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Sometimes you have to think beyond the obvious and try something new, especially when it comes to getting your art out into the world. Exposure is everything and you never know where it may lead one day. All you can do as an artist, is keep creating the work and keep putting it out there for as many people to see it as possible. That in itself takes some people a long time to get comfortable with, I know it did me.

But if you're past the point of hiding in your studio, stashing your work in a closet and have built up a thick skin to handle rejection, start thinking of every and all opportunities where you can exhibit your paintings. While it's great to be represented by the top gallery of your choice, that is now even harder to achieve than ever as galleries are struggling like everyone else in this economy. And stay away from opportunities that cost YOU a bunch of money upfront! No serious collectors respect vanity galleries (different from co-ops) and it will hurt your career in the long run.

Instead, start brainstorming! And that means you write down EVERYTHING that comes to mind, no censoring at all, no matter how silly it may seem. You will weed out the bad ideas later. Think of who your market is and where to find those clients. 

Here are just some ideas:

• Negotiate with owners of empty stores to display art in their windows 
• Put on an exhibit at your local animal shelter or pet store (you can earmark part of the proceeds to the shelter)
• Libraries
• Coffeeshops and restaurants (Be careful, though. Ask them to display a bio and price list and make your contact info readily available to their customers. Too many of these places use art to get free decoration and do nothing to promote it. One way to get them onboard is to offer a small commission to the wait staff if a client referral results in a sale)
• Doctor's offices and hospitals
• Your child's dance academy or karate school
• Your accountant's office and other local businesses (many appreciate the rotating exhibits and often will let you host a reception)
• local TV stations

 I recently had the good fortune to be referred to the local government TV station in my new town. They support the artists at my art center by displaying their work on the set where they film their interviews (see picture). I jumped on the chance to make this local connection without any expectations. They came and chose the pieces and returned them within a day. It cost me nothing, some people saw my work who may not otherwise ever see it and that's it. Could something more come out of it? You never know. It could be that someone sees the work and contacts me months from now. It has happened before and I've learned to just do my part of showing up at the easel and being creative not only with my pastels by also with the venues where I show them. If you do that I promise you good things will come your way, new opportunities will present themselves. Be discriminating but not snobbish in accepting them. Let me know what you come up with and the results!

 In art as in life it’s important to cherish and savor each progress made, every tiny step toward growth taken, every blessing, opportunity, and sign of beauty that is plopped in our path, all of the small treasures that we so often overlook in our busy-ness, our race to the next big goal.

I have been practicing gratitude in my life for a number of years now and it has made all the difference. As a natural skeptic and cynic it was always easier for me to see the things that were going wrong, to doubt, to worry, to feel not good enough. It has taken a lot of conscious work to switch my thinking to recognize all of the good in life and in people (including myself) and even more work to start believing that things can and do work out just fine, to believe in the impossible, the formerly unimaginable. Once I let go and started having faith, to enjoy the little things more, and be truly appreciative, life became much richer and I felt much less pressure.

Since my time in the studio was so limited while raising kids and working a day job, I felt enormous pressure to produce a successful painting when I did have time at the easel. Either that commission had to turn out well quickly or the painting had to be good enough for the next big show to enter. I am mostly self-taught, other than taking workshops, and was building my resume by winning awards and gaining signature or master level memberships in prestigious art organizations. There was very little time for just having fun in the studio, experimenting, trying something new and different.

Now, that I have achieved some of those earlier goals, have a resume I am proud of, and have more time to paint, I am taking time in between the commissions and other portrait and figure work to create a new series of very small pastels. One added bonus is that I am able to offer them to a broader audience because of their very low prices (I am selling them unframed to keep the cost down).

 I love seeing abstract design in nature or man made structures and have been photographing bridges, textured walls, rocks, etc., while at the beach watching Rich’s attempts at surfing (he’s actually doing really well for a novice!). The complementary color scheme in the first batch of these paintings, plus the shapes and patterns the structures created were just so beautiful to me. You can view the first six pieces in my new category of “Small Treasures” on my website here. I titled them “Under the Boardwalk” and yes, there will be an accompanying series titled “Down by the Sea”, featuring the beautiful compositions that rocks and waves can produce (that song has been stuck in my head ever since I started working on this series!). I will also throw in a more typical landscape every now and then, especially the ones done en plein air, and whatever else tickles my fancy. The main idea is to create these tiny morsels for fun!

But besides that fun, and being able to offer my paintings to those people who have wanted to add one to their home but could not afford to do so before, I had one more motive for the series: to create more work in general. Going into the studio in the morning with several of these small pieces all laid out, the surfaces prepped and ready to take on that first wild wash of watercolor, is motivating and energizing. It’s a nice break between the more pressure filled work of commissions and helps me feel like I’m getting stuff done! I had been aware of the Daily Painters phenomenon for quite a while and envied the artists who could be so prolific and disciplined to complete one small painting a day and still work on larger things. This is my way of joining their ranks, maybe not on a daily basis yet, but who knows, I may get there one day. In the meantime, I am going to enjoy creating each one of these small treasures, just for the pure joy of noticing something beautiful in the ordinary, putting it down on paper quickly and sharing it with others.

Here is an example of two paintings with just the watercolor underpainting done and the resulting finished pieces.

Click here to see all six. I’d love to hear what you think of these new paintings in the comments below.

If you'd like to purchase one, you can do so securely through paypal by clicking the "Buy Now" button on each image or by contacting me directly.

Thank you for reading my blog and remember to savor the small things in life!