Top 10 tedious things I'm forced to do as an artist.

"Caution:Artist at Play" 10"x10" Acrylic

   Art, in itself is fun. It is it's own rewarding adventure from day to day, it's relaxing, and therapeutic. I absolutely love being an artist!! It's also a lot of work. I'm not just talking about challenging myself to be better at my craft, reading and learning, pushing myself, experimenting, and the years of work and personal growth. That is a factor but I consider that to be the fun side of art. What I am talking about is the menial things that most people don't think about when getting into art. The things behind the craft to make it possible. There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes, and not all of them are fun. Here is my list of top 10 tedious things that I do for my art, in no particular order as they are all in the same boat in my eyes.



10. Cleaning my brushes. This is a simple task, but it bores me to no end. It can also be time consuming depending on what medium I have been working in that day. It needs to be done between every painting session. It is also very important so I can preserve my tools for future use, and to cut down on color contamination in future projects.

9. Protective Spray. I am a fanatic about protecting my artwork for future generations. I use Krylon Kamar varnish, it comes in a spray, non yellowing with a slightly glossy finish. I paint quite often, and don't always have the energy to spray each painting upon completion, so will often wait until later. This causes my paintings to build up, and becomes quite the project when I finally get to it. The hardest thing about spraying is getting it even. If I don't spray evenly, it can ruin a painting, and it takes a lot of practice. The other issue I have is waiting at least 6 mos for oil paintings to dry before I am able to spray them, which also means I can't sell them until then either.

8. Promote!!! Promote promote promote!! What a job this is. Push stuff anywhere and everywhere. So time consuming and often with no instant gratification. Gallery shows, creating products, contests, social networking, online stores, blogs Etc. There are many avenues, but to get any kind of success, I have to put a lot of work in, and it is a constant uphill battle with a lot of competition. A lot of things cost money as well. 

7. Finding Storage. This is an issue for any artist, especially if prolific. I have done 280 paintings in just over 2 years. I am swimming in artwork at this point! It is hard to find safe, dry, dust free ways to store artwork until I am able to sell it. Especially drying oil paintings!! 

6. Taking good photos of my artwork. This is an ever-evolving adventure. Especially where I am selling prints online. I have to have crystal clear photos, no blur, no edges showing, strait, picture perfect so to speak, in order to sell good prints of my work. This requires a good camera, natural lighting, lots of time consuming editing and a memory card with a lot of room. I'm working on getting a scanner, which should help with my smaller paintings.

5. Backing up my files. This is important no matter what job one does. I back up my photos as soon as I put them on my computer!!

4. Keeping records and documentation. Records of sales, records of clients, records and receipts of all art related purchases. Not my strongest suit because paperwork bores me, and I'm not great at math but it needs to be done. I also like to write on the back of each painting - Title, Date, Size, Medium, My name and My signature so that it is well documented for future art collectors.

3. Keeping track of my work online and dealing with people who don't understand copyright, or just don't care. This is another uphill battle as the general public does not understand copyright and it's been made tougher since I  put my work online, because many think if it is online it means it's free for the taking. A simple way I find out if my work is on a unauthorized site is to do a reverse image search on Google. I have found my work in a lot of odd places. I have had to ask some people to take my work down, others I have asked to give credit and a link to my site, turning a negative into a positive. It's also a win if I am able to educate them a bit on the laws of copyright.

2. Framing and matting. There is a lot to factor in when framing. Custom framing can be very expensive. I have found a few places that I can get good frames for a good price. Decisions decisions, to matte or not to matte? Does the color and material of the frame bring out the painting or over shadow it? Then there's making sure that the materials are all archival, I want to make sure that if my painting is going to be in contact with a material for a long amount of time, that the material does not have a risk of ruining my artwork in the long run. Glass or no glass? What kind of glass? Plexiglass has a tenancy to static cling, so it's no good over pencil/pastel works. Paper shouldn't touch glass so it needs to be matted. You don't want glare!!  Then there is putting the wire hangers on the back, making sure it hangs strait etc. What fun!!

1. Buying and storing materials. This can be a lot fun when I am buying something new to try, but it can be a lot of work too. It is important to check all labels for poison information to know what I'm up against when handling and storing items. Somethings are flammable and can't be stored at certain temperatures or with certain other materials because of interaction. Somethings have special ways they need to be disposed of or handled, somethings can't be inhaled or touched without gloves etc. I try my best to get materials that have the least amount of risk to me and those around me. I also like to have plenty of space to store my paints and other materials, so that they are divided into their own categories for easy access, In closed spaces so my pets can't get to them easily. I work in many mediums so this requires a lot of storage. Canvas and paper are other things to consider. Canvas takes up a lot of space, and can be quite expensive and I don't want my supports to get ruined before I get to use them. Same goes with storing frames. It's very easy for things to get dinged up an ruined before I even get the chance to use them, so extra care must always be taken.

These are just 10 of the things that I have to do to keep my art going. There is a lot more involved. It is a lot of work, and a lot of money. It is worth it though, and I wouldn't have it any other way!!