I am now 18 months into my life as an artist and it has been exhilarating and a challenge but in the best possible way. I am learning on the job and trying to do things my own way , trying ( if I can ) to be attentive and responsive to queries , and work through the problems the best way I can.
This is a life I only dreamed of but there is much more to it than I imagined. I have to keep up to date records of sales and commissions. Decide which paintings to make cards of , check the proofs and see if they look ok. Look into printers and print runs, decide how much to charge for a painting including the mounts and packaging. Decide on framers and frames the list is much longer than I imagined, and many things I decide as I go along. I want to be reasonable and fair .
I am sometimes asked to paint things I know will be wrong for me so I do have to learn to say no , I can spend a long time on a piece only to be told that it isn't quite right. I do understand and I learn from it but it can leave me feeling quite down for a day or two. When I paint I put myself into the work and it is difficult to be told it isn't right.
Then there are the weeks when I don't sell a piece , I work away in my studio and feel guilty that I am not earning a bean. You have a bad day at the office and you still get paid a bad day in the studio means no wages , luckily I have a husband who has a regular income , I am certainly not a starving artist
It is by no means all doom and gloom, I know no job comes without a down side. The last thing I want to do is moan I am just trying to be as honest as I can .I do feel my job is the best job in the world.
I work in beautiful Mid Devon, I get to spend the majority of my time doing my favourite thing, something I would do as a leisure activity. I get to be here for my family and children as they grow. I have been asked to do some amazing pieces and when a commission goes well it more than outweighs the feeling I get when it goes badly. I have been given so many new and exciting opportunities, and meet some of the kindest and most generous people ever, in the UK and around the world. I don't want to do anything else ,I want to stay true to my art and myself.
2 comments
I just discovered your work through Twitter (me: @copperwasp) and I think it’s wonderful. I’m looking forward to frequenting the store in the future.
Being able to do what you love for a living is such a joy but never easy. You deserve every success.
Having now had two original paintings of my own and two others for friends and family I can honestly say that your work is incredible. I for one have benefitted massively from your decision to be a full time artist and I can imagine there a countless others who feel the same. Needless to say I’ll be on touch again later this year for another piece to add to my collection!