How I Learned How to Survive

The days are going quicker. Deadlines are nearing, tensions rising. I made a couple goals for myself before I run away:

1. 40 paintings in June. The month is almost over, and I'm only 1/4 of the way there. Fortunately, I work very quickly and should near my goal, if not surpass it. I started doing Artblitzes (anarchic event of artistic proliferation) about two years ago, because to me, they're the creative equivalent of a marathon. It's painful and challenging, but SO incredibly rewarding. A wonderful test of strength and will. I've never, however, put such a disproportionate challenge on my own shoulders, never exceeding 20 paintings in a month. This should be interesting.

2. 12 shows before departure. I've been fortunate enough to participate in three dozen or so shows over the past three years, but that's never really been due to my willingness to market and promote my work, and more due to the fact that friends and friends of friends were interested in showing my work and/or filling their galleries. The notion of self-marketing has always felt very self-congratulatory, so I've always avoided it, though I am fully aware that that is the responsibility of an artist or any creative person who wants to do what they love for a living.

Thus far, I've secured and confirmed five shows (waiting to hear on a sixth), four of which are galleries/venues I've never shown at before. I'm excited to step out of my comfort zone and finally start to market my work, instead of just waiting for things to come to me.

My very dear friend Nina gifted me some of her fancy design skills and a smidge of her hosting space to put up a professional site, which will be up in the next month or two, I finally broke down and agreed to make a facebook fan page, despite feeling very silly about writing my own bio and singing my own praises.