How many artworks are in a show? I was pointing towards 7 or 9 but went nuts… what happened is that the 8 ‘big’ artworks are the show and the four smaller ones were added on because somebody told me that folks come to see the big stuff but buy the small stuff so I went buckwild.
Now comes matting, framing and marketing… I’ve said it a kajillion times, the doing-the-art part is a very small part of being an artist.
So in visualization, like mental affirmation, I imagine being at a big art festival like The Sunapee Craftsman’s league fair in the summer: It’s a beautiful day, and my white awning is set up next to dozens of other white awnings, each with an artist and her/his artwork. I’ve brought a drawing to work on because I expect to be sitting there kind of lonely and bored but no! Look at this, I’ve just set up and people are already checking out the artwork. First sale of the day not fifteen minutes into it! And then I’m shocked to just be a shopkeeper, selling print after print after print, mobbed and running my little paypal card swipe thing on the phone over and over. I have to run to the car to get more prints, call the sweety to have her drive some more from the studio! And at the end of the day I’m giddily exhausted and the inventory is wiped out, I’ve got $$$ in the bank and the whole thing was worth it! Totally worth it!
The thing that really kills that fantasy is matting and framing. Turns out it takes like an hour to frame an artwork really well. So that fantasy involves what, a hundred hours of framing? which means I’m not winning the lotto but actually working for the money after all, womp womp.
There are another three artworks in various stages of work… including one much larger one that I would need to set up a big clamped-screen contraption to make work. I’m looking forward to do that, but now I’ve got to focus on other things because, drum roll please…. money!
To get money, I’ve switching to illustrating a book for a client who swears they can pay for it (who knows?); and that will be my next ten artworks. Also I’ve set up an online store sunnydaystshirts.com/store/ to start selling prints, commissioned work, pet portraits and screenprinting services. And there’s always t-shirts to print, though that work can be hard to come by in the middle of the frozen New Hampshire winter.
Check out the store, I want to draw your dog!