When Everything Happens All at Once in Your Art

Wow, October was a whirlwind! I don’t know about you, but it was non stop around here. And it looks as if it was merely gaining momentum for November.

I lettered the above quote on my iPad using the Procreate app, from a photo I took during a recent camping trip. I saw the quote in my instagram feed this week, and it really stuck with me. Sometimes it seems that all we do is sit around and wonder why nothing is going our way. And then all of a sudden things start happening. They come so quickly we can’t keep up and it feels like our heads are spinning.

People start asking you to help with a project. You have to prepare for a short trip. You have a billon errands to run to get ready for an event. Your desk is a mess from another project, and your email inbox is just … ugh.

But then you take a moment to reflect on your wishes and prayers from the recent past. Haven’t you been reaching out to people, telling them you’re available if they need a [fill in the blank]? You’ve been wanting to travel more, right? A short trip is just as much travel as a big vacation. And the event — weren’t you excited about it when the idea first came up? All of these things are the result of what you have asked for. The Universe is giving you what you wanted. Overwhelm will happen. It’s okay. Accept what you have been given, take a deep breath in, deep breath out - you got this.

For me, in the midst of my crazy October, I had to remind myself not to complain about it all and instead just grab onto both reins and hang on for the ride. After the letdowns I experienced in late summer, I decided to try something new. The fall festival I mentioned in last month’s newsletter was a chance for me to get out & meet people, and for them to see my work in person.

There were pros and cons to the festival. The good things were that it forced me to inventory my collection; order and prepare stock to have on hand, and FINALLY get my coloring book into tangible form (more on that later). I also got to meet some really nice people, and the best part were the kids who took photos of my work to share on social media, and asked me tons of questions about art: “How did you DO that?”

The bad part was that there just wasn’t very much traffic. And although I did make a few sales, I didn’t earn enough to cover my costs - lesson learned: keep your costs down.

The good news is, after the sale, my coloring book sales picked up! And enough to where I sold out of the first batch and am now on the 2nd. See my Daydream Odyssey page for more info, and let me know if you want to order one! I’m in the beta phase right now, as I am literally publishing these things in my dining room, in small batches like fine wine :)

So, this was just another example of how a perceived “failure” in one area can turn into success or opportunity down the road. If I hadn’t signed up for the festival, I don’t know that I would have gotten my act together to make the coloring book. And if I had sold out at the show, I don’t know that I would have made more and promoted them to my friends and family. And now that the first batch has gone out, I’m already receiving positive feedback! So, even though the festival was less than stellar at the time, in the end, getting out of my comfort zone turned out to be a great idea.

This is a great example of my concept, Follow the Line - which is the name of my newsletter (sign up here). In this example, it was following the line of producing my coloring book and putting it out there; having a perceived “failure” at the sale; and then bouncing back by finding a new audience and market for it.

When I teach art, I often see students struggling with executing a concept. First, the intimidating blank page: “Where do I start??” Then, after starting: “Ugh! This doesn’t look the way I thought it would!” Which is followed by so much erasing that it destroys the paper. The student’s level of frustration builds, their self confidence wanes, and often times the paper ends up wadded or ripped up and thrown in the trash. Said student is now either furious with anger or crying with frustration, and thinks that they “suck at art,” and will never be able to make anything.

What I try to do as a teacher is to circumvent the above conclusion by intervening at the “This doesn’t look right” phase. What every beginner needs to understand, and this is perhaps the most difficult, is that your artwork — ANYONE’S artwork — will never, ever end up the way you had in mind when you started. The concept in your mind at the beginning should be considered a starting off point. There will be many many twists and turns along the way. Your hand will act of its own accord much of the time as you build your artist’s eye and your level of dexterity. LET IT. Follow the Line! Follow the line that your hand is creating. It might not be the line you had in mind, but maybe it’s the line that needs to present itself at the time. Your hand, and the pencil or brush it holds will take you on amazing journeys if you allow it to.

Have you ever been exploring in a new city and gotten lost, finding yourself in an amazing little shop that you never would have found if you had stuck to the map? Are there friends in your life that you’ve met because you wound up somewhere in which you weren't expecting to find yourself?

So why should you place so much expectation, judgement, and control on your artwork? Allow it to flow from your imagination to your hands and become what it wants to become. Make mistakes. Learn. Try again. This should be fun! It’s an adventure, an amazing one.

The best part about art is that NO ONE ELSE WILL EVER MAKE WHAT YOU MAKE, THE WAY YOU MAKE IT. Sure, people will copy. But by the time they’re copying you, you’re going on to the next thing. And contrary to popular opinion, copying is fine. That’s how we learn. (As long as you don’t copy and claim it as your own - that’s theft. Which is another whole story).

The point is, take it easy on yourself. There is no such thing as perfect when it comes to art. Perfect is boring. You are not perfect, so why would you expect your art to be?

Just let go. Have fun. Follow the line and see where it takes you. Art is an adventure.

What’s a good thing that happened to YOU when you went against plan? Comment below.

Here’s a little sneak peek of my coloring book.

*Shoutout to my friend Eileen (2nd photo above) who’s one of those voices in my ear telling me to get my head out of my a** and just go for it already. Her side hustle is Color Street Nail Strips, handy at-home DIY no-dry-time manicures. Yes they are as awesome as they sound! Please go check them out and support Eileen or follow her on Facebook for special offers. ← P.S. I did her logo!! Hit me up if you need one, too.

Thank you so much for reading. If you liked any of the information or images here, please share it with someone you know!

xo

HH