Today is a milestone moment: the web site for pencilated is up and running! I have to pat myself on the back a little, but there's still work to do (the gallery, for example).
AND, although I thought I would be able to start the blog here and have it load to the website (yes, it is possible), after reading through the various hoops I'd have to jump through to make that happen, I'm thinking I'd rather just restart the blog over there and shut this one down (in a few days). Because my brain hurts.
www.pencilated.com
My own website . . . WOOT! :)
Apr 27, 2012
Apr 20, 2012
RESOURCES
Remember when I said I was starting this business adventure with almost no money? And that being self-employed meant I left my job doing one thing and now I do eight different jobs? Apparently that didn't translate clearly into a defined start up effort and associated toll on my beauty sleep.
(Okay, it did translate, I chose to ignore it.)
Can I just say (this one time) how exhausting it has been setting up a business?! I'm consuming orange juice and jelly beans at an alarming rate, because (failing that) I'm going to have to scare up some NZT-48 to get through all the manuals, web tutorials, and how-to articles I've been reading.
I digress. Getting back to my intended point: no money + eight different jobs = lots of (mostly) free software required! Here's the complete list of what I'm using and learning about just to get started with an online presence:
Other learnings (aka: R & D):
Etsy seller articles (the next online step)
Art Biz articles
Government legaleze
Grant writing articles
Blogging articles (specific to marketing, time management)
Marketing via social media articles
Beauty sleep articles
Speaking of, it's time to put those lessons to good use and go to bed . . . the Sandman calls.
(Okay, it did translate, I chose to ignore it.)
Can I just say (this one time) how exhausting it has been setting up a business?! I'm consuming orange juice and jelly beans at an alarming rate, because (failing that) I'm going to have to scare up some NZT-48 to get through all the manuals, web tutorials, and how-to articles I've been reading.
I digress. Getting back to my intended point: no money + eight different jobs = lots of (mostly) free software required! Here's the complete list of what I'm using and learning about just to get started with an online presence:
- Accounting/Inventory management: Quickbooks by Intuit. Paid software.
- IT assist: ESET antivirus and smart security. Paid software and totally worth every cent of the annual cost.
- Website development: Serif WebPlus. Free software. Takes the place of buying DreamWeaver ($120 - 400) or hiring developers for thousands.
- Website flash animation: Vectorian Giotto. Free software. Takes the place of JavaScript or similar, but only because I don't speak/read/have the time to learn detailed coding, and Giotto is made to be designer-user friendly.
- Image editing and (another) flash animation: GIMP 2.6 and Serif DrawPlus. Free software. DrawPlus overlaps some features of both Giotto and Gimp, but I wasn't sure it would do what I wanted for both flash animation and image editing. Takes the place of very expensive ($699+!!!) Adobe Photoshop.
Other learnings (aka: R & D):
Etsy seller articles (the next online step)
Art Biz articles
Government legaleze
Grant writing articles
Blogging articles (specific to marketing, time management)
Marketing via social media articles
Beauty sleep articles
Speaking of, it's time to put those lessons to good use and go to bed . . . the Sandman calls.
Apr 15, 2012
SKIPPING AHEAD
Today I had a meeting with a friend of mine, Jose, who is helping me with some of the web site design and implementation. He's also one of my mentors in this whole "making art pay the bills" adventure I've begun: he's been doing this for several years with a house payment, roommates, and two children to raise, so you can take it to the bank that I pay attention to his advice.
Not that I always take it, but I do pay attention!
After we got the web business talk out of the way and I had a better idea of what in the hell I needed to do next, talk turned to (as usual) A Plan for some sort for a collaborative art project. This year, since we'll be traveling across the country to attend my cousins' plein air paint-out in Oregon, we're going to try to make the trip a full-out marketable American artist experience. Game. On.
The tentative Plan is to take two weeks to get to Oregon by an as-yet-to-be-determined route, stopping at various locations for one- or two-day excursions. We'll have a theme. We'll blog our experience. We'll make lots of art during and do something with it after.
The first step is to figure out how we pay for the trip, as this will determine the theme and our route. If we can get a grant our theme will likely be something like The American Experience. If we don't get a grant and receive support from a non-profit organization then our theme will be determined by that organization's interests, such as Arts in Education or Children for More Vegetables.
The Plan is afoot, deadlines are on the calendar, ideas abound.
But first . . . the web site! After all, I've gotta have a place to showcase my work before I can really start generating buzz about it. Back to the grindstone . . .
Not that I always take it, but I do pay attention!
After we got the web business talk out of the way and I had a better idea of what in the hell I needed to do next, talk turned to (as usual) A Plan for some sort for a collaborative art project. This year, since we'll be traveling across the country to attend my cousins' plein air paint-out in Oregon, we're going to try to make the trip a full-out marketable American artist experience. Game. On.
The tentative Plan is to take two weeks to get to Oregon by an as-yet-to-be-determined route, stopping at various locations for one- or two-day excursions. We'll have a theme. We'll blog our experience. We'll make lots of art during and do something with it after.
The first step is to figure out how we pay for the trip, as this will determine the theme and our route. If we can get a grant our theme will likely be something like The American Experience. If we don't get a grant and receive support from a non-profit organization then our theme will be determined by that organization's interests, such as Arts in Education or Children for More Vegetables.
The Plan is afoot, deadlines are on the calendar, ideas abound.
But first . . . the web site! After all, I've gotta have a place to showcase my work before I can really start generating buzz about it. Back to the grindstone . . .
Apr 12, 2012
TIME MANAGEMENT
Today I'm thinking about time management. Time management, to-do lists, and cat food. Trust me, it's all related.
When I tell folks that I'm an artist and I work at home, I usually get some sort of response like "It must be nice to sleep in and work in your pyjamas everyday." My response is to smile and say something banal and agreeable, while inside I'm laughing hysterically at the absurdity.
As if! This sort of observation is like telling a stay-at-home mom she does nothing all day . . . and most likely to end the same way: a frying pan to the head.
And you leave my sock monkey slippers out of this!
When I was working the cushy, salaried job, I was able to telecommute from home if needed. The problem with working from home is there are sooooo many distractions. Pets demand attention. Laundry needs to be done. As a homeowner and landlord something always needs to be fixed. Neighbors or friends stop by because your car was in the drive and they want to chat or go to lunch for a few hours. It's much more difficult to stay focused and on task when you work from home; you are, effectively, trying to do one job (the paying one) while geographically located in the middle of at least one other job (your home and life, and, in my case as a landlord, the other paying job).
Every day has to be as structured as any other 9 - 5. Yeah, it's nice to actually sit down and eat breakfast rather than inhale a bagel while I'm rushing to get on the road, but I still have to put in a full day's work to make sure the bills get paid. Or, to explain another way: I left my job as a scientist and became an artist, a janitor, an IT department, an R&D team, a marketing group, a shipping department, an inventory manager, and an accountant. (Apparently I was bored at my old job.) I have to be all these things, and that doesn't leave time for sleeping in until noon. Or even 9am!
Managing my time is critical. But it needs to be flexible as well, because creativity sometimes has its own idea of what I'll be working on. I start with blocks of time every day for both my paying jobs (the studio and the house) and add or subtract based on the current day's to-do list or deadline. This way I've retained time for "emergencies" as they crop up, meetings with other artists or groups, etc. Then I start filling in with the requirements. 1 hr required sketching or working on a fine art picture (more than that and I start rushing the work); 1-2 hrs required working on crafted goods; block time on Fridays for accounting and payroll; block time on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for shipping; etc. You get the idea.
Most days I work 12 hrs. My life has devolved into a series of daily page-long to-do lists: when to update the blog, when to spend 2 hrs learning a new software program, when to spend time on a new sketch, when to get ready for the part time job, when to go grocery shopping. Looking at today's list, it looks like I'm slated to pick up cat food at 9pm--because The Boys are completely out of food, which I noted this morning after they were fed, and which prompted this whole post.
Yep. Time management, to-do lists, and cat food: required and necessary for working from home.
In my slippers.
When I tell folks that I'm an artist and I work at home, I usually get some sort of response like "It must be nice to sleep in and work in your pyjamas everyday." My response is to smile and say something banal and agreeable, while inside I'm laughing hysterically at the absurdity.
As if! This sort of observation is like telling a stay-at-home mom she does nothing all day . . . and most likely to end the same way: a frying pan to the head.
And you leave my sock monkey slippers out of this!
When I was working the cushy, salaried job, I was able to telecommute from home if needed. The problem with working from home is there are sooooo many distractions. Pets demand attention. Laundry needs to be done. As a homeowner and landlord something always needs to be fixed. Neighbors or friends stop by because your car was in the drive and they want to chat or go to lunch for a few hours. It's much more difficult to stay focused and on task when you work from home; you are, effectively, trying to do one job (the paying one) while geographically located in the middle of at least one other job (your home and life, and, in my case as a landlord, the other paying job).
Every day has to be as structured as any other 9 - 5. Yeah, it's nice to actually sit down and eat breakfast rather than inhale a bagel while I'm rushing to get on the road, but I still have to put in a full day's work to make sure the bills get paid. Or, to explain another way: I left my job as a scientist and became an artist, a janitor, an IT department, an R&D team, a marketing group, a shipping department, an inventory manager, and an accountant. (Apparently I was bored at my old job.) I have to be all these things, and that doesn't leave time for sleeping in until noon. Or even 9am!
Managing my time is critical. But it needs to be flexible as well, because creativity sometimes has its own idea of what I'll be working on. I start with blocks of time every day for both my paying jobs (the studio and the house) and add or subtract based on the current day's to-do list or deadline. This way I've retained time for "emergencies" as they crop up, meetings with other artists or groups, etc. Then I start filling in with the requirements. 1 hr required sketching or working on a fine art picture (more than that and I start rushing the work); 1-2 hrs required working on crafted goods; block time on Fridays for accounting and payroll; block time on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for shipping; etc. You get the idea.
Most days I work 12 hrs. My life has devolved into a series of daily page-long to-do lists: when to update the blog, when to spend 2 hrs learning a new software program, when to spend time on a new sketch, when to get ready for the part time job, when to go grocery shopping. Looking at today's list, it looks like I'm slated to pick up cat food at 9pm--because The Boys are completely out of food, which I noted this morning after they were fed, and which prompted this whole post.
Yep. Time management, to-do lists, and cat food: required and necessary for working from home.
In my slippers.
Apr 9, 2012
GETTING STARTED
A couple of months ago I decided to leave my cushy salaried job in the private sector and try my hand at being a professional artist. Preferably not the starving variety. And, truth be told, the decision wasn't entirely mine, so any hopes of banking a solid year's worth of expenses until the movie rights and book deal came through weren't going to be realized. I had $500 in savings, a garage full of various art materials, a frequent-flyer public library card, and some natural talent.
Seriously, what could possibly go wrong?
Yes, I live a rich fantasy life, and I'll thank you not to douse me with cold water until after I've had something featured at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. A girl's gotta have her dreams.
I prefer to work in colored pencil thanks to the perfectionist gene I inherited from my dad--the pencil gives me the fine, pointed detail I need to reproduce what I see with my eyes. Forget brushes, they frustrate me to no end (though I'm working on that). Pencil is where it's at for me. And this is what I do with them:
Took me about 5 hours to do that, though I did put in another hour to deepen the shadows after I took this picture. I have very little art or studio education behind me--I took one drawing course and one watercolor course in college--the rest is just . . . what I do. Like breathing. Don't be a hater.
Admittedly, there are times when I wish I was as talented in other areas of my life (like walking and chewing gum at the same time or basic lawn care), but we've all got our skills and working with color is mine. The hope is to make it pay the bills.
So, to that end, I'm giving myself a crash course in web design, marketing, accounting, and all the various other subjects I need to know to make this work. This week I start a blog (check!) and start constructing a web portfolio.
I have NO idea what I'm doing.
Seriously, what could possibly go wrong?
Yes, I live a rich fantasy life, and I'll thank you not to douse me with cold water until after I've had something featured at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. A girl's gotta have her dreams.
I prefer to work in colored pencil thanks to the perfectionist gene I inherited from my dad--the pencil gives me the fine, pointed detail I need to reproduce what I see with my eyes. Forget brushes, they frustrate me to no end (though I'm working on that). Pencil is where it's at for me. And this is what I do with them:
Took me about 5 hours to do that, though I did put in another hour to deepen the shadows after I took this picture. I have very little art or studio education behind me--I took one drawing course and one watercolor course in college--the rest is just . . . what I do. Like breathing. Don't be a hater.
Admittedly, there are times when I wish I was as talented in other areas of my life (like walking and chewing gum at the same time or basic lawn care), but we've all got our skills and working with color is mine. The hope is to make it pay the bills.
So, to that end, I'm giving myself a crash course in web design, marketing, accounting, and all the various other subjects I need to know to make this work. This week I start a blog (check!) and start constructing a web portfolio.
I have NO idea what I'm doing.
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