Category: The Journey Begins

It’s all in the title. This collection of blogs acts as a diary of my first year as a full-time artist.

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Creating a Space Takes Time

We’re back on another Monday morning, friends. I hope you all had a fantastic past few days. I enjoy clocking out so much on the weekends, but I’m always very excited for Monday to arrive. Isn’t that amazing? Never once have I worked a job where I have been happy and excited to start the work week! The joy of creating a life you love is blissful. ♥

The past few days, along with the few to come have been very rainy and gloomy outside. I’m doing my best to enjoy it and not let it affect my productivity this week! Being Monday morning, so far so good I’m happy to say! Today, I’ve got a lot packed within my head that I wanna do and it feels like not enough time to accomplish it all!

One. Step. At. A. Time.

I know. I’ve never been one that’s very patient and it’s definitely a skill I’ve been working on as of late. It’s just still so weird to me being down here in the basement and having SO much space for all my art and creativity. Not being finished a finished room, however, does have its challenges. The cold concrete floors leave more to be desired and with pieces of drywall scattered around everywhere I’ve been feeling like it’s pointless to set anything up because we would simply just have to move it eventually when we do get around to completing the renovations. Did I mention that we were doing the renos ourselves? Much more difficult that way. I know it’s not going to be a speedy process and I have been trying to remind myself how lucky that I am and to be thankful.

My husband and I had an interesting conversation the other day. He reminded me that when I first began painting, it was in a small little nursery in our first house. I had just discovered a piece of myself that I had never known. I was free-spirited and passionate about something for the first time in a long time. The feeling pressed me and my husband both and he surprised me for my birthday and had started re-doing the nursery. He was painting the walls my color of choice and had told me that it was going to be an art studio. One of the many reasons I love him.

I didn’t need all the things I now desire in the past. I just worked with what I had and I created. My art was so free back then. I’m so thankful that he brought this up because that was a time I had almost forgotten about. Before it was ever the “dream space” for my art, I worked with what I had and did so with nothing but happiness and humility. I was so full of joy whenever I worked in there. Thinking back to those days when I was discovering myself, when I knew I was an artist, has been so inspiring for me as of late.

That’s the reason for one of the big projects I’ve given myself this week. I’m just going go with the flow until we’re complete with the renovations down here. I don’t know when that will be, but I’m not going to simply just sit around staring at these un-painted walls. It’s going to take time, but I’m going to start setting up my space again this week.

After all, I’ve got some art to create.

XOXO,

Q

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Did I Give Up on Art? (Summer Update)

Good morning, friends!

Summer is here and it’s been a HOT minute since I’ve shared a blog post with you guys! For the longest time, I had never missed a post, even through holidays, but lately, I’ve been having a hard time keeping still and posting regularly! Things change with the seasons, I guess!

I’ve been away for various reasons: military, family events, and other things that are out of my control. This week, however, I’m back to my normal routine, for the most part. I am in my new studio and am still trying to make sense of the big change! Some of you may recall that I announced near the end of May that I was going to be a little less focused on my art for the summer due to many varying reasons. I thought I’d write a post about it so we’re all on the same page here and so that you can possibly see where I’m coming from.

Firstly, I live in a state where we get decent weather for less than half of the year. The summer months are our time to tackle various home projects, work on our homestead, and enjoy the beauty of nature. When it’s nice outside, I have a hard time staying cooped up inside the house or studio. It’s hard enough having freezing temps half the year so I try to get out and enjoy the sun while I can.

Secondly, I have a new studio space! In the end it will be bigger and better, but for now, it’s a little rough. I’m in an unfinished basement fro the most part and don’t have very many of my things easily accessible. We’re hoping to finish the basement (TONS OF WORK) before winter hits us again!

Lastly, I have been on a roll with my Young Living oils business! You guys know from my IG that I have been into essential oils since January. I’m climbing the ranks and am starting to make a really reliable income through it. By focusing on my oily endeavors and business, I’m creating a sustainable income that will help tremendously since I have been self-employed for the past several months! As you all know, art income is extremely inconsistent. By building a business with such a solid income, I’m able to freely continue painting and doing what I love without the stress and pressure of selling and making money off of it.

I know a lot of people have thought that I’m “quitting” my art and that I’m giving up on painting. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m still going to be creating art and bringing new content forward. I’m simply taking some of the business stress and focus off of my art, hence allowing me to be more free and consistent in my work. Creating art feels a whole lot more different when you start forcing it to make income. I still have a show this fall and am hoping to have a few new pieces to share with you until that moment comes.

As far as announcements go, life has been crazy busy! I’m sure it’s the same for you guys as well! Summer just comes and goes so fast and we’re trying to catch it before it’s gone again!

I think that about sums it all up for now. I do have a garden that needs some watering.

I’ll catch up with you guys again soon. ♡

XOXO,

Q

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Patreon on My Mind

Good morning, loyal readers!

I missed yet ANOTHER Monday update! I must be on a roll here now. It just so happened that my husband had off Monday for a doctors appointment and since we had both been working the weekend, we figured a day off was in order.

I don’t have anything out of the ordinary to talk about this week, however, so I will just leave this video below that I posted last Friday. It basically sums up what’s been going on and what’s been on my mind-mostly in relation to Patreon and how I am finding myself thinking about that platform more and more.

Its a longer video and is just short of an hour, but if you guys find yourself with the time, go ahead and give it a view and let me know what your thoughts are on the topic.

Lastly, the shop sale has now ended and I can’t thank you all enough for your support. ♡ I hope you all enjoy your new art and necklaces!

That’s about it for now, friends, as I am about to resume my painting. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week!

XOXO,

Q

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I Missed My Monday Update! Life, Art, & Oily Things

Hello, friends and loyal readers!

So, for the first time in EIGHT MONTHS, I have actually missed my Monday blog update! Oh no! Things have been getting so busy now that the weather is getting nicer and it must’ve just slipped my mind! It has been a very good change of pace though and I have been enjoying the warmth that has finally made its way to Minnesota.

As far as updates go, I’m not really sure where to begin. My last few blogs were so short and seem like they were so long ago that I’m not even sure what I talked about or what I updated you on. Technically, I could scroll down a little and re-read those posts, but I’d rather be a little more ambiguous and possibly redundant this morning. If I repeat myself, I apologize!

So, you guys may have noticed that I added some oily products to my shop! Ever since I began with Young Living, I’ve been struggling with finding the right rhythm for working with these two seemingly different businesses. These are only the start of many more products to come and I’m excited to show you guys the rest of what I got planned! I’ve listed them below if you want to check them out!

In regards to my art, I’ve been spending a lot more time in recent days focusing solely on losing my sense of “business” and have granted myself the permission and the freedom to just lose myself and paint freely without any other cares or concerns. The only thing that makes doing so difficult is the fact that I feel extremely guilty if I’m not recording while doing so. Aside from that restriction, it has been VERY helpful to just paint freely and enjoy the whole process again. I love getting my hands and legs dirty with paint when I just “go for it.” The piece I’m working on is rather large and it will probably take a bit of time before I complete it., but definitely stay tuned in for that as I’m really excited to share it with you. You can also follow along with updates on my Instagram account.

Lately, I have also found myself really missing my Patreon account and the content I’d created for it. I have really been wanting to restart it. and freshen it up again, but I think I may need some help from you guys on what services I should change or alter. I’ll probably be posting about this again in the future, but just know that I’m missing offering some of my art rewards!

On the personal life update side of this post, I have been loving every minute of every day. With the nice weather, I’ve been outside running again, have been working in my garden, and have been considering getting some chickens to add to our little artsy farmhouse. All in due time as we are working on getting a coop set up.

In summary, life’s been a whirlwind, as is the story for most people. Exciting things are happening with my life and my career, so be sure to check back in every now and again!

As always, thank you all SO much for your love and support. I couldn’t do it without you guys!

XOXO,

Q

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I’m back! And there’s a lot to do…

Good morning, friends!

It feels like it’s been a hot minute since I’ve been around and I’m so beyond excited to get back to work this week! For those that don’t know, I am in the Air Force Reserve as well and there are times that I have to just disappear for that. Though I can never say exactly what is going on or when it’s happening, you can all assume that if I’m ever randomly quiet, that may be the reason why.

That being said, I’m so excited to get back to it today! I’m still away from home and won’t be back to the studio until tonight, but thankfully I brought supplies with me and am able to work on my way home today.

I feel like there is so much to catch up on, however. Even just being gone for a week makes things crazy. Followers drop cause I haven’t been consistently posting, shop order pile up (which is a good thing), and I haven’t been able to create any new content so I feel as if I have nothing to post about. It’s rough for business when this happens, but I do what I can.

I also feel as if there is a lot to tell you all. I have many new shop additions and announcements, but I haven’t gotten everything ready yet so I’m going to have to wait a little bit as much as it’s killing me. Once I get back to the studio and get settled again, I should be able to fill you in.

In case you missed it, even though I was gone, I had a video all scheduled to upload and it did go up on Friday. Check it out if you missed it! I’ll leave the link here.

Well, that’s the latest and greatest, friends. Thanks for reading as always. I know this is another short one, but I hope to catch up with you all! A week feels like an eternity.

Have an awesome week, everyone! Let’s crush it!

XOXO,

Q

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On the Go – A Quick Update

Hey, friends!

I just wanted to let you all know real quickly that I’m out of the studio for the next week, until Monday, May 6th.

You may still place shop orders during this time, but they won’t be processed until then.

Also, don’t forget that the Mother’s Day sale is still going on! Use code: mom15 to save 15%!

Miss you guys already! Be back soon!

Xoxo,

Q

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Mothers Day Sale!

Hello, friends. I hope you all had a fantastic holiday weekend! This blog is going up a lot later than usual as its already after 2:30 pm! I find myself feeling a bit tired and groggy today so I’ve been a bit slower than I usually am. This is always the case for me whenever it rains. I think I may have been a cat in another life, I swear. We can talk about that another time, though. Personally, I had taken the last few days off of social media and had completely unplugged from my phone. It was really nice to just use a few days to spend time with my family and getting some much needed R&R.

I’m back at it today, though and have spent the day painting and working on some shop updates. I’ve got a few new items that will be added to the shop soon (within the next month?) and am hammering out all the details as far as that goes, so stay tuned for that!.

As far as announcements go, I wanted to let you all know that next week I will be out of town again and will have less studio time. I still anticipate the regular upload schedule, but I don’t think there will be much opportunity to paint. More to come on this. Also, in honor of this painting being shown in the ArtWorks Gallery exhibition in Eagan, MN, I decided to make “Escort” available as a full size 16″x20″ poster. The image is a little darker and sharper than the original, but it is still beautiful as a large gloss poster. It was sort of a test image so I only ordered 5 of these. Quantities are limited, so be sure to snatch one up quickly if you’re interested!

I also decided to hold a Mother’s Day sale in my shop for 15% off until May 13th. Take full advantage and get it at a discount while you can. You can use the code: MOM15 to redeem.

I hope you all have a productive and inspired week!

Xoxo,

Q

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My Patreon Account & New shop listings.

Hey, friends! Recently, you may have noticed that I added a few new things to the shop! This wasn’t the plan but a girl’s gotta start bringing in some extra $. Here’s the scoop:

I have been stocking up on these postcards and other fun extras to be used as rewards for my different tiers for my Patreon account. If you don’t know what this is, I’ve added the link here but it’s basically an online platform where people can support creatives in all sorts of lines of work. When creating an account, you can decide what you want your different reward tiers to be and what you would want to charge the patrons that are interested in that tier. This can always be customized and changed as time goes on.

You can think of it as an online monthly subscription plan to whatever creator catches your eye. A potential patron can view the different subscription plans and decide which one suits their likes and needs more appropriately. Subscriptions can be cancelled anytime without fees or implications. Many YouTubers and artists rely on this platform to make a living. Patreon does take a small percentage of the monthly commitment, of course, but it can be very helpful in planning out finances when patrons pledge to a monthly reward tier.

For me, for example, my first tier is only $1 and gives access to almost all online content, photos, videos, tutorials, etcetera, that I would post on my page. I also offer the option to participate in a monthly drawing challenge. Draw this in your style has become very popular I’ve noticed, especially on Instagram and what I’ve been doing is similar. I’d simply upload a rough outline sketch of one of my pieces and challenged my patrons to finish the piece and re upload the image on my page. This would include a monthly shoutout on IG/Facebook to all those that participated. Who doesn’t want a little extra publicity these days?

The next tier I have available is $10 and that gives you everything the first tier had to offer plus a new 4x6in postcard delivered every month. Each tier always includes the rewards that come in the previous tier so the deals always get better as you pay more (like many business out there). Plus, with each tier I offer a lifetime shop discount to say thank you. Just like with the rewards, the higher the tier that a patron might choose, the higher the discount would be.

The next tier is at $25 and would consist of everything offered by the first two tiers plus a surprise art box (prints, stickers, etc.). The last two tiers are a commissioned work at $250 and finally an original featured painting at $500. These are the paintings I feature on my YouTube channel every month as speed paintings.

This is a very helpful way for a lot of artists and people who do creative work to make a steady, more reliable income every month. As an artist who runs a small shop, it’s hard to tell what I’m going to be making every month especially since I don’t offer prints just yet. Why are fine art printers so expensive? Originals are also more expensive so the chances of those selling out right away are also pretty slim-when you’re first starting out, that is. I’m sure you can all see the dilemma there when trying to make a living.

This is why Patreon has been SO important to me and has been a main focus of mine. However, it’s still crickets over there, unfortunately, and after 6 months of being active and getting in the routine of posting on there regularly, I realized that I’ve been putting so much love, work, and effort into a seed that hasn’t shown any signs of sprouting just yet. I just recently decided that I would start focusing my attention more on other things and areas that I have been neglecting. It’s hard spending all your time and creative energy on something that no one sees. I don’t have any plans on quitting or deleting my Patreon account, don’t get me wrong. I’m simply just saying that I’m going to be taking a little break from it. I get notified when a new Patron has pledged to me and until then, I’m probably not going to do much with my account. I may post a few times a month to keep it updated, but until there are actually patrons over there, I’m shifting focus towards my shop.

All that being said, this is why you see all of these new postcards added to the shop! It’s been nice because since I’ve added them, I’ve been receiving a lot more orders and am actually starting to make some extra moolah. I’ve said it on my Instagram stories before, but I’m currently saving up for a fine art printer so that I can offer more variety in my shop such as high quality prints of different sizes.

If you guys haven’t seen the new products, check them out! I’ve got a lot to do today so I am going to get right to it now. Have an amazing week, everyone and keep doing what you do!

Xoxo,

Q

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Art Works Gallery Exhibition

The last several days have been very busy, but today I’m back in the studio! Before I get started tackling my “to-do” list, I wanted to write you all and give you a quick summary of the weekend!

Last night was the opener for the Art Works Gallery exhibition:

“More than the Sum of Its Parts.”

This gallery is located in Eagan, MN, and is still relatively new. I was very excited when they invited me to be one of their featured artists!

I have some footage from the opener and will be editing and uploading a vlog onto my YouTube channel this Friday! Subscribe if you haven’t already!

There were many other beautiful pieces and talented artists, and I was very happy with how well “Escort” and “Taken Under Wing” fit in with the theme!

Both pieces are still currently available and are going to be featured in the exhibit until May 24th.

SO much love to this beautiful spirit, Jessica Madison, that stopped by to show support! She definitely made my night. She has been my art muse for the longest time before I decided to become a full-time artist and happens to be the tattoo artist that started my beautiful leg piece (that still needs to be finished. Please check out her work and show her some love!…Oh, & be sure to look forward to a collab event this fall. So excited to be working together later this year.
 ♥

Xoxo,

Q