Happy 2009, everyone! Personally, I’m fine with seeing the hind-end of 2008. Although 2009 ain’t getting on my good side yet, with a thaw and pouring rain on top of 2 feet of snow producing roof leaks and a thick, metallic sheet of unwalkable ice where our driveway and road should be…
So. It’s time for New Year’s Resolutions! Actually, I set specific goals each year for various areas of my life (physical fitness, art, agility, etc.).
Still, I think there’s a place for resolutions which may not have goals associated with them. Sometimes having a goal takes some of the joy-juice out of the activity. F’rinstance, in 2009 I’d like to:
- Continue giving myself permission to experiment in my work - to create without expectation of sales
- Refresh my approach to marketing my work
- Work more on developing meaning in my art
These are kinda vague, but that’s intriguing for me.
OK, everyone: time to step up with your 2009 resolutions!
Entries (RSS)
January 8th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I like your idea of goals instead of resolutions. Although, for me, one must include the other. For example, one goal is to begin showing my work at a reputable and established gallery - preferrably in one of a few cities that I’ve identified. To do that, though, I must resolve to paint consistently.
Discipline. That’s my resolution for 2009. It’s required in so many areas that I fail in. The first discipline is to get in bed earlier. I’m such a night owl. That causes me to be less rested during the day and I’m not motivated.
The next discipline is to say “no”. This is one of my biggest problems. I’m always available to people. I love it that people want to do things with me, but it’s easy to fill my schedule with social things or favors. Then I dont paint.
January 11th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Hi Julie,
I’m on the same resolutions track as Don. Getting to bed early is a challenge to me. Even now, it’s 10:30pm and here I am on the computer. This is what I have to stop doing…looking at emails, etc. just before bed! But I’ll start that resolution tomorrow!
Discipline is another biggie for me. Working a day job can be draining and I have the bad habit of sitting down in front of the TV and vegging out. If I can get my butt into the studio after dinner, even if only to review what I’ve done on the weekend, or clean up the clutter, I usually see something that I just have to do and sit down to paint. So cutting out TV goes hand-in-hand with discipline!
I’m curious, Julie (or any of you out there), how you managed to paint and work at a job? How did you motivate yourself to get in there and get going even when you were tired from working all day? This is always a struggle for me and painting two days a week just is NOT where I want to be. It often feels like I have to relearn how the paint handles after being away from it for so many days, therefore, it takes me even longer to finish something!!!
My last resolution is to paint for myself again…just for the joy of it. Since I paint so slowly, it seems I’m always painting for a show deadline, so I pick something that I can get finished in the amount of time allotted, not necessarily what I’d REALLY like to start.
Happy New Year to all and let’s hope “09 is better than this past year has been!!!
January 12th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Don, Sandra - discipline is key for making time for art (including the discipline of saying no). When I worked full-time at HP AND was also trying to build up an art career, I was pretty anal about how I scheduled my time. In fact…seems like this is a good topic for the next blog post.
And Sandra, kudos to you for voicing the desire to paint for yourself, just for joy. This is the best way I know to keep yourself fresh and creative in your art.
January 12th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I’m addressing the time issue by writing down my desired schedule to see if that helps. The hard part was being realistic about needing time to do non-painting stuff, like balancing the checkbook. It sure felt right and good. I noticed a certain amount of mental confusion drain away and was excited to see that yes!, I’d given priority time to painting. The mind is a funny thing…..
Monday and Friday for office/business/marketing/appointments/drawing/painting. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, sacrosanct painting days. Blog Monday am and Friday am. Yoga Mon./Th. am. Weights Tues./Fri am. Wed. off. Exercise is becoming critical to studio functioning. We also walk the dog every morning for 30-40 minutes and I try to be in the studio by 9:30am.
Also plan to do fewer, but more thoroughly planned out paintings. More, more, more drawing. Plein air once a week as the weather improves.
I’ve been rereading “I”d Rather Be In The Studio!” by Alyson Stanfield and creating a marketing task list since I’ve been down with a flu/sinus bug for the last few days.
I’ve let go of any expectations concerning sales (might as well, given the economy), and am going to concentrate on improving my work and my marketing routine, with an emphasis on getting the most for the least outlay of money. That means I’m skipping the festival circuit this year. I haven’t done them long enough to build up a following and can’t absorb close to $1000 in costs per event with no reasonable expectation of a profit. But, I’m listing small affordable paintings on EBay and sold three pretty quickly. I’m using my blog to drive eyeballs to the listings. If anyone is interested in the numbers, email me and I’ll tell you how it’s going so far. Or, I do plan to blog about that and marketing on Friday.
So, I guess one of my resolutions is to see how far I can get in terms of marketing without spending much or any money. I think that the trick will be to treat it like a challenge and not a burden. Three cheers for the internet!
January 15th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Susan - GOOD FOR YOU! I’ve had a ’schedule’ for years, and yes, it really does eliminate mental confusion. Sometimes I think I’m the most anal person ever, but I get stuff done. We’ll do schedule discussion as next blog post.
You are also stimulating me with respect to marketing. I think I’ll start that as a blog topic too, and have everyone chime in (within the next week).
How much did your eBay things go for? Worth your while? (You can email if you’d prefer it private).
January 15th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
I sold one 5″x7″ and two 6″x8″ canvas on board pieces for $30 each, so they went for the minimum bid. I have carefully described them in the listing description as “Studio Studies” or older pieces, so I don’t screw up my pricing structure. They are mostly quick studies that I’ve gone back to and repainted as I’ve seen what I should have done.
The listing fee ran between $1 to $1.50 for each one. The sales fee under $2.50. I had packing materials laying around and postage through the US mail for one piece was under $3.00 (I sold two to one person, so postage was more).
So I netted around $20-$25 each. Not a lot, but I also now have original work in Missouri and Virginia that I wouldn’t have otherwise.
I just checked and I’ve now got a bid on a current listing. Four of the five have watchers. Four of the five listings end in a little over 20 hours, so we’ll see.
I’m don’t know that I’ll make a lot of money at this, but it feels good to DO something to create selling opportunities.
(Teaser alert) Results of the current auctions and further comments on my Friday blog post.
January 28th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
[…] Susan Fox (as mentioned in a prior comment) has tried selling some small originals on eBay. She has positioned these as ’studies’, […]
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