Dreamwood Walking

I have a sunburn and huge blisters on the bottoms of  my feet.

I also have yet more gallery contact information, and was able to drop my card off at some of the galleries (thanks, B, the new cards are WONDERFUL).

It was a long, but productive day, AND I found a site that is taking proposals for an instillation in Arizona.  Or, to be perfectly honest, Pajamafin found it and emailed it to me.  The deadline is in about twenty days and it is sort of a long task, so I am not sure that I will be able to meet the deadline this year, but I am sure going to try my best.

I am now super tired, but feeling pretty darned accomplished.

There are usually galleries in the area that allow local artists to submit work, and, with that in mind, Pajamafin and I hit the town to investigate.  I because I need to start submitting things if I want to continue on with art as a career, and Pajamafin because 1. he knows the area better, 2. he knows about some galleries I don’t due to work connections he has made, and 3. I like company and he is honest enough that he will tell me if the venue is a good match for my art (second opinions help, especially when I get so excited about a location that I think I will want to do whatever type of art it is to show there, and then spend the next three weeks bitching because I hate that style).  We planned on hitting for today because we weren’t sure how far apart they were or how long it was going to take.

Going to the galleries in person is good for a couple of reasons.  One, you get to see the space so you know what you have to work with with regards to size and how you want to hang it (which I should have done before I framed the art for the restaurant, but, since I didn’t, I had to correct problems).  Two, it also allows to see first hand the types and styles of art that particular gallery is interested in which saves you a lot of time in the submitting area (if you paint abstracts and the gallery hangs Western art, chances are it will be a waste of your time and your resources to submit the paper work, slides, electronic files, etc that you could be using to submit to a gallery that hangs abstracts) as well as lets you decide if you like the venue, the area, and  the other art that could possibly be around your piece (because, let’s face it, as artists many of us are very picky about how our art is displayed, and we will SAY we aren’t, and we might even put on a brave front and not complain, but, deep down, we are super picky).

Yes, many places have their submission requirements online, but some of the smaller galleries don’t even have websites, so you miss out on a bit when you don’t go to see it yourself.  Do you HAVE to?  No, and, in fact, some artists don’t even like to.  I do, and so, of course, I think it is a good idea.  Biased, I tell you.

The first place we went was an art center (if your city has a community art center, hit it first.  They usually have listings and TONS of info on how to join different art societies, which is a great idea, as well as info on other local galleries, juried shows, exhibitions, etc.) and I got so much info that I felt like the day had been a total success in the first ten minutes.

The second gallery was a very small gallery and was closed for the summer (a hazard with smaller galleries) but there was a website that I went to that had lots of info as well, so not a total wash.

The third gallery we could never find, so either we didn’t know what we were looking for or it had gone out of business.  I am going to vote for the later since the people who lived around the area all looked at us blankly when we inquired about it.  We DID find a really lovely place in town that I didn’t even know existed that was almost freakishly quiet and secluded for being close to downtown.  It was great and plans are being made to go back there on a day when it isn’t threatening to rain/actively raining so that I can do some plein air work (which is just a fancy way of saying open air painting).

The fourth gallery we at first couldn’t find, and then we found this really cool touch screen display that was  basically a wonderfully glorified “You Are HERE” map (that I then spent the next five minutes playing with because I thought it was so cool and now totally want one to edit pictures on.  Wouldn’t that be SWEET, B?!?) and discovered that the gallery was actually for sculpture (remember what I said about finding out BEFORE submitting?  Perfect example) and so wouldn’t be interested in watercolors.

Then we went to Fort Worth so I could show Pajamafin my paintings in a restaurant and have lunch and came back home.

So, while not a complete success, it was still a good start.  We will be hitting some of the surrounding cities in the next few days, starting with Dallas on Friday.

Becoming a professional artist is hard (much like becoming a professional writer or musician) and it takes a LOT of hard work, effort, knowledge, research, AND, a little bit of luck.  Sometimes, the big break you need just so happens to fall in your lap, you just have to be smart enough, and motivated enough to grab it.  More often than not, you have to make your own luck.

Part of the problem with becoming a professional artist is that MOST people who are not in the art community (or music or writing community, because they are very similar) don’t see art as a profession.  They don’t think or art as a “real” job, and some people have even called my degree in art a “hobby” degree.  Art is NOT a hobby.  Not for me and not for any other artist who wants to be, or who is, a professional.  This is NOT something we do because it is fun (even though it is) or to kill time.  For me, it is an actual compulsion.  I go to bed thinking about the next project, or how to get the color or texture I want, or how to make that sketch in my book WORK instead of just being so so, I often dream about art, and I wake up with so many ideas that I have to write or sketch them out before I even speak to anyone else for fear that I will lose them.  If I can not do art I am fundamentally unhappy and I am good enough at it that I can sell it.

Part of the problem is also the fact that, to make it professionally as an artist you HAVE to make painting (or drawing, or sculpting, or whatever your choice of medium is) the priority, and you HAVE to get yourself to a postion that you can do it full time.  I have (and am) worked at a job and then trying to paint in my spare time.  It is exhausting, and most days I just didn’t have the energy to paint.  You CAN NOT become a professional doing that all the time.  There is simply not enough hours in the day.  If I had not been a sub, I would not have had the time to meet the deadline I had on Thursday.  You MUST treat your art as your job.  That means you get up in the morning and go to work.  You sit and you paint, or you sketch, or you research, or you do your business end of the work (keeping up the website, doing the books, making sure things are shipped correctly and on time, etc) and you do it for the whole day.  If there is something you don’t want to do, you suck it up and do it anyway, or you don’t make it.  I don’t particularly like to paint Western art or rodeo stuff, which is not a knock AT ALL to this type of art, it is just not my favorite subject (probably because I have been around it in some way, shape, or form, for my entire life and so I am used to it and don’t recognize why someone would want to spend money on it when I could just ask my Dad or someone to make me some, or take a picture).  I have commissions for them, though, and so I am doing them.  And losing sleep to meet those deadlines, and doing more research than I really like to do to make sure my horses are correct or that the bull looks like a bull, or that the cowboy LOOKS like a cowboy and not just someone in a hat.  I am doing them in a way that makes me happy and is true to my art, but, really, I have other projects (like the mermaids and the corset angels) that I would rather be working on.

Pajamafin actually sent me some really good links referring to this yesterday (which was really nice, since I have been composing this post in my head for two days now).  Go here and here for the articles.  They are REALLY good, and if you are interested in being a professional AT ALL you should DEFINITELY go read them.  And while we are on the subject of friends offering up help, if a friend is offering to do the leg work to find you galleries that are accepting work, TAKE THEM UP ON IT (I know, Pajamafin, you’ve done this and I haven’t submitted anything so I am not taking my own advice.  I will with the new work, I just didn’t think the older stuff was gallery ready.  For everyone reading this, if you don’t have art that is gallery ready, GET WITH IT.  This includes me).

Another problem that I have to deal with (and that a lot of my artist, writer, and musician friends have to deal with) is conveying to our other friends, and even family, that our craft is our job.  I get calls all the time from friends and family who want to hang out, and when I say, “Sorry, I can’t, I am painting” they actually get their feelings hurt or, in some cases, get mad.  They don’t see my art as my job, and, therefore, think that I should just drop it and go do the fun thing, and then go back to the painting.  And, to be honest, sometimes I do, partly because there are times that I just want to be away from the work for a couple of hours, I WANT to do the fun thing, and, because I don’t want to hurt their feelings.  I have had to have several very awkward, difficult heart to hearts with family and friends to get them to understand that ART is what I want to do for a living, and that when I say I am painting, I am WORKING.  Just like I can’t blow off teaching a class to go to the zoo, I can’t blow off painting to catch a movie.  I also told them that there are times that, while painting, I have to wait for a layer to dry, so if they want to come over and hang out until that happens, we can watch a movie here, and they are welcome, but they have to be prepared to read a book or somehow otherwise entertain themselves until the painting gets to that stage (since, generally, the t.v. is off while I am painting.  When painting, I am a music only type girl.  T.V. optional if I am sketching as that doesn’t take the same concentration).  Again, they have to act like I am at WORK.

Also, if you are trying to be a professional artist, there are a few things you should get.  One, you should get a DBA.  This is a Doing Business As, and it is a way to have a company name without dropping a ton of cash (it is between 20 and 30 bucks to get and lasts ten years).  It is also good to get for copyright reasons.  My DBA is for LookLookAir Productions.  This means that I own it, and if anyone uses it, or anything with LookLookAir on it without my permission, I can take legal action.  Also, you should look into copyrighting your work.  You can get together packets of work and send them in online to get them copyrighted and it is very affordable.  Click here for a brief overview.

There are also websites.  Make sure, if you have a website, that you have ON EVERY PAGE, something that says Copyright by ^insert name^ and the year.  This is a version of the poor man’s copyright, and is legal.  It is like mailing a copy to yourself and then not opening it.  It is a good idea to do both this and the actual copyright above, but knowing that money is tight, the poor man’s copyright is a good way to go.

Also, if you are going to be a professional artist, you should look into Lawyers for the ARTS for your state.  If you are in Texas, click here for the TALA (this link will also be in the Artist’s Corner).  This is a really good thing, and what it does is provide lawyer services for artists.  There is a membership fee for artists in Texas (you have to check with your state for fees that may apply) but it is between 50 and 75 dollars for a year and with it you get people who will help  you with copyright law, read over contracts so that you don’t get screwed, help you deal with clients who try to break the contracts, file your taxes correctly, and much more.  I would say that this is a must for anyone who is going to make their living doing art.  It is insurance that you aren’t on your own trying to protect your interests.

And with that, I am going back to paint.  I have a couple of small pieces due Tuesday and a commission due Tuesday, and, even though I like to be off on the weekends, with Monday being a holiday I will be going over to my parents for dinner (holidays are not acceptable to work on in my family, even if it is art) and would like to be done before then so I can actually go to bed Monday night.