Before I was called away to jury duty, I decided to take a break from painting florals and birds for the next couple months. I have 448 active listings in my Art By Katie Jeanne Etsy shop, and 656 expired ones. That means I’ve painted A LOT of florals in the past year and a half. I’m starting to feel a burnout coming on, so before it goes that far, it’s time to change things up a bit. When I get bored, it really shows in my work. So, it’s bye to florals for a little while, and hello portraits and figures once again.
Dreaming of Numbers and Flowers
I’ve given myself the huge task of going through all my Miz Katie paintings, and revising them. Some have been kicking around for 3 or 4 years. It’s time to make them better, hopefully irresistible, so I can get them out the door on their way to permanent homes. I’m calling this my “summer job” because I figure once September rolls around, I’ll be itching to get back to painting florals again.
Wearing Her Heart on Her Sleeve
It’s been a couple years since I painted portraits, and I had forgotten what a zen-like experience it is..I sit down to revise one of these, and I get lost in the process. Adding layer upon layer is so calming, and mesmerizing. It’s a whole different feeling than painting florals and birds, much more personal.
I know I have my work cut out for me. Not only is it a lot of work to revise these paintings, but I have to retake all the photos, as well. I’ll be spending a lot of time with my old pal, Photoshop, but it’s okay. Every time I see an image of a newly revised painting, it makes me want to push on to the next one. I’m loving the improvements so far.
As you’ve probably noticed, I’m changing the color palette as I go along, and my portraits are beginning to have the same colors as my florals and birds. That’s because I’m trying to form a cohesive look.
The reason this has become so important is because I’ve been actively looking for a new place(s) to sell my work. I recently sent in some applications, and I was accepted at Art Finder, and Amazon Handmade. I’m also looking at Saatchi Art, and will start selling there soon, too. More about all this later, when I’m more settled in. 
It’s not possible to have two separate shops or galleries on these new sites, like you can on Etsy. So, I’m being forced to look at my work, and business as a whole, instead of separating it by genre, and painting style. My portraits need to look like they belong along side my florals, not clash with them.
These two paintings could hang side-by-side on your wall or on a website without a problem. Goal accomplished!
Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. – George Bernard Shaw
When I first started changing things, I thought I was only going to tone down the backgrounds to make the faces stand out more. Now, some are getting completely new faces because my revisions are getting bolder and more daring the farther I get into this project. I’m going to have a completely different body of work after I’m done, and I’m excited about that.
So, here’s to a summer full of changes! I hope by the time a new season rolls around I’ll have this all figured out, and be better established in these new selling venues.
I started documenting the whole process on my other blog before I had a chance to really think it through. Now I’m wondering if it’s a good idea to have two different blogs, since I want to merge my work together, not separate it anymore. I’ll have to think about it, I guess. hm..well, I do have different followers on Blogger than here on this blog, so I probably will keep blogging over there, too.
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