Etsy

I am doing some updating this evening, with a glass of wine, after doing yoga. It was a nice evening so it would have been more enjoyable to have spent some time out in the sunshine, but when you have things to do and your friends are otherwise occupied, working with a glass of wine just about cuts the mustard.

I was hoping to add a new painting onto my website, but worryingly my website appears to be malfunctioning. I have no idea why currently. I shall leave it for the minute and check back in tomorrow, but then I may well be sending an email to my website provider, with WHAT? written in very large letters. It is not working quite spectacularly, it has never not worked before.... hmm, a little bit worrying but fingers crossed.....!

Instead I am going to open an Etsy shop as I can't do anything to my website. I have been wondering this evening whether it is better to to concentrate on a few different stores/shop locations or to really work hard on one. The same goes for social media. I am currently working on the principle that they are all worth a try, especially as some seem to work better for me than others. Without trying different ones you wouldn't be able to discover this and I can always close them later....

Jury is out.

Risky Business

Today's post is going to be a cheat one (i.e. super short) as I need to leave and catch a train, but I am trying to be well behaved and stick to my one a day blog post promise (although I will be having tomorrow off).

I managed to paint last night. The subject was a commission I have been meaning to for a while. The client was quite clear with what they wanted but I have done something a little different - a different view of the same place, in portrait not landscape, but the same colours and style that they asked for. I am pretty sure this is a risky thing to have done. I am in fact, not feeling very confident about it all, but we shall see. At least I can always sell it on regardless.....

Oh Laura.....!

Commission An Artist

I am cheating this morning, as I am replying to my DeviantArt messages now after proclaiming yesterday that I wouldn't sleep if they were still outstanding. Sometimes, though, even if you are a night owl, you have to make the executive decision to go to bed and do it in the morning instead.

I am also writing another blog post! BOOM! 3 in a row and only 35 to go (ouch). I am away at the weekend so I may have to cheat on Friday and write 3....that will be a test! Or maybe I should quickly just say I only meant one a day during the week. We'll see.

Anyway....I feel like I got an instant benefit from trying to pick things up again as I had an interesting email pop into my art account yesterday - I haven't had one for a while.

(Sidetracking..... I also had confirmation to go ahead with a commission, and a commission I already need to do which I am hoping to sort out this evening. That sounds more like it.)

The interesting email was from a company that deals directly with commissioning artists for individuals, corporate clients and community projects. They asked if I would submit my work so I could be put on their books, and apply for/be put forward for various projects. A slightly different angle to try and at the moment, the more exposure the better. Let's see if anything comes of signing up....

Eye of the Tiger

I have decided, I am not going to bed tonight until I have replied to all my outstanding DeviantArt messages. They have been outstanding for quite some time so I feel like it has reached that point where I need to make a concerted effort to do something about it, otherwise I may as well give up.

I have also written a list of outstanding blog topics I need to address. I am going to attempt to write one post a day until I have caught up with myself - hopefully this mission will not turn out to be wishful thinking and I will do it. I think the trick will be to write them first thing in the morning before I make a start with my work of the day, rather than leaving them until the end when I am either tired, painting, or hanging out with friends. All of this would be easier to accomplish if my internet hadn't decided to reduce itself down to a snails pace. My line seems to break periodically, has in fact been fixed three times, and I am pretty sure, broken again. It is still vaguely bearable - operating at a 2Mb download speed - it has broken before and gone down to 0.3Mb - it is certainly frustrating though, especially when I need to get things done.

Oh well, I had 26 things on my work to-do list to try and accomplish this week. I have already done 12 of them and it is only Tuesday. This seems like a positive sign.

I WILL get organised.

New Leaf.

So how do you turn over a blog new leaf? God knows I need to. I am slowly catching up with some art admin but not at a speed that would make anybody impressed. I am managing to paint, once in a blue moon, sometimes more often, often less. I am artistically frustrated but I do have a bit of a social life, and some money.

I didn't realise these would be the and/or's  - painting, no money, no social life, satisfied versus no painting, money, social life and frustrated.

Great.

There must be a balance in there somewhere if I could just find it. In fairness I am starting to manage my architecture workload better, get up earlier and plan art stuff into my day. I think instead of putting art last on the list, I need to put it higher up - maybe in the middle - so when some of my deadlines are met, I can take a break and blog, or write, or paint, or website, or plan. Just generally do what makes me, me.

The architecture is definitely on the up, the art is currently plateaued, dangerously balanced on a steep slope. I need to get this all going again before it starts rolling backwards.

Come on. We can do this!