Christmas Gifts

This year for Christmas my ever-encouraging husband gave me a 16X20 pad of watercolour paper with the implicit instructions that I was not allowed to cut the pages into smaller sizes. Recently I had finally made the bold move of opening my professional 300 pound watercolour sheets that I purchased. These sheets are 20X30 each, but I wasn't bold enough to use a whole sheet - no - I cut off a small 6 inch strip and made that into three even smaller pieces before using them. For experimentation and practice purposes small is lovely, because watercolour dries quickly and I could work within that time on anything under 12X18. And I feel oddly guilty over spending money on my art since I rarely sell any - so for me it was mostly a hobby. And who is going to pay for a big item - right?

Sometimes, small is lovely. It's quaint, it's affordable, it's consumer friendly. Until I tried to create scarves and other larger items using digital copies of my work - the small is, well, rubbish. Print copies of real art can be always be made smaller than the original, but can only be enlarged about twice the size for most high end art prints. My dream for 2023 is to see my new work, the more fluid and abstract creations, on fabric as a blanket or large scarves and my paintings in art galleries. So if I am going to dream big, I need to start painting big starting with those new 16X20 blank sheets waiting for me on my art table. Eeek!

I have found that capturing a sunset, a giant cedar, or a looming mountain lose something of their beauty and awe when I try to capture them in small scale. And while only God has the vastness of the Universe as His canvas, going bigger has clear advantages when it comes to portraying the detail and magnificence of nature. Even a tiny water droplet or a single leaf gain power and beauty when painted at 200 times the original size. ARTDEX, Free Digital Archive And Social Destination For The Global Art Community, says this about the why size in art matters.

Investing with High Hopes

There are three ways that artists can make money, according to the business course currently being offered in Tumbler Ridge for young entrepreneurs. One is to sell their original art, the next is to teach others to make art, and the third is to sell items with your art on them. Currently I have sold 1 commissioned painting, maybe 6 original paintings to family and friends who know my work and love me (and I love you back!) and a dozen or so prints. I also host an art group, but being self taught would never think to charge for the small nuggets of knowledge that I hold as I gain more than I give by being a part of this group of amazing people.

I have recently launched my redbubble store hoping to provide more opportunity for my art to get out into the world, this took no upfront investment, but without big paintings most of the products available are simple small items like mugs, spiral notebooks, iphone cases and such. My husband's real gift to me was the encouragement to invest in my dream. In order to sell prints - you gotta have them to sell. We sat down and I got the whole family involved in choosing my print offerings for the Winter of 2023 (check out the page here) and which original images I will be selling (either framed or matted) at the upcoming art/craft fair in Tumbler Ridge, and then I put together an print order and stared at the cost. Eeek!

I have over 30 prints on order as well as mattings and frames for the chosen few originals selected to offer at the art/fair and while I feel like I went big with my investment, the truth is that I went small. The majority of the prints I ordered were single copies at 5X7 and 8X10 with the knowledge that most people wandering through the event don't bring hundreds of dollars to spend (especially right after the Christmas season). But prints are not like lettuce (which is also costly right now). They don't expire. So, I will continue with the next step of my dream and join the Dawson Creek Art Gallery and submit some of my works to be considered for a future showing, call local restaurants and see if they would be willing to display one of my works, and chat with the local tourist shops to see if they may like to sell some of my prints there.

Small Fish, Smaller Pond

I read and article my Melissa Chu, about the difference between thinking big and thinking different. She sums up her article with the following statement.

It reminded me of the marketing strategy by Seth Godin about being the "Purple Cow". It is not always how huge one dreams, but how one chooses to achieve those dreams.

My dad carves and paints loons. It is a very specific art form, with a very specific audience, yet he ships loons all over the continent (and possibly beyond) and has had loons in shops all over BC. He does it because he is loony for loons. He loves his art form, speaks to others about it passionately and isn't afraid to get out there and show his work off. He has an etsy shop called LoonLoverStudio, an even had some loons tucked away in he and mom's tiny camper when they came north to camp, saw an opportunity to show off his work and now has some in the art gallery in Dawson Creek. He's kind of a small fish - but he's feisty and his own kind of purple cow.

One of the wonderful things about finding your voice in art is finding what is unique about your art form. As I find my voice I hope to become my own kind of purple cow, distinct from other artists in my little pond and while I may be small, I too am feisty.

So 2023, don't count me out - I'm jumping in swimming!