How to be and how not to be a painter

There are , ups and downs of trying to make a living as a painter.

I am often asked for tricks and tips of how to sell, what to charge ? How to promote yourself, and I'm sorry I don't have a magic formula. 

I didn't go to art college, and haven't had any business or technical training , I've just learnt what I know as I go along , so my advice to anyone wanting to give it a go.

Go part time from your job to start with ( if you can) that way you have a safety net if your business is slow to get off the ground.

You will have good months and bad months, and it's hard to predict what will sell and what won't

Turn popular paintings into cards and prints , people are more willing to buy a card to start with than an original.

And say 'yes' to things, the more you do the more you learn and grow.

Be yourself , don't try to copy or follow others, your style and personality will help sell your work

Finally practice, practice ,practice..

 

I know how lucky I am to live the life I do , it means I can go out for coffee some mornings and still be able to paint later in the day, my life is a flexible one. This is the view from my coffee stop this morning....

 

 

 

but not everything always goes according to plan. Here is a lighthearted look at some of the many things that can go wrong..

1, Not cleaning my brushes properly!!!! I have been know to not always clean my brushes as well as I should . So when I am' in the zone' I pick up a brush quickly and use it without checking , thus ending up with an orange streak across white snow !! Or some other similar disaster , out comes the spray bottle.

 

2. This is a similar mistake to number one not rinsing my brushes properly between colours, and so when I am after a lovely yellow ochre I find a muddy ochrey blue mess on my stag or hare, out comes the spray bottle again!!!

 

3. The cat! I love my cat he keeps me company as I paint ,but he has been known to walk straight in from the garden and walk straight across my work, muddy paw prints are almost impossible to remove. He also likes to sit on paintings, overturn water pots  as well as bring in live mice !!

 

 

 

4.Tea!! I also love tea, but tea and painting do not mix, I have been known to dip my brushes in my tea instead of the water, spill my tea on a painting, leave my tea to go cold because I am concentrating too much . But I need my several cups of Yorkshire tea everyday so I shall have to lean to be more careful.

 

 

5. Children....I also love my children and they are older now so it should be fine , but they think I can drop everything when they call. Being flexible also means I am available whenever they need me.

 

6. Light this is more of a problem in the winter as soon as the natural light starts to go I find watercolour painting very tricky , I have invested in a daylight bulb, but nothing is as good as natural light.

 

7. Age !!! We all have this to contend with, I never needed glasses until about 3 years ago, now I simply cannot paint without them, I have a slightly stronger prescription than I need so I can see the finer detail. I so need a good chair that supports my back and the desk needs to be at the correct height.

 

 

8.Finally to be a good painter, to be able to create I need time away from the studio, a good long walk in the countryside, time when I put my brushes down and relax. Anyone who paints will know how tired you can feel when you finish it is because you have spent hours concentrating, obviously I am not as tired as a coal miner or a labourer but mentally it can be exhausting.

 

I love to paint in watercolour, I love the way it does it's own thing and I simply guide it around the paper, but I have my bad days, my days when everything ends up in the bin!!But it doesn't last long and time in my lovely Devon countryside, time with my friends and family ,and the support from all of you I know I will be back painting in the morning x