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.

2013- Year of My Sketchbook

I have been doing a great deal of blogging about sketching this week and have picked up that small tablet of blank paper and have done a couple of drawings.  However, I don't think that drawing a picture with pen and pencil really reflects the creative discipline that other artists put such emphasis on.  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to get a glimpse of the sketchbook of a very accomplished wildlife artist, John Seerey-Lester while reviewing this photo album on Facebook.  I just love the artist community that Facebook has created, because when I asked him about his sketchbook, I received a wonderful reply that I have recorded below that was not only informative, but very encouraging.  Please check out Mr. Seerey-Lester's work.  I guarantee you will be impressed and inspired.

I see that the sketchbook really serves as a diary or journal of sorts for Mr. Seerey-Lester and that excites me.  I am anxious now to start my own creative record for this year.  I plan on creating a separate page on this blog to record my sketchbook in hopes that it will inspire someone else to make that commitment.  I would love to hear from you if you do.

• 

  Julie Diveley Townsend I know this is a silly question, but is this a typical example of your sketchbook? I'm trying to sketch more but find that I'm sometimes not sure what to record for future reference. Just curious.

  
  
• 

  John Seerey-Lester Julie, yes this is typical. I sketch most days if I'm doing something other than sitting at the easel. I use a ballpoint pen to sketch then use a watercolor wash. I do about one sketch book per year. These are also journals and contain a lot of writing aswellas sketches. Every time we take a trip somewhere I do at least one sketch on location each day. For instance, we've just come back from Sanibel Island where I sketched the bird life each day. I have over 30 of these sketch books now and it's great to occasionally go through them and remember what you did, where and when. I also use them to record ideas for future paintings. Hope this helps ?

  
  
• 

  Julie Diveley Townsend Thank you for sharing. I know I'm told that making preliminary sketches on location are so key but I just haven't got the hang of it. Actually seeing your sketchbook gives me a better feel of what it is that I should consider doing myself. What a treasure these are for you I am sure.

  
  
• 

  John Seerey-Lester Yes Julie, I do treasure them. Try keeping a sketch book yourself and sketch in it each week. I think you will soon see the benefit. Good luck. Let me know how you go on.