Thursday 29 April 2010

Little Moments

(Tulips & Boats ~ Acrylic on paper)

Hello!

And 'Hello' to lots of scrumptious new followers too ~ thank you for visiting my little blog, it's lovely to have you here!

So...another week drifts by. I have been doing many little sketches in the quiet moments (the ones that appear when small hands are busy with the Play Doh) and I've also been having a little think about my paintings.

I was thinking about Affordable Art. When you are an artist, pricing work is a very Big Deal. You don't want to charge too much and price yourself out of the market, but you don't want to under price yourself either, as for one it makes you look a bit amateurish and secondly the price is not reflecting the time, skill and materials it has taken to produce an original piece. I hope that my work is reasonably priced taking all those things into consideration, and I just wanted to share a bit about that side of my work with you.

As my thoughts wandered on, I drew the conclusion that there are a lot of people out there that would probably love to own an original piece of art, but just can't afford it (financially speaking, it's not been the best of times has it).

So I had an idea.

Affordable Originals.

The picture above is the first one of a little series I'm going to be working on at random (in between bigger pieces).
They will be painted onto Fabriano acid free paper and will come with a mount. And they will all be 5" x 5" square (the image that is) and cost £45.00 which includes P&P costs in the UK.
Do you think it's a good idea?

I won't be doing any prints of these either, they will literally be one off pieces. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this as I would dearly like to make my work available to a wider audience.

~~~~~~~~~~

The other little artist in our home has also been busy drawing again, and I had to share this latest little gem with you which she drew after seeing lambs in the field:

There she is pointing to the wavy lines and telling me that that is the grass.
I love her little drawings!

Other delicious Little Moments have occured this week. The other morning I awoke early before anyone else and tiptoed downstairs to enjoy the peace and quiet with a nice mug of coffee. As I sat by the window, I noticed a little visitor raiding my wild strawberry basket for Nesting Materials ~ I'm in awe of little birds like that, their tenacious strength and determination to survive and rear little families in the wild...

These beautiful daffodils which were marked 'end of season' have produced gasps of delight from us, their chubby buds opening to reveal petticoat layers of pale cream and buttery yellow petals.

...talking of flowers, I've decided to update my Folksy shop soon with some pretty floral corsages, here are two of them to give you an idea of what Im on about:


...they're made with Rowan wools and finished with a nice hand made ceramic button all the way from a little place in Cornwall. They will come in their own little gauzy turquoise gift bag as well.
I miss making things like this as regularly as I used to, but there are not enough hours in the day!

I also miss making things like this patchwork lavender heart...

...I made this for our home a little while back and forgot to show you!
I don't get chance to get the sewing machine out that much these days actually, my one day of free time is usually spent painting which indulges my creative spirit once a week and that is a Good Thing for now, but for the times in between...?

I discovered that if I didn't indulge my creative spirit, I started to feel a bit trapped and demented. Honestly, I had serious withdrawal symptoms (irritable, grumpy etc as I battled with too many ideas and not enough time to make them real) and so over time I have taught myself how to be creative every day so I don't get those feelings. When my daughter was first born, I struggled enormously with not having time to paint etc, a baby was far too time consuming and tiring for things like that and art was a random thing for a long while. I missed it too.

Since those early days, I have accepted that my time isn't always necessarily my own and I have broadened my horizons (creatively speaking).
Every day I try to do something, even if it's one row of crochet late evening, baking and decorating a cake, finger painting with the Little One, making shapes from clouds, or planting seeds... I learnt from being a Mum that creativity reaches into all manner of corners and isn't about just painting any more. As simple as it sounds it actually took me a while to understand that and sharing creative time with my daughter, and teaching her how to do things is often more rewarding than the rush of joy I get from completing a picture.

And... I have my sketch book for those ideas that absolutely and completely must come out of my head and onto the page at once! :D

I will leave you this week with another big thank you for all your lovely and kind comments, for taking the time to read my ramblings and pop in to see me, it's ever so nice of you and it makes me very happy that you do!
I wish you a Happy Bank Holiday weekend, and hope the sun peeps out of the forcast rain clouds for you!

Sending love
Julia x x x

22 comments:

  1. Hello, just wanted to say thanks for posting a pic of the painting. It is so lovely and colourful. Just what I need at the minute with the grey skies and drizzly rain. It's such a lovely summery painting.
    Take care x

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  2. Hi Julia.

    Thanks so much for visiting my blog and leaving a lovely message. Thought I'd pop over and reciprocate and ended up having a thoroughly enjoyable read of your blog! I love your illustrations, have definite crochet envy over your wonderful ripple blanket and have favourited your heart bunting!!

    Affordable art is a great idea. As a rule, my purse strings only stretch to prints! Do you ever paint ACEOs? I used to enjoy buying and selling a few on eBay but it was very 'luck of the draw' as to how much they sold for.

    Hx

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  3. What a lovely post! Inspiring, interesting and so colourful.

    I think your price of £45 for pic plus p&p is spot on.

    I like the style of your paintings very much and am very envious of your talent!

    Have a great weekend. :)

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  4. Hello Julia. I like your Boats and Tulips picture. Is that an Emma Bridgewater jug I spy? I think the affordable art is a good idea but I have no idea on pricing. I try to be creative everyday but am not always that organised. I still haven't worked through that creativity book!!! At the moment most of my creativity is going into sowing seeds and maintaining plants. I hope to have 'created' a bumper crop of edibles this year. I could paint them too! I hope that you have got over your horrible cold and wish you a wonderfully creative bank holiday weekend. x

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  5. Your painting is stunning Julia and of course you must be paid for your time and skill. I think the smaller paintings are a great idea. Mind you I think you've got big competition from your little daughter, she'll be selling her artwork soon as well!! :)
    I know what you mean about taking time out to do something creative thats why I joined Marmalade Roses 20 Minuters, it means you make time for that 20 minutes every day.
    Best wishes for a lovely weekend, Vivienne x

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  6. It's lovely that you can share your creativity with your little girl. She's obviously got a talent there too! Your paintings are so bright and cheery, I think its a great idea to sell smaller ones that are more affordable. Have a lovely bank holiday weekend.xx

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  7. having an original always seems like a wonderful idea so making them small and obtainable seems like a great plan x

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  8. Such a lovely post...enjoy your time with your daughter..I promise you it will fly by too too quickly, then you'll be in the same situation as me..waiting for your precious little daughter to give birth to her precious little one..that's the circle of life..
    Take care

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  9. Hi Julia,

    I think the affordable originals are a great idea and the pricing seems about right - I always find pricing a tricky issue too.

    I'm in a similar position with the 'no time to create' issue, I have so many projects that are started and waiting to be picked up again, I'm itching to do them but always seem bogged down with dull household chores (and too much time online!) I do love sewing, drawing baking etc with my girls so I too am learning to be creative in different ways.

    Have a great weekend x

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  10. I think it is a wonderful idea, affordable art and would love to see more of it happen. I do understand how important it is to reflect the time that goes into a piece too... it makes me think there should be a website for artswaps as well with similar sized (and worked pieces)as well. I love all of your little moments. They are so important aren't they.

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  11. Hi Julia, it's a coincidence that you mention the old pricing dilemma as I've just read an Etsy circular about the very same thing! It's so difficult, no? I love your new painting (especially the cottages and boats but that's me!)and I think £45 is a most reasonable price! Have a great weekend x

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  12. Lovely post Julia. I am so behind in my blog reading, so I am going to make a big mug of tea and have a catch up later today. Can't wait! Happy Bank Holiday xx

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  13. Love the painting, and know only too well how difficult it is to find a price that's right, one where you feel justified in charging it, where it rewards you financially for your time, skill and materials, and yet isn't high enough to put off buyers. I like to buy original paintings when I can, but haven't done so for a long time now, so whilst £45 may seem a fair price to many, to those with not high incomes, it can still seem to pricey, which is why we settle for prints. We have chosen the lower income because we want a less stressful lifestyle, and in a year or so, it will be even less! Scary thought, but it means I won't be able to afford luxuries like paintings. However, I might still be tempted by a £45, but how will you sell them if several people see it at one go? First come first served presumably? Seasidey paintings with rather naive boats and so on really appeal, so I loved this little one too.

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  14. hiya, great photo and I so know what you mean about getting frustrated when you don't get time for yourself. I also learnt from an early stage when having kiddies not to plan anything really as you just get frustrated when you can't do it :-( Far easier to go with the flow and enjoy any spare moments you may have.

    Re affordable art, fantastic idea. I have lots of prints bought from artists but none of the real thing as I really can't afford them. £45 seems OK, may still be a bit out of my price range but then again I have 3 kiddies so not much pocket money :-(

    Cute little Blue Tit visiting your garden by the way, we have a family who are nesting near out back door that I blogged about last week. Just hope they can cope with all the noise from our house and stay here.

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  15. I really enjoyed reading this post - I think your idea of affordable art is just fine as long as you are enjoying it - love the chicken sketches

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  16. Hi Julia!

    Thanks for visiting and for leaving such a lovely comment! Not my usual style so it's great to hear positive feedback :)

    Your work is lovely too- I will def. be back when I've finished todays deadline!

    Em x

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  17. Oh it is fabulous and just seeing a glimpse of your other work I am fascinated it is my kind of art! Would it be possible to commission some pieces in the near future(when I get round to decorating the boys rooms)??? I would love some of your work in our little home x

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  18. Just found your site! I have seen something I LOVE and will just have to save my pennies now so I can have something from you xxx

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  19. I love that painting and keep clicking onto your blog cos its so cheery!! x x

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  20. Hi Julia
    I have just come across your blog and love your painting, what a good idea to sell some originals. I like you love those times when you wake up early and can enjoy a little piece of time to yourself.
    hugs
    Jill

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  21. Dear Julia, I love your idea and if no one has yet claimed your tulips and boats I want it.
    :)
    Now re: everyday creativity outlets... spot on! I need to work even a few stitches a day to feel the pressure valve release. And every so often I need a whole morning or afternoon... bare minimum. (if Mama ain't happy, ain't no one happy!)
    Thank for discussing pricing and thanks for sharing your take on things...
    xox

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  22. Gorgeous painting! I think it’s a great idea. I know what you mean about time, I seem to do very little craft at the moment.
    I love the picture of the blue tit in the basket.

    Thank you for your lovely comment!

    Love Lou xxxx

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