Celebrate!

2012 has begun with a renewed sense of direction. After a lovely 3-day holiday road trip, my mind cleared enough to reveal new ideas and focus. I am now clear about the direction I want my licensing to go and how I am going to accomplish it. What I’m really celebrating is that I realized I’ve been in my own way. I no longer “want to be” or “hope to be” and I also realized I don’t want to force myself into doing art that isn’t my style and to believe that if I paint what I love – bold, graphic and colorful – my outlet will find me.

Thanks for Sharing

In the months since attending Surtex I have scoured the internet for more information on how to make art licensing a successful career. I have discovered some fantastic blogs that have give me direction, inspiration, hope and instruction. This post is to pass on the links and if they ever find my blog, to say Thank You!

Wishing everyone a healthy and successful 2012. Enjoy!

http://www.joanbeiriger.blogspot.com/

http://katepitner.com/2011/share-ideas/

http://kellyraeroberts.com/learn

http://artlicensingblog.com/

If you find yourself painting a fruit bowl…

A note on inspiration. Signature Canvas is where my husband purchases the canvas he uses to build the panels we both paint on. They have a blog featuring an artist, an image of their work and Q&A with the artist. The August 3rd post features Tom Neel who has been selling his paintings for 24 years. He has some advice that spiked my interest so much I thought it worthy of passing along. The first question is “Tom, how long have you been painting and where do you find inspiration?” Part of his answer is this: “Inspiration comes to me from everywhere. I’ve never had a shortage of it or things I want to paint and I can’t imagine I ever will. If you jump into a painting class and only practice the “how” and not the “why”, you’ll be doomed to disappoint. You can ask how the Egyptians created the pyramids, but you’ll get a lot further by asking “why”. Creativity is just inspiration being expressed. If you find yourself painting a bowl of fruit or worse yet, taking a class to learn how to paint a bowl of fruit without any inspiration STOP! Find what inspires you first, and then find a way to creatively express that inspiration.”

I am an eternal student…I love to learn and spend more time than I should researching techniques and the how-to’s. At times, I feel this leads me to lose my focus and get over whelmed. So much to learn, so much I don’t know, when will I get the time to do this, I need this new brush or supply….yikes!  Mr.Neel’s words have prompted me to analyze why I paint the subjects I paint and has given me the inspiration to just paint and reinforces what I know already….the best teacher is more miles on my brush.

Be sure to read the rest of the interview on the Signature Canvas blog and scroll down to August 3rd post with Tom Neel. There are 6 more questions that are worth your time to read. I better go paint…

Back to the business of art.

Summer has gone and fall has arrived. Time to make the commitment to return to my blog on a monthly basis. Surtex was exciting, educational, informative and FUN! The seminars filled my head and notebook with the knowledge that I have been on the right path, but now I am armed with the map on how to move forward. I have been painting and sketching this summer, filling my files with icons and subjects I can build upon by creating borders and companion art. I am using existing art to work with in selected formats – round, square, and rectangles. Next up is a redesign of my website and creating repeat patterns. I left Surtex feeling “Yes, I can do this!”, encouraged not discouraged. I am old enough to be realistic about the difficulties ahead in actually making money by choosing this as my career but wise enough to know that I will regret not giving it a hearty attempt. Back to work – see you next month….

Why a blog?

I am preparing for my trip to New York City to attend Surtex – THE trade show where artists and manufacturers connect – to license art for use on products. Breaking into this field is my goal and I have been working toward that goal step-by-step for many years. Finding and creating my signature style has been the main focus. Now with a body of work I feel confidant about, I am jumping into the pool. Three days, ten seminars, and amazing artwork by other artists will initiate my first dip. Getting my feet wet is exciting and I am sure I will be completely overwhelmed. Fortunately, I will have my trusty sidekick and ever present support with me. My husband Don, already established as a professional artist, and I are bringing comfortable shoes and open minds to all things possible.