Who's the Boss?

"Parked Tree" (pastel, 12x9 inches)

Well, a week ago I said I'd take the Daily Painting thing one day at a time, and I made it a week. I had an epiphany yesterday while working on my newest batch of underpaintings, and I realized that when the pressure of the Daily Painting Machine was creating Stress in my life, then it was time to stop taking it so seriously! I mean, who's the Boss here, huh? Ok, I know I have workaholic tendencies, and I'm very serious about living up to the goals I set for myself - and most especially the Goals I post online for all to see! (...which is sometimes the only way I ever get anything done, lol.) And I've done 30-in-30's before with no problems (or at least no problems that prevented me from getting it done) so on the one hand I couldn't understand why this first month of my new open-ended Daily Painting Goal should be so difficult.

Really! But several things coalesced yesterday in my mind and foremost of those thoughts was the simple and pure Enjoyment I was getting out of working on the new batch of underpaintings. So much that when my stressed out workaholic pointed out to me that if I didn't pause this batch process and get at least one of these pastelled to the finish for yesterday's post, I wouldn't have a post for the day.

yesterday's batch of underpaintings... first layer finished

UGH!! That thought was SO annoying that I only gave it about 5 seconds of consideration before replying, "Shut. Up! I'm HERE. In my STUDIO. WORKING, and ENJOYING it. And how DARE you interrupt me and tell me what to do!!"

So, I continued to finish the first underpainting layer on all 19 new little paintings-in-progress, then I went back to the house and made dinner.

After dinner, my competitive left-brained workaholic needed to justify my flippant decision to skip a post, so I looked up a few of my favorite Daily Painters and collected some data...

I was happy to find out that Julian Merrow-Smith had posted 267 paintings in his first year, and an average of 203 paintings per year across the 15 years that he's been posting his famous Postcards From Provence. Carol Marine, my personal introduction to Daily Painting, posted 319 in her first year as a Daily painter, and 225 per year average across 13 years. And so just out of curiosity I checked on Duane Keiser, the "original" Daily Painter, and found that he had a whopping 388(!) posts in his first year, but an average of only 111 posts per year for the following 14 years.

It seems my impression that "Daily Painters" actually post daily on a continuous basis has been a myth all along. (Although starting off strong seems to be key!)

I'm so relieved!!

To top if off, this morning on the way to the grocery store, someone talking on NPR who had written some book was saying that these days it's important not to stress yourself about work. Just do what you can and make sure you allow yourself time to just "be." I only heard a snippet of the interview but that part really hit home.

So, my new revised Daily Painting Life Goal will be to paint and post as often as I can enjoy doing it, and just try to beat my 13 posts/month average as much as I can.

And, oh yeah, NO STRESS!!

Have you had any recent arguments with your self over how to use your time or what you think you need to do vs. what your soul cries out for? (Sometimes what you really need to do IS what your soul cries out for!) I'd love to hear from you!

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Does an Artist Need a Website?

I had a conversation with a friend the other day, about whether a professional artist really needs a website.

Kira asked: "Rita, may I ask you a side question? Does a professional artist need a website? How can I argue that I really need one? My husband is software engineer, so I can use his help, but he is not sure that a website is more useful than a couple of social networks."

I replied:

Kira, that's an excellent question! I suppose one's attitude might depend on one's budget. But in my opinion, an artist can't afford NOT to have some online presence where they can showcase their work. That doesn't necessarily mean you have to pay for a professional site. There are many free or low-cost options including blogs, etc.

(Tip: Google "free or low cost websites for artists")

Another important point is that if, as an artist, your goal is to sell your work and make a living as an artist, then you will do better to take advantage of ALL avenues of exposure that are available to the limit of your budget and time. After all, as marketing genius Eric Rhodes (of Fine Art Connoisseur and Plein Air Magazine) says: "No one will know who you are unless you tell them!"

In this day and age, if an artist doesn't have a place online where prospective clients can go to see their work, they're missing out on a huge chunk of possibility, because really, where else is someone going to see your work without traveling to a gallery, a show, or your studio? ...The internet is the queen of convenience!

Another thought... professional sites such as FASO.com may seem expensive to someone who's never paid much for a website, but a site like this pays for itself in the life of a professional artist by saving time, ease of use, and a professional image which many collectors respond to.

As for a couple of social networks being more useful... Personally, I think blanketing the social media sites on a consistent schedule (daily! or almost daily) is a LOT more valuable that just having a website alone. But I also think having a place where people can go to see all of your work easily in one place is a valuable tool. I think that could be done with a blog too... I've seen blogs that have various 'pages', but I've never looked into that with mine (from Google Blogger) since I also have a website. I think most blogs are free? I know Google Blogger is free and very easy. 

I think a website is like a business card. It's something to give people (a link to) where they can see your work and contact you, but also read about your accomplishments, see what you're up to (like the sites that have integrated blogs), and even sign up to receive emails (newsletters, or website updates) from you.

You should be the judge of where you are in your career and whether it would be justifiable to add the effort/expense of a website. You may want to start a blog at least. Lots of people like to browse through blogs, and that can also be a way to interact with your public with demos, and casual conversations about art and how you do what you do. Prospective clients love being able to get into the mind of an artist, through writings that you can make about your work.

I like to use my Daily Painting blog as a 'jumping-off' point for all my social media posts, and frequently include a link back to my blog so people can see progress shots of the work I'm posting that day. And then, on my blog I have links for my books, workshops, and other sites.

There's no such thing as too much free advertising, and IMO, every avenue of social media / online posting/sharing/blogging that there is, is one that you should to try to fit into your schedule.

As an added reference, you might want to read another of my posts, which includes a run-down of most of my marketing habits...

Good luck!
:)

New Years Resolution - First Do the Work!

       An artist friend of mine sent me a nice New Years email to compliment my 'pencil work' from recent posts of portrait drawings, and was asking for a bit of advice on how to draw so well. She really answered her own question by admitting she needed to draw/paint more and had set a new resolution for herself to paint at least 3 days a week.

       In replying to her email, I found myself in just the right mood to get out some good advice, so I thought I'd use it to help with my own goal of posting more often and share it here! It's nothing I haven't said before in conversation, and you've probably heard variations of the same advice, but I believe it's human nature to need to hear certain things over and over before they start to sink in...

Hi friend,

Great to hear from you!

Yes the 'pencil work' is all about years of doing it... One project I've left half-done from earlier last year is to scan in all my photos of portrait drawings from '85-'92, from my pre-digital era, and combine those with the images I have in my computer from '93-present, and create a time-lapse kind of fast slide-show zipping through all the hundreds and see how long the video would be at one image per half-second or something. And those would just be the ones I actually took a picture of... I estimate that's only about 25% of all the ones I've done, and that's not counting the profile sketches in amusement parks from '86-'97. =O

So, yes, the BEST goal you could possibly set for yourself and KEEP is to paint/draw/do art every day, or at least 3 days/week. But I gotta tell ya, when I'm away from the easel a few days or more, it takes me a day to get back 'into' the swing if it, so your second and more consecutive days of painting will be more successful most likely!! The subsequent days are also easier and more exciting BECAUSE the work looks better, so keep at it, when your first paintings of the year look icky, just see them as 'practice' and keep going!!

An amazing thing happens when you COMMIT to painting/drawing every day (or at least creating several small paintings a week) -- it gets addictive! I think an important part of the process is to POST them (at least speaking from the standpoint of a 'daily painter and online blog poster') When I'm actually able to post an image on my blog for a week or two of consecutive days, I almost physically miss it when I have to skip a day for whatever reason, I get VERY disappointed in myself, and it's mostly about breaking that good 'run' of posts. The posting almost becomes the end goal, and the painting enough to create 7 things per week to post just becomes the 'assignment' I give myself so that I can do the posting! 

In a strange way, this attitude makes the painting easier because instead of getting to the studio and moaning about "what do I want to paint today?" it's more like "it doesn't matter what I paint, I just need seven things to post this week, and If I can get 3 done today, and 4 done tomorrow, I'll have the rest of the week free!"

Ha, I do think that way, but realistically, I'll get 2 small paintings done, then break for lunch, then get tied up on the computer, then it will be time to take Audrey to her gym class, then it will be dinner time, etc etc. So life does intrude, it's a fact. 

But as I was told by artist Sara Eyestone in one of her Art Marketing workshops, "First thing is, you must DO THE WORK!" She says to fill out your schedule in a datebook, put in all the immovable obligations, classes, appointments, 'real job' work, meals, etc, and put 'paint' or 'studio' in everywhere else. Be flexible whenever possible; delegate some chores, push dinner back an hour so you can get an extra hour in the 'studio' that day, etc. But most of all, stick with it! Make painting a habit! For some people, putting it on the calendar makes it real, so this works.

Happy New Year and Just Do It!

Rita

Thanks for reading, and please share!

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