East Cape, acrylic on canvas board, 12.5x18cm
Sailors Grave, acrylic on canvas board, 12.5x18cm
Pearl Point, acrylic on canvas board, 12.5x18cm
Where to begin? My mind is scatty and all over the place. I have come to the realisation that in order to make more art work I need to make some money. This is an incredibly difficult thing for me to do. The thought of knocking on cafe, gallery, real estate and home wares shops makes me feel nervous, self conscious and sick to my stomach. I dread it and yet it is the only way I can put my paintings out there on mass for the public to see at relatively no expense to myself. I have been talking to my husband Nathan about this and am considering employing him to be my spokes person, at some considerable expense to myself.
These little landscapes on canvas board are what I am considering selling. Fortunately this is something I love doing, small plein air paintings. And the more I paint, the more competent I feel I become. Just like knocking on doors no doubt. The above paintings I had the pleasure of making while on a week long holiday at Cape Conran in far east Gippsland. For two hours a day I sat on a beach and painted and despite some inclement weather, it was the most content I have been on a holiday.
The idea is to frame these little gems myself and offer a small group to a premises that will allow me to hang them with the hope that if priced correctly, they might sell. I call this bread and butter. What I really want to do is paint leaves and feathers by the hundreds, but in order to do so I require materials (canvas), which is costly and as I have no income it makes it difficult to justify buying anything.
I am vaguely working towards an exhibition, which also incurs costs and, in my experience, results in negative sales. For me art has never been about the money, it has always been about the making. However it has come to a point where I need to start selling in order to pursue the ideas drifting around in my head. So for now I guess I continue painting small landscapes, figure out a way to frame them and then...gulp...hit the streets.
