Day 10 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge - "Imagine the Possibilities"

"Imagine the Possibilities" - 20" x 16" on 1.5" canvas - mixed media

Wow - it's hard to believe we are 1/3 of the way through this challenge already.  It hasn't been as easy as I hoped it would be but it's infinitely more rewarding than I had expected.  I'm having a blast painting over old pieces and seeing what comes next, and I'm enjoying the process.

I knew working larger again would take more time but what I hadn't factored into the time crunch was the final finishing of the paintings.  I don't know about you, but I'm a procrastinator.  I love to do the paintings and can usually get them photographed and named - for me that's the best part of the process.  

But afterwards, the paintings sit in a "finished but not really ready to sell" state.  I let them stack up and just wait until a show comes along or someone wants to buy something.  Then I go into a panic mode because I need to install the hanging wire; finish painting the sides if they weren't already completed; sign the piece in the front and the back; and complete the piece with 2 coats of UV protective varnish (satin is my favorite finish).  For me, this set of chores is the least sexy part of painting and I dread doing it for some unknown reason.

Well - yesterday one of the art consultants I work with called to see if I had any new work she could look at for a client who needed something now.  I told her to come by this morning and I'd show her what I had.  Then last night one of my friends said she wanted to buy one of the paintings from the challenge and asked if she could stop by this afternoon to pay me for it.  And of course I said yes - but I was in a state of panic thinking about how I was going to get all of these pieces sale-ready before my meeting.  Yikes!

So I was up very late last night and got up early this morning to finish off 10 canvases.  I had an assembly line set up in my kitchen and dining room, and was freaking out thinking the varnish wouldn't be completely dry before the consultant arrived.  Thankfully it was and she loved the new pieces - now I'm keeping my fingers crossed her new client loves them too. 

What a way to learn an important lesson though - you can be sure that from now on, I'll be more diligent about completely finishing a painting before jumping into another one.  If I'm pegging myself as a professional artist, then obviously I need to act like one - and having a nice inventory of ready-to-sell work is preferable to having a studio of half-finished works.  After all - what would have happened if another consultant or designer had needed something in a hurry and I wasn't prepared? 

"Precious Moments" - SOLD

And later this afternoon I said good-bye to Day 8's offering called "Precious Moments" - which happens to be one of the highest rated paintings on my Instagram account to date and a personal favorite.  Suffice it to say, today was a very good day for this artist :-)

Once again this project is challenging me in more ways that I expected, and I would like to think that each and every challenge makes me a better artist.  So now I know I need to treat each painting like a commodity, ready to sell at a moment's notice.  Lesson learned - bigtime!