From Believing to Doing: Be a full time Artist ( Part II )

" It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection" The Bhagvad Sita
There is more to Believing in your dream than the act of " A leap of Faith ". I do agree that faith has a lot to do with my dream, I trust the Universe wholeheartedly and responsibly when I share my gift with the world.

Although what got me started was of course the love at first sight with my craft. All I knew was how deliriously happy I felt when I was painting and how absurdly annoyed I was when it wasn't going well. All these wonderful passions that I fell in love with prompted me to want more and that is what set everything in motion.

The painting above is called Journeys painted by myself, you may check out the story of the painting by clicking here.

Now with the realization of my dream, I figured with all those inspirations, it will not be fruitful without careful planning.

So I bought myself a little black book and I wrote all my goals down to become a full time artist, I then gave each of my goals a time span of when and how I would like to execute them. From there, I planned out what I would like to accomplish each month. Now, a little advice: It's best to review your monthly goals daily but I tend to do mine bi-monthly which usually ends up with me cramming a few things all in a day or two because I was way behind schedule due to my reclusive painting time in my studio. After my great accomplishments of catching up I cross them off my list, whatever seemed impossible to get done for the month gets put on the next month list. Remember in order to avoid such rude awakenings and stress in your life, review your itinerary daily! I believe I need to set an hour a day to deal with my business part of my goals, remember living your dream as a full time artist is not all about studio time, a large part of it is business.

Here are some examples of what your initial goal setting may look like:
1. Create a collection of art work. ( in the next two months )
2. Get my biography updated. ( next week )
3. Get my resume updated. ( next week )
4. Apply for art shows. ( in the spring of 2010 )
5. Apply for Galleries to represent my artwork. ( on going, try for 2 galleries per year)
6. Create a blog. ( today )
7. Create a customer list. ( on going, but start now! )
8. Own my own Art gallery. ( in two years from now )
etc........

The painting above is called Paradise Found, painted by myself, you may check out the story of the painting by clicking here.

Goal setting and strategising means hard work, determination and persistence and the partner in crime is "Faith", I know somehow the Universe takes care of me and my dream but I also need to work laboriously to do my part in the success of my art career and always remind myself to stay focused and be grateful.

To be a full time artist may sound like fun, but it is a business and you need to commit to your dream with all your heart, mind and hands. Create constantly, own your craft and remember to learn continuously and grow as an artist.

My next blog will be the Part III of To be a full time Artist, I will be touching on the topics of Art Recipes!

If you wish to share your stories of success with me or if you have any questions, I will be delighted to connect with you.

All images and content are the copyright of Ting Yuen.

Follow your Dreams: Be a full time artist!

Hello readers,

Today I am going to talk about following your dreams. My dream was to become a full time artist. When I started painting eighteen years ago, I found a true love and connection with creating art. It was a feeling of excitement, passion and unbelievable contentment. Sure these are all feelings that I have had in life itself, but painting is different, it's a solitary act, sometimes I even feel completely self indulgent and the feelings that I mentioned are self fulfilled. I think that's what makes me want to do it more and more......being self reliant on happiness may be the best gift you could give yourself.

The Image above is called Wishes Granted II from my 2009 Collection.

I started selling my art work in 1999, it was an immediate validation when I sold my first painting, I knew this was what I wanted to do forever, not just part time, not just on the side but really commit to being a full time artist. I was working in a restaurant in the Cayman Islands at the time, and was very fortunate because I only worked nights, so my days were free to explore my passion. Every morning, I got up and went to my studio and painted, I dabbled with paint, read books about painting, dreamt about painting and most of all I believed in my dream! The image above is called Persistence from my 2008 Collection.

The picture above is called Inspirational Well from my 2008 Collection.

I can't stress the importance of believing in your dream. Sometimes, it's just about putting a wish out there to the Universe, putting a wish out there somehow grants you the permission to make it a priority. I read books about artists, I dreamt to be just like them, I knew I could be just like them. It's important to know that we all have the power to be whomever we wish to be, we all have a higher self and all we need to do is trust HER (mine, is a female!) .

Next, learn your craft, own it, practice it and learn to observe. Observation is the key to the way I work, since I am a self taught artist, I learn to paint by trusting my intuition, you know the term "Read between the lines", well it's very much like that. Learn to talk to your painting, learn to see it in the reflection of a mirror, look at it upside down, sideways and so on. Stand on your head if you have to, but study your work. Have a recipe list that works for you. I will talk more on this topic on my next post. Oh! Take workshops, read books and practice practice practice!!

Now, this may not be the best part about being a full time artist, but it's one of the most important topics: Business! You can not be a full time artist if you do not know how the business side works, read as many topics on business related subjects as often as possible. One of best gurus when it comes to art business is Alyson B. Stanfield, or if you are publishing your own prints, do check out Barney Davey's "How to Profit from the Art Print Market". These two gurus have a whealth of information that can't be missed. Remember to practice on how to talk about your work, I remember when I first opened my gallery, I was so afraid to express my work to potential clients, but since I needed to make a living, I learned to talk about my work Really Fast. As a reminder, no one is capable of selling your work better than yourself, and no one is in charge of your destiny but yourself. So sit down and write a list about why you paint and what it is that you paint.

Anyway, I have chatted long enough and obviously I can continue if need be, but I think I shall leave it for next time. BTW all the paintings that I have here on my blog have stories that accompany them, you may read the stories on my etsy shop.

If you wish to know more about "following your dreams" or if you have a similar story that you wish to share, please feel free to leave a comment, I would love to connect with you.

I will elaborate on a few of the topics that I touched on today in more detail in future posts, stay tuned.......

All contents and pictures © Ting Yuen

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