Successful? Depends on Your Definition

"Hullo"
2 x 3 in. watercolor
Stephanie Allison

When I "retired" a month ago (has it really been that long?), the plan was to devote myself to developing and promoting my art business, because yes, art is my business.  For a long time I waffled between treating art as a hobby, along with gardening, writing, reading--well, you get the drift, and making a real go at it. That means marketing, promoting, developing contacts--as well as painting. When I talked with other artists, and read articles on the subject of running an art business, I scoffed at the idea that I would be spending at least 50% of my time on the marketing aspect of art. IF I want to succeed.

So that got me wondering what my definition of success as an artist really is.  Do I want to be famous?  Have my art hanging in high end museums, like MOMA and the Smithsonian?  Or will I be content to get a commission here and there and sell a few paintings now and then?  Well...I've been giving it a LOT of thought, and, for me, success is creating beautiful portraits that make people happy.  And sometimes their happiness means I make them cry.

I learned that over the holidays.  I had several portrait commissions--some portraying people, most depicting beloved pets.  And although the money was nice, what really mattered to me was capturing not just a likeness on the canvas, but getting the spirit and personality right, too.  So when I handed those commissions over to the clients, I gauged my success by their reaction. A big smile, a hug--and frequently tears.  Not that I wanted them to cry--but the fact that my work evoked such emotion validated what I'd hoped to accomplish.  Translation:  success.

Having said all that, don't get me wrong: I like making money too.  Which is why I've spent the last several days, make that weeks, scouring the Internet, checking out other artists' websites, Facebook pages, and blogs to see what they're doing to promote themselves. And it's a LOT of work.  So many tiny details to think of:  linking to your other pages, linking to other artists' pages, getting your blogs and sites noticed by all the big search engines.  My eyes blur and my head aches.  But I'm slogging through it.  So over the next couple of weeks, if anyone is actually reading this and visiting my Facebook page, you might see some changes.  And I'll probably screw things up too, since I'm not the most tech savvy person when it comes to all this. But it's worth a shot, and if it helps me get more clients, that's great, because it means I'll also get to know you and your loved ones--two and four-legged, and that's what really matters.

Meanwhile, if you're interested in learning more about promoting yourself as an artist, or want to learn more about the various things you can do with Facebook, here are a couple of links I found helpful:

ArtBizCoach: Lots of helpful information on running a successful art business from Alyson B.Stanfield.  I visit this site quite often.

Pagemodo. This site will help you create a new cover photo for your Facebook fan page.  It has a "free" option, which was sufficient for me, but if you want to go crazy, you can sign up for a paid account.  You can also create new tabs, but I had trouble with that--I may have to go back and take another look at that option.

So here's to success--however you define it!



 

Pet Portrait Special!!!

May is National Pet Month in the US, and in honor of that, I am running a special on Pet Portraits. Commission a portrait of your pet, any size, through the month of May and receive a 10% discount.  In addition, I will donate 10% of the proceeds from the commission to the Shelby County No-Kill Mission.  I hope you'll take advantage of this special and let me create a beautiful, lasting memory of your beloved pet.  Contact me at sallison@insightbb.com for more information.

Above is the finished portrait I started last week. This is an 8x10 acrylic painting, framed, and is available for purchase through my website (www.stephanieallison.com).  I managed to complete another painting this weekend, as well--one that I have been working on for quite awhile.  It's a cottage in Bunratty Village, Ireland.  This is a 16 x 20 acrylic, also available through my website.

Started another pet portrait commission yesterday, this one of a cat named Samson.  This is the first pass of color. I'll be adding more details and fine-tuning it this week, so check back later to see the progress. 

I have lots of plans in the works for my pet portraits, including a calendar. I'll be posting the details later. I'm really excited and I hope you all will be too!

Now...on to my mini-poems and photos-a-day:  Obviously, I have been way, way behind on both of these endeavors, but I'm working my way back into it. I did manage to write a little micro-poem last night. Here it is: 

Like the slow and steady turtle

Thunder lumbers east

unphased by Lightning's razzle-dazzle.

Tonight's goal:  a personal best.

So that's it for tonight! Be kind to your pets--their love for you is unconditional!  Paws up!

                           

Portraits, Portraits, Portraits!

Puppy...work in progress

Mom & Pop

Can't believe it's been over 2 months since I updated this blog. It's not that I've had nothing to blog about...but don't worry, I'm not going to bore you all by trying to catch up.  I've been painting, painting, painting, and loving every minute of it. I finally finished the portrait of "Mom & Pop"(right) and the client is very happy, which makes me happy. So now I'm moving on to my next project:  another pet portrait, this time a cat. I'll post photos of that soon. Meanwhile, above left, is a painting I'm working on for fun.  I'm nearly finished, just need to add a few little details.  I'm also back to work on a portrait of my Cavalier, Charlie--a larger piece that I set aside for awhile so I could work on commissions. 

And speaking of commissions, check back in a week or so as I will be running a special on Pet Portraits!This will be your chance to get a custom-painted portrait of your favorite furry friend! I have several other ideas brewing for pet portraits that I'm really excited about--so keep an eye out for details.

As for the daily photos and mini-poems, I'm so far behind, I decided to not even attempt to post them. I'll just add a few here and there in the next week or so. Spring came early this year, which means lots and lots of yard work in between my day job and painting--and that has left little time for anything else. But I'm not giving up!

Have a good evening!

Works in Progress....Progress

Busy week here at Wit's End Studio.  Spent most of the day Saturday at the Lifebridge for Animals Mutt Show and Rover Run and had a wonderful time.  I saw some of the cutest dogs there--some available for adoption from the Shelby County Animal Shelter, others just hanging out for a good time, and the weather was perfect!

After that, I spent the remainder of the weekend working on the Pekingese commission.  I decided to change up the background from the solid blue to a more natural setting--I think it works much better. There is still a lot of work to do before this piece is finished, but I think it's coming along very nicely. 

I finished a couple of mini-paintings over the weekend too.  They are 2-1/2 x 3-1/2 except for the beautiful blue-eyed kitty on the left--that one is 4 x 4.  I enjoyed painting them all, but I think my favorite is the little piggies.

The next event for me is the Celtic Fest in Eminence, Kentucky.  I've got to finish up some jewelry pieces and several Irish-themed paintings.  I'll be posting pics of all that soon.  Meanwhile, back to the easel!

Two WIPs and a Cat!

Wow...the ol' brushes are really getting a workout these days. I continue to work on the commission of the two Pekingese, concentrating primarily on their eyes. The client wanted the dogs' tails more prominent, so that's what I'm working now.  Here's a pic of the Pekingese work-in-progress:


Also on the easel this week are a couple of portraits I plan to donate to the Shelby County No-Kill Mission. The first one is Cheyenne, a beautiful kitten up for adoption at the Shelby County Animal Shelter.  Isn't she adorable?  Bet she'd be nice and cuddly during these chilly September nights!

And finally, still a work-in-progress, is Woody, also up for adoption at the Shelby County Animal Shelter.  I'll post a pic of the completed painting as soon as it's done.

Meanwhile, if you're in Shelbyville this Saturday, September 10, I will be one of the vendors at the Lifebridge Mutt Show and Rover Run at the Shelby County Fairgrounds.  Lifebridge is another organization whose mission is to educate young children about being good pet parents.  The Mutt Show is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  I will be stationed in Floral Hall, and would love for you to stop by and check out more of my work, and enjoy the other events as well! Admission is free!

Art for the Animals

It's been awhile, but I'm once again participating in the "Art for Shelter Animals" project--a project where you create a portrait of a shelter animal and donate it to the shelter. They can do with it as they wish:  give it to whoever adopts that animal, sell it or auction it, and keep the money for the shelter. I also sell some of the portraits, with a portion of the sale donated to the shelter.  Since I can't possibly adopt all the shelter animals myself, this is my way of helping them--not much in the grand scale of things, but these days every little bit helps.  This painting isn't finished yet, but here's what I have so far:  lots of details still to add, but it's close to being finished.  I'll post specific information about this cat when the painting is finished.

Meanwhile, I continue to work on the portrait of the 2 Pekingese--and I'm working diligently on my Irish paintings too.  Sadly, Martin Driscoll, a painter of Irish scenery, whose work I recently became acquainted with and enjoyed immensely, died last week of pancreatic cancer.  Check out his work at the link above--reminds me of my trip to Ireland and how much I want to go back!

Happy Memorial Day!

Hope it's been a pleasant one for all of you, and I hope everyone took a few minutes to say a prayer of thanks for those who gave their time and lives in service to our country--and that includes the thousands of K-9's who have been used in wartime since WWI, I believe.  Many of them didn't make it home either.

It's HOT here, and I've spent most of my weekend mowing. Ugh.  But I did manage to squeeze in a little painting time.  I finished one mini-painting, started months ago, and worked on a larger piece, also started awhile back.  I'm slowly re-motivating myself to write and paint at least for a few minutes a day.  Hard to do for someone like me, who wants instant gratification.  I'm not a very fast painter, although I am working on that. So here's a pic of the mini-painting.  This is a 4 x 4 acrylic.

Mini Kitty

  

Tomorrow I'll post another painting. Stay tuned!









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