Apples of Gold in Settings of Silver

I bet you have some great ideas! You're most likely an artist if you're reading this, therefore you are a creative thinker. (I happen to believe all people are creative thinkers, whether or not they're artists, but that's a different post).

This last year was a real roller coaster ride for me. In my private life I experienced a lot of loss. To mention a few, the loss of a best friend, a family pet, children's losses, some smaller ones concerning our property, my husband's job and the temporary, we hope, use of his right arm. (We won't know about that for a few more weeks).

Hail destroyed our garden and landscaping.

But in my art life I experienced more success than I've ever had. I believe the losses had something to do with propelling me forward. Somehow in the midst of those losses, I lost my timidity! And chose to act on every idea I had hanging around in my head. Most of them had been there for years!

I didn't know if my ideas would bring success but I knew I had to try. Here's a list of some of the things I acted on this year and the results.

1) I participated in a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge hosted by Leslie Saeta. I sold 15 of those paintings during that month.

2) I contacted very successful local artist, Carol Swinney, to see if she would like to do some plein air painting with me. She said yes and we had a great time and I made a new friend. She also gave me a lot of encouragement as well as helpful advice, which was far more than I expected!

3) I had my first solo show as an oil painter. I hadn't been painting for months (another loss - painting time) and when it was show time I didn't know what I would use! I scoured the house and came up with over 100 small paintings I'd done in the last 3 years! I used 80 of them and sold 6 at the opening.

4) I came up with a way to hang those 80 paintings without framing them. A method which impressed everyone who saw them and pleased me much more than I thought it would.

My panel hanging method at the show.

5) I gave my first "art talk" to interested artists and patrons. I had a ball!

6) I volunteered every month at the local art center and made new friends.

7) I entered 5 shows, was accepted at 4 so far (still waiting to hear on the 4th), sold at the first 2 shows on opening night and am still waiting for the third and fourth shows to open. I was thrilled to be accepted in these shows and even more so to sell at them!

8)I held my first studio sale and open house at our home. You can read about what I learned from that here.

9) I held my first online studio sale. I sold paintings at both the open house and online sale.

10) I made my first ever sale on my website, (even though I've had a website for years) because I contacted Leslie Saeta for a marketing consultation and did what she told me to do.

11) And I just contacted a superb photographer friend of mine about doing a joint artist's retreat/workshop at her ranch next summer. It's a go - we just have to figure out how to go about it!

So, what ideas do you have hanging around in your head and what are you going to do about them?

Here's to a happy new year full of new ventures for all of us!

A few years ago - maybe more than I want to admit - I wrote about my painting equipment. Since then I've made a few changes that have made my life even better when heading out to paint.

A new bag

I've used backpacks before, but my main complaint is they don't stand up straight when I set them down and it feels like things are buried in there. I found this bag at Walmart. It's a purse, if you can believe it! But for me, it's a plein air bag.  It holds ALL my equipment, even my tripod can be anchored to it! It has a solid bottom so it stands up and I can see most of what's in there. Since I'm not really a backpacker painter - yet -  this is the thing for me. So much easier than carrying multiple items!

A Paint Saver Palette

I got this nifty Paint Saver Palette a year or so ago, before heading to Scottsdale for a workshop with Camille Przewodek. Her husband Dale designed it and it has made life simpler by allowing me to use it everywhere. I keep it in the freezer when not in use, and grab it for the studio or for heading outdoors or to a workshop. I just slip it onto whatever set up I'm using.

Nifty gate latch.

This works perfectly with my Open Box M pochade. I screw the small open end onto the bottom of my palette and use the latch hook end to hold my solvent can. No matter how windy it is or how clumsy I am, it doesn't fall off! Perfect! I can even keep it attached in my bag to prevent it from falling over and spilling, which has happened too many times!

PVC Brush holder

This is from James Coulter's Art Box and Panel set up. It's super sturdy for protecting brushes and all I have to do is take the top off and hang it on the screw on the side of my box. Genius!

And here's the rest of the stuff in my bag of tricks.

Viewfinder

Turp can

Gloves

Bungee cords

Paper Towels

Palette Knife

Mirror

Pliers

Allen wrench

Bug juice

Sunscreen

Hat

Water bottle

Tape

Business cards

Phone

Wallet

And now that it's winter, I don't do a lot of outdoor painting, but when I do, this is the "mitten" I use!

I read about it a few years ago and it's called a Hibbard Mitten, although as you can see, its just a wool sock. And it is THE BEST mitten for painting outdoors! You stick your brush handle through the end (might have to poke hard) and hold the brush with your fingers like normal and your whole hand stays toasty in the sock. And you have great brush control too. It's genius!

Do you have something I could add to this list that you've found to be helpful? I'd love to hear about it! Happy painting!

Autumn's Horses, 12x16, oil on panel

These three horses reside down the road from us with about 30 other horses. I stopped and got some photos one day. I especially liked the overcast skies giving the whole scene a soft silvery touch. Seems very "November-y" to me. Painted mostly with a palette knife, this painting has a lot of texture!

I just held my first studio sale in mid November. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. I did some things right and some things I will change next time. Here's a summary of what I did and what I will do.

          1) I announced the sale in my newsletter beginning in October. I didn't know the details at the time, but I gave folks a heads up. Every newsletter I sent from the first announcement to the last, I included something about the sale. In the week of the sale, I sent 3 announcements. I was a little nervous about this because I hate to bug people, but thinking about someone missing the sale helped me do it. I lost 3 subscribers, but gained 4 more and made quite a few sales.

         2) I announced it on Facebook every week and created an event for it. After the physical event at my house, I announced the online continuation of it on Facebook.

        3)  I told everyone I knew about it.

        4) I held the open house Friday through Sunday, 10 - 7, and had cookies and apple cider as refreshments.

        5) I welcomed people to bring their friends, and family, including children.

       6) I put up a few (very few) signs around town.

      7) I hung a banner on our gate and put balloons on our mailbox so people could easily find us.

      8) I extended sale prices to people who contacted me saying they wanted to come, but were unable for one reason or another.

      9) I created a category called Studio Sale on my website and put all my sale paintings in that category. I kept the category after the sale, but hid it so it will be there the next time I want to have a sale.

    10) After the sale I moved all the paintings back to their respective categories and their pre-sale prices.

    11) I gave a painting away to one of the visitors to me actual studio, each day. In order to be eligible they had to leave their email address.

What I will do differently next time:

      1) I'll make myself a schedule of what to do and when to do it, beginning at least a month (maybe more) in advance. I'll tackle the jobs I least want to do, first. That way I shouldn't feel like I'm running out of time to get everything done and should be able to do it all. 

     2) I will send postcards to everyone on my snail mail list. I knew I should do this, but didn't seem to have time.I'll make myself a schedule of what to do and when to do it, beginning at least a month in advance. 

     3) I might put an ad in the local newspaper. If I don't do that, I will put up lots of signs.

     4) I might do a radio announcement.

     5) I will hold the open house only on Saturday and Sunday (not Friday), probably 10-7 and 12-5. I will do it for two weekends in a row, and let people come during the week if they can't come on the weekend.  And I will extend my online sale to two weeks instead of just one.

     6) I thought I might change it to October, but it was so successful, I think I'll keep it mid November.

I'm looking forward to the next studio sale! Have you ever held one and if so, are there any tips you would add to this? Or, if you would like to have one, but haven't yet, what is keeping you from it? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

Beginning this month I will be giving away a small original oil or Gouache painting to a randomly selected subscriber to my newsletter. The painting to be given away this month is "The Christmas Barn". It's a 6"x8" Gouache done on Ampersand Gessobord. It's ready to be framed in your favorite style. I'll be using random.org to choose the winner. Then I'll notify and announce the winner on December 15. Good luck!

The Christmas Barn, 6x8, Gouache on Ampersand Gessobord

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