Painting with Numbers: 3, 7, 21, 711510

Artists Who Thrive. What a concept! It's definitely a personal aspiration. In real and virtual reality, it is more than a concept. It is a resourceful website and Facebook page that helps artists effectively market and sell their art. I LIKE them on FB. And it inspires me. I welcome any and all assistance to grow and remove obstacles in my path.

My de-Obstacle committee of 3: Deities Ganesha, Buddha, Durga.
I have this in the entry of my apartment. My dabble with a recycled shelf I had, mosaic glass tiles, acrylic paint. 
The photo doesn't do it justice. Shot it my laundry room.  Clean though.

I have not been feeling the artist "thrive." Just the opposite. I am behind in fulfilling the things I said I was "expecting"  and said to have done by now. Website, new work created, shot, and MARKETING.   I'll share a little well known secret about "expectations": DON'T HAVE THEM. For those who know me and those who don't: yes, I can be very hard on myself.

According to an extensive 2010 survey commissioned by Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) and posted on a recent ArtistsWhoThrive FB page, I came across two statistical findings that gave me a sense of belonging and made me feel less like an "outsider" artist:

• Seven in 10 artists hold at least one job in addition to making art. 

 I have a full time job with a schedule that changes weekly. Last year I had two jobs in addition to making art. That didn't last too long. Hooray.

• "Artists who earn less than 21% of their income from their artwork are the least likely to market themselves in any way."

 

Since my art is changing from what I have done in the past, I haven't done much marketing this year or last. There's the 21. It has taken time for me to fully emerge and solidify. I do have a photo shoot scheduled for next week. A professional one! And there has been offline work on the new website.

As for 711510, that’s the IRS code for full time artists.   The ultimate number I aspire to and fantasize about, but don't expect soon.

Whatever, I plan and will continue to be an artist who thrives. That means continue having a full time job, working at creating and marketing new work, and try to control font size when I can (having lots of trouble with this post for some reason -hrumph.) It is a numbers game (and software) and I'm in regardless.