Valentine's Day and I'm Still Working...

I hope everyone is having a great Valentine's Day. I know some people think it's just another ploy to get people to spend money, and the pressure is on for folks (let's face it, mainly guys) to get out and buy something to give to their sweetie, significant other, loved one, etc. I choose to view it as another chance to tell the people who matter to me how grateful I am to have them in my life--and that costs me nothing!  So forget about rushing to the store to get that box of candy or piece of jewelry--and give the greatest gift: love. And to all my friends and family: Happy Valentine's Day. I love you!

Okay, enough of the sentimental stuff. Sometimes, when you least expect it, a flash of brilliance strikes and leaves you wondering why you didn't think of it before. Well such flashes don't occur to me very often, but when they do I feel the need to run with them. This one hit me this morning, while I was surfing through various artists' websites and trying to come up with something I could do that would really keep me interested and motivated. I have always loved painting faces--not just human ones, but animals of all kinds. And I am also a big supporter of animal rights, the Humane Society and now, Shelby County's No Kill Mission. I haven't thought it completely through yet, and I need to talk to the powers-that-be at the shelter and the other groups, but what I have in mind, if it works out, would be an art related project that would benefit shelter animals, as well as get my artwork out more in the public.  This is not a new idea--just new to me. Since I haven't worked out all the details yet, I will hold off posting all the "rough" thoughts here. But I think it might work. Stay tuned.

Here is a site I stumbled on that has a lot of solid information for artists looking for encouragement and marketing ideas. 

I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion is for artists of all kinds. Painters, sculptors, ceramist, jewelers, photographers, and others will benefit from the easy-to-follow self-promotion practices in this book.

Author and art-marketing consultant Alyson B. Stanfield, of ArtBizCoach.com, focuses on sharing the artwork directly with potential buyers through electronic and traditional communication outlets—in a manner that is comfortable, not artificial. Artists match Internet marketing strategies with sincere personal skills to take charge of their art careers.

The book includes online worksheets and downloads.

 
Check it out!

Business As Usual

I read somewhere awhile back that artists who want to be successful can expect to spend 80% of their time on the business side of art. Now I understand. I have spent the entire day researching various search engines, online artists directories, the pros and cons of listing with various sites, looking at other artists' sites and other artists' blogs.  I am amazed at the number of artists out there, all trying to get themselves noticed. Myself included.  It's clear to me how important a web presence is these days. That doesn't mean artists should give up on getting their work into galleries, but for me, realistically, I don't see galleries as big sales markets for portraits--which is pretty much what I paint.  Few people want to hang portraits of people they don't know, unless they're famous.  And let's face it, with the economy the way it is right now, even fewer people are interested (and able) to spend their hard-earned dollars on paintings.  These days, artists have to be even more creative in finding ways to get their work noticed.

So I have been focusing on getting my website and blog updated and taking advantage of some of the free marketing tools like Facebook and Twitter. I'm not really sure how Twittering is going to help--I suspect it might be more of an annoyance (to those I tweet to) than anything, but we'll see. I'm thinking of giving the newsletter idea a try--but it seems a little narcissistic to send out a newsletter all about me.  I'll have to think on that a little longer.

As for actually painting, I'm hoping to finish up the window scene I posted the other day, and move on to a commissioned portrait of a girl and her horse. I'd like to get back to doing small daily paintings, but with all this business stuff to deal with, that might not be too realistic.

On the lighter side, here are a couple of photos of the little drama that took place in our driveway the other day after the snowstorm. First, the Schwan delivery truck got stuck at the end of our driveway. The driver thought he would be better off parking there instead of backing all the way down. NOT.  He called a towtruck to get him out, and the towtruck got stuck when it backed down the street to turn around. In comes the second towtruck, and it, too, got stuck. Luckily the second truck got out, yanked the first towtruck out and finally, the Schwan truck was pulled out--but now we have a nice nearly four-inch deep tire hole in our front yard. One more thing to add to my spring yardwork list.

More snow is on the way for tomorrow right through Tuesday. Maybe I'll get stuck inside and have nothing to do but paint!

The Business Side of Art: An Exhausting Endeavor

I am beat. I spent most of the day searching the 'net, looking for ways to increase art sales. I've admitted this before: I'm a lousy business person. But my goal for the new year is to improve my business skills. However, tonight my head is spinning from information overload, I guess. There is a ton of advice and information out there and just clicking from link to link and reading about it has worn me out.  I'm told you have to spend money to make money, but that is nearly impossible to do--for me, anyway. Get a website--with your own domain, etc., if possible; send out a newsletter, join arts organizations, run ads in local magazines...the list goes on. Yes, I do want to sell more of my artwork, but does anyone out there know what really works? Does anything? Sometimes I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels. 

So I'm calling it a day. On a lighter note, I have some pics of this morning's adventure with the Schwan delivery truck and my driveway. Tune in tomorrow!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Woke up to a wintery scene this morning and just couldn't resist grabbing the camera and taking some quick photos. Here's my neighbor's barn and a couple of my back and side yards.

At first the snowflakes were tiny and barely visible. Then they'd switch to big fat ones, and then it became more like sleet. Eventually, they were mostly big and fat again. Reminded me of my days in upstate New York. When I went out to shovel off my car, it seemed fairly warm, and the snow was nice and heavy--great for building a snowman or for a friendly snowball fight. Unfortunately I didn't have time for either. And now the weather has turned colder and much more nasty. But it was cool while it lasted.

So, with nothing else to do all day, I decided to spend time in the studio, catching up on things that have been set aside way too long. Like paperwork. Bookkeeping. Yuck. I hate doing that. I make a much better artist than I do a business person. Once upon a time I had a business plan, and kept meticulous records. Unfortunately, life has a way of interrupting things like plans. So today I sat down at my desk, opened every drawer, and dug through the junk that had collected there. It's amazing what can be found: notes I'd made to myself that no longer mean a thing to me. Little bits of papers with numbers, half sentences in completely illegible handwriting. Several months worth of magazines never read. My little shredder earned its keep today. And it feels good to clear the clutter. My files, while not completely in order, at least make some sense to me and are no longer crammed full of "stuff."

And at the end of the day, I have a new sense of direction. And dare I say it? Plans. Yep. We'll see how that goes.

Lazy Day

This was supposed to be a "me" day--a day where I would catch up on things, like studio paperwork, updating my website, etc. I managed to do some of that--but I also thought I would paint today and that didn't happen. I am having trouble staying motivated for some reason. I have at least half a dozen paintings in various stages of completion, but I seem to run out of steam and they end up stuffed in a corner while I move on to something else. Setting my own deadlines doesn't work because, deep down, I know nothing bad's gonna happen if I miss the deadline! What to do? I've tried the "give yourself a reward" thing for setting a goal and achieving it. Doesn't work anymore. Sometimes I think it helps to just wallow in the lack-of-motivation pool for awhile. Sooner or later I'll get tired of it--I hope. In the meantime, I finished the pastel portrait (I did have a "real" deadline for that one!) and managed to add pics of some of my latest work to my website. Just a minor dent, though, in the ever growing "to do" list. Oh fiddle-dee-dee! I'll think about it tomorrow....
This is the completed pastel portrait. I hope my customer is happy with it.

New Work, New Year

Well so much for keeping up with this blog. Since my return from Ireland/Scotland, things have been moving pretty quickly. I have two commissions to work on and lots of ideas for new paintings. Here's what's in the works right now:

This is a pastel portrait of a sweet little redhead. I've never done a portrait in pastels, so this is a learning experience for me. I still need to do some fine tuning, but I think I'm heading in the right direction. I love painting red hair--so many color opportunities!

I'm also working on another piece, this one in acrylics. I'm getting used to working in acrylics and finding that I like them very much! It looks a little bowed, that's because I was too close with my camera and too lazy to set it up right. But you get the idea....

And finally, here is the last one, finished a couple of weeks ago, also in acrylics. I call this "Harry Coo"--it's a Highland cow. The photo was taken on a farm on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. I waited patiently in the mist and drizzle, for this cow to stick his tongue out. The photo doesn't really do it justice. It's very colorful.

So that's what I've been up to lately, along with working on my poetry. I take a poetry workshop once a week with a lovely group of talented writers. I don't ever expect to publish anything, but it is fun just being around so many talented and creative people.

Guinness to Haggis

Wow! I just returned from a two week trip to Ireland and Scotland. What a fantastic time! This trip was a dream come true--on my bucket list. Went to Scotland first--to Oban and the Isle of Mull. What a beautful place! After a few days there, traveled to Ireland--Galway, Ennis, Aran Islands, Donegal, Belfast, the Slieve Cliffs and Giants Causeway. I got to meet my family in Ennis--a fantastic group of people who made me feel so very welcome! My only regret is that I couldn't stay longer and get to know them better. All the more reason for me to go back!
I shot over 1700 photos--lots of reference material for paintings. Now that I'm back, I need to sort through them all and hit the canvas!! You can see some of the photos on my Facebook page, or on the blog here. And watch out for some new paintings in the not-too-distant future!