Staying creative in all aspects of daily life

I find most people are creative, really, I do.  You never know until you find out that your co-worker is great at knitting, your dentist is a gourmet cook, even  the hard working guy in a sales job having an amazing talent for car restoration. Whether or not you are painting, writing, cooking, or trying to restore some life into an old 1950’s mural in your basement…you are being creative.  To me it’s like a drug…I race to the bathroom each morning, sit on the side of the tub and write my morning pages.  This is done whether or not my eyes are actually open. Morning pages to me void my mind of worries, dreames…they give me a blank canvas to start my day. Don’t even get me started about being creative with my budget, holy cow…so planning menus for dinners, figuring out how to get more out of less on a consistant basis, and mostly being creative with balancing schedules, passion (like painting), and relationships (all of them even with family.)  Thanks for reading my blog!

February – Valentines Gift Ideas

Gift Certificate’s  Available!

Dog Portraits        8×8-$125 12×12-$200 16×20-$300 16×16-$300 18×24-$400 24×24-$400   Cat Portraits         8×8-$95 12×12-$125 16×20-$300 16×16-$300 18×24-$400 24×24-$400    How about a Pet Portrait  Gift Certificate for Valentine’s Day, a Birthday or Just Because!

Who Knew…..

Matching paint from a wall mural left behind in our finished basement would be so hard to do. It’s taken several trials (and I pride myself on being a decent mixologist) – funny how now that I really think about it, I like to mix everything in my life, not just paint. I am a natural cocktailer (not in the drinking sense) when it comes to everything from mixing two different shampoos, to having my hair dresser add a touch or this color, or that to equal = the desired effect…I love to mix my clothes around (who doesn’t, it’s boring when you don’t.) Maybe mixing is natural in my blood, don’t even get me started on food…I can’t follow a recipe to save my life, I always have to mix some of my own ideas in there! So…back to the paint, I’m guessing it’s oil and it’s a gloss (on concrete and brick) – and we bought Latex Samples in Pint Sized (darn, they only came in Eggshell Finish) – but wait….we were missing one key color to complete our desired effect…and that was discovered by mixing in a bit of Olive from my own paitinters acrylic stash. Off to the store again, we can’t match the olive, but come close and then, Rich (my husband) comes up with the idea to get a quart in high gloss. The result (so far, because we are not done) – is the High Gloss plus the Eggshell = exactly the gloss on the walls. Next, a second coat…and some work on the trees, paths, etc. When that’s complete (and the plumber does some work) – we will tackle a large part of the big blue sky that was painted over (we have orig. pics!) The blue, well, it’s not a straight color – my guess is there is a fair amount of grey in it…but we’ll head back to the store and figure it out when the time comes. The mural you ask? It’s a outdoor scene of homes, trees, paths, a carnival, a dirt road (it’s very cool! Pic’s soon)

Art Licensing a good fit? Art Marketing Blog by Aletta De Wal

Five Questions That Will Help You Decide If Art Licensing Might be a Fit For You and Your Art

There are no get-rich-quick schemes in art. If there were, the myth of the starving artist would be history.

There are ways to multiply the income you make from the investment you make in your original art.

One way is licensing.

“Licensing” is a way of generating income from your art. Instead of selling originals or selling your designs outright, many artists will grant the right (license) to use their art on a specific product, for a set time period in exchange for a percentage of sales. This percentage is called a royalty. By licensing your art, you have the potential to earn income on the same art piece or collection several times.” Tara Reed. 

But make no mistake, it does add to your workload, so we want you to be well equipped before you decide to go this route.

Fanfare please! Tara Reed is now the A.C.T. Art Business Mentor for licensing.  Tara will be able to answer all of your questions about licensing your work in our upcoming TeleClasses. Tara is active in licensing so you will get the latest information and advice that works. After all, we want you to build an art business that lasts and helps you make a better living.

This week Tara gives you “Five Questions That Will Help You Decide If Art Licensing Might Be a Fit For You and Your Art”

“There are many ways to make money with art, licensing is just one. Licensing means that you chose to give manufacturers the right to put your art on their product in exchange for a royalty. You maintain the control and copyrights to your designs, and you can license the same art to several manufacturers at the same time. (Provided of course, that they make different products.) To help you decide if licensing might be a good fit for you, I have come up with five questions for you to think about. Be very honest in your answers so you don’t waste your time learning about and pursuing something that doesn’t fit your goals for your art, your way of working and your lifestyle.

1.  Do you love to create art?
2.  Would you enjoy seeing your art on products in stores? Maybe wrapping paper, dishes, posters, greeting cards, and more?
3.  Can you meet deadlines?
4.  Do you paint a variety of topics (holidays, seasons, trends) – or – do you have a well developed character or characters?
5.  Are you flexible with your art? If a manufacturer asks for changes (maybe colors, or images) will you be offended, or find out exactly what they need?

“If you answered ‘Yes’ to most of these questions, art licensing might just be for you. I know that when I started I got overwhelmed. There was so much to learn and think about. I wanted to know everything immediately. Sometimes I thought I couldn’t do it. But I did and you can.

“Start by learning the basics. Decide what your goals are. Organize the structure of your business. Give yourself permission to relax and learn – the most important thing is to keep your creativity flowing and not become so stressed about what to do that you can’t create!”

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tara_Reed

Mark these dates in your calendar now and learn more about Tara’s teleclasses here.

If you prefer learning on your own, check out these resources.

Making Room for Creation

If you want to know the truth, Rich (my husband) and I have been passively looking at houses for about two years now…obviously though we are fine where we live (in a wonderful little house)…and lacking just a teeny, tiney bit more space.  In an effort to work with what we have there has been some work in my studio that has been progressive.  I call it “Making Room for Creation”  – I just picked up another really great table in the Fall (yardsale) and I need to spread out a bit. Since I can’t re-locate the hot water heater…we have devised a way to move the dryer away from my studio gaining a dryers worth of space!  This comes in handy when I’m between shows and have to store artwork. I’m excited to once again have several projects going at once and having a place to store them!

Thanks for checking out my blog!

A bit about the process – Commission 2009

I have to believe that every artist has their own process, right? So part of mine is starting with a clean studio (ok, clean to me) – but uncluttered and plenty of space to work. So when my studio filled with a hazey smoke last December because our boiler was having a Hiccup I had to move my entire project to the third floor of the house and create a mock space. I may have blogged about this at the time, although I don’t know where I would have found the time. I had laid out a virtual sketch (even less of a sketch than this shown underpainting) – and had primed the background prior to the day I intended to work on this piece. After countless trips up and down the stairs to move my studio, I spent my day crouched over (on the floor) perfecting this painting. For a matter of fact it was so perfect and finished so close to the time of delivery I never got a photo of the finished project. I did take this mid-way shot before any of the details in the fur, eyes or face were laid into the painting. You can see how it’s coming a long in this photo…though a bit freaky without eyes, huh! Some paintings take shape from the very first sketch, some take a bit longer. Harley is a Havanese who’s parents commissioned me…and the dog has since become one of Stella’s playpals!

So many shows – how to decide?

It’s that time of year again when I’m trying to choose quality art shows over quantity. There are a few that I’m interested in that seem like they would be a great fit for me. I’m trying to work around a semi-art-Niche with Vintage Cars, and Animals.  Well, this is what I use January for to build a marketing plan for the year and commit to it!  Wish me luck.

Painting for my home

It’s that time of year when the Holidays are over, I’m progressively ending my year and working on taxes, turning over my art spaces, and regrouping my art thoughts for 2010. We have a substantial circia 1950’s mural in our basement which has substained some damage over the years…part of this month is trying to get that touched up a bit. This is actually a team effort with my husband although I think he dubbed me the creative director. Paint has been purchased and we might start working on it this week and over the next weekend. It’s something that we’ve put off for a while. I also have a delicious linen 30 x 30 that will be filled with New Orleans Scenes and be hung in our “New Orleans” themed hallway once I complete it. Right now, I’m dreaming it up in my mind.

Where did January go?

I actually do know where it went, I’m just not sure how it happened so fast.  Some times of the year just spead up faster than others.  After a Holiday Break which included endless days of sleeping in, slow work days at my day job, and really no obligations – the new year spead in light a fast car and kicked my butt in gear.  I have mostly been spending January ending 2009, thinking about 2010, and installing artwork in four different locations. We are finishing up some work in the basement where my studio is and soon I will be back in action painting. I’m gaining inspiration by working through The Artist’s Way and staying loyal to my Morning Pages and Art Date (or creative time.)  Whenever possible I try to pace myself as it’s not easy having a day job and an art business…but somehow I make it work.  Look out for new work soon!

Art Matters, An Art Marketing Blog by Aletta de Wal

Market to a Captive Audience We introduced you to Stephanie Hill-Ross, Artist-Owner of Producktion Central, in “Climb the Ladder of Exhibit Spaces.” This week, you can read how Stephanie continues to actively market her art to a captive audience in her Salon Tour. “I went to the salon for a networking session with some of the customers. I was able to set up in one of the empty stations in the front, right off the front desk area. I had made up some promotional flyers with a $10.00 discount limited time coupon to be handed out to participating clients hoping to stir up more interest. I also added the coupon to my website for back up. “As the customers came in and got settled before their appointments, I was able to introduce myself and enlighten them about the pieces that were on exhibit in the salon. I was also able to access the shampoo areas and talk to some of the customers while their hair was being washed while handing out my promotional information. “Then, I went over to the dryer area and found some of the clients were already browsing through my catalog. After their drying times were over, I came back to them to discuss what they saw in the catalog and obtained their information for my client listing. “After working the salon floor, I went down to the lower lever to the newly opened barber shop and took my portfolio with some actual print sample pieces that were not on display. The barber on duty liked what he had seen earlier when he had assisted me in bringing the pieces from my car when I initially delivered them to the salon. He stated that he was interested in purchasing a couple of prints for Valentine’s day. I gave him my pricing and a coupon and advised him to place his order on line at the website, and I can come back next week to pick up the money once he’s made a decision. “There is also a retail boutique on the upper level from the salon that is owned by a famous gospel singer named Vickie Winans. I stopped in there and left promotional material with the manager who used to work in the salon downstairs so she was familiar with my work and advised me that she would forward the promotional materials to people that could have solid interest in my work and could possibly purchase them… “From the 4 hours invested in meeting with the customers at the salon, I collected a total of 20 new potential clients to my listing plus increased my exposure. The majority of the customers in the salon all attend the same local church, so who knows, word of mouth is sometimes better. “In closing, I’ve enclosed the photos I took on Saturday for you to share with the rest of the community. I will continue to keep you updated with the results and thanks for your guidance and wisdom.” Again, Stephanie is doing a lot of things right. Here are four more lessons you can apply to your art business: √ Location, location, location. Stephanie introduced herself where clients come in. She gave them promotional materials directing them to more work on her web site. √ Marketing is a series of conversations designed to build a bridge between you, your art and your audience. Stephanie “worked the salon floor” methodically. She got out from behind her “booth” and followed clients around the salon. She focused on times when she had a captive audience. √ Your mailing list is the shortest distance between an event and possible sales. Stephanie built her mailing list so she can stay in touch with her new connections. Building relationships is the bedrock of making sales. √ Network, network, network. Stephanie seized the opportunity to go beyond salon clientele to neighboring businesses. These people are all part of a larger community at the local church. She is building a local sales force by networking. Well done Stephanie! Being entertained with art and conversation sure beats reading about entertainers in People magazine. Maybe the local hair salon is not the venue for you, but there are captive audiences everywhere. Where are yours?