Jack of all Trades...

...and some would say, master of none!!

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

We’ve all been there haven’t we? When asked by strangers “What do you do?”, I do now, (it’s taken me a while!!) manage to splutter out the word ‘artist’…

The initial response to that is ‘What sort of things do you paint?’ followed by ‘How lovely to spend all day painting…’

Inwardly I sigh - if only!

To be fair, there are days when I’m in the studio mostly painting or out walking, gathering inspiration. But, even then, there’s a small voice in my head saying ‘Oooh, that would make a great photo/social media post’ or ‘Quick, make a note of that for your latest Substack post’…

If I had to make a list of everything that being a self-employed artist entails it would look something like this:

• artist

• accountant

• social media assistant

• PR promoter

• stock controller

• wrapping & shipping assistant

• blogger/newsletter author

• website assistant

• photographer/videographer

• editor

• secretary

• morale officer

Have I forgotten anything?

Let’s be honest, at times doesn’t it feel as if we’re spinning plates, running to and fro, trying not to let any crash to the floor…?

A looming deadline has given me the impetus to get on and sort out the ‘not sure/reject’ piles in the studio. So, it’s a case of down with the paint brushes and on with other parts of the job!

I usually have three piles of work; the ‘definite’ ones, the ‘maybes’ and the ‘no’ pile. I’ll give the ‘no’ pile another cursory glance just to confirm my original decision, before moving onto the ‘maybe’ pile. The following video is my rambling thoughts as I go through the work:

I will continue in this way, cropping, editing, discarding, until I end up with work that I’m happy with and that I love…

And then, it’s on with the mounting, framing - if required - naming, photographing, pricing, adding to website etc., etc…you know, all those other jobs!!

Some of the lovely things about being an artist are sharing my work, showing my processes, creating connections and being supportive of others…

One of the downsides of being on social media, is that there are always people who think it ‘great’ to try and bring you down…

Now, I’m old enough, and have broad enough shoulders, to not let such comments bother me. Needless to say, when checking their profiles, there’s nothing; no output, no work, no creativity… I’ve said before that I will accept constructive criticism from people who are in ‘the arena with me’ - referencing Theodore Roosevelt’s ‘Man in the Arena’ speech:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat”…

I’m focussing on my art and all of you lovely Substack subscribers - nearly 1.35k of you - my almost 3k Youtube subscribers and over 16k Instagram followers. It’s definitely a case of onwards and upwards, celebrating all the positives in my life!

And I certainly wasn’t thinking about those comments when I was enjoying a meal at the Michelin starred Hambleton Hall!!

It was fabulous!!

Oh, and for those of you who might be interested, here’s how those two concertina sketchbooks turned out:

Just the ‘sleeves’ to make to add a flourish to the ‘carry cases’, photograph them, add them to the website etc. - an artist’s job is never done - but isn’t it great!!

'Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.' – Wayne Dyer

Until next time, happy painting!