Teach Us to Number our Days

My goodness folks...do you realize that we are already one week into the month of JUNE!

This past week, as we quickly approach the 1/2 way point in 2017, I started feeling that I needed to really roll up my sleeves and getting focused on my art and what I want to accomplish as an artist. I'm determined that I will not work any more part-time accounting jobs.  The last job I had was a complete disaster and I probably could benefit from a few therapy sessions.  Brad says, "You're letting her live in your head rent free."  It's been a whole year and  I still can't bring myself to drive down parts of Russell Road.   No...I'm determined to make this ART THING work for me and have it supplement our retirement income while doing something I love!

I have always been someone with a dozen projects going and struggling to completely finish any of them.  Multitasking can be a very good skill to have in the business world but not it can be somewhat of a problem when it comes to producing art.  Or at least that is my current belief.

Hanging on the wall above my drawing desk is a large dry erase board.  I dug around and found some good dry erase markers and decided to write my goals so that I could have a visual each and every time I step into the studio.

*LEARN PHOTOSHOP
*CREATE COLLECTIONS OF ART AND A PORTFOLIO FOR THE PURPOSE OF HAVING MY ART LICENSED
*ORGANIZE MY POEMS, STORIES AND ILLUSTRATIONS INTO A BOOK FORMAT FOR FUTURE PUBLISHING
*BUILD UP MY ONLINE ETSY STORE WITH MERCHANDISE IN DEMAND THAT BRAD AND I CAN CREATE, SELL AND SHIP.


This past week I happened across a wonderful website that had what I feel is a good example of a licensed art portfolio to use and an example.  I'm SO happy to find the art of Becky Schultea.  A fellow sister in Christ and artist that seems to be doing a lot of things that I want to eventually accomplish and she is doing it right.  I have already started jotting down some ideas for collection themes and makes the need of me learning Photoshop even more evident.  I was really struck with her style of making her images appear to be floating above the background almost like a sticker.  This is similar to my color pencil drawings when I apply a shadow line that results in giving the image a pop off the page or a more 3-D appearance.

I just might be a wee bit partial, but I really think my "Down Country Roads" art would look good on coffee cups, flags, pillows and stationary so I just have to convenience the corporate world of that fact.

So this summer I have a lot to get accomplished and I hope that I'm up to the challenge.


Mostly, I just plan to KEEP drawing and painting, like I have before but focus more on making collections with my sketching efforts.  Learn from successful artists already in the field like Becky Schultea of Plantersville, Texas.

Etsy or Ebay....That is an Excellent Question????

Way back in 2010, when I had just begun to paint, I thought the thing for me to do was to open an Etsy Store.  I think I uploaded a total of 3 paintings, got a few page views and one comment and quickly I became disinterested in the whole thing. Frankly, the thought of paying $ .20 for each listing and the fact that poorly painted canvas pieces were not a good match for that platform.  Fast forward 6 years and today I'm chopping at the bit to get my artwork out there on Etsy. 

My artwork has changed a great deal and I feel that with these changes the pieces are much more suitable for an online marketing venue.  My illustrations and drawings are becoming more popular.  I have chosen Etsy along with FineArtAmerica.com, RedBubble.com and Zazzle.com as platforms to get my images out there.  Etsy is a bit different than the last three vendors I mentioned.  With FineArtAmerica, Redbubble and Zazzle I just upload my images and if that image is chosen by a customer to be added to some merchandise such as a pencil bag, pillow or a shirt, they handle the whole process and just mail me a commission check. This is pretty sweet way to make some money with just a little effort up front but so far I haven't made enough money to even blog about it.

Etsy is more like a real store that I am in control of.  I handle all the orders and inventory and I stand to make much more profit on each sale. It's constant work and needs weekly attention from me but I think it will be way more satisfying overall.   Again, like anything worth while, it takes time.  I understand very well that this isn't an overnight process but rather a slow building of a fan base.  

I am no Etsy expert so this past week to help my store performance I started to do some research. Why re-invent the wheel when there are some really successful stores out there who have all four wheels rolling at full speed?  I want to sell art prints, cards and magnets that feature my artwork.  So I found a store called Paper Llamas that had digital prints of baby animals along with a number of other subjects.  I checked their sales statistics and was very impressed that they had sold nearly 9500 sales since opening their store in 2011.  Compared to my 1 sale these guys are Etsy giants.  I noticed that I posted just a single high resolution image of my art while they often posted images that showed their work framed and matted hanging on the wall.  They sold their prints both individually and in groupings.  Having them framed and matted gives the buyer a chance to visualize the art nicely displayed on their own wall.  That was smart!

Yesterday, I set up a staging area and tried to get that same hung art feeling by adding a few Christmas props and a nice wooden frame.  I used the camera on my cell phone but for my effort I think I got a much better image to compliment my work and promote my listings.  My shop received 3 favorites just yesterday alone.  That is a good sign.

My titles were a disaster.  I thought they wanted the title of the artwork but I realized after studying this successful store that this is where I need to get creative and add as many searchable phrases as possible.  I just made the artwork title the first line in the description because the image is from an original piece of art that I have taken the time to give it a name I want to include that name in the listing, just not on the title line.

They also used a variation drop down menu that gave them the ability to offer different sizes and prices for their work.  Seeing this was like a light bulb going off in my head.  Why have a separate listing for a card, a magnet or a print when I could accomplish it all with one listing?  My store will forever be much tidier and easier to manage thanks to this light bulb moment. 

My goals for 2017 for my Etsy Store is 75 products in my inventory, 500 individual sales and 100 favorite rating for the store.  I am going to also give ebay a try and see if the potential for art sales is there also.  Some artists swear ebay is better than Etsy and so I need to figure this out for myself.  

As I learn from my experiences, I will be blogging about what I have found to be successful and what has worked for me.  To sell an original canvas painting for several hundred dollars is great and I surely appreciate those moments.  They just don't happen nearly enough.  I want to supplement our retirement income with art sales and perhaps even allow additional income to continue even when I am no longer able to create.  I want to never be tempted again to take an accounting or tax preparation job. 

I have come to the conclusion in my own art path that brick and mortar galleries can only do so much to get my work out there.  I have to take ownership of my own promotion and art destiny and those small sales, I believe will add up and surpass any sale of the original piece.  I am going to be building my business one greeting card, one magnet or one print at a time.

Here is the link to my Etsy Store if you are interested in checking it out.  Remember it's a work in progress and this progress has really just begun.

Here are some images I took yesterday for my Etsy Store listings:  

The Start of my First Painting for 2016

I know the month is half over and I'm just now starting my first painting of 2016.  Seems a bit out of character for me but things have been very hectic.  I started out the year with some sort of respitory virus that really caused me to slow down and then last week I have the start of an ongoing family medical emergency that is requiring daily trips to the hospital.  I also know that the more hours you spend in the hospital your chances of catching some sort of sickness goes up exponentially and so for a second time this month I found myself once again on the sick bed.  So even with the best laid plans to make 2016 my ART YEAR, I'm here on January 21st and not having much to show creatively for the past few weeks.

I was able to add one sketch in my artistic journal while waiting in the hospital surgery waiting room.  I drew a jersey calf because I plan to start a painting.  Sketching details that you plan to add as components in your composition help you to understand the subject and also help you paint it with more accuracy.  This little sketch is only with graphite pencils and a little black ink but my other recent cow sketches are done using Prismacolor colored pencils.

After completing these two renderings, I decided that I really liked how the soft brown of the Jersey calf rather than the little holster looked against the blue of the morning glories.  So a Jersey cow it is with his big brown eyes and soft brown fur.  Now that I have actually started the painting on a 24x36 canvas and am painting it vertically for the emphasis on height, I have decided to add the mother cow to the composition.  I only have her roughly sketched in with a white pastel pencil but I think there was just going to be way too much blank space without her.  This piece is just roughly blocked in at this point and if I can stay healthy long enough I hope to make real progress on it this weekend.  I will share some progress photos of the work in my future blog posts so please keep check back.

If you like my work and would like to see more, check out my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com.  Also consider leaving a comment below.  I would love to hear from you.

2016- The Art Year

I have several times spoken about the influence that artist Tim Gagnon had on me in regards to starting my art journey. I thought, on this last day of 2015,  I would just remind everyone of his contribution and how his online lessons helped restore my confidence and enabled me to pick up a paint brush after nearly 30 years.

It was back in 2010 and I had just taken a drawing 101 course at the local community college with my youngest son.  I wanted to keep that momentum going by taking a painting course.  I stumbled upon Tim's 12-week online painting lesson while searching for alternative options to taking a painting class at the college.  My interest has always been with landscape painting and I figured that in a traditional college setting I might not be able to learn techniques needed to paint in the style I was interested in.  Not to mention the travel and time involved with attending classes.  Tim's online landscape lessons were perfect and I have been a fan of his work ever since.

Today, I saw that he was declaring 2016 The Art Year and was starting a new blog just for that purpose. He was saying exactly what I have been thinking in my own pursuit of art.  I have been doing a lot of questioning about where I want to be and how am I going to get there.  I've been doing a great of thinking about co-op galleries, art licensing and self-promotion.  What is been effective in advancing my art and what are actually distracting me from pushing myself towards my goals?

 I believe that I too am going to take up Tim's challenge to make this year MY ART YEAR and spend more time pursuing creativity and personal change in my life.  This blog that I have been contributing to since early 2011 will also be getting a complete makeover.  I encourage you comment about what 2016 is going to bring for you and to follow this blog.  Be sure to check out Tim's new blog at Tim Gagnon.

What....You Want Me To Talk About My ART?

I had no idea that the month of August is considered American Artist Appreciation Month but I do now.

This week, at the invite of artist Patience Brewster I decided to participate in a fun self interview.  Her goal is to get as many artists bloggers as she can involved and answer questions about their own work and motivations.  I thought about it for a few minutes and I came to the conclusion that  I love to Blog, I love Art and I love to Blog about MY ART, so I'M IN!

Of course the first thing I did was research Ms. Brewster and found a well organized website full of beautiful artwork on cards and ornaments.   Her work is whimsical and fun and I was immediately a fan.  Check out the ornaments of Patience Brewster yourself.

Here are the questions she asked of me:

1. As a child, do you recall a significant moment when you felt truly affected or inspired by any particular artwork or artist?

I can't recall a specific moment but rather my earliest memories are of me spending hours sewing, drawing and coloring.  I grew up rather poor in the hills of the Missouri Ozarks.  As a matter of fact, most of my childhood we lived in a 12' x 50' single wide mobile home that barely fit the 5 of us crammed like sardines in a can.  Barely one square inch of free wall space could be found to expose the shabby wood paneling behind all the piles.   I think my parents were more concerned about keeping food on the table then making sure we had exposure to art and culture.  That was pretty much non-existent until I got into high school. 

 I think it was this lack of beauty that drove me to my solace in art because even as a young child I tried to fill my world with color.  Since we couldn't afford all the the pretty room decorations and fancy school supplies I took to making my own.  I painted my school folders with acrylic paints, created my own stationary using watercolors and cut out giant flowers to decorate my little corner of the bedroom I shared with my younger brother and sister.  

2. As an artist, what do you hope to convey with your work?

 When I returned to painting a few years ago my goal was just to improve my skills and learn as much as I could about color and composition.  I certainly don't have some social agenda or a hidden message that I'm trying to convey with my work but rather just create beautiful images that others love to look at as much as I loved creating them.  I get confirmation of that each time I make a sale.  

3. What memorable responses have you had to your work?  

Some art highlights that stand out in my mind would be being featured in an article in "Gold Prospector" magazine.  I remember the week that the article came out and I had actually forgotten about it, but I had a complete stranger come up to me as I was displaying my artwork in front of Wholefoods in Henderson, Nevada and asked if I was that artist that was in his magazine.  He wished he had his copy with him so that he could get my autograph!  That made my day for sure.  

Also winning "Visitors Choice Award" is always a great honor.  It is sometimes difficult to understand the criteria that some judges use when placing awards at art shows but to have the majority if visitors at a show or that come through a gallery prefer your piece of all others is very much and honor.  I would love to hang a Best of Show ribbon among my awards someday but until then my visitor choice ribbons are very special to me.  

4. What is your dream project?

I would probably answer this question more correctly by changing the word project to goals because my focus isn't on one specific project as it is on long-term art goals.  Some of my dream goals I have would include designing artwork for  a company like "Leaning Tree" cards or to have my artwork hanging in a gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Both of these goals would be confirmation to me that my art has reached a level in a venue that I have always greatly admired.  

5. What artists, of any medium, do you admire? (Famous or not!)

I have always admired the work of Robert Duncan and I had the great pleasure of visiting his gallery last summer when his original paintings were on display.  The colors were more vibrant that I could have imagined and his ability to capture the joy of simple country life reminds me of my own simple childhood growing up in the Ozark hills.  His art moves me!

Tim Gagnon is really who I credit as the influence that got me to pick up my brushes 4 years ago and now a couple hundred paintings later I'm still going strong.  His 12 week basic landscape course helped give me the confidence I needed to start painting after a 30 year life break.

My husband's cousin is a successful artist from Powell, Wyoming.  Mike Kopriva is a nice guy and a great artist. That is a winning combination and what a perk that we are actually related!

From the first time I saw the work of local Las Vegas artist, Lily Adamczyk I knew I wanted to get to know her better.   Her landscaping paintings are amazing and I felt that I could learn a great deal from her about art and the business of art from her.   I'm so blessed to call her my friend.  Her critique of my work has probably been the single greatest factor in my skill improvement over the past several years as an artist.  She doesn't hesitate to point out what I could do to improve my technique or composition.  I've learned so much from her as an artist and a friend.

Putting A Little Action In Your Dreams

Well, it is that time of the year again.  You know the time that we all begin thinking about the new year that is too quickly approaching. It has been 2 years since I left the 8-5 workforce, so in my mind that marks 2 years that I have seriously been pursuing my art career.  I've managed to hit many of my early goals and targets but now I find in this current economy it very difficult to grow and really be successful.  It is a good time to evaluate your true motavation and ask yourself why do you DO art.  Is what you are doing a business or is it a hobby?  This is the first important question to consider.  If your art is simply an activity that you enjoy doing with no regards to the profitability of the activity then you are a hobbyist and there is nothing wrong with that.  I on the other hand want to measure my success by seeing my hard work and effort actually helping supplement our household income.  I want to end 2015 with a positive bottom line. The concept is a pretty simple one....I want to make money with my art.

So I have been considering some 2015 goals and doing some research artist goals in particular.  Today I actually began compiling a list.  If you are serious about your art being a business then you must focus on measurable goals.  You need to DREAM and DREAM BIG, but more importantly you must put ACTION to those dreams or they are really nothing more than fleeting daydreams. 

(1)MAKE $1000 A MONTH FROM MY ART-That is how my list starts.  I started my list by establishing a monthly profit amount that I would like to see me attain.  $1000 a month may seem small to many established and successful artists or it may seem completely out of the grasp of many that are struggling to get a sale.  I'm currently in that struggling category and so increasing my sales is certainly a priority in 2015.  

(2) REGULAR ART STUDENTS- A good revenue source that many artists can utilize is that of teaching.  Having students is a scary step because it feels like I need to have become an expert at painting in order to teach painting and that is so far from where I see myself.  I have been told that your art improves greatly as you begin to teach others so for 2015 I am hoping to find those that appreciate my style enough that they are willing to paint with me and pay me money for that privilege.  Having just 3 weekly student taking 2 hour lessons at $20 an hour gets me almost half way to my monthly income goal.   

(3) BECOME A LICENSED ARTIST- A second revenue source that I am going to start to focus on is getting my art licensed.  It feels a little like moving away from fine art, but there is money there if you work hard enough and I actually really enjoy sketching and painting in more of an illustrated style almost as much as painting a large landscape. Much of my weekly goals for 2015 will be focused on creating designs that can be licensed by companies and eventually provide a steady stream of revenue.  I joined a greeting card facebook group and I downloaded an excellent how-to book by Kate Harper.  I have also been reading some excellent articles on the subject.    

(4) FIND A CREATIVE ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER- In my researching articles about artist goal setting, I noticed on several sites a common suggestion.  Find a friend that can be your creative accountability partner.  Someone that can weekly motivate you to keep your time and energies focused on attaining your goals.  It doesn't have to be another artist, but someone who has an equal drive to attain measurable goals that you can meet with or talk to and share everything you did that week to reach your goals.  I'm thinking of creating a private Facebook group just for that purpose.

(5) FIND GALLERY REPRESENTATION OUTSIDE OF LAS VEGAS- Gallery exposure is key and I want to expand my exposure outside my local area.  

I have a number of other goals listed and I won't bore you with all my ramblings, but I would close with encouraging you to a notebook and pencil and start your own 2015 business goals.  I would also love to hear from you about your plans or suggestions on how you reach your creative goals.

Packing up the Baby and Saying Goodbye

If you are interested in viewing more of my work then please check out my gallery page on my website at : JulieTownsendStudio.com


The experience of packing up a painting to ship off to a new home is one of mixed emotions for me as the artist.  It is both exciting and a wee bit sad.  I, as I assume most artists do, pour their heart into their creations.  So knowing that it is the last time you will actually see the piece has just a bit of sadness attached.  That emotion is very quickly pushed aside as I realize that a complete stranger to me also appreciates my work and is willing to part with their hard earned resources in this prearranged exchange. 

So yesterday, we followed the steps outlined in a very helpful blog I read a few weeks ago about preparing to ship paintings.  We bought that 1 1/2 thick foam insulation sheet from Home Depot and cut out (2) 18 x 24 pieces.  Brad went out to the shed and pulled out two pieces of cardboard from our stash while I retrieved the tape gun.  I snapped this last picture as we secured "Dreams in Shades of Gold" for the journey to Tawas City, Michigan.

As an artist I have set myself a number of small milestones that measure my progress.  This act of packing up my painting was one of those milestones....Sell a piece to a complete stranger!  Up to this point every painting I have sold has been to a friend or acquaintance.  No longer is that the case.  I have achieved a small but significant goal as an artist and this morning my McDonald's coffee is especially tasty!

Packing up my painting for shipping to the new owner

Prints are available at Fine Art America site.  Just follow this link:  http://fineartamerica.com/featured/dreams-in-shades-of-gold-julie-townsend.html

Dreams of Shades of Gold

Look at the Birdies in the Window

Yesterday, it was my extreme JOY to pick up my painting from the correctly named "JOY" art show at City of the World Gallery located at 1229 S. Casino Center in Las Vegas.  When I arrived I found my painting prominently displayed in the front window.  I was reminded of the feeling I had some 35 years ago when I was chosen from among the students of Mr. Easton's art class at Eldon High School to have my art displayed in the front window of the library located on Main Street of my hometown of Eldon, Missouri.  I wish I had captured the moment with a photograph, but none was taken. To make my showcase week even more special, I was given the exciting news that a local doctor had fallen in love with one of my watercolors and wanted to buy it for $20.00.  That was a large sum of money to me.  At that moment, I felt like a REAL artist.  Back then, to create something that someone else actually was willing to pay money for was what I viewed as the criteria of a genuine artist.

Now fast forward through a lifetime of raising six kids, college classes, along with years of reconciling bank statements, preparing taxes and financial reports to December 29, 2012.  It was as if I was 16 again and my dream of being a REAL artist was rekindled.  You can rest assured that yesterday a photo was taken to capture my excitement.  When entering the gallery, I was greeted by the owner, Roz Knight and after a few comments about how wonderful my work is, the question was asked of me, "Are you showing in a gallery somewhere?"  A little more conversation, then me signing a contract and one of my 2013 goals was realized- My art hanging in a gallery!

So this week will be a scramble to get my work all ready to hang on my wall space in preparation for January's First Friday event on January 4, 2013 .  If you are in the Las Vegas area this week and have some time on your hands come down to The City of the World Gallery for the Thursday Preview or if you are brave the First Friday event and you will find me at the gallery, making my dream come true.