Inspiration

074. New Watercolor Tutorial Video: Mountain & Lake

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I know... I'm the worst! I have been so bad since returning to Denver about updating my blog and making videos. 
In my defense, I've been REALLY busy with fulfilling Patreon orders, Paintalong tutorial (see results here), streaming, writing my book, studying, collaborations, commissions, and continuing the quest of selling/giving away my stuff.

All good stuff, business-wise.

So here's a new tutorial video for those of you who are learning watercolor!

In this video I talk about the benefits (and tricks) to painting on a small scale - something I do daily. I go through about 100 watercolor postcards a month, and it's VERY different than painting large. They are so great for studies, giveaways, gifts, etc. and really force you to look at minimizing a landscape to it's base elements.

When I'm painting these, I often ask myself "What are the minimum amount of brush strokes required to bring the landscape to life?" And what can I actually fit without making it too "busy?"

And just for fun, here are a couple images from recent projects and work around the studio.

Chinese Rainbow Mountains... probably one of the hardest mountain ranges I've ever painted. It feels so abstract!

Chinese Rainbow Mountains... probably one of the hardest mountain ranges I've ever painted. It feels so abstract!

Dolomites, Italy (practicing minimal brush strokes)

Dolomites, Italy (practicing minimal brush strokes)

The theme for May Patreon postcards!

The theme for May Patreon postcards!

Plus so much research, writing, and illustrations for my book! If you want to find out more about that, visit the official website and see previous blog post!

069. Urban Sketching & The Fear of the Blank Page

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Now that spring has sprung, I find myself giving up my snuggie and slippers for my sneakers and sunglasses. 

I grab my sketchbooks, pens, watercolor travel sets, and just go. 
Sometimes I don't know where I'm going, and I just walk until I find something that inspires me.

Sometimes I remember a cool building or sunny bench that I want to revisit.
The only constant is that I want to paint.

There is a huge difference in painting from a reference photo vs. painting from life. When you paint from a reference photo, everything is already flattened conveniently to a 2D surface that you can copy.

From life, your eye must decipher the depth, understand the shadows and highlights as the sun dances over the grass or through the tree limbs. This carries an added challenge, when you're trying to capture the scale, perspective, and colors of what you see! However, with just a little practice, it becomes much easier, and far more rewarding. 
In my previous post I shared my Plein Air sketchbook tour, and talked about how meaningful the experiences were when I was painting. 

Besides, there's nothing like a change in environment to get out of an artist block or a creative funk.

Time and time again, I find myself craving a good sketch/paint session, but have no clue what I want to make! So rather than fuss over it or overthink it, I simply GO! 
Seriously, I just throw everything in my bag and leave my house.
This creates momentum. That momentum steamrolls any of my doubts or fears, and from there, its no longer about "I feel like sketching but I don't want to ruin my sketchbook or I don't know what to paint" and it becomes "where can I sit and start sketching?"

It may seem so simple and obvious, but that is the difference between a stack of blank sketchbooks and ones full of stories, experiences, and adventures!

Plein air painting/urban sketching has become as much a part of my work flow as answering emails. 

This weekend I'm headed out into the Scottish highlands for a camping trip!

I ordered a GoPro so I can eliminate the tedious and inefficient process of filming my plein air sketching with my phone. Hopefully it arrives in time so I can test it out this weekend. I'm definitely planning on bringing my sketchbook and paint!

045. Positive Affirmations

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When is the last time you felt truly beautiful and loved?

A lot of times, we rely on others to make us feel those things. 
Outside influences - people, social media, news, etc. can send us on a roller coaster of emotions. 

Among all the chaos, we need to remember that we have control over how we feel about ourselves. It's not up to anyone else to tell us we are beautiful or smart or talented or brave. It needs to come from within.

"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." - Yoda

I truly believe in the power of my mind.

It may seem silly, but Positive Affirmations have been proven to work as part of a self improvement plan. The concept is to repeat the affirmations daily. You simply say them to yourself. Through repetition our mind is rewired. You may choose anything that helps you. Choose things that you struggle to believe about yourself. Here's a good place to start (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-carmen-harra/affirmations_b_3527028.html)

For example, each day I wake up and say:

"I wake up today with strength in my heart and clarity in my mind.
Today is a new day full of opportunity.
My potential is limitless.
I am beautiful and healthy.
I am overflowing with love.
I am courageous and I stand up for myself.
Happiness is a choice."

Every once in a while I will change my affirmations, depending on what I need.

Ever since I started doing these, I've been less anxious and more prone to peace. Not that it cures instantly, but I can feel it working. The power of our mind is incredible.

So take a moment to remind yourself that you are worthy of happiness, success, and love. Stoke the fire within, so that you may send it out and fill the world with those positive vibes.

042. First Page Phobia

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If you're like me, you have a stack of beautiful notebooks and sketchbooks, piled up and ready to be filled with magical creations. Their pages are crisp, clean, bright oceans waiting to be sailed.

Maybe they've been piling up for a while now.
Like...years.

I have First Page Phobia.
It's the fear of "ruining" a sketchbook, therefore I don't make any marks. I open to the first page, my pencil hovering just above the paper, my mind whirling between ideas and "don't do that.. that's a waste of paper."

Why would I let a blank page have so much power over me? I KNOW the importance of practice, and sketching/drawing is a hugely important step in developing my skills (even for painting). 
I've had lots of time to think about it, and only recently came to this conclusion.

Ego.

I'm not talking about the popular manifestation of ego - "I'm the best!"
I'm talking about the textbook definition: "the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity"
In other words, it's our sense of self-esteem. Our idea of ourselves.

When you sit down to a blank page, and you have the thought "I don't want to mess up," - this is our ego stepping in. We must learn how to surrender to the fact that everything we create is not a masterpiece. Our egos say, "No! We only create beautiful things that people will like!"
This is false. We cannot ever expect to draw anything beautiful without practicing, messing up, experimenting, and trying.

Rather than let the fear of failure stop us, we need to remember the importance of mistakes.

Making mistakes leads to improvement. 
Children are not born with the ability to walk. They crawl before they stand up. They wobble before they walk. They walk before they run.
They fall. They get up again. And eventually, falling becomes rare.

Sketchbooks are our personal spaces. They are not meant to be shared, unless we invite the world to see (in this day that means posting photos online). 
YOU choose what the world sees. I personally wish more artists shared their messy sketchbooks, mistakes and all.
It would remove the veil of perfection and instant mastery that admirable artists tend to carry.

Ways to get over First Page Phobia

  1. Skip the first page. 
    I do this almost every time I start a sketchbook. The first page always seems to be the scariest, most sacred page. It is the gateway to the sketchbook. But rather than let that fear of failure stop me from making any marks - I simply skip the first page! This gets me started, and whenever I'm ready (if ever) I can go back and fill that first page.
  2. Have a private sketchbook, and a public sketchbook.
    If you are concerned with what people will think about your sketchbook, once again that's the ego stepping in. Rather than fight those feelings - embrace them. Have a completely private sketchbook where you can fuck up as much as you want, write notes, and make random marks. No one will ever see it. At the same time have a "public" sketchbook - one you don't mind sharing.
  3. Make your first drawing something you love - something you're good at. Rather than get stuck on what to draw, stick with what you know! If you're skilled at portraits, or creatures, or landscapes, or architecture, start with that! 

The key is to just get started. Once you get something down on that first page, the rest is so much easier!

Do you have any suggestions to help get over First Page Phobia? If so, feel free to message me or leave a comment below!

036. How Do You Price Your Artwork?

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Today I'm going to dive into my method and thoughts on pricing artwork. I'm going to be brutally honest in this post. Please remember these are MY views based on my own experiences (7 years as a professional photographer, 2 years as a painter).

There isn't a magic formula that will work for everyone. But I'll explain what I went through to get to where I am now.

Fact: People want everything for nothing.

That's just the way it is. It's built into humans, probably going back to some survival mechanism. Now in a time of abundance, it still holds true. Can you blame us? It's awesome to get everything for nothing.

How many artists out there have had potential buyers ask why something was priced "so high," or request a discount or question your method of pricing a custom commission?

When it comes to your art, you can try to educate buyers, explaining that they aren't just paying for raw materials or time, but also your unique artistic vision.
Some might get it. Most of them will move on.

And that's OK, because the world is a big place. There are lots of other people. The last thing you want to do is undervalue yourself. That is a crash course for 1. being broke, 2. believing you are worth less.

Once in a while you run into people who truly understand the value of what you're doing, and are willing to pay what it's worth without question. When you do, you realize your true value as well. It's like their passion and understanding and desire to own a piece of your art is the equivalent of them holding up a mirror, and you see what they see. 

First, a little background (brief dive into my photography career, where I started). As I said, I learned the hard way.

Getting my clients to trust me and be comfortable in front of my camera was not always easy. As a photographer I was interested in capturing the genuine moments. I made sure that I was completely genuine around them, which helped. When they saw me geeking out about beautiful light, or fun angles, they'd loosen up and be natural. Eventually I built a portfolio of images that showed clients in their best, most natural light, and that drew more clients who wanted this experience. Their experience is worth just as much, if not more than the images. 

Photography is an INCREDIBLY competitive field. When I started out shooting weddings, it was right around the time that every photographer was starting to offer "unlimited hours" packages. This meant, the photographer would show up whatever time the client wanted on the wedding day, and leave whenever they wanted (usually after the send-off at the end of the night). Sometimes more than 15 hours (like showing up at 7am for "getting ready shots" and leaving at 2am after the party). This was accompanied by a fixed fee for the entire day.

As a new photographer trying to break into the industry, I went along with the trend and offered this option. I wanted to shoot at least one wedding to have something in my portfolio, so I advertised on Craigslist, Unlimited hours and photos for $200 (with the obvious caveat that it was my first wedding).

Guess how long it took to book a client?

1 day.

Yep, I was an idiot. I completely undervalued myself, because I honestly didn't know any better.
It was a wake up call the size of Mt. Everest. I shot for 9 hours, took over 2000 photos which took me 4 days to edit, plus the months and months of correspondence leading up to the wedding to go over itinerary and ideas. Other photographers offering a package like this charged minimum $1500.

I honestly didn't start charging what I was "worth" for another two years. I was hungry for experience and wanted to guarantee a busy shoot schedule so I could learn and grow. Plus I had a full time job so I wasn't desperate for money. Photography was my mistress on the side.

I experience countless clients who wanted as much possible from me for as little money as possible. Eventually, I had to put my foot down and stick to my guns when it came to pricing. 

Sure, I lost out on a LOT of business when I started charging more, but the business I gained was made of much better clients who truly appreciated my artistic vision. Less jobs didn't mean less money. It was less jobs, at a higher price, with healthier relationships and deeper bonds. This benefits everyone involved.

One of my weddings that was published in The Knot magazine and several other publications. This couple didn't question my pricing. They saw the value in what I provided, and as a result we both came out with an amazing experience and beautiful images.

You have to remember, there is ALWAYS going to be someone out there who undercuts you, no matter what business you're in, and especially in a creative field.
There is always someone more desperate, more cunning, more skilled, more naive, or any other number of things that lead them to charging less for the same product.

If you don't believe in your own value, how can you expect anyone else to? If you charge less, they will pay less.

If you charge more, they might pay more. And here's where it get's tricky.

Brutally honest moment #1: You have to take an honest look at your work and understand where it fits among your industry peers.

Sure, I wanted to charge $2000 right away for a wedding just like other photographers I looked up to, but until I had a few years of experience, my work was not worth $2000. That's a hard pill to swallow for some.

Painting

One of the first paintings I ever sold. To my aunt. 

When I started selling paintings, I still had my full-time job, so again, I wasn't desperate for money.

Brutally honest moment #2: If you are desperate for money, art is the wrong field.

Some artists make a TON of money. Those few, the 1% (or much less), are idols to a lot of us. They are living the dream!
And of course, we can all aspire for that level of success.

But most of us will make a humble living, perhaps barely break even, while pursuing the dream.
If that scares you, that's OK. It scares the crap out of me.

But if you read that, and still feel like you HAVE to create no matter what, that making money is secondary, then you may just find the type of success that truly matters.
True fulfillment.

And THAT is priceless.

While selling paintings involves a lot less client interaction than photography, I've realize that there's a ton of crossover between the two disciplines.
Also, my experience as a painter is unique to much of the established (traditional) art world, because it began online, while streaming on Twitch.tv

By painting while streaming on Twitch, my clientele was watching me create the work, yet surprisingly it didn't lead to them putting less value on it (like, I was afraid people would think, "oh that doesn't look that hard, why does it cost so much?"). In fact it was the opposite. Viewers saw me creating something from start to finish, and so they were part of the experience. Much like photography, that experience becomes part of us, and they want to take away a tangible item that expresses it = a piece of art.

A painting is more than it's materials. It's a piece of the artist. Something that was at one point trapped in imagination, came to life, and can now hang on a wall. How magical is that!?
All of the artwork I've purchased has come from a NEED to own it. It reached into me, grabbed my emotions, and shook me until I gave in. 

Pricing drawings and paintings seemed really arbitrary to me when I started out. I didn't go to school for business and I didn't talk to that many artists before selling my own work. At first, I under-priced everything. Again, since I had a full time job, I wasn't desperate for money. Painting and streaming was my new mistress on the side.

I started out by barely charging more than what the materials cost. However, after a while, I began to realize I wanted this to be a career, and I had to take it more seriously.

To my surprise, when I started increasing prices to reflect what I thought they were worth, my sales didn't drop. I was actually stunned the first time I sold anything for over $100.

I came up with a "formula" for pricing, that I still use to this day (except for special circumstances).
$Cost of materials + $Time ($50/hour) + $Shipping & handling
The cost per hour (time) is the variable. It includes prep, painting, and finishing.
You also may need to add sales tax. Consult your local laws.

I paint very fast. Like a fully rendered painting takes me a couple hours (or less). So charging a higher rate per hour is necessary to make it worth my time. 

But the number $50 per hour seems sort of arbitrary right? Not really. 
Look into any creative field at what the professionals charge (architects, graphic designers, etc) and $50 starts to look cheap.

DO NOT CHARGE LESS THAN MINIMUM WAGE! As an artist, what you offer is worth far more than a latte. Ok that doesn't exactly translate well, but what I'm saying is, the skill and vision it takes to create a beautiful painting is more valuable than the skill it takes to make a latte at a local coffee shop where you get paid minimum wage (I served coffee before so I can say this without hesitation).

Another strategy that I've seen artists use is charging per square foot of a painting. Just break it down! I personally don't use this formula because size doesn't effect the difficulty of the contents and therefore how long it takes me to paint. 

As your work develops, so should your storefront. 

Think about it. Compare the two paintings below and tell me which level of quality you'd pay more for (regardless of size).

If you continue to offer your older art on your storefront (like Etsy) at the same prices, it better stack up in terms of quality to your new stuff. Otherwise you're sending mixed signals to your clients.

This requires a constant purge and being REALLY honest with yourself (ouch). 

Can you confidently say that every piece of art on your Etsy shop (or whatever you use) is up to your current standards? Is everything you're offering representing your vision?
I found that by painting so often, the pure volume of my work was leading to fast improvement, and I was running into the scenario that what I posted on Etsy a month ago fell far below the quality of what I posted today. Now, that's all fine and dandy if I lowered prices on the older stuff, OR if that older stuff is still really good. But that was rarely the case.

Brutally honest moment #3: Stop letting sentimental attachment cloud your vision of what something is worth.

I can't tell you how many times I painted something, had a proud little "breakthrough" (like finally painted a good cloud), so I listed it for top dollar. 9 times out of 10 it didn't sell until I lowered the price to what it was ACTUALLY worth. Be realistic. Sure, maybe it's the best you can do, but don't forget to compare to industry peers. Yea, ouch. 

Brutally honest moment #4: If you truly LOVE something, don't sell it.

There was a point that whenever I created a new "favorite" piece, I would tack on an extra $100-200 because the thought of selling it hurt my heart. I've sold several pieces that I wish I still owned, because of how meaningful they were to me. I regret selling them. I regret feeling like I NEEDED to sell them.
So if it meant so much to me, why did I even allow the chance for it to be "taken" away by listing it at an absurd price on my storefront?

I was driven by the unfounded idea that, if it sold for the higher price, I would be able to pay rent, and all is well. 

For fucks sake. There are other ways to pay the rent. Feeling the desperate need to sell everything you make is just going to lead to misery. I am learning slowly that there are some pieces that an artist creates that are meant to stay close. When you create one of those, you feel it in your heart of hearts. Trust your instinct and keep it. 

Sell prints of it instead. Sell postcards and bags and tshirts. But keep the original. Your future self will thank you!

Final brutal advice: If your work isn't selling, hit the "books."

By this I mean, get off your high horse, and back into the studio. I do this myself constantly. The ego is a powerful thing. Sadly it comes built-in for humans. 

Study.
Work.
Advertise differently. (this is going to be a whole other blog post)
Study more.
Improve.

They don't call it a hustle for nothing.

Just because you made something doesn't mean it's going to sell. I used to list every single thing I made on my Etsy shop, even studies. A lot of times it was because while I was painting it, people who were watching on my Twitch channel were raving about how much they loved it. Or I posted it on Instagram and people asked "where can I buy this?"
But once I listed it, it didn't sell.

One of the first Seascape paintings I made (7 months ago), people begged for me to add it to Etsy. It never sold.

Most recently sold piece.

So, either everyone was lying, or it wasn't worth what I was selling it for. So I had to be honest with myself.
It was a study, Sure it was cool to look at and kind of fun and expressive. But was it worth selling and shipping? Probably not. But in creating it, my skill improved, and you better believe the next time I paint a fully rendered landscape that involves elements from that study, it will be good. And THAT painting will sell.

Ok so, I hope at least some of this was helpful. It's all just been me rambling about my own experiences. We mainly just have to be honest with ourselves. Work hard. Enjoy what we do. I'm sure in another year I'll have a new outlook. I'm learning as I go!

What are your methods? Do you have a success or horror story to share or a solid formula that works for you? I'd really love to hear them. Please feel free to send me a message or post in the comments below!