Greetings Cards Sales

What a day! I've just driven 175 miles to meet two gift shop owners hoping they would take my greetings cards. Both of them did, but only on a sale or return basis which is a bit disappointing after such a long drive in the foulest of weather. And here's me loving to paint Scotland's moody, foreboding skies; just not when I'm trying to drive in rubbish visibility.

On a positive note, it gave me a chance to listen to Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; 4 hours of it.

I have no shame.

The Lighthouse Craft Fair

Saturday is my last craft fair, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll admit that I'm getting to the exhausted stage, what with all the talking and standing, but it's been worth it.

This is the poster for the event on Saturday and it will include not only the fair but artist demonstrations and origami for kids too.

See you there - The Lighthouse, 11 Mitchell Lane, Glasgow, G1 3NU.

Christmas Activities

Loch Dochart Winter, mixed media on canvas

This is the time of year when the artist has to sit back and my inner retailer/sales person has to come to the fore. If you want to make a living as an artist, you can't always be precious about your work, and Christmas is just round the corner.

I have to concentrate on all forms of my work, paintings, prints, greetings cards, fridge magnets, key rings and my new notelets. Today, friends and family went into their places of work, very kindly carting some of these items with them, selling to their colleagues on my behalf.

Meanwhile, I spent the morning on the phone speaking to the outlets which already stock my greetings cards and prints to find out if they need more (happily yes). I also contacted one of my local leading high street retailers to see when I would be able to come in in person to sell to their staff (over 100 of them), work that could act as small gifts or stocking fillers - I had already discussed this with the manager a couple of weeks ago.

My website and online shop are up to date and running smoothly, I can accept credit cards and my Google ads are running.

Now I have to just hope that when I post purchases to my customers, the queues in the Post Office don't grind me to a complete hault. While I am standing waiting in line for around an hour (no exaggeration) I hope I can at least plan the next series of paintings I want to start in January, and I really can't wait to start on them.

More abstract ones, using colours that are out of my comfort zone, I think - it'll make for some surprises along the way.

Extinct, Korean Tiger

Extinct, Korean Tiger

I finished this painting a couple of years ago. It's been hanging in my hall, and I've never exhibited it; I thought it was too different from anything I've done before.

I used all sorts of inks, gold and copper acrylics, glazes and Korean handmade paper (fabulous stuff).
Oh, and the writing is Korean. A lot of the letters are also extinct, like their tigers, and my Korean friends couldn't read it for me. I thought it was fitting. He's on canvas board.

But a couple of weeks ago there was a call for entries to an exhibition for an animal charity. I thought my tiger was appropriate.

And he just sold. I'm delighted, and surprised because he is so unlike my other work.

I now have a gap in my hall that needs to be filled. Yay.

March 2015
Since writing this post, there have been some developments. Yes, this painting was sold, but the gallery never paid me. I have tried to take them to court, but they closed up shop, and then reopened in the same place under a different name. I haven't exhibited since.

Astronomy Has Landed - At Last

Weightless, oil on board

I've just finished a new painting.

I've been working on it for months.

I mentioned a good while back, in my post Inspiration, that I was going to be working on a series of paintings inspired by astronomy. Well, here's the first one. It turns out that I find working on something abstract very difficult. But I think I got there in the end.

I have used layers of paint to try and get the affects I wanted, letting them dry, scrapping them away with all kinds of tools (a screwdriver included), getting frustrated with the colours I was using and painting them out.

It's such a relief to finish this painting, and I am already really looking forward to working on the next one.

Hopefully, it won't be as painful and frustrating to produce!

National Trust for Scotland

Holmwood House, a photo I took at the beginning
of December last year. My car got stuck. Ho hum.

It appears that I have a bit of a busy time coming up.

I am booked into the Brodie Castle craft fair on the weekend of 26th and 27th November, as I mentioned in my post Craft Fair.

And now, Holmwood House, another National Trust property, have asked me to take part in their craft fair on the 3rd and 4th December.

As a result of all this activity, and the preparation that has to go into it, I've decided to postpone my Studio Open Day until next year.

A hard decision, but given that I have to do a lot less when it comes to marketing, financially it's the right one, for the moment. And if the fair goes well in December, there is an option to attend the following one at Holmwood House on the 10th and 11th December.

Open Studio - Mind Map

I can have loads of ideas buzzing about in my head at the same time, and when I am like that, I have difficulty working out what I should be concentrating on. So I draw Mind Maps. Given that I am a visual person, I find it very handy seeing my ideas in a visual format, and it gets them all out of my head and onto paper which is a relief.

Open Studio Mind Map

I start off with one subject, in this case, my Open Studio Day (mentioned in my Immediate Advertising post yesterday), and draw arms for each subject that needs to be dealt with, for example paintings, insurance, merchandise, a date, advertising. Then I start to draw arms from each of these until all my thoughts small or large are on paper (or in the mind mapping software, in my case).

Now that the map is finished (well, for the moment, there is nothing to stop me adding to it), it's up on my studio wall. I've started picking out everything that has to be done, and working out when they need to be dealt with.

It helped me to pinpoint that my poster, and establishing a date round advertising are the first things I need to do.

Immediate Advertising

I'll change the image to a landscape
next week.

I'm thinking about having an Open Studio Day. It's a bit unnerving, inviting people to see what I do, where I do it, but I think it is the right thing for me at the moment.

In order to do this, I have decided to get my name better known in my local area, and have been working on a load of ideas (I'll fill you in as time goes on).

Here is a poster I am going to be displaying down the road from here. I'll be changing the image on it every week.

Tiger

White Tiger

I have just finished this painting of a white swimming tiger.

I originally saw him in Singapore and did a number of drawings of him, as well as taking photos.

Now I need to stop painting and plan my work for the next 2 months.

Oh, and I'm applying for a part time job that looks very exciting - wish me luck!

Craft Fair

I was selling at a craft fair on Saturday, and spent the week stock taking, making booklets, notebooks and greetings cards getting myself ready for the big day.

This is what my table looked like, and all went well. For me, fairs are just as much about selling as pointing people towards my website and collecting their email addresses for marketing.

I'm hoping that I will be attending another fair through the National Trust at Brodie Castle in time for Christmas at the end of November.

I am now planning my build up to Christmas, and have ideas swirling around in my head, including an Open Studio day in December, craft fairs galore, advertising and offers through my website and of course Christmas exhibitions at galleries.

I'll let you know what I do end up doing, but I'll just have to remember that I can rest in January.