My Journey: Making time to Have Fun!

Making Time to Have Fun!

Being a successful artist is a wonderful balancing act. Amidst all the work, it is important to make time to have fun. Similar to daily practice the benefits are:

• Increased creativity

• Improved quality of jobs or assignments I have taken on

• Generates better ideas

• Decreased stress

Having fun can take the form of many things. It can be daily drawing that is not connected to assignments. It can be doing other creative projects or doing something that is not related to your art. 

I see great benefit in participating in projects like Inktober, Mermay, Dinovember, Dueling Banjo Pigs, and similar drawing challenges. They are great opportunities to play while still practicing your art. You can even create your own. I have participated in Dueling Banjo Pigs and hope to participate in some of the others in the future. The key with these is to not let them dominate your time. They are to have fun and increase creativity, not to stress over.

I also enjoy the 100 something challenge which pushes your ideas beyond the obvious solution. In the past I have drawn 100 bow tie guys in 100 days, created 100 elephant characters, designed 100 logos of one word, created 100 different grilled cheese sandwiches and taken 100 different photos of my bowler hat. (I am trying to figure out my next 100 somethings challenge.)

Having fun does not always need to be art related. Here are some examples of what I have been doing over the past few weeks.

I recently completed the SixFanArts challenge as a drawing and creativity exercise. I had a wonderful time taking it in a completely different direction than others. 

Here is an example of the progress of my most recent lego creation, The Gump 3.0. I am still working on it here and there. I will post the completed one when I am finished. 

Julia and hikes around Franconia Notch a few weeks ago. It was beautiful. 

On Monday, My daughter and I biked around Joe's Pond. It was so peaceful and relaxing.

I also find great satisfaction in reading. I am currently working on reading all the Shakespeare plays and reading a few other books. I love gardening and playing games with my family. Last night I lost another game of Bogle.

In every instance I have been able to come back to my art refreshed with less stress and better able to solve the art problems I have been facing.

My Journey: A benefit of Personal Projects, Having Fun in Hard Times

Within one week I was to take years of course development and put them online. On top of this I started homeschooling my children, I continued to try to get illustration work, and my books published, received more rejections and I, with so many others, are doing our best to navigate a world pandemic.

That can all be rather overwhelming.

I have many things I do to stay calm in situations like this. I pray a lot. I am slowing down and spending more time with my family. I try to help others by reaching out to others to lift them up.

I also make time to work on personal projects. One of the benefits of working on personal projects is they are stress relieving. There is no purpose for these illustrations, other than to have fun and explore the challenge of fitting things into a square. When I finish each one I just feel happy.

Releasing stress and finding joy is just one of the benefits of working on personal projects regularly.

My Journey: Illustrating for Free (The Reasons I Do Pro Bono Work)

I recently finished this illustration and design for the Cabot Community Theaters production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. All my time and work was donated to the theater to help them. This included the above design and a black and white version for t-shirts.

I believe that as an artist, I should get paid for the work I do. Generally, when someone asks if I can do free work, my response is no. I also believe in giving to others. There are many organizations out there that just don’t have the finances to hire a good designer or illustrator, but they can benefit from the work we do. 

The pro bono work that I do is mostly for not-for-profit organizations that are doing something that I can support. To date this has been largely for children’s theaters. They are trying to do so much good for so many with so little. These organizations need all the help they can get. 

One friend of mine said that doing pro bono work for not for profits was what lead him to start his own design business. The not-for-profit organizations all had board members that worked for other for profit companies. When they needed work, they were already familiar with what he did. He was then hired and paid and continued to get repeat customers.

Although this would be a nice benefit to my donating my work, it is not the reason why I do pro bono work.

There are a few times I have needed to make sure I am not taken advantage. In these situations, I have found that reminding people how much the work would be if I was not donating my time and skills to them would be has been effective. 

I value the opportunity to do pro bono work for the following reasons. 

• I know they are in need.

• I get to work on really fun projects with little art direction.

• When I am not busy with other paid work, it gives me a deadline to do something more for my portfolio. 

• I have a higher level of creative freedom.

• It gives me an opportunity to explore process, medium and style.

• I like to help others out.

• I love the organizations I help (I really love theater).

• Did I mention it is fun.

My Journey: Dealing with Discouragement

My Probllama

I hit another low point this week. Monday was great. I was focused and got things moving along. When Wednesday hit it was quite a different story. I had the day planned out like I usually do, but then it all fell apart. Instead of working on illustration and marketing like I planned, I spent the day driving around for various appointments. I got more and more frustrated as the day progressed.

The most common thoughts that ran through my head was “why do I even try? What is the point of all of this?” Other things seem to constantly demand my time making it impossible for me to do what I want to do and what I need to do in order to get my illustration business going stronger. With these thoughts running through my head, I spiraled down to “I have been working on this for so long with no one wanting to hire me for illustration work.“ I began to question if I was any good at what I was doing. Again, the thought keep coming, “What is the point? I should just give up and do something else.” I was demoralized, discouraged and angry. I felt like everyone, my job, my family, everyone was intent on holding me back from my dream. 

This is a common feeling for me. It is something that crops up on a semi regular basis. Sometimes it last for days, other times it is just a few moments of self-doubt. As I questioned my attempts to get more illustration work this week, one message was also consistent. It was a still small voice that kept recurring to me. “Keep on the track you are going on. Just keep going.” As I held on to this other thoughts started to come.

First, “adjust your expectations.” Part of the frustration I am having is that I keep thinking that I should be where I want to be now. This is a deadline I have imposed on myself based on what others are doing and what I think should be happening. I have to remind myself that there is no set or specific tie as to when everything will work out. 

Second, (I have said this before and I say it often to my students.) Be patient. The difference between those that are successful in the visual arts and those that are not comes down to sticking with it and not giving up. One needs grit, diligence, and determination.  

Third, I needed to recognize that what I was doing on Wednesday was far more important that what I had planned. I needed to put things in the proper priority. I was helping my children, my family, and I was helping other people. This coupled with adjusting my expectations helps me to realize that sending out a number of portfolios to potential clients can wait a day or two. 

Fourth, help someone else. At the end of the day, I had the opportunity to be of service to others. Although I was still frustrated with my lack of time when I started helping, by the end I was in a better mindset. I was able to get out of my focus on myself and focus on others. This further helped me put things into perspective. I was able to think more clearly and move forward in a more positive manner. 

I also pray a lot for help.

I am doing better.

Now I am just continuing to move in the direction I have been going, even though it is so much slower than I expected.

My Journey: Directory of Illustration

You can now see my work in the Directory of Illustration!

 One of the challenges of being an independent artist is finding people to buy your work or to hire you to do work for them. Any artist should have a website. I have received a number of jobs from clients finding me on social media as well. But this is not enough. Similar to my comments about diversifying what you offer to build a solid table you need to diversify how you get seen by potential clients. 

Last year I took a big leap and purchased ad space in the Directory of Illustration. To date nothing has come from it. Despite the lack of work, I do not see this as a negative thing. This is a learning process; I cannot expect that clients will be knocking down my door immediately. I have been impressed with the sales reps at DI. They have been very good at giving me pointers and helping me refine my web portfolio through them. 

Regularly, I tell my students that they cannot expect to get work immediately upon graduation. The difference between those that are successful in the visual arts and those that are not, comes down to sticking with it and not giving up. One needs grit, diligence, determination, and patience. There will be more on patience in future posts I am sure.  

I have had many moments of discouragement, but I keep reminding myself, like I remind my students that it takes time to build a business. It takes time to find clients. 

You can see my Directory of Illustration page here. You can also see many more talented illustrators at the site.

The Benefits of Daily Practice Part II: Discovering Your Personal Style

For years I struggled with my art. I saw so many people that I thought were better artists than me. I wanted to draw like so and so, or paint like someone else. Try as I might, I could never rise to their ability. A few years after graduating from college, I started my MA in Illustration at Syracuse University. Here I was able to study under some great illustrators like Murray Tinkelman (1933-2016), C.F. Payne, and Bunny Carter. I learned so much there, but the work I produced was not good. 

Around 7 years later, I applied for the MFA program at The University of Hartford, Hartford Art School. I was again able to study under the direction of Murray. One day while working, He came by my desk, looked at my work, and said “Barclay, what happened? The work you were doing at Syracuse was horrible. This stuff is good!” 

I responded that I had been reflecting on the work I do in my sketchbook and realized that this was what and how I enjoyed drawing. 

He responded “Well keep it up!”

I had been keeping a sketch book and drawing in it regularly since I graduated from high school. I drew what I wanted to draw in it and how I felt like drawing. But for whatever reason, until that point at Hartford, I didn’t look at what was in my sketchbook as anything of value. I thought everyone expected me to be like other artists – to draw their way. Kimon Nicolades in his book, The Natural Way to Draw said “There is only one right way to draw and that is a perfectly natural way.” I had found my natural way to draw.

Drawing daily, drawing without pressure from the outside world, and drawing free of criticism and judgement can help you discover your own artistic voice and help you realize your own right way to draw and create art. 

I am still influenced by other’s work. I still strive to be better, but now I learn from other artists and apply it to the right way to draw – my way to draw. I have years of sketchbooks and a few incredible instructors that have allowed me the freedom to recognize this.

If you are interested in The Natural Way to Draw by Kimon Nicolades it is a wonderful book that was recommended to me by a wonderful painter and friend Frank Magleby (1928-2013) you can get it here.

For more information on the University of Hartford, Hartford Art school's limited residency Illustration MFA you can visit here.

You can also see Murray Tinkelman, and C.F. Payne illustrations.

The Benefits of Daily Practice: Part I, Finding the Joy Again

My grandfather often said, “Don’t get so busy making a living, that you forget what you’re living for.” 

In talking with a number of other artists, I have found a number of illustrators that spend so much time working on illustrating for others, that they lose joy in the creation of their art. It becomes a job and they forget the delight they once found in the creation process. I see this often with students as well. They get burned out with all the assignments that we as professors give them. It is no longer fun. 

Many do not spend time exploring and having fun with drawing because they are too busy with the work. They work, and their art is their work. They do not draw for fun anymore. It is their job and that is all. I believe, that in order to maintain the joy of creating art one must set aside time to draw or practice their art daily. This needs to be free of others expectations and demands.

For me, I try to fill at least a page in my sketchbook 6 days a week. This daily drawing is a free draw for me to explore, have fun, be creative without boundaries, or to practice drawing whatever I want to improve on. I have found that this drawing time generates ideas for personal projects that keeps me going through more difficult jobs and deal with some of my more stressful moments. 

This is not easy. Often the clamor of work, putting out fires, and other pressures cause me to sacrifice this drawing time. In order to combat this, I have started scheduling 15 minutes a day to just draw. Although this does not solve the problem of competing demands, it has helped me draw more. 

Recently, I have discovered again the joy of drawing guinea fowl. They, along with other creatures, like aliens, robots, and observational sketches, keep populating my sketchbook.

I am happier when I make the time to draw regularly. 

The Benefits of Daily Practicing, Introduction:

Each year I set a goal to draw more, and each year I get better and better at meeting this goal. Part of this goal is to spend at least fifteen minutes, six days a week, in free drawing. I also take my sketch book almost everywhere I go. I tend to fill one page in my sketch book in these 15 minutes. During this time, I practice drawing things I feel I need to improve, like spend 15 minutes drawing hands or whatever, doodling, playing with ideas that have been dancing around my head, or draw whatever comes to mind. The sketches above were drawn while I was waiting to board an airplane. To date, I have found the following benefits. 

• Helps you discover your personal style

• Improves drawing ability

• Increases creativity

• Improves quality of jobs or assignments I have taken on

• Generates ideas for personal projects

• Increases enjoyment of drawing and life

• Decreases stress

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the benefits to daily practice in any creative career. I am sure there are more. If you have any, send them my way. I would love to get other’s thoughts on this subject.

I will spend more time in future weeks going over each of these benefits in more detail.

One Small Exciting Step!

I made my first online sale! Traveling, print 1 of 25 has now been shipped off to a new home. One leg of my table is starting to strengthen.

It was exhilarating to log into my site and see that someone had purchased a print. I navigated the shipping process and sent it off. Having just opened the store a week ago and having a purchase that quickly was a wonderful event.

It helped to have the print on display at the Quimby Gallery as part of the Northern Vermont Faculty Exhibit, Come Together. They wanted a print and went to my site to make the purchase. This emphasizes the need to have multiple legs to support the table as mentioned in my last post.

This first sale is small, but exciting. I know full well that the online store will take time to grow, but it is exciting nonetheless.

I will continue to add work to the site for sale. You can go to here to see more.

A Balancing Act

One of the biggest challenges I have faced in my attempts to get more illustration work is finding balance between teaching, administrative responsibilities, and my art. I find spending time on building my illustration business the first thing to go, because the other aspects of my job are more pressing. I have many roles and the demands for those are increasing without the release of any other responsibilities. 

As such, I needed to do some serious reflection and make some decisions on how to accomplish my desire to get more illustration work. 

First, I applied for a sabbatical. This removed the administrative responsibilities that were so overwhelming and many of my other work demands. It allowed me to focus on illustrating.

Second, as an illustrator, I need to balance my time between creating and marketing. I have a tendency to focus more on the art work and hope that people will find me. Although this approach had brought in a small amount of work over the years, my-self-promotion efforts needed to increase and be more purposeful.

This involved planning. I now plan out my weeks. When will I work on illustration, and when will I work on contacting potential clients and other self-promotion efforts? Daily, I look over my plan and make adjustments based on what has come up. This has helped immensely in progressing toward more illustration work. I still have a great deal of work to do, but I am making progress. 

An example of a weeks planning

I realize this approach is not for everyone, but it has helped me. Some form of organization and planning is needed. I offer this as one solution and it is evolving and changing as I continue to work.

Now I am in the process of being patient until I see the results of my efforts over the last year or so. I will share my sure fire way to develop patience in two weeks.