I have my first exhibition coming up in a few weeks - part of a local art show at this gallery:
http://www.corner-gallery.com/upcoming_shows.htm
!!!!!
I'm submitting (initially - it's one of those 'once you sell it, replace it' things)
This
Englands Green + Pleasant Land by ~Tashlentine on deviantART
and this
Simplicity by ~Tashlentine on deviantART
They've both made it though submission, which I am IMMENSELY relieved about - which is what makes me an 'almost proper' artist. Once they sell, THEN I'll be a real one. Will also be very nice seeing money coming IN for a change! haha!
Becoming an artist has been SUCH a tough decision to make. It has meant for me, being utterly selfish, having to dig my heels in and be absolutely stubborn and really really actually fight my corner and defend this choice passionately.
There seems to be a census that if you don't make money instantly, if you're don't get massive bucks for your paintings instantly, if you're not a household name instantly, and have galleries beating down your door and falling over themselves to get your work... then what's the point? get a real job.
The point is art doesn't work like that. It is, I'm finding, incredibly hard work, especially for someone like me, who hasn't gone to art school, who doesn't have the tools and contacts that art students have, and I'm really working about 5 jobs at once, if you think about it:
1. Trying to catch up on 3 years worth of work that art students have behind them and build up a portfolio (I'm not too fussed about the 'training' aspect paint-wise, because I want to paint like me, not like anyone else.
2. Promoting my work so that it gets out there and seen by people. - Learning from scratch how to do that, and having to make contacts off my own bat, not having them handed to me on a plate
3. Promoting my art on the web - ie. having a website which i'm having to make
4. Learning just how in gods name dreamweaver is supposed to work - learning my way around that programme, css code, html code, web design.... complicated stuff.
5. Making my own canvasses - I knew how to do that anyway because i learned how to do it in school, but it is pretty time consuming and at the moment, with my RSI and tennis elbow (hah yeah - i'm a cripple too, forgot to mention that lol) it takes a lot out of me physically to be able to do that and i pay for it for the next few days and have to be best friends with volterol, cuprofen and hot water bottles and ice packs.
Art for me also means making sacrifices at my own expense as well as at the expense of others. I actually can't remember the last time I bought something for myself. I am a total shoe addict - I love shoes and handbags (yes, I am a total girl sometimes) but since Christmas it has been a case of £10 for a handbag, or 3 tubes of paint - paint always wins out.
(an A.D.D moment - I have a butterfly in my room as I type this and have no idea how it got in)
Sacrifice also - having a regular job with a regular income and regular hours. Regular income means not having to worry about not having enough money, and also means that I could move out and live in my own place - Being a graduate, it's not like I don't have the qualifications and the intelligence to get a very well paid job...
But to me making art and being happy in life is more important than having money (although I really do want to move out and soon so my parents can have their house back! LOL)
but yah. that's that said.
Revamping the website at the moment - dunno how long it'll take because i'm trying something different this time - making my site in photoshop and importing it over to dream weaver to convert it into website material, so hopefully it won't take quite so long to load as the current one.
Cleared out a lot of my stuff on deviantart, just trying to put up more/better photos as and when i have time - submitting everything as prints too
Going to blitz the studio today when i'm done writing this as it's got to the stage where I can't actually fit in through the door - Been manically busy this month and my normally reasonably tidy studio doesn't know what's hit it! so it's going to be gutted, hoovered and put back together methinks.
At the moment I really can't complain about being bored and having nothing to do - I'm working non-stop pretty much from 11am to 3am. Ees-a-crazy, but better than doing nothing, i'm sure you'll agree!!!!! :D
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