Change

 

                                                                       Linda’s Web Page

I think it’s really important to be thinking ahead as a painter. Change is always on the horizon. I never put all of my eggs in one basket. I am constantly thinking about other opportunities for marketing and promoting my work. As our society changes rapidly, so does the art market and the way people buy art. Moving your work around as selling venues change, is the method I use to stay fresh and lively with my art. I spend a lot of time in the studio discovering new things and I must adjust my style and painting skills to my aging abilities. Having RA, hand tremors, and partial blindness are mere inconveniences.

In years past, street art festivals morphed into galleries for me.  After the recession it became essential for me to sell my own work as many galleries closed and that business model began to fade.  I still show in a few galleries but I am more comfortable as a self- supporting painter. Now social media, in the COVID age, has become much more important than the paint outs I did for 10 years.

 Watching financial trends, shopping trends and keeping my ego in check has helped me to survive in a less than stellar economy. Focusing my love and fidelity on my collectors and potential collectors is much more important than entering contests and winning prizes. I began to understand some years back, that competing and prestige among artists was not very important to my career. I don’t have to impress artists.  I want to please those people who love and support me with their hard earned dollars. They make my long career possible and I am humbled by their kindness. I know what my priorities are and I focus on them consistently. 

Life is wonderful for country painters.....

Be Generous

Linda’s Web Site

 Let’s be more sharing between artists. When I was a young artist I began to notice that established artists were rarely willing to share anything, especially marketing information.  Gallery owners tend to be that way as well. 

There is a tendency for artists to horde information, collectors, and even supplies, fearing what? They are afraid another artist will out distance them in popularity? Someone else will steal their collectors? They will have fewer sales? Someone else will win the prizes? 

Perhaps another artist is popular because they are kind and generous. Perhaps they live with a sense of gratitude toward their fans, followers and collectors, earning the popularity without harming other artists. Other artists cannot steal your collectors unless you are careless in your relationships. It is perfectly alright for collectors to enjoy collecting a variety of art. 

Selling art is not about how many paintings you sell. You don’t need to know if you are out sold by other artists. You are missing the point. I know an artist who brags frequently about being the most popular artist and having the most sales in his/her town. He/she doesn’t include the fact that his/her pricing undercuts everyone else’s prices in order to claim that questionable fame. 

As a younger competitive artist, I won a drawer full of prizes. You know what? I never sold a painting because of prizes. Prizes are nothing but an ego booster. People who only buy art from prize winners are shallow. Prizes are a capricious decision by judges from university art departments. I have judged many art shows in my long career. It boils down to personal taste. Be generous with artists coming up behind you. It will only make you a better artist, and person. 

Life is generous for country painters......

Tea Party Fun

 I’ve been expanding my menu for tea parties at my studio. I found some swell new baking ramekins, a soft blue color, that go with the plates I use for tea. Monday before the vaccination bombs exploded, I made six little shepherds pies in the ramekins, for afternoon tea parties. I will also be making little chicken pot pies for parties.

Expanding into real cooking makes me feel like I am back to my old and loved parties before Covid. I always liked to serve serious food at my parties. I am not one for the cheese and crackers or dip and chips food. Anyone who looks at me knows I like real food. 

My guests always get homemade food. A variety of sandwiches, fresh fruit, savory spreads, and homemade desserts. My next tea party menu will be: shepherds pie, chick pea and cucumber salad, fresh fruit, chicken port wine and cheese spread, and white chocolate bark for dessert. My friend is coming out in a couple of weeks to commission two paintings, so we will have much to talk about. I can’t wait to see her. It has been a long time.

Tea parties are wonderful for country painters.......

Career Mentoring

Linda's Web Page

 Mentoring and receiving mentoring is vitally important to an artists' career. I have had both sides in my long career.

For professional artists, I recommend a business mentor, not in the art industry. My best mentors have been lawyers, bankers, framers, accountants, PR experts, ranchers, farmers, and shop owners. Over the years I have had lots of help from the business community. Business people have a more realistic view of the day to day operation of businesses than artists do.

Another way to get mentorships are through business blogs, marketing blogs and podcasts. Many artists focus on art podcasts and blogs. I get the best help from business and marketing podcasts.

If you are starting out as an emerging artist, a studio art mentor and business mentor is vital for your career. I have mentored many budding artists. The frequent problem is that the mentee expects the mentor to do the work and give all advice. They expect the mentor to hold their hand and communicate frequently. That is the responsibility of the mentee. The mentee must ask the right questions and have a clear agenda for each meeting. The mentee must make the effort to utilize the knowledge regularly, understanding what information he/she needs. Mentors are not quick fix people. Using resources wisely will help your art career.

Learning is wonderful for country painters.......

Purpose

 I read an article yesterday in a science journal that reinforced my long time belief that being goal oriented and having a purpose filled life is the key to a well balanced, positive thinking mind.

The article research showed that purposeful life goals prevent narcissism, and mental instability. Goals promote independent and higher order thinking skills. There was no particular emphasis on the level of education. I believe that this view of life can benefit people at any stage or education level. My daddy had a third grade education, yet he became a successful machinist at a university because he was purposeful and had goals of self education. He was a prolific reader. 

A purposeful life keeps me busy. I don’t get caught up in the chaos and hatred swirling around. Yes, I care deeply about public issues. I put my money into support for organizations who fight for human rights, who fight to protect our planet. I don’t get involved in the shouting matches with unstable purposeless people. 

I keep to my goals both as a painter and person of decency and civility, helping those I can.  I believe most Americans are decent and patriotic, on both sides. I refuse to give up my conservative and independent friends because we don’t always agree. There are lunatics on all sides. I move forward!

Life is purposeful for country painters.....

Gratitude

Linda's Paintings

I’ve been on a course for a few years now to improve myself as a person and a painter. I’ve discovered the key to my improvement is simple gratitude. we can focus on the good in our lives, avoiding the chaos and meanness in our current world.

There is nothing I can directly do to end the violence, political anger and strife whirling around me. I simply inch forward one step at a time, helping other artists when I am able and wake up grateful every day. As I age, I have become aware of the rare privilege of being a painter.

We record the culture and visual elements of our time here on earth. We landscape painters record in our own unique texture and style of the life, earth, smells, and tastes of the places we live. We are highly influenced by the regions where we live and grow up.

I believe when we offer dignity, kindness, and appreciation to others, we are an example to those around us whom we can influence. Artists have great power, in that we are admired and are influential to our collectors and students. The way we behave is noticed by others. It is not just our work that we put out to the world, but also ourselves.

If you are an angry, resentful artist, frustrated about your place on the food chain, perhaps you are missing the greatest opportunity, that of being grateful to have this wonderful gift. No one forces us to be professional artists. We make that commitment, knowing that it will be difficult financially for most, and there will always be artists who paint better than we do. Instead of anger and jealousy, let us redirect ourselves into artists who are grateful for the privilege each day. 

Life is privileged for country painters.....

Momma’s Blueberries

Linda’s Paintings

 Blueberries always remind me of my momma. She was a fine gardener. She always had a good sized garden in the field next to the yard. She grew all the regional vegetables with abundance. She lined tomatoes up on every window sill to finish ripening. I can still taste that rich flavor of her tomato sandwiches with Duke’s mayonnaise. 

She also had a beautiful row of blueberry bushes, carefully tended. Even in her old age, she picked berries early in the morning. I can close my eyes and see her in her big straw hat and basket, slowly picking each ripe berry. She would wash them in the big green colander and make deep dish blueberry pie. We ate the pie with vanilla ice cream. 

I have been trying slowly to bring the fallow bushes back. They are full of weeds and have been neglected, no longer producing. In the cool months, I do a little cutting and weeding out small sapling trees. It is slow going, as I detest yard work. Eventually I hope to bring them back to their formal glory in honor of my momma.

Life is wonderful for country painters.....

Followers or Friends

 

Linda's Web Page

Followers vs friends is a topic worth considering. Social media has become a race for followers, to some artists. I know more than one artist who has given up their thoughtful posts on social media, because they don’t think people care about what they say. They don’t get a lot of comments, or large numbers of followers.

 

I don’t share my thoughts to get followers. I have about 1000 followers on Instagram. What does that mean? Nothing! I have never sold paintings on Instagram. Artists have the idea that these platforms are for selling art.

 

My thought is that social media is for friendships and admiration for others who do much to improve the world. I’m lucky to have many friends, due to my career. I’ve become friends with many thanks to social media. None of that is a popularity contest, nor should it be. I leave that mindset to the Kardashians of the world. Yes, I am deeply grateful for every painting I sell, but my posts come from the heart, stories of my life and career.

 

Every now and then I get a comment from someone who has never commented before. They tell me that they look forward to my posts each day. Who knew? It means the world to me. Every friend I have means everything to me.  Perhaps artists need to rethink social media.

Life is wonderful for country painters......

 

Painting Rut

 

Linda's Paintings

It is easy to lock yourself in a same old same methodology as a painter. I know painters who have used the same palette, same size format, same medium, brush work, and subjects for years. You will not know when they painted a painting, because their style never evolves.

 

A lot of pros get into this rut because they have gotten a market for this work. It is very slick and well done. If you do the same thing all the time, you get very good at it. I can understand their reasons, but there are high risks too.

 

Style quickly becomes stale and less marketable in terms of repeat collectors. Collectors love new work. If your new work looks like your old work, they tire of it quickly. If work doesn’t grow, anything new is unattainable, because the artist has not developed further with new skill. Some of my collectors like the struggle paintings I do, while studying new technique and new subjects. The efforts are far from perfect, but there is a fresh quality to the effort.

 

My most advanced work is trees and agricultural lands, but by trying other subjects, I feel excited to go back to my beloved trees after trying something new. Painters need to stay excited to grow and thrive. Give yourself permission to do bad paintings if they help you to learn and grow. I do.

 

Gifting Your Favorite Artist

Linda’s Web Site

There are ways you can help your favorite artists. I am hearing from artists who are very afraid. Their sales are dead. I have been lucky in that I have a very flexible marketing plan at all times. I paint for whatever situation I am faced with. Now I am selling small inexpensive paintings. They are keeping me going.  I am not the kind of painter who gives up or fails. I’ve survived many crises in my career. 

Some artists are inexperienced in marketing and unable to change their business plan to survive hard times. If you love your favorite artists you can help them in very simple ways:

1. Share their contact info and images of their paintings by email and on all your social media platforms. The more people who find an artist the better the opportunity to sell. 

2. Write a short testimonial for artists. Testimonials are a very important way to initiate trust for new art buyers. New buyers need to know they can trust the business practices of an artist they don’t know. Reading positive testimonials help to build trust.  

3. If you can pre-purchase a painting from an artist you love, now is the time. You may not have the resources, but I’ll bet you know someone who does. Be aware that tiny purchases mean much to artists now. It is a thrill to have sales of any kind. What might have been a thrill to sell a painting for hundreds/thousands of dollars in the past, now gives me a thrill to sell 20.00 paintings! 

4.  Chip in with a gift card for your favorite artists. Groceries, art supplies, restaurants all will be welcomed by artists during this difficult period. 

5. Gift small art to your friends and family. If you have all the art you can hang, buy art for others. That is a cheery surprise for someone to receive as a gift. 

Thank you sincerely to all who have bought paintings and who are sharing the work of your favorite artists. Believe me when I tell you it means everything! 

Country painters have a wonderful life........