Evaluating My Progress and Staying on Track

It has been A LONG TIME since I have posted a blog….like an entire month. Unacceptable I know… I feel terrible for neglecting you, truly I do, but there are several things that have gotten in the way of me staying current these last few weeks of the summer…

I spent a ton of time working on finishing some big drawings and stocking up on some smaller art. I focused a lot of my time and energy into preparing to show my work. My granddaughter, Kayva, spent 11 days with us for a summer “vacation” so we basically dropped everything to kick it with her exclusively and in all honesty…a piece of me avoided blogging because I have carpal tunnel in my hands and they go numb when I type.

BUT, I’m Back…

At the beginning of the summer I posted my summer 2016 goals.  Being that my summer is officially over (I went back to school last Friday), I thought it appropriate to evaluate progress and update my goals.

I started out with about 10 goals that were directly related to growing as an artist and to building my art business. So, here’s the scoop on what I accomplished…

Achieved…

• I wanted to enter 2 pieces of art to the Gateway to the Rockies Art Show…not only did I do that, I did more!

I entered a portrait of my daughter into a colored pencil competition hosted by The Colored Pencil Society. Entries to that show close August 15th so hopefully I hear something shortly after.

I entered 2 colored pencil portraits into The Depot Art Gallery local show featuring Colorado artists. Unfortunately my drawings didn’t make it in BUT I’m super proud of myself for trying.

I won’t know if I get into the Gateway to the Rockies Art Show until later this month but if I do, believe you’ll hear about it.

 

 

 

• I joined Odessa Denver–connecting the creative community in Colorado. I’m so thankful to them for including me in “The Tribe.” You can check out my feature page here.
• I am so relieved to have completed pricing and commission info for my website. This was a daunting task and something I was dreading. You can find all the info you need here and you can even request a commission directly from the site.
• I also planned to find an efficient and practical way to sell my art online. I have used a fantastic company that specializes in printing archival, museum quality art. Check out my online shop to view and buy available prints.
• One of my goals was to experience some art, not just make art, so I planned to attend the First Friday Art Walk in the Santa Fe Art District in Denver. I ended up going TWICE and had a blast both times….I’ll definitely be going again next summer. Jumped on the light rail and then hopped on a shuttle…no parking or walking to the event. I also attended the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, saw some beautiful art, ate some tasty food, and got tons of inspiration for the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• In an effort to get some of my work on display, I planned to contact the Coffee Place Cafe and ask to be featured in one of their displays…I’m excited to announce that I’ll be hanging several pictures in the cafe during the entire month of September.

Didn’t achieve…

• I’m still working on finishing Wendy Layne‘s Portrait Workshop...actually, I never really did more than purchase the supplies and viewing the first module  BUT I will complete the 12 course program…eventually.
• Although I feel like I created art all summer, and I definitely did A LOT of drawing, I didn’t attempt a still-life yet. Most of my work has been either portraits or florals.

Learned…

It has been a long time since I have been so intentional and driven to achieve something from scratch. In the past, I would set one big goal and focus on that.  But I am essentially trying to create something from nothing and I have realized that I can’t reach my end goal without breaking it down into smaller tasks. In the next week or two I will be writing another list of goals. Many of them will be continuations of the things I achieved this summer. Some will be completely new, created from what I’ve learned about myself and what I can do or what I need to work on.

A Huge Shout Out…

It was NOT a solo effort in tackling my goals this summer. I have a fabulous and supportive husband, family, and network of friends. My husband, Keith, has believed in me from day one and has told me for years I was talented enough to make it in the art field. My dear friend, Sarah, has been my biggest fan and advocate and dishes out the perfect amount of encouragement. Thank you to John, Sarah’s husband for promoting my work, all the kind words, helping me setup my first show, and for basically doing anything and everything he thinks would be helpful. A huge thanks to another dear friend, Jamie, who is a continual source of inspiration and support. She has joined me on every part of my journey. My daughter, Kira, is a gorgeous model and very well the reason I’ll be selling some of my art. Shout out to you ALL for reading my posts, liking, sharing, and purchasing my art, and your kind words. Even bigger things are coming…Summer 2016 was only the beginning.