ebook search. References in the text to other sections without giving the specific page number are an annoyance; you then have to hunt down that bit rather than going straight to it. There are six blank pages at the back of the printed book, so there was plenty of space to include an index; use them for your own notes.
One thing I couldn't find was the information on blogs. The Roadmap says "see pages 144--147", but these pages deal with "social networking sites", and "target niche markets", and "measuring your results". The pages on website (pages 129 to 135) give a helpful outline of the types of info you should have on your website, but I couldn't find a mention of blogs and the different function these serve to websites. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place, but without an index I can't be sure.
The book is divided into five sections: Strategic Planning, Finance, Art and the Law, Selling and Promoting, Artist Fundraising. Published by Allworth Press, November 2011. ISBN 9781581158724. 256 pages.
*Introduction, page VIII.
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