I am approaching my 40th painting of the year so far. And I’m not even on a challenge or anything.
I think it’s because I paint in a series. Often I will have two panels on the easel at once, and work on the both. I work quickly and don’t linger in any one place for too long. Most of the time.
I always put painting before everything else: networking, admin, photographing, managing the shop, etc. I don’t ever want to get caught up in non – painting stuff so that I forget how to paint. Besides, the only way to get better is practice.
However, I’ve accumulated all these works that are sat around. Hence the recent forays into framing (that’s going so well by the way, I can’t wait to show you!) so that I can release a collection of original art.
But, with all the running an art business requires – and I do see what I’m doing as an art business – I realise I’m not actually paying attention to the business side of things. More than that, I’m ignoring them.
Admin I can do. Spreadsheets, web sites (graduated in computer science about a million years ago, before the internet was a thing), yep, all over it. But the marketing. Oh how I hate a hard sales pitch. Or even an over enthusiastic one that’s insanely cheery. It really creeps me out, I feel terribly self conscious, and this is the other reason I avoid taking care of my business.
However. I do want to sell some art. And it occurred to me, having done two paintings this week, that I could use some of my week to focus on this a bit more and get my shiz together.
So that’s what I’m doing. Reading all the books, all the interwebs and try to get a handle of this thing and more to the point detach myself from my art a bit. I know I could sell someone else’s art and sleep at night, so why not my own?
So. Wish me luck troopers. I’m going in.
Oh, here’s some pretty I don’t think I posted here yet. Have a lovely weekend everyone.
