A few things I have learned as a self employed artist

There are a few things I have learned as a self employed artist. Two of the most important are unless you are already generating a lot of income, you should have multiple revenue sources and you should surround yourself with experts, especially in the business fields.

Multiple revenue sources also means creating more passive money making scenarios... like selling a product online while you sleep. I do think we should not overextend ourselves, and that these different things bring us more pleasure than not. (Meaning the work fits us.)

Finally, we should really educate ourselves as to how business works... and I mean learning from people that are successful. If you can't hire someone or are not in those circles, then read Art Calendar Magazine or other business materials. There are numerous books and programs for artists. But, stick with it. We should all have some consistency to our business practices the same as we do with our craft!

One of the cool things about being an artist in Charlotte, N.C. is we have great resources here through our North Carolina Arts Council (www.ncarts.org) and our local Arts & Science Council (www.artsandscience.org). They both offer excellent professional development in the business of art!

This economy is rapidly changing. Look at what is already working for you and what is not... and think about why. When we learn from the good and bad and others who have gone before, it seems we get "there" quicker. I hope we all get there soon!

Finished.

Here it is... finished. This is the painting-pastel and acrylic on pastel board-I created for the Mint Museum Uptown opening.

(The other one didn't make the cut.)

It's 20x16"... very atypical for me and I love it!

Next stage...

Here they are closer to the end... the orientation has changed, I added more pastel and will paint with metallic acrylics (with some pumice) a bit more over this stage... then hopefully, the finishing touches in pastel tomorrow.












Sometimes you have to finish work for deadlines. This is no surprise for an artist.

But this experience has been so interesting because of the very atypical painting style and subject for me. However, this diptych, inspired by the Mint Museum Uptown collections is really born out of my summer residency at McColl Center for Visual Art.

I was an Affiliate Artist there for from mid-April to mid-August (2010). I had an amazing studio and was able to pursue some bodies of work and do some media exploration that just wasn't happening for different reasons in my home studio!

I will post pics of the final paintings and if you're in the Charlotte, NC area, I hope you'll be joining in the Mint Museum Uptown Grand Opening this weekend. It officially starts at 5PM and runs 24 hours straight... ushering in a new season for my favorite city in the South!