Keeping Positive (or Keeping Busy!)

Global news has seemed particularly full of sadness, violence and hate lately and I am finding that both shocking and affecting. I actively searched for happy news last week to cheer myself up and found Mosha, an elephant that has been given a prosthetic leg by a lovely orthopedic surgeon and his team. It doesn't exactly make up for the current political awfulness, but it restores my faith in humanity. Here's a video:

My personal inner sunbeam has also taken a bit of a knock with 3 polite gallery rejections and a little run of low sales in my studio. I've never been brave enough to approach galleries before and so far have stumbled along by some miracle, waiting for galleries to come to me. It was one of my goals this year to be more proactive and business-like in my approach, but now I'm back to feeling a bit scared again. Sometimes I think I'm not cut out for this business malarkey! I consoled myself with some owl doodling. I do love owls...

And butterflies, because they are like flying rainbows :)

So! I can either admit defeat and apply for a job in Tesco OR I can work out a comprehensive action plan. Tesco doesn't especially appeal (Sorry Tesco, I'm an indie kid at heart!), so:

Yeah, title page! My notebooks are fancy.

I've been going over old notes and business plans, making new ones, organizing a diary of events, themes and deadlines which I can use (and build on) year after year...all in the beautiful technicolours of my 20 piece staedtler fibre-tip pen set, which unfortunately makes my penmanship a bit gnarly. Fat pens and teeny writing is not a great combo.

I've had a bash at some customer profiles, which I have never done before, because it makes me a bit uncomfortable. Hello, social stereotyping. Yaarg. Houseproud Mum Hannah (largely taken from my twitter insights page. It is also possible she shares similarities with my big sister!):

There's also Family Man George, Art Enthusiast Arthur and Free Spirited Evangeline. I'm not sure it's technically necessary to give them names, but it seemed rude not to. I might draw a few caricatures for reference. Or because I've been procrastinating, day dreaming about Arthur's bow ties and Evangeline's unruly hair, but largely for reference. It's important to flesh these profiles out a bit, yeah?

I've also updated this very blog. It now has a different layout and a new page for business-y references (on the right, under Hello Owl). My website & online shops are having a snazzy makeover, with snazzy new 'lifestyle' photographs.

My favourite part of my website is this new 'Artist' page, which shows my process:

I'm rather enjoying all this planning and organizing. Hopefully it will pay off eventually.
In the meantime I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more happy news reports. Stay safe.