Musings of an unhinged mind.

Hi friends,

So much information is out there for easy access on the web and like many artists I have studied it carefully. We're all looking for the same thing basically....the way to be successful with our art work. So we have picked our favorite writers, the ones that can put into words the bits and pieces that we then fashion into a puzzle that might work for us.

We listen carefully to what is being said about the economy and tailor our work to smaller sizes, we pay attention to the style of paintings of artists in our favorite genre and wonder if our own style is falling behind. We are slow to drop a once-upon-a-time favorite show because we don't care much where it is headed, and we wonder if dropping our prices would help sales.

Much of what we read is good advice and comes from the heart of others that have been there and done that. It valuable and needed, because time is short and we don't have time to invent the wheel ourselves every time.

But somewhere in the mix of fear based actions on our part is a quiet place that is the truth of our art. The authentic self that instinctively recognizes the art that is within us, undiluted by any outside influence. That truth says paint big....that truth says take your style to the next level without fear of what others think.....the truth says drop the show that doesn't feel right anymore.....and that truth says raise prices because your art has reached a level that demands it.

It takes a great deal of confidence to be truly who you are when so many things pull you in so many directions. Through it all though this quiet center remains, waiting for you to discover and believe in your own vision, your own voice.

Are you listening to what it has to say?

All my best,

Sandra Haynes

Hi friends,

With a new fire lit under my enthusiasm, blog posts have gotten spaced out somewhat, but I would like to share what prompted this new blaze.

As the years have gone by, the work on my art has sustained itself by it's own momentum, then in the last few years a string of life events tipped me over to where art was the only thing that mattered and probably kept me going through some incredibly rough times.

It also became such an obsession that nothing else much mattered to me, to the point that I was beginning to burn out, not to mention getting disowned by family and friends. So on the flip side, the recession to our economy probably happened at a very opportune time for me. It has shaken the status quo and me up enough to where I have come out of my self-induced coma and taken a hard look at where I want and need to go.

After deciding that instead of trying to re-invent the wheel, I needed to gather information and people around me that could give me the tools needed to survive and thrive in this whole new world that I found myself in, I started practicing one of my favorite things. Which is, just keep an open mind and trust the universe to send what I needed. The trick is to recognize the gift when it arrives!

And they arrived on time and with ideas that far outreached what I could have done on my own. One person is from years in my past, a talented, generous consultant guru that tweaks my glimmer of dreamy thoughts into solid and usuable ideas. She lives in a different world than I do, and has that perspective to take me outside my universe.

Another business partner/friend/mentor came to me in a more unusual way.....I found him on a dating site and definitely didn't have this outcome in mind when I first contacted him! After first meeting, it was mutually decided that we weren't exactly a match made in heaven, but with an open mind I listened to him talk. He has an interest in my artistic journey and he possesses the knowledge that is on a successful business level that I would never in this lifetime achieve on my own.

He recommends movies, books, blogs and offers solid marketing ideas from a standpoint outside the art world. He questions the ideas that I come up with wanting to know exactly how I plan on making a living with this idea,  brainstorms with me, generally keeps me pointed in the right direction and loans money on contract for shows when the income is uneven. 

Sometimes stepping outside the art world can give you a fresh new perspective. I certainly didn't expect a dating site to yield the gift of a person that has offered so much.

The message here is don't discount anyone you meet. Sometimes help arrives in the most unusual ways. Surround yourself with artists, but include in your network successful people from other walks of life.

Keep an open mind.

All my best,

Sandra