I have sold a couple of paintings and some cards to friends so it is not that I am completely naive about the commercial aspects but for over a year I have had cards and prints produced but been too scared to put myself out there. I thought about doing school fairs but the cost of hiring a stall (sometimes as much as £80) meant it was prohibitive and that didn’t include needing to buy display stands, bunting as well as making sure I had sufficient stock.
So a few weeks ago I decided to bite the bullet and have some cards made. I thought, seeing as how my aim is only to make enough money to replenish paints, that cards were easier to sell and therefore I could peddle them easier particularly at work.
So today I was inspired to make a drop for free art day in Bristol. The whole idea appeals to me becaue I paint for my enjoyment rather than to be commercial so passing that enjoyment onto others has a real feel good factor about it.
The husband (henceforth to be known as He Who Created The Website) has pointed out what a slacker I have been of late. Three months (Well two and a bit really) and not a word written. I have little to say in my defence except for painting a bedroom, starting a new job, and a suspicion that no-one reads this anyway!
If there are any regular readers of my blog, they would know that I started painting as a relief from the stress of working in Banking. I really had done nothing since leaving school at age 18 and, as I was now 46, it all felt a bit daunting. I had no real idea of where to start so my husband, lovely man that he is, bought me an easel and an art course and pointed out I had nothing to lose.
Yesterday at work I sold another painting. I had painted this for a competition at work and it was voted in as one of 13 paintings and photos for a desk calendar.
Look at the three pictures above this blog post on the home page and they should be (from L to R) “Sailing off Brownsea”, “Fight of the Kingfishers” and “Blue Wave”. I have painted these in just three short weeks and seeing them next to each other makes me think: “Do I have a style?”
I can’t believe it is so long since I wrote a blog post. I fully intend to write one every week (at least) but instead life keeps getting in the way of art. First it was work. Endless work. Late nights crunching numbers and designing reports or as my husband prefers to call it, “pissing about with spreadsheets”. Then came my son’s birthday. That was pleasure except I yet again persuaded myself to make a complicated cake, and organise a party for 6 boys including a meal. Then I got a horrible cold. then my son had a grading and then it was back to work again. It’s not even an interesting life.
It occurred to me today that I have no idea what to call myself without sounding pretentious. The situation was this: a friend at work rang me to congratulate me on the entries into a work competition, as they hadn’t realised I even painted. “So are you a real artist?” he said, “I mean have you actually sold a piece of your work?”
So I had these cards printed by Moo with 12 of my paintings on. I figured they would come in handy if I wanted people to buy prints and the such like and also if I finally get my thing on with the BS9 Arts Trail. I couldn’t resist taking them to work yesterday and letting people choose the ones they liked. I’m not sure if I will use the results, and, if I do, whether I paint more of the ones people like or work harder at the ones that they don’t; I just thought I might get some interesting results.
