The first step in owning any business, is having a clue what to price something at. My understanding is: They just don't teach this in Art School. That selling your art is sort of a taboo subject. Which makes me rather grateful I didn't take out any 200K loans to go. That I went into the “real world” of business an learned management. The first step I learned to take, no matter what business I was in, was to do a inventory of the business. So I would know how much I was responsible for materially. What I was going to be held accountable for.


So when I decided I wanted to do art again.


I did something similar: I took out the old portfolio an considered it's worth.


But just like most artist: I wasn't sure what it's worth was. Or how to price it's value. A PNL is a profit loss summery document most businesses that sell something have. It shows the true cost of something. What your selling it for. How much your making off a product. An how much your inventory is worth. An a bunch of other details about your business in numbers that help you make decisions effecting it. Unlike other businesses I had ran, I couldn't just look at a PNL an see what the cost of the item was. Then add 35-45% profit margin to it an put it out on the floor. I couldn't do a survey of what others where selling theirs for, because they where originals. So, I stumbled for a while on what to charge. Just like most artist do.


An because I wasn't sure, it got me taken advantage of plenty.


My first customer was gracious: She recognized I was way under pricing myself because of lack of confidence in this department an paid me $100 more. After her, I thought about it a little more: But I was just so happy I made a sale an someone liked my work: I just kept churning out Artwork daily without thinking much about it. I wasn't worried about making a profit, living or anything else but getting myself back in the habit of making art. Disciplining myself to do it daily. An art sites I was posting to automatically priced it for me. I didn't know if it was, right or even fair.


I sold my first fractal print, to someone in California on Imagekind.


I made a whole $28 dollars for a days work, but that didn't registrar with me I had made less then minimum wage for a days worth of work. I was just excited I had sold one, an people where interested in my work. People started asking for me to do artwork for them. And I still didn't know what to charge. A band, was interested in using some of my fractal work as a cover for their album. Wanted T's of it...... all things artistically I could do: So I set about working on it but knew there was a right way to charge for Tshirt creations. I had paid them myself for the family business: Even with me doing the artwork for them for free. Spoke to a music producer friend of mine, who let me know I should have a contract an receive residual income from the album sales.


The customer was difficult.


Wasn't sure what she wanted: Vague other then the Tshirts needed to be cheap. So they could sell them. An she wasn't like my first customer, she kinda really did expect something for nothing in exchange for exposure. She thought nothing of my time involved in her little project. Which ate up weeks, days an hours of my time. I got the job done, but she wasn't happy an frankly neither was I. I still had a living to make but wanted so badly for it to work out. That I worked basically for $50 bucks. An was disgusted by the whole process because I didn't walk away from that experience feeling valued as person, or artist.


So, I put the brakes on selling art right there.


An sat down an thought about all my time that got wasted. This wasn't exactly her fault. It was mine for not understanding what or how to charge. An it was something I felt needed to be addressed before I took on one more client. Because working for “exposure” wasn't going to pay my bills. No matter how much someone likes the attention, or doesn't. I'm very much a pay attention to my art, not me sorta gal. If I personally wanted attention, I already had a venue I could get plenty of that from.


The whole situation, while successful wasn't.


An I found myself online, with people expecting a lot for nothing: Entertaining them for exposure. It's become a dirty word to a lot of artist. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. While you want word of mouth about your art: What you don't want is people under valuing you. I got cranky about it privately. My kids can tell you: I was pretty frustrated because I wasn't going to work for free.


So I sat down again, thought about how business really works.


What it really takes to get a Snicker's bar to market. Since I didn't have a PNL I could just look at: I was going to have to figure out what it was costing me to create a piece of art work. It was overwhelming because I can do just about anything under the sun a well. So I made a list of every kind of artwork I could do. An thought long an hard about how long it actually takes me to do each type of artwork. Because I decided right then: I was going to at least make minimum wage or I doing this. I'd just keep doing artwork as a “hobby” an go back into business management if people where not going to pay a reasonable price for something.


Period.


I think everyone should own art. I think it should be affordable to lower incomes just as well as the higher ones. It's not just a luxury item to me. I see art an design in just about everything an on everyone. From the art you hang on your walls, to the couch in your living room to what you wear. What you eat off. So narrowing this down for me, was a difficult task.


Cuz I see the art in a snickers bar.


So I had to narrow this down, a lot. I knew my basic traditional art portfolio needed to be worked on as an artist, so I went through that. All the different types of mediums I can work in an approximately how long it takes me to do one to do that one particular thing: Like shading a drawing with pencil.


I made it easy, an just used ten dollars as a base.


I wanted to be affordable, an at least get paid what I would an unskilled worker would. I sat an thought about every art subject I was could an was willing to do. Such as portraits of pets, children & adults. Houses. Landscapes etc. an how many hours go into doing one specifically.


An then I though about that snickers bar, again.


Not only does Mar's have to pay their workers a base pay, they have to pay for the materials to make it to get that base cost on a PNL. An that was what I was trying to put together. My wholesale cost to make something. I learned from the first painting I ever sold in high school that it should AT LEAST cover the cost of the paint you put on the canvas. Someone got pretty upset with me for selling that oil painting for $100. It cost more then that to make in just paint. So I researched cost of paints & materials, an came up with approximately how much they'd cost me just to buy to do the work. But the surface you paint on actually cost something as well. So I researched that an came up with a reasonable price list as well. But since surface sizes vary, an people want different dimensions this had to be factored in as well. I even gave them the option of matting or non-matted.


An because that person devalued my time so much, I charge a one time fee just to cover all the consulting time they might take up. Each art project has a set up fee. This covers time spent via the phone/email with a customer, the client discussing the project. I use the time to gather ideas, research and collect the details from you regarding your order. It covers approximately a 1-2 hours: the beginning & end of the project not to be abused. The service is non-refundable. I do this so folks will not abuse my time. They either value it or they don't. I don't want to work with anyone again who doesn't.


Factor in Travel time as well: Because gas cost money, especially these days. Mines just for a a three hour window. Locally. If someone needed me to travel further, or plane expenses, hotels and food would have to be charged as well. Because just like a Snicker's bar: It cost money to get it to market on the truck.


Thinking about everything it cost me to produce a piece of art, made me as an artist be more realistic about what to charge. An this wasn't me being over the top, or a high end luxury artist.


This was a base price of Traditional Art. It's true cost to make.
An this is the simplest I can explain cost based pricing for artist.


You can see an example at: Commissions


It's a list of everything that goes into making a piece of work. It adds up. An you can not be doing it for less then that. Or it's costing you money an your making nothing. An it helps if you think of it like a Snickers bar. How much chocolate, sugar, nuts does it go into making that candy bar. Nuts aren't cheap you know. Just like paint isn't. Workers to mix it have got to be paid. That's YOU. Equipment needs to be bought & maintained. Your brushes, your drawing table, your counters. Your studio. The candy bar has to get to market: Someones going to have to drive it to a location to sell it. Or pick it up. Or move it around a store, to sell it. It's packaging cost money. It's design on it cost money. Marketing it cost money.


All the things just to make it an get it to market: Cost money.


That is your true cost. An you would find it on a PNL if you ran a store. A brick an mortar business. Most business take that cost, an raise it to at least 35% to make a profit. Walmart does. Some big box stores raise a products price 45%. Grocery stores raise it about 25%. It's business.


An if you are a serious artist, an want to keep doing it:
You have to treat your art like a business.


Unless, you like working for free & nothing. I don't. I won't. The reason I won't is because it ruins the industry if you do. I happen to believe the art industry is important. That artist should be taught how to sell their art, so they don't ruin it for other serious artist. I can't compete with the idiot selling a drawing for $5 on the internet. I can't support my children doing it. Nor am I going to compete with someone who won't take art or themselves seriously. I don't want those type of customers. Let cheap ol buy from them. But they aren't going to get something of value from me, for nothing. Nor any other decent serious artist.


An this is how you have to look at it. The Cstore down the street isn't going to give you a Snickers Bar for free. Nor are they going to sell it to you at cost. They can't keep their doors open for you if they did. As an artist you have to look at it this way: Do I want to do it for a few quick bucks, loose money doing it. Not be able to afford to keep doing what I love or do I want to still be around in ten years able to?


I wanted to be able to keep doing art.


So I looked at it like any other business would who still wanted to be around. To succeed. I probably need to update my price list. I made that over a decade ago now. It's out of date, but it's a very good example of having some guidelines in pricing to go by. So you remember to charge accordingly. My cost per hour as an artist never really has dropped below $150 hour since I made that. My average portrait sales where always above $185. Which is extremely good in this over saturated market. The lowest I drop to is $129, an that's usually because I give a $20 discount as a referral fee.


Artist have to get their pricing down. You can raise them as you go but you have to start off as reasonable enough to live to begin with. I was always confident in my ability to do art. Always have been but found not having pricing shaked my confidence. People can an will take advantage of you if you don't. Which weakens your confidence in yourself. Not because your a bad artist, but because you do not know how to sell your art.


The best thing I did, was create some kind of pricing guideline for me to follow. It chased off anyone who didn't value me as a person. Who for some odd reason, didn't think I deserved enough pay for my work to eat. It established, me & my art are worth something. Charging base prices isn't just you holding yourself in high esteem. It's keeping your esteem in tack an that you time is important. That you respect yourself.


An when you respect yourself, others tend to as well.


That the work you do has importance, not just to you but others as well. That it's useful. Has meaning. & you or anyone else doing it deserves to be paid. Artist, designers, writers, photographers work gets seen so much these days: People take it for granted. They seem to forget it takes time an effort to produce quality work. It took me years of studying how to do this or that. It's a its a skill. So every time they pay me, they are paying me for years of expertize. I didn't just pick up a pencil yesterday, or a camera. I spent years studying, practicing an perfecting how to do something. When you hire me, your getting years of knowledge. Experience. To create what client & people want.


I don't give that away free.


The internet started out, with a debate about free source vs paid. So, a lot of people & businesses on it will give things away for free. People are use to getting content for free: Artwork for nothing because they assume it's always going to stay this way. Or if you take a good hard look around, they don't just give it away for free. Content that is being created these days leads back to something. An it's not exposure folks are so interested in but branding. But before you can even get to that stage realistically you have to take a hard look at this subject.


Cost & Pricing = Success.
Successful Business. Successful Artist.

An that, is what will keep you doing what you love.

From 1996 to 2001, I ran a website called Mommysbiz. It was for mothers, daycare & care providers. I did it all myself from programming, designing to producing all it's content. I competed with a company that had material resources an probably a full programming team an won. This site had everything on it from regular articles to preschool work sheets. It had a collection of fairy tales, children's song lyrics an lesson plans. Anything to do with babies, children or toddlers you could think of I used as content. An it stayed in the top ten rankings & had decent traffic because---


Content is King on the internet.
It is what drives internet traffic.


I had built a brand doing it an was just starting to monetize it when a few things ended it. One, my computer crashed. I needed an upgrade. I went through a divorce, costing me a great deal of money. An I got to the point I just could no longer afford to give away the house for free. I was broke and expecting my third child. So broke, I could no longer keep up with the cost of my host provider.


I lost my work.


Five years of work. Poof! Gone.


I had a backup of it but I let it go. I just had to much going on to personally to continue even though I was in the process of creating a portal---a network—similar to Facebook today. One only for care providers. It did get me job offers though. Even though I was doing it, an doing it right: I opted for returning to college to learn even more. So when I say: I explore something fully. I'm not really kidding. I learned about 10 different programming languages. An when I tell you, you can get lost just learning about computers, the internet & all the software involved I'm not joking either. What I did gain though was experience few have: Running a successful site the way businesses into today's market should.


If your doing Content is King: transitioning to social media isn't hard.


When I ran my site it was before Social media really took off. But when it did, I took a different approach. An one I no better then but did it for a few specific reasons. One, I really hate programming. I had burnt out on it. I grew tired of having to learn a new language ever so often. I got tired of having to purchase new software. Of re-learning something. I saw it as a waste of time because art is what I really loved. An business management is what I did for a living. Computers was just a means to a end to me. To do those things.


So when social media exploded: I went at it differently.


I was either going to get on here an it be about art, business or management. Or I wasn't doing it. The reason why: I was not going to see another five years of my life go up in smoke over something that didn't produce enough money to support me. Maybe as a hobby: I'd still learn new stuff but I wasn't going to waste anymore of my time on “pipe dreams”. Even though I still believe in the internet. It's power to change the world. A firm belief. I've watched it change mine. An so many others.


But the the loss of that five years worth of work changed my approach.


I just wasn't willing to loose anymore work an I did something: I know better then to do. I operated without a website. I posted on social media. I posted my artwork on other art sites because content is still king but I wasn't going to loose my content again. Especially artwork. I took the long haul approach. Leaving a legacy approach.


What do I mean by that?


Humm... well if I ever got into a personal financial crisis again. My work would still survive it. My data wouldn't be lost. I made bets on which sites would survive over time: in case a site, computer or backup ever failed. I would have records & copies of my work else where. An I'm glad I did. I've had three computers die on me since. Had to take a couple of websites down due to money crunches. An lost three backup drives of my work. I even lost my original art portfolio & some murals hiring a mover to move my stuff from one house to another. But because I was worried about loosing everything again. All my artwork has survived except a few things written when I first got on social media.


This is my biggest reason for telling other artist to join art sites.


To put the work in posting your work to sites like: Redbubble, ImageKind, Fine Art America, Devaint art. Don't just pick one but several. Most of them are free, an low cost an give you residual income in the event something should happen to you. Your website. Or your backup drives. It's extra work but it ensures a backup of your work while promotes you to others across the web. They get picked up an scanned by search engines & your work can still be found. You could just pay for a backup on a cloud site: but again. If something where to happen to you: like death, a long hospitalization or financial situation where you couldn't pay it: Or simply forgot to. Your work could be lost.


It's not full proof.


I've joined some sites, like Artist Rising or Art250 to see them fold an close up shop. But chances of them all doing it at the same time are slim. But the first thing you want to do with your work is ensure it's survival long past you. I didn't join these sites for residual income. Although it can be a nice stream I didn't expect to get rich doing it. I did it so my work wasn't lost. I will always have access to a copy of my work. A record of it.


The advantage of doing t his is it leaves a footprint across the web of you & your work.


I recommend water proofing it so it can not be easily stolen but see it as a must do. My site original site was giant. I lost a lot of work. So, my first recommendation before you even start creating artwork is always going to be: Creating several backups of it. One on your computer, two backup drives of it, a website & cloud back up of it if you can afford it and across sites that will last. It's not that I set out to make more work for myself, because posting to numerous art/photo an social sites is a lot of work. I just didn't see the value in doing something that could be easily lost.


An digital can be.


So this is the first priority in doing any kind of art, even traditional because even a actual original you can hold it in your hand piece of art work can be lost. Or sold. You will always own the copyright of it so you should sell prints of it anyway. I'm thankful, I took the time to take quality photos of mine for that. Because when I moved an they didn't make it to the new house. I about flipped my lid. Some of them took a day to do, others six or more months. An I didn't calm down over it until I realized I still had backups of them on these sites. Losing your work, is like a death of a loved one or child.


It's not something you want to go through.
This is the true benefit of being on these sites. While, there is a down side of driving customers to these sites instead of your own: The peace of mind of knowing your lifes work won't be lost far out weighs the few customers you might loose. That is the only down side of them.


Backup is the biggest reason I suggest using them.


Most have a free portion that will be maintained even if you can no longer pay fees to them. They will maintain them. The plus sides are: You will be part of a community of other artist. Have emotional support by other like minded individuals. The sites do promote art, an you as well. Not as much as I'd like to see them do for individual artist but it's better to be apart of something: then nothing. An like I mentioned, the search engines scan these sites: helping you promote yourself and get your name an art out there. It helps in branding your art. Gives recognition to you as an artist. I've been honored to be spotlighted on Red bubble. Included in articles on Imagekind an featured on other sites. It boosted my work. An on each one, you can drive folks back to your own website an on social media to learn more about you as an artist. Your work and your story.


It's extra work but worth it in the long run.


Helping you establish yourself as an artist. No matter what type. They made it easier for artist to be found. Twenty years ago, having someone find your artwork & site was harder. Websites only had one means of being found: Directories & search engines. Being apart of one of these sites drives extra traffic, viewers and customers to you work.


So it has added bonuses to make it worth doing.


It takes a little more time & effort but helps you brand yourself on the internet. An while you may not always be able to keep a portfolio website up: You will always have some place to direct people to your work. It's helped landed me commissioned work, apprenticeships, customers & jobs. Being involved with these opened up opportunities for me I might have never seen without them. An some artist actually do make enough revenue off them to make a living. Not all, but a lot do. So, I won't promise anyone a future taking this approach materially. But if you are in art career for the long haul. Leaving a lasting legacy of your art work.


I recommend involvement with the majors listed on my website.
Depending on the type of art you do, is where you will want to go.


I don't however suggest that you think you will become an over night sensation. There is a lot of competition on these sites. Sometimes I feel like my work is just mediocre looking at some of the other work others do. It's not, but sometimes we can get into the habit of beating ourselves up an comparing ourselves to others. Try not to. An if you catch yourself doing that, stop. Look at others work for inspiration. Or how to improve your own work without being internally critical.


I also don't suggest thinking involvement will create a lot of income. It hasn't generated tons for me but some. They say only 1% of one percent of artist actually sell work on the Internet. That it's a rarity. I have sold work, not enough to live off comfortably each year though but enough to know it's a valuable tool in branding my work that's brought me other opportunities in my “real” that did benefit me financially. I feel someone has to be honest about this. It's not a get rich scheme.


Art is work. It takes dedication. Discipline.


The one's that make the majority of the money on these sites is themselves. Yet, They are promoting art. The art community an offer a valuable service to artist. If your doing it to just make money, it's going to seem to you like a lot of extra work for little return: Unless you understand the a long term game plan in using them: Like backup of your work & establishing your art & branding it. Yourself.


Then the investment of time in them is worth it.


But content is King, still today on the internet. As an serious artist, you should have this in abundance. Content others want or can use. Don't loose it or waste it. Use it strategically to further your art career. In a way that relates to your achievements of long-term or overall aims and interests. They will establish your progress as an artist. Show your growth. Create a foundation of solid work.
Joining these art sites, gives you an advantage.
A portfolio of your work, that isn't easily lost.

Content is King, This hasn't changed since Bill Gates stated it in 1996. Some these days now are saying: “Content is King, but is anyone listening?” No. They are reading less. They are viewing more.
What are they viewing? Art. Design. Photography. Video. Etc
Artwork Is Content. It Is The Mother Of All Kings.

If nothing else Art is most certainly Queen on the Internet today.

It's more valuable then you think. Save yours.
Artwork is work worth the trouble of preserving.

People understand I'm an artist... but what exactly is it I do? I do it all! Seriously, it's probably why I'm sick. I worked myself into a frazzle. Cause I kinda am a “want to do it all” kinda person.

Which makes me what they call “stack-able” these days.

Instead of going to art college: I decided I'd just go get the entry level job that taught me about “Art” in the practical world. For example: I wanted to learn more about print because they hired graphic artist. So, out of high school I got a part time job at the local newspaper, in the in lower in house print shop as an assistant. I quickly got bored with making note pads an envelopes. The pay was awful. An found out the pay for the graphic artist was not much better, an left.

But in my early years, this is how I took art “classes”.

I just go get the entry level jobs an learn about it that way instead of paying for classes I couldn't afford. I decided I'd learn more that way. At the time, retail management jobs paid better an that's the route I went. I took one accounting class, an just focused on business as a career. It was a secondary interest I had. An I enjoyed it. I felt being in management was more stable then being an artist. I loved interacting with people & learning a new business model. I worked in taverns, restaurants an gas stations. I helped open new ones. I cleaned up old ones. I loved accounting, inventory, P&Ls, auditing an learning all about marketing in a practical sense. I loved the first of the month, rolling out new ad campaigns all the nitty gritty details of operating a business.

Up until 21 years ago, I just focused on my retail management business career & did traditional art “on the side” because I found there was an art to business too. Then I had kids lol an had to balance business, art an them. Then the internet happened an I couldn't help myself: Suddenly you could learn things they didn't even teach in colleges yet. I spent my free time teaching myself html, programming an how to draw on computers. I invested my time in developing a website. I learned all about how the to make the internet works I didn't spend my time just socializing on it like most.

To me, the internet was going to be HUGE. It was going to change the way people did business AND I was going to be able to do ART & business for a living. So I finally knew what I wanted to return to college. Before that I had just took the basic classes to get them out of the way. I just did not see the point of investing tons of money into a college degree when I could go out in the real world an learn it from the ground up hands on. But, this time was different: I had a vision in my head of what the internet would become. An it's here.

An there is more yet to come.

So about ten years ago, I decided I needed an to finally put an traditional art portfolio together an focus on art instead of my practice site: Mommysbiz for Daycare Providers & Parents. So what exactly am I?

I'm a Artist with a business management background an internet technology geek that does photography for a living while working on traditional art in her spare time.

LOL Hey, when your idol is Leonardo Da Vinci...

Your going to get into a lot of things. But it's turning out that taking the long way around to actually getting some art done is paying off. I can teach business how to market themselves correctly on here. I can teach artist and photographers how to treat their art like a business so they can actually support themselves doing it. Who would have thunk it?

Business Art & the internet is my mix.

What seems like a weird combination for me to learn turns out to be exactly what is needed in today's world. Because I see, really good artist struggling to sell. I see brick an mortar business still not using the internet correctly. Loosing out. But I don't want to be one of those “fly by nite guru's” on here. Most of them get on my nerves. They've all got it figured out an going to teach you in 20 minutes how to get rich on the internet. It doesn't happen that way folks.

It's complicated.

Yet you've got to keep it as simple as you possibly can or you will never get any artwork done. Nor make any sales online or off. An today's businesses an artist need to be in both worlds. An artist has to be both, an if you don't understand this: Then your a hobbyist an most of what I have to say or teach isn't going to be of much value to you. If your serious about being a successful artist, I will walk you through what you need to do on the internet. Business can learn from it as well. An we can get into specific businesses later: like photography.

Don't get your hopes up.

I won't sit here an mislead anyone it's NOT easy to do. It's very a competitive market even when you do not add artist to what it is you do. An you have to do more then a regular business on here to make it. But if your interested in the long haul, an leaving a legacy. I can walk you through what I do. I will go into details in with follow up writings. An I'll probably stick it all in a book later or something. I just want other artist to understand this is a long haul game.

It's not going to give you income quickly.

An only while art sales on the internet have gone up 40%, only 1% of artist are actually selling anything. It's why I'm not fond of the most of the internet gurus. They are making a living telling you it's easy when it's not. It's hard for a regular business to do this correctly to increase their sales but if it's done right you will. It's not an over nite thing. It's long term approach to having residual income an you will sell long after you are gone. You won't see results over nite from it. Think of being on the internet like a faucet, that leaks. It trickles at first, then eventually it gets turn on an pours.

An I can't promise you will.

An here's why: Not all artist are good. An I don't say that to discourage anyone. It's just a fact. We all aren't but what might not look good as a painting: might just look great on a piece of clothing. Or a coffee mug. An you get better at something with time. You could be loosey today, an be the best at something ten years from now with practice. Discipline. An that is what my approach to art, business & internet is about.

I didn't get good at anyone of them without putting in the work. So you have to be willing to do it daily. Or at least five days a week. Several times a day, depending on what your doing. My approach works, although I haven't been doing it as much being ill. So here's the run down:

You have to have art / product / service. It has to be good.

You need a website. Content is King. Your Art: Product or Service Write / Blog Do Photos Make Videos Voice / Podcast / Livestreams You have to have a portfolio of your work on it. It has to be updated regularly: Daily, Weekly, Monthly It has to have meta tags researched & Keyworded. You want to be found by search engines. It has to be simple to navigate & user friendly. It has to be eye appealing on the internet, tv & phone Example my Traditional Art Portfolio contains:

Fractal Art
Acrylic
Charcoal
Colored Pencil
Pours
Murals
Oil Pastels
Pen & Ink
Poems
Tattoo Designs
Watercolor

I work on it regularly. It expands me as an artist & shows what I can do. An I use it for content. I have probably over 350 pieces of work. It shows my progression as an artist as well. I can offer the orginals for sell right off my website. But I design as well an I do photography for a living. I have a portfolio of each as well. One for my clients to look up their session an order from. Book a session with me or for new clients to see they kind of portrait photography I do. An since I am a photographer, I have Specialty Art as well that's not of everyday clients. I add to that regularly, again creating more content. More stuff to be found by internet search engines: to get “my name” out there. Some of it simply gets used by other artist designing themselves. So I have a portfolio of clients others can see of my work. Plus a photography portfolio of:

Auto & Gas
Animals
Bands
Churches
Citys
Conceptual
Country
Dramatic
Emotive
Flowers
Garden
Holidays
Macabra
Musical Instruments
Park & Perserves
Quotes
Statues & Ornates
Social
Skys
Surreal
Tavern
Things
Word Art

I keep up with all these things on top of doing regular sells in portrait photography. You have to have real world sales! At minimum as a photographer I set the lowest goal of the day at 3-4 sessions when I worked full time. In season its 15-40 sessions a day depending on your location. Now that I'm ill & semi retired: I still do 3-4 sessions a couple times a week to keep honing my skills. I can't stress enough that you have to have real world sales an the ability to sell face to face. Either by setting up a location or studio to work out of for people to visit & buy. Or by doing art fairs. But this piece isn't about “real world” brick an mortar, which I can get into another time: Having a internet site is just as important as having a real world location. Think of it as the same. It's where people will go to learn & buy from you. An just like in real life you want them to be able to find it.

It's not enough just to have a website. You have to be found in and on search engines.

Ten years ago, many gave up on websites. Everyone had one, but they didn't understand what made one a good one or a bad one. They didn't put in a lot of effort to them an they failed. Or they didn't understand the science to them. If your doing this alone, like I have been all my life with no budget you can build one. It doesn't have to cost you much as long as you understand you have to keep putting content on it. It's like a living breathing thing: Just like someone visiting your studio, store or business. It will help you bring in more business if you invest time or money in to it. Ten years ago, their was about ten directories & search engines you could be found on.

A lot of folks gave up, it wasn't enough of a return on their time or money. Now it's a standard. Just as much as having a brick an mortar location. If you don't have one, your business / art isn't going to be found.

People research stuff before they go shopping.

So it's all the more important. An I could spend days on just talking about websites, an how to do them so you stand out in a crowd but I'm trying to keep this simple. So the average person can understand. Ten years ago, if you could keep yourself in the top ten of search engines, you'd be found. You generated visitors by word of mouth. One website owner, sharing another website owners address. They would all link together in a network or “ring” of sites. There was only one major social platform: AOL . On it you could pay an arm and a leg to advertise your brand. But you couldn't really sell art work that way. An most businesses didn't have that kind of budget. Let alone artist.

Selling for artist got done the same old fashion way: Word of Mouth.

Your buddy would tell their buddy, to check you out. Word of Mouth would spread. Sales still work this way. In real life and on the internet. But now instead of ten search engines, we manly have one people go to. An instead of one expensive social platform we have at least ten I can think of. Not only do you have to do artwork daily, sell regularly in the real world, update your website consistently. You have to be on social media! Businesses need word of mouth! But artist need it even more! You have to communicate to the world, your lifes work. There are at least 11 social platforms you should be on:

Google
Pinterest
Facebook
Youtube
Instagram
LinkIn
Twitter
Tumblr
Lifestream.aol
Podcast

And I'm sure there is more actually, but those are the majors. Some people insist you don't have to do them. An that you don't really have to update them much. An you don't if you can generate enough word of mouth without them in the “real world”. But if your interested in more customers, an getting more world of mouth is a good thing for you: Then you will. I could spend weeks on just this top alone.

Because it's not just about marketing, or becoming famous, how many likes you have or followers. Although those things may or may not come with it: It's about word of mouth: The best and oldest way to get what you do out there. I meet a few new people a couple of months ago. Never spoke to them in my life: but they knew: One I was an artist. Two: I was good. Three: I could do what they needed done. You can't buy word of mouth.

It's free and it's priceless.

Yes there is a right way to market on them an not offend anyone, without paying for ads. Which, I recommend for some an not others. It depends on what your art is. What your service is. Your product. I worked for one of the best studios to work for, CPI. In some of the best locations. An they have decent products, good service, great locations: but they could not beat the word of mouth on the internet. They could not compete with photographers on the internet. Not because they where bad, but because they didn't respond to customers on the internet. They didn't show their work as often as they could. So, great solo photographers grabbed the market because they where on social media. They showed better work & where doing the internet right. An they where getting all the word of mouth.

My studio went up 20K in sales all on word of mouth.

I had people traveling 60-100 miles just to come see me, do a session with me and buy my artwork. When the company was failing as a whole. Why? Because they heard about me.

All because I was good and asked them join me on social media & like my Facebook page. I'd get home from work, post my work of sessions customers gave me permission to an respond to them. The company as a whole didn't do that. They had great service, products an usually better photography but they didn't do that on the internet. An it hurt them enough to bankrupt them. So I can't even begin to tell you how important it is to have word of mouth: not just off line but online.

Now, that's about what it takes to run just a normal business real brick an molter business. The basics of it an I haven't even gone into details. An artist has to do one other thing, as if that isn't enough right?

Artist need to be on as many art sites as they can find. Why?

Your branding your name: Sometimes it's gonna be your name an your name only that sells your artwork. Remember, your wanting to leave a legacy that lives on after you do. That requires you be found as many ways as you possibly can. So search engines pick you up. You'll need to upload a decent copy of your art work on:

Redbubble
Fine Art America / Pixel
ImageKind
Deviant Art
Behance
Aritist.com
Etsy
Sedition
Society6

There are more then that and I recommend you get on as many as you can handle. I started out on ImageKind. To avoid the fees, I just posted my fractal art, a portfolio of the latest. You have to decided what your budget can afford. If you can be on all of them great. If you can't do what you can afford to. Most of the sites I listed are free, or low based. Your work will come up more in Google, generating more hits. An more sales. Don't expect the sales to make you a living. It's more about getting noticed, making a name for yourself and it living on after you do. A legacy. It does create residual income. Even if it's low, it's worth the effort. I personally just keep adding a site to put my artwork on.

I'm all over the place, so I can be found.

It's NOT easy. It's time consuming an only you can decide how much of your time it's worth to do this. My main portfolio of portrait photography is rarely seen. It's made me the most. I'd post it all if I had time to. Or owned all of it still. I myself, am getting away from that. My advice, is start with one of these websites, so you can sell prints & products of your work. Get a idea of how long it takes you. I'm pretty fast at it, so I can usually do a piece of work, post it to ten different sites an update all those social media accounts. Plus pay attention to people on them.

I have make the time to. I make the time.

I do mainly: Traditional Art, Design, Photography an thinking about going into the digital specialty art of photoshop manipulation. Each thing I do goes through this process.

Make the art
Update the website
Post to art sites
Post to social media
Sell the art

Sometimes it's reversed depending on the what kind of art your doing. In photography, it's smarter to sell it to them first, then post to social media. It just depends. But as you can see, I'm working four main things artistically an on about 30 sites to make that 1% of sales artist make on the internet. So when I tell you, it's NOT for the faint of heart.

I'm not lying.

I just mentioned art sites but graphic designers & photographers should be on:

Dreamstock
Shutterstock
Foap
Bigstock
Istock
Fololia

Some use Flickr, Pica an shopify. It depends on what your doing artistically. There's 3DOcean & Envato for designers or more tech savy. Plus freelancer for jobs if you think doing all those aren't keeping you busy enough. My point is, artist who are pretty disciplined about doing artwork to begin with make it. You entertain others with it as you post, creating more word of mouth. That thing, that most artist need to sell. I've been brought up on ImageKind, spotlighted on Redbubble an others told about me helping me out with my photography sales. Even if I didn't sell a lot online, it helped me sell a lot face to face in real life. It helped me get jobs in the arts. So while most artist don't have a marketing team behind them. Let alone a lot of money to throw around:

This is the way you go: Stackable.

It's a computer networking term, the takes one thing and connects it to many. It leaves a big foot print on the internet & in real life: A Legacy. I just have to remember I'm not a computer some days: an human.

I watched a program on Salvador Dali, the Surrealist the other day. Dali was one of the most successful artist of the 20th Century. He was worth millions, an died broke. He shouldn't have. He was a very generous man, an had always offered those close to him, loyal to him, that helped him sell his paintings 10% of his sales. To me, that's just a smart way to be. Reward people for being there for you. Supporting you. So, I intend to offer the same: I will give anyone: 10% of the traditional artwork sales you bring me personally. I will give $20 to anyone that sends me a photography client who purchases the digital CD. If you send me five purchasing clients, I will do a photo session for you for free: Give you a CD of the session so you can print them up on your own. To me, this is no different then Dali's way of saying thank you.

The problem Dali ran into, was trusting someone in his late years that didn't have his best interest at heart. They had him sign over rights to his copyrighted works. It was suppose to have been a trust, an the works go to Spain when he passed. But it didn't exactly work out that way. Now, I can only hope to be as good as someone like Dali by the time I pass: But I do worry about what will happen to my works after I'm gone.

I want the works to be in a trust, an my children to benefit from them. No one else. An I want that to be pretty clear. I'm on a lot of online websites. There are arrangements between those sites & myself as an artist to print & sell those works: but they do not own the rights to them. The rights, after I'm gone go to my children. If nothing comes of them, so be it but if something does. It's theirs to be divided up equally.

I'd like the unsold artwork kept together. Not divided or fought over. So it can be displayed. They can sell pieces, as long as all three agree to sell. It has to be for a decent price or the original is not worth selling. If they do sell, they have to make it clear to the buyer they, an they alone will always own the copyright of the piece. Only they are legally allowed to profit of it's prints or products. They need to be sure to keep a good digital copy of the prints. So they will always have residual income.

If my artwork never makes a cent for them: They've lost nothing.
But if it does, it's theirs an theirs alone.

With the exception of making sure they give the ten percent to anyone who physically sells one of the pieces. That's my “will” on it. Simple enough. So, why am I thinking about this anyway?

A few reasons: I'm getting older for one, an trying to recover from an physical illness: a breast cancer scare. Which I'm not really sure I've beat. I have to go back an get rechecked. I've had asthma attacks. Experienced a lot of sluggishness. Removed myself from any medication that could be causing it an all the doctors can only say for sure is that I do have a thyroid problem going on. The medication for it doesn't seem to be working. I have a great deal of tiredness an it's hard to get motivated. I'm pretty swollen up. My face looks like I've gone ten rounds in a boxing ring.

An for most part feels like it some days.

I'm not whining: I'm alive. Thankful for that. Slowly, I'm recovering from whatever is really physically going on with me. I feel better then I did a year ago. While I'm tired, it's no where near the level it was a year ago. It's not pure exhaustion.

An some people are just going to have to accept that.
An the fact, that their behavior wasn't so hot. Not that I'm perfect.

Because I'm not but when your seriously ill probably isn't the time to pick on someone. The only plus side of it is that people really do show you their true colors during a time period when you can't really fend for yourself. My oldest child wasn't there for me at all. She was to stuck on what I did wrong as parent to be. My son tried to be but verbally abused me up one side an down the other. The youngest was just getting kept away from me.

An the others, well is the reason I'm writing this.

When your sick, you really don't want people around you who will try to take advantage. It's really easy to “kick” someone when they are down. Your pretty vulnerable to whatever whim some get on. Defenseless. An you can forgive some of it, but not all of it. During it, your kinda well: They don't know. They don't understand. An well, they are the ones that have to live with it. It'll be their regret if ya actually kill over dead.

My kids, I can easily forgive.

Others, I'm struggling to because it's the same shitty manipulative behavior. The kind that picks you over before you're even dead. So I write this to protect my kids from it in the future. I'm human. I'm gonna die someday an people attacking me, my life, my character when Im ill it isn't going to change the life I lived. I won't have them rewriting my whole life to fit their needs. They weren't apart of my life for the most part a majority of it. So they don't get to say, she was this or that. They don't know me, an they still didn't get to know me. An it's their loss.

But I won't let it be my kids.

Dali, wasn't perfect. The man painted abstract pictures of masturbation in a time period that you didn't even talk about sex. His father wouldn't even speak to him after a certain point in his life. It was probably the best thing that ever happened to his art career. He no longer sat around trying to please someone he couldn't please. He focused on what he should have been: His art. If he sat around dwelling on OMG what's my family going to say: We might never have got to see all the wonderful things he produced. An I can't either just because four people I'm related to don't like me or afraid of what I might put out there.

Dali's dad refused to speak to him an life got nothing but better for Dali.

He left the small local scene, an grew into a international artist. Bigger then he would have ever been if he let his dad's approval or disapproval of his artwork have the last say. He might have censored it. Demanded Dali do something else. Behave differently. Ect. I myself can say, my son probably needs to rain himself in a little on social media. But I won't. It's his choice how he expresses himself an has to live with it. I don't always agree with what he is posting but I won't interfere with someones right to free speak. All I can do as his mother is say: That's probably not the best way to show the world who you are. It might come back an bite you in the ass. But for all I know it could be the right way for him. It might get him where he wants to be, doubtful but maybe. You never know.

Dali didn't have kids.

I doubt if he had he would have ever had to listen to he was a bad parent for going to work in his studio. I have. My “studio” just happened to be in my home office. Just because they couldn't see the artwork didn't make it any less real. Just because I can't display the 5000+ photo shoots I've done doesn't mean they weren't real work either. It's like saying my father never worked because he operated soly out of his house to do his work. Framing an rentals are home businesses. They are family businesses.

My daycare was out of my house.

Dealing with people that run on you for that is annoying. They will treat you like your just sitting around eating bon bons doing nothing with your time. Even if you built a empire doing it. So I really don't have a lot of use for the few that didn't understand it an went on in the backgrounds of my childrens lives telling them I was neglecting them. This would be like someone saying my grandmother did because she was watching her children and hoeing a cotton field at the same time. She was working & mothering at the same time.

To some it might have been seemed better if she just went to a factory job an didn't take them with. That is only because some can't wrap their minds around the concept of: Yes some of us took our kids to work with them. I'd took them to the gas station I managed if I could as well. In fact I did one day, take my son to work with me a few hours: Just so he could learn about what it is I did all day. I'd bring my daughter an her friends up to the studio all day too once in a while. So they got: I'm not ignoring you. I'm actually working. The only place I wouldn't take them much to was the bar. Unless it was daylight, a family meal or gathering: I saw no reason for them to be in it.

Parents have to work to support their children.

My children saw me work. All of it might not been as successful as I'd like it to be but I was working. They also saw me studying a lot. Going to college. Am I a bad parent for that too? The only time my kids where not with me, they where with my grandmother or another adult supervising in my home. I didn't like the Latch & Key way I was raised. I went way out of my way not to mommy by telephone. I was also home with them. They might not have had my full attention constantly but I was there for them if they needed me. It was no different then if I had taken them to a job with me. Its no different then me working on a painting in my own home. Mine just happened to be on the computer a lot. An they could not always see what I was doing. Nor could the person(s) that constantly runs me down for it. Just because everyone else was only online to socialized didn't mean I was.

So right now, I will apologize to my kids for being a space cadet. I don't mind saying, I was distracted. Or that I usually had ten things going on at once. No different then if I had took them to my gas station management job. I would have had to watch them, an do my job: but I did pay attention to you more then I was growing up. A lot more. An someday, my kids will have kids of their own an understand just how hard it is to raise children an work. They may choose to put their kids in daycare while they work. I choose not to most of it. I'm not the only one that choose to parent this way.

It made me working harder.

But I didn't complain about having a kid stuck to my leg 24-7. I choose to have you. I wanted you an I raised each one of you best I could with you with me as much as possible. Being a single mother is a hard task. An I am forever grateful to my grandmother for co parenting with me. She didn't have to. An I didn't make her. A good chunk of the time, she'd insist the kids come up to her house wither they really needed to or I wanted her to. What I am not grateful for is the constant criticism of me parenting all during it. Or someone interfering an robbing my youngest of years with me based on me living in a house they sold me or me being ill.

It's not fair to her. It never will be.

An I don't care what someone who has always only worked for another has to say about it. By all means yes, it certainly is easier. I get that, but it never leads to any great accomplishments in life either. Some don't get what it means to own your own business, successful or not. An you never had three kids teetered to you all through you work day either. I literally use to breastfed my youngest while sitting at the computer working on something. My son sat next to me all day long playing, napping or learning to crawl as I learned HTML. I was there for every diaper change, burp or gas movement for each one of them. Even if it meant I had to stop what I was programming, drawing or studying in college to attend them. An tell ya truth, it was no different then when I was a teen working or doing artwork around my little sisters needs. I wasn't a phone call away. I was there.

If my kids are mad at me about it, it's because someone has been putting it in their head that it was wrong. An that's all they do, is go on about how “wrong” I am. Even though, I flat out told one of them I'm thinking about writing a book an they stated “You should.” then play victim when I start.

How do you think Dali's career would have went had he listened to his Dad?

I can tell you from personal experience not so damn hot. He would have stayed local. He never would have meet the people in the surrealist movement an probably never seen the wax museum that so influenced his art. An Dali sold so well, not only because he had great art but because people all over talked about him. He stirred up controversy. He was known for it. It helped him establish himself as a household name.

So let the “haters” hate. Let them talk.

No one remembers who talked about Dali, or even much of what they had to say about him.
They remember Dali thou, an his art.

An that's what I would like my children to understand. I'm not doing this or that to hurt someone. I just don't need that someones approval or they few using you to get at me. It won't work. I'll just take more pictures, paint more murals an put out more content. You don't have to like it, but maybe someday I'll have a real Legecy to really leave you. Then you might understand. An if not, I'm sorry but your grown adults: An I like to think I've taught you all to think for yourselves.

Dali did, an I don't think hes a bad example to follow.

Tons said he was crazy too an whether he was or not. He wasn't really, he just really got okay with putting himself out there. Which, back in the day was unheard of, specially topics he covered. Because back in the day, you didn't even talk about sex let alone admit to masturbation. He shocked many not accustomed to a culture where nudism on he beach was normal. That didn't make him crazy. It just gave him the ability to have others question the status quo of their own cultures. It didn't make him crazy. It really just boiled down to being raised differently then anothers culture.

I don't regret the way I raised my children.

When I was 8,9, 10 years old, my grandmother use to paint all day watching me & my sister. I have found memories of being with her while she did. She would even let me paint, or dabble in whatever as well. She'd hand me the book she was learning from, an have a go at it myself. I still have those books.I'd watch Bob Ross with her, totally enjoying learning something new. An she would take me along with her to her sisters house who was a farmer, an artist herself. Her sister got into it even more, with her husband building picture frames an selling at art shows.

I enjoyed that part of my upbringing.

I thought nothing of buying my daughter a barbie computer, with preschool software to learn her ABCS. She could work on hers, while I worked on mine. An that was pretty strange to some folks too. Letting a three year old get on the computer an play. But I did. I made sure my son had a hot wheels computer an could enjoy it just as much as I did. My oldest started to hate on the computer, bored with it: I reintroduced into it being like a library because she loved to read. I made sure each kid had one, so they could explore their passions: Even if it was just Everquest. An I let my youngest get on social media, as long as she was safe about it. I'd take the time to check on her account. Who was on it, why they where an how she knew them.

My kids run computers better then most adults.

A skill needed in this day an age an if they ever wanted a career in it they could have it. Easily. My nephews in college for it right now. Learning exact same stuff I went to college for. When he was little, he use to play on my sons. An I don't regret teaching any of them a little bit about computers. Or what it was, I was trying to do for work. The kids get it better then most adults around me. Because they grew up playing games with artwork on computer screens. And none of them might not ever go down the arts bunny hole I have but if they do: It's certainly okay with me. This is where the future is going.

An I won't apologize for teaching my kids about it. Or working. Or working from home. Wanting to own your own business. Or Art. An someday, they are going to look back at it an go: Yea, that really wasn't all that bad of her.


But Dali didn't have kids, or a computer...but he did have one other thing I have: A admiration for Disney. He didn't work for Walt even though he wanted to. He ended up in the Twilight Zone instead an I don't much mind going there myself. Crazy, not crazy: As my grandma would say to me: “Who gives a shit” “Just do at least one thing a day an it will add up to something”

OH! and...“Practice” AND “Stop giving a shit what other people think” Best advice ever!
Given from one artist to another.

If your an artist, an on social media because you have to be: take a primer out of Dali's life. Don't worry about your families/”friends” approval. They aren't your buyers anyway. If you are worried about their approval all your gonna end up doing is painting flowers. Because flowers are about the only thing you can do artistically that doesn't offend someone. An the weather is about the only thing you can write about that doesn't piss someone off. Even then, you'll have a few haters. Focus on who encourages you. Not the ones who don't. An you'll find a lot more love, then hate. An for all you know, your hater could end up jump starting your career.

Dali's dad certainly did his.

I've spent my whole life focused on specific things: art from a very young age. My life has revolved around it home, family & management. I grew up in a family that started out as farmers that centered their lives around homes: Real Estate. My mother sold them, my aunt brokered them. My uncle built them. My grandmother rented them. An my dad remodeled buildings to rent. An I painted them from the age of ten onwards. Not very artist but practical painting!
I was so sick of painting versions of white by sixteen: I wanted to scream every time I opened a can of it.


But it did teach me to apply a skill I had from a very early age in the real world. My trade mark? My boombox playing in the background of everything I did. Music got me through everything. No matter how hard or tired I was. I had a belief in myself other kids my age didn't have. I could make a living at something I could do. It might not have been as artistic as I desired but it was a skill. Being a latch-key kid the rest of my time was spent watching my sisters, cleaning and managing the house. My life revolved around kids. After one of the adults got home, then an only then did I get time for art.

I didn't have a lot of time for socializing like other kids.I've spent my whole life focused on specific things: art from a very young age. My life has revolved around it home, family & management. I grew up in a family that started out as farmers that centered their lives around homes: Real Estate. My mother sold them, my aunt brokered them. My uncle built them. My grandmother rented them. An my dad remodeled buildings to rent. An I painted them from the age of ten onwards. Not very artist but practical painting!

I was so sick of painting versions of white by sixteen: I wanted to scream every time I opened a can of it.

I wanted to but it just didn't fit in the schedule. An I told myself, I could do all that after I turned 18. An I did. Partying became a “hobby” of mine. I took a bartender job up in Beloit just to get paid to socialize. Because if nothing else my childhood made me practical. The rest of the time I worked painting new construction. Staining woodwork. I worked Sharkys one nite a week, starting out as a “Shot Girl”. Graduated to full on weekend, an picked up another bar tending job at Rockton Wagon Wheel to learn “classy” bar tending. You know, mix something a little more complicated then Lady's Nite well drinks.

I didn't set out to open a bar.

But I did learn to mange one without meaning to. I got into retail management because I was a organized person. I didn't like a unpredictable pay check. Or working three jobs at once. Which I was. I went to RVC, took a certification course in accounting just to get away from what I considered at the time: a no where job. Just a phase of my life. It gave others belief in me that I could do more then just serve others or paint walls. I learned I liked practical sales, not sales jobs. I've been in retail management since. I believed I could manage millions of dollars stores. An proved it.

I believed I could. An did.

What I didn't believe I could do was sales. I mean, I knew I could because I watched my mother do them. She's good at them, but I also watched her go through the ups and downs of it. An I was actually very good at convincing people they needed another shot as a “Shot Girl” but I just didn't think sales positions where for me. I took what seemed to me the easier route: There's the candy bar on the shelf, I'll organize it. Clean it. Manage it. Make it look nice: You buy it if you want to. I'm not gonna spend my time talking you into it if you don't really want it. I liked PRACTICAL sales.
Not sales, SALES.

Or so I thought. I didn't choose to go into an Art Career because I was so practical about it. I wasn't into the idea of “starving artist”. I went into what I had learned growing up: Managing. Being practical. Being an artist wasn't going to make me a living. Only the best, an few make any real money in art. I ignored it as career option. Even though that's what I was best at. It just wasn't “practical” to believe I'd get any where in an art field. Except being a teacher. An I started to go that route returning to college in my 20's because I had a art teacher tell me: “If nothing else works out in art for you Dana, you can at least go into teaching.” Not even the art teacher, no matter how good she thought I was had a belief that there was any good way to make a living in art.

An here's the point of this whole piece: Belief.

What you believe is going to effect your whole life. I grew up being discourage from actually following an art career. I was encouraged to do art, just not to believe it would earn me much of living. I used the things I learned as a kid to guide my whole life. I grew up watching entrepreneurs all around me. I was taught I could turn something I loved into business that would support me an later on my family.. I was taught family working together is everything. An what I wanted to do for work, just didn't quit fit into being as successful as they had been. Or at best it was a “long shot”.

An you have to examine those beliefs you have learned or been taught.

I was taught to believe in myself, just not so much about art. Painting a wall is an art form. Believe it or not. A practical one. It's boring but can be therapeutic. An you can get so good at it you don't need a drop cloth or have to put up painters tap. But it wasn't going to provide me with income I wanted. It could have had I stuck with it but it was just too boring to a person who'd rather paint flowers on the wall. Or anything else that wasn't white. I'd do big jobs, commercial now an then to catch up on bills but it left me dissatisfied.

When my kids where born, I went into Home Daycare. Again being practical.

I wanted to be home with my kids, Do art when they slept. An got to use those business management skills I had learned. I believed I could do it. So I did. An I made a “okay” living doing something I could believe in. Being home for my little ones. Family: A Family Business. Again, my drive of wanting to do something, but having to be practical at making a living doing it. I had managed to get paid to be social parting in the 80s. An I managed to get paid to stay at home with my kids. Then, when my daughter was about six I got a phone call from my grandmother.

My dad had bought a bar.

I was the only one in the family that knew anything about running one. I was the only one that had any kind of retail management experience: Could you please go over there an help him. So, I did. I ran the daycare during the day. Worked at night running the bar. An picked up a huge commercial painting bid job just so I could afford to follow everyone else's dream but my own. An it was a success. Still is. I believed we could do it. An we did. As a family.

But when my father passed in 2007, an my children growing up:

I hit a full on depression because my whole life revolved around them. kids and managing things. I had spent years returning to college, learning computer programming struggling to raise the kids during it so I could be in a art field. An had landed right back into retail management. I wasn't doing art. An the only thing that got me through the grieving possess of loosing him and my grandmother was ART. I dived in head first into digital fractal art. I didn't care if it sold or not. Practicality went out the window. I had to do some art, or I'd loose it upstairs. I'd work my management all day an come home an do art all night. I finally decided by 2010 if I didn't figure out how to do something in a art field I was gonna go crazy. I spent my whole life revolving around managing this or that: painting walls an raising children. I had to get over this belief you couldn't make money in an artistic field. Everything I had learned an put to practical use over the years had been successful. Even parting. An not many can say that. So I had to get over this block I had. Or disbelief.

An it was deeply ingrained in me for some odd reason I couldn't make a living doing “art.” I'm still not sure why that it is, other then years of listening to people who are not artist tell me it was a impossibility to make a living doing it. So 2011 or so, I got determined when I was looking for a job. An it was bad. I was behind on a house payment. Pissed off what I had worked for was being taken away from me. An pretty close to getting my lights shut off. I just didn't care. I had to find a job that was going to actually be forefilling or go nuts.

You can only merchandise beer displays so much an tell yourself at least it's somewhat artistic marketing them an not flip the hell out on yourself. So I looked hard for something that would actually fit me. An got over the fact it was gonna involve sales. An FINALLY I found a job that incorporated everything I had spent my whole life invested in. And I didn't have to paint a white wall! Or get someone drunk to do it. A studio was looking for a retail manager. Must be good with children. Artistic a plus! We will teach you sales!

When I read the ad, I thought I had died an gone to heaven.

I've never been nervous at a job interview. I was at this one cause I wanted it so bad but practically needed it or me an the kids where gonna freeze to death if I kept up this craziness of wanting an art career. It was a god send! An it might not seem much to most, but probably taught me the most about getting over my phobia of not believing in myself having a career in what I loved. An it's definitely not for everybody. The hours are long, the attention to detail exacting an you have to really like people an socializing to do it.

It was a perfect balance of art, family and management for me. An I rocked it out of the park because I fell in love with it. Could believe in it.

I officially became the retail manger of a photography studio.

All my years of learning digital art, working with kids, family and the public in management had finally paid off. An I had some of the best years of my life doing it. I can't complain. But I will tell you it's not a job you can do if you don't believe in yourself. I don’t care how many guru’s you pay. It's not a job you can do if you don't believe in the art of it either. An it's definitely not a job you can do if you don't get over “art doesn't sell”.

I grew as an artist more my first year as a studio manger then I had in a decade.

Why? Cause the job makes you confront every self doubt you have ever had about yourself and your art. The first couple of weeks on the job, I didn't know if I was gonna make it. I really did have a lot of self doubt about my ability. And it was confronted by customers daily. People that loved what I was doing. I mean everything that could go wrong did. Right down to, the DM quit during my training. To not knowing how to even open the registrar on my first sale. I had to retrain my mind, to not be scared of sales. I had to make myself get out there every day on the floor an push myself to engage with people to bring in new customers. I had to get past being scared of rejection. I had to show people daily my work. I had to report in every day that I was in fact selling the art: photography portraits.

An to do that, you have to believe in it. An yourself. You have to have confidence in what you are doing. Something I had always had in every other area of my life. A belief.

You have to have a belief system in your life that works for you. Mine hadn't in one area of my life: art. An the job pushed me past a limiting belief, that art doesn't sell or can't support you. I kept looking for it. My whole life, an what I found was a self limiting belief that had to go in order for me to be happy. My life has been nothing but “do what you love” an the money will follow example. If it's not, you have to examine the roots of your value system an pluck all the self limiting weeds out of it. If you can't do that, art or the art of photography really isn't gonna be a career you can make it in. Your not just selling art, your selling a belief in it an yourself. An if your a slash an burn photographer selling it for less then portraits are worth your harming the industry.

It was very easy for me to get behind the notion that family memories are important an should be captured by a photo lens. An they are worth paying good money for. It was a lot of fun for me to get to part take in the artistic experience of it with others. I don't think I've laughed so much in my life. An there was nothing better in the retail world of being greeted by customers that smiled and where actually happy to see you. It was the perfect combination of life balance for me. But it took a lot of over coming myself to achieve it. An that all boiled down to belief.

So believe, but don’t be stupid about it.

Your looking at a girl that “followed her bliss” practically.

A woman that turned painting houses & buildings into a paid off home for her family. Turned a hobby of 80s parting into a rock solid tavern business. A mother who wanted to stay home with her children into successful daycare business an internet site. And manger that turned her artistic dream into reality that ended up running the district. It's never a matter of can you. You can. That just takes practice.

It's a matter of how to turn a belief into a reality. An that starts with your beliefs to begin with.

So take the time to examine your own beliefs. But believe: Because what you think, look for or invest your time in. You will find.