Painting

066. From Blackout to Clarity

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People who follow me on Twitch know that I recently went through a 5 day internet blackout.
I felt so helpless and frustrated, and by the end I was really starting to worry about my business. I could barely connect to a signal using my phone, but when I did, I saw that I had Etsy orders and commission emails coming in. That is usually super exciting, but I need internet to run my business!

5 days might not sound like a lot, but when you go from being connected 27/7 on Email, Twitch, Discord, Instagram, Twitter, Etsy, Patreon, YouTube, etc... to suddenly have no connection is a shock to the system. Day after day I had no answer or hope from my ISP that internet would return, so I was just drifting along doing my best to stay occupied.

The silver lining is that I had a lot of time to reflect.
120 hours is a long time. Subtract 40 for sleeping and I still had 80 hours to fill over those 5 days.

At first, time went slow and I was grasping at straws. Every time I got an idea for something to do, I remembered it required internet. So finally, I did what any artist would do.
I created.

Within those 5 days, I ended up painting both commissions and studies, as well as doing some hiking & plein air painting.
I also decided to record all of it. I had a light-bulb moment that I could use my internet-less time to make as much video content as possible for my new Art-centric YouTube channel! GAME ON!

I ended up making 4 videos during the last 5 days, catered specifically towards instruction/education and inspiration. I made them specifically for YouTube so that I could start to build a library of helpful content for viewers. It was actually really fun - and kind of addicting!

Here's an example:

I used my 5 days as practice for what will hopefully be a routine. Eventually I'd like to regularly produce 2 videos per week. Now that I have internet again, and I'm back to my regular routine and streaming, I have less time to produce videos, but I now have a good strategy for using my time efficiently, and a better idea of what it takes to make these videos. 

Upcoming videos:
- Watercolor Mountain - Narrated Time Lapse
- Medium Wars (Forest Scene) - comparing Watercolor/Gouache/Acrylic
- Plein Air Sketchbook Tour (Plus added narration/video of me painting in each location)

In addition, I've completely updated my Patreon Page, in order to better match my current and future artistic goals. The changes mean I'll be sending out less physical content each month, but providing more videos, process photos, and educational content more often, which is something people have been asking for.

Patreon is an amazing way for artists to support themselves, while offering exclusive content to their supporters. 

Checkout my new intro video!

So, what started out as a disaster and worryfest, ended up being a period of reflection, production, and clarity for my business and goals.

I feel so incredibly motivated and inspired!! 

021. Paintalongs

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I've been meaning to talk about my Paintalongs for a while now.
A paintalong is a live art tutorial (online) wherein I walk through a painting from start to finish, thoroughly discussing strategy and technique so that viewers can paint along with me!

I started doing monthly Paintalongs in July 2016. They quickly became a huge success and one of my favorite things to do on stream! 
One of the best parts is that participants are sometimes brand new to watercolor, and they have told me it gave them the confidence to keep going and practice on their own. I'm so honored to be part of someone's artistic journey, whether it's inspiration, instruction, or general guidance. 

After each paintalong I ask the participants to send me their final pieces and I make a collage of everyone's work.

Not only have I received amazing responses from participants, but I've also learned a TON by doing these paintalongs. I discovered that since I am not trained as a teacher, in order to explain things I'm forced to break down the process from a beginner point of view, which helps me to understand in more thoroughly. I learn so much while I'm explaining things. An unexpected bonus!

I also found that by planning for these paintalongs, I have learned a ton about marketing, what people are interesting in, what gets people hyped, and that it's possible to bridge the gap between having fun and being candid, and providing a structured "class" environment! There's no need to have a boring stuffy tutorial in order to product fantastic results. Let's hang out, paint together, and make something beautiful!

This all started as a Patreon milestone (if I reach a monthly pledge goal, I do monthly paintalongs). So far we have met the goal every month, so I continue to do them! To reward my Patreon support, I upload the Paintalong videos exclusively for my Patreon supporters (the videos are not available anywhere else). I always try to think of ways to return the love to those who support me!