What to do on a Saturday Night?

I'm gonna try to watch a movie that my wife and I have had for 5 days. We got it out of Redbox, which only costs a dollar a day. Which is only a great deal if you actually watch it quickly. We also sometimes use UnBox, which lets us download movies to our Tivo. That's better suited for our habits.

Prospects are good for actually watching the movie tonight though. Two younger kids are already in bed, and the oldest will entertain himself. I'll wait to see how good it is before I reveal what movie it is, 'cause it looks good, but I have seen some stinker reviews.

Right now, I am trying to watch a so far beautiful film called Heima by the Icelandic Band Sigur Rós. It's kind of a tour doc, with lots and lots of amazing shots of Iceland. I have only seen 20 minutes so far, but already I want to recommend it.

You can watch it all on You Tube.

Transferring videos

I finally got around to converting 11 years worth of home videos to digital files. This was the funniest one. This is my son being perplexed by a video camera's LCD screen.

Must Be Something in the Water... Candy L. Pegram

Something in the Water is a series meant to showcase Etsy artists living nearby me. We've got a lot of talented people round here, and if I can help shine a light on those folks, great!

Original Monkey Face Painting on Wood

© Candy L. Pegram, 12"x12"

I first came across Candy's work at a local show held here from time to time called "Art for the Masses". Her work really stood out among the huge crowd there. She had these great superhero paintings that I just loved, and more importantly, I knew my wife would love. She (my wife) does, and she is a far better judge of art than I am.

Sadly, I did not snatch one up, and I'm not sure that she still does them. Candy combines her personal way of seeing things with a warm folkish technique that is very appealing.

Her Artist Statement:

I begin each painting with a naive idea of what the final outcome will be. Consequently, a piece will evolve through layers of color, often sanded off several times to achieve a desired depth of feel. I favor images with hefty strokes and bold outlines, new yet familiar, evocative of a powerful collective pop culture memory of childhood toys, cartoons and characters. Currently I use wood as a canvas for its unique texture and inviting irregularity which tends to forgive my doubt and reward my instincts. My paintings tend to strike a random yet unidentifiably familiar chord that hopefully reminds us of our youths; when life was saturated with color and endless wonder.

Get them while you can at her Etsy store.

What's behind the bird collage series....

A deep-seated fear of all things avian. Just kidding. Really I am drawn to the design of birds, in general.

This series really began about 18 years ago, when I found a book, which will remained unnamed, that had lots of cool old illustrations in it. The book, at the time, was not yet part of the public domain, so I waited a long time for that to come to pass.

Prior to the birds, I wasn't really doing a lot of collage, and I didn't do any that used public domain images. If I collaged it, I had created the image from scratch.

I don't like to use found public domain images as I find them, so for the birds, which start out really small, I alter the image as much as I feel I can without changing the antique feel. Then I create the background using several layers of images of urban textures that I have taken.

Once the bird and the background are in place, I paint some color onto the background using my custom photoshop brushes. And that is pretty much it.

I have been a little surprised at people's love for birds and for this series. Of course, actual birds can be beautiful, but I sense that there is something deeper to people's affinity for birds. Someone suggested to me that maybe it is a friendly envy of birds ability to fly. I don't know. No answers here.

Blog comments are my new message from a stranger?

So I finished my little novella about finally getting around to making art for a living.

I think if I boiled down all the words in my "Getting what you wanted posts" to a single point, it would be that you don't get what you want until you are ready to do what you have to do to have it. And by that I mean fully commit to it. That means agreeing with yourself to complete tasks that you aren't aware of yet. To do the less exciting aspects of being an art-based business. To leave the certainty of a regular paycheck and trust that your decisions will move you forward on your path, and when they don't, trust that you will be able to recognize your mistakes and minimize their impact.

In writing about some of the parts of my progression to becoming a working artist, I covered some of the less tangible things that occurred along the way, like the message I received from a stranger, etc. that I felt were less common experiences in such a process. I think everyone has those moments, or at least I hope they do, that allows them to grow either personally or professionally. It's whether or not you are fortunate enough to recognize those moments and take something positive away from them that is different for each of us.

The most common experience, in getting what you want is, in my opinion, working hard for it. There are some people who get what appears to be what they want with what looks like little or no work, but I think those folks pay a price that we don't see, in terms of happiness, privacy, etc. I also don't think they get to have and enjoy what they want for as long as the people who take a longer, harder path to it.

Someone commented on this blog that I was fortunate to have this success fall into my lap, and while I have been very fortunate, it has never really felt like success was falling into my lap, so to speak. If you read a good amount of artists bios, you will find many artists who did not know that they wanted to be an artist until some gift of art supplies or a life-changing event opened their eyes to the possibility. I have always seen myself as wanting to be a full-time artist, as knowing that being an artist was what I wanted to do. And until something like Etsy came along, that just wasn't a possibility for me. So I tend to think that I worked toward this moment for a major part of my life.

But maybe I didn't. Maybe I stumbled upon success. I know I still have a lot left to do, and I think I am not sitting around admiring my "empire".

I have never thought myself to be an accidental artist. Not because I don't like accidental artists, but because I have been trying to be an artist for so long that it certainly is not an accident. So when someone tells me that it kinda looks like I am, I take notice. I thought about this for several weeks, and toward the end of that time, I began to wonder what purpose that comment and my subsequent thought about it is supposed to have for me.

And it finally occurred to me, maybe I am (figuratively) sitting around admiring my hard work. The daily grind of running an art business could be fooling me into thinking that I am progressing and doing all I can to get my work out. Perhaps even though I know I have more work to do as an artist, I'm not really necessarily doing it.

My works hours are quite a bit less than they used to be, and where there once used to be no separation between work and home life (because it was almost all work life), there is separation now. Most of work stays at the studio, and time at home is spent being at home, instead of toiling away to all hours of the night.

So, here again, someone I don't know has said something to me that has snapped me out of my stupor. Thanks stranger.

Newsletter Re-Launch – $100 Shopping Spree Contest

I am preparing to relaunch my e-mail newsletter, which features more info about my work and the work of other Etsy artists. There will also be some serious Etsy Seller Tips, new work announcements and shop updates.

As part of the relaunch, I am holding a contest: Everyone who joins before March 31 has a chance to win a $100 shopping spree from my Etsy store, johnwgolden. After March, there will be a monthly drawing from the subscriber pool for a Free Print up to $30 in value.

Fine Print: I hate to have to say this, but due to the varying laws regarding contests in various countries, the shopping spree contest and monthly drawings are only open to U. S. residents. No purchase is necessary and this contest is void where prohibited.

Visit my Website to subscribe.

Rayguns!!!!

Got some new pieces in a series of Robots and Rockets that I did last year. Now Rayguns are part of the mix. These 3 little guys are available on Etsy.

More Rules!!!!

At long last, I have more signs in my original By Order of the Management line. These 8 make up Series 3, and Series 4 will be released soon (within days even?).

These are available as a sets and singles on Etsy.

When what you wanted takes over - Part 6

Maybe not everyone is going to have the kind of moment that I had where you realize what is holding you back in life and how to fix it. Somebody I did not even know had to tell me. (See previous post in this series).

I am not sure that I would have figured it out on my own, and I'm pretty sure I would not have recognized this opportunity at any time prior in my life. I spent most of my adult life wanting to be where I am right now in my career. It has been a very long wait. Each day I wake up wanting to go further. I am certainly not done yet. But the desire for what I have now in terms of being a working artist has been there.

So I wanted this. Great. That's all good. But most of us know that wanting something is not enough. "You gotta work for it." Right. We all know that too.

Around June '07, I continued trying to build my Etsy store, saying to myself, "I think this could work." And as the months continued to go by without taking on contract work, my mindset gradually changed to, "This is working..." until finally, in August '07, one day as I was packing orders, I thought to myself, "This is what I do now."

That's a good feeling, and not as scary as one might think. And reaching that point really felt like it opened some doors for good things to come my way. By saying, "This is what I do now," I feel like I committed to getting what I wanted. Within days of saying it that first time, some of the biggest developments in my artistic career began to fall into place. I truly believe that I was not going to get what I wanted until I committed to getting it. Visual art was not going to be my full-time job unless I was willing to spend my day's filling stay-flat mailers, spending a hefty chunk on listing and transaction fees, etc. I could not be timid about it, I could not just dip a toe in the waters. I said before I dove/fell in, and that is true.

So...why wait 29 years? I guess I did not know any better. I guess I thought that I was supposed to be doing other things. I know for sure it's because I had not yet committed to getting what it was I wanted.

When what you wanted takes over - Part 5

Let me preface this next part by saying that this is one of those things that happened with elements that may be unbelievable for some, and may make total sense for others. I am still not sure that I believe all of it, but the benefit of it happening, and what I took away from it is, to me, undeniable. This centers around someone I did not know personally, who did not personally know me, who knew very little about me, conveying a message to me. But there was enough accuracy and little bits of truth in what was said that the message caught my attention, and through this message, I was able to examine and evaluate what was happening in my career and make a tremendous change there.

So, the person I did not know then, but do now, is a very metaphysical person. I myself am one who is open to others' beliefs and have not decided what my beliefs are on a lot of things. It's a struggle to figure out exactly how to present this event, so that you, the reader, can focus on what I got out of the event rather than the details of the event.

So, the streamlined version: This person sent me a message through a mutual friend. This message was that I had a fear of saying no to people in positions of authority because I was afraid of what would happen if I did. She also sent details of why she thought this was true. What she said related to the world of art, responsibility, paying for mistakes and feeling like a slave to something. The details had nothing to do with any events that have occurred in my life, but it made me think. It was true that I hated to disappoint people. And it was also true that not saying no was leading me to put myself in situations that I did not enjoy. Furthermore, I was often very bothered by things I saw on a daily basis where people didn't take responsibility for themselves and their actions, and paid no consequence for things they did that wronged other people. And most of all, I felt completely enslaved by my work at the time.

The last part of what this person said was instructions on how to overcome this fear. There were several steps, but the big one was to ask the universe, my higher power, etc., whatever it was that I believed in, to release me from the fear of saying no. And to do it often.

Now you gotta understand, I was not sitting around pounding my head on my desk saying to myself, "Why can't I say no?". Trouble saying no was not something I had identified in myself yet. I knew I preferred the feeling I got when I said yes to a job or request to the feeling I got when I said no, but it's not something I was working on as a person. I was really just wanting to know how I was going to get from creating most of my art for other people to creating most of it for myself, and in doing so, being able to make a living doing it. Whether or not this woman's message to me, from how she received this message to whether or not what the message said was true, it clicked with me. It helped me identify some things about myself, and it gave me something to do to move myself forward.

So, I asked. I asked to be released from my fear of saying no. I did it several times a day for several months. And it worked. I became able to say no to projects, which opened my days to work on Etsy and on new work. And being free to do both of those things led me to be able to take the next step that was crucial to becoming a working artist – being willing and ready to become one.

Next: The takeover begins...

When what you wanted takes over... Part 4

So I joined Etsy. For about 6 months I did nothing, and then last January (2007) I caught on to the benefits of listing frequently and renewing listings frequently. January of last year was promising enough that I began to think that it was possible to build sales to a point that taking on contract design work would not be possible. And that was a good thing, too, because the design work was dwindling. I never really went looking for projects before. I would just finish a project, enjoy the lull that followed, and something new would come along.

So as the something news became less and less, I was able to put more of my efforts toward Etsy, and a slow build began to happen. Sales on Etsy slowed a bit in February '07, but then they began to increase a bit each month. By May '07, I was pretty well convinced that Etsy could sustain me if I could sustain the amount of work that generating sales and filling orders requires. Where I had been working sometimes 8am to 2am days, I could now work 9am to 5pm days. I could certainly do that.

I went from fretting over projects that just couldn't seem to be completed to geeking out over how much faster I could fill orders when I replaced my slow inkjet printer with a new laser printer to make my shipping labels. I mean, we're talking about a 1 1/2 minutes per label to 5 seconds! Who wouldn't geek about that?

There were several key moments in those months that disconnected me from my old work life and made me ready to make a living from my art. Some of the things that happened were strictly tangible business-type things. Others were more mental and mindset-type things. And some were totally spiritual things that I still don't know if I believe but I was able to derive a meaning from that pointed me forward.

The first thing that happened was a spiritual thing, and involved a person that I did not know at the time, and who knew very little about me. This would have been around January, before I had begun to curtail my design projects. I was at the peak of my mental turmoil over not wanting to do contract design work anymore but needing to do it to make a living. I felt stuck in my job in that I felt I could not turn projects down yet and also that I could not turn down client requests for additional deliverables or changes to projects that exceeded the budget. I was afraid to say no.

Next: How I learned to stop worrying and love the NO...

Treasury Thanks!

More thanks to those who give of their time to feature others' work...

Littlewhims
Retro Fever!

Tomorrow is the last day for Love!

Feb. 7th, 2008 is the last day to place orders (within the US) in time to receive them for Valentine's Day. Orders will ship by Monday at the very latest.

When what you wanted takes over... Part 3

So my wife and I met. While we were dating, I began working as a photographer for our little local entertainment/lifestyle rag. I was horrible at going out and getting "the shot". I am not well-suited for journalism or service photography at all really.

The mag ran an ad for a Graphic Designer. Now I would like to tell you that I saw the ad and said, "Hey! That's my major! I should march right down to the magazine's office and declare, "Stop the presses! I've found you a Graphic Designer!" Okay, maybe not that part about stop the presses. That's a bit cheesy, but suffice it to say that an ad in the publication from which I was getting $10 a picture (average 2 pics a week) for a job that might mean I'd get to use the degree I spent 4 1/2 years earning and would mean a steady, though not all that decent paycheck, had absolutely no effect on me.

Fortunately, my wife noticed that I was a Graphic Designer and reminded me of the fact. So, I applied for the job, and got it. Then when I went to our local hospital to shoot photos for an article on the Candystripers program there, and the head of the Public Relations Department asked if I knew any Graphic Designers looking for a job, I again drew a blank.

My wife, fortunately, did not and whispered, for lack of a better phrase, "That's you, dude." Thus began the pattern of opportunities going unrecognized by me, to be followed by my wife pointing out the obvious. She has done it again and again. And every time an opportunity has run it's course, she has been the one to listen to my discontent, and the one to nudge me towards finally moving on to the next better opportunity. She is the one who found Etsy for me.

In true fashion, I ignored that opportunity for several months before finally opening up shop. Once I opened up a shop, I listed only occasionally until it became apparent to me that frequent listing would improve my sales. By this time, my wife had become my sounding board for my artistic and career endeavors. She had spent the previous year watching me chase that one thing that was gonna get me out of Broadcast Design and into whatever was next – CafePress, Imagekind, etc. and listening to me talk about the potential for those endeavors. None of those really took off and were abandoned or were put on hold once the great return never materialized. Despite feelings of "Here we go again," she has supported me each time, and I dare say that is probably better than I could have done.

Now she keeps me on top of all things Etsy, and is far superior to me on deciding what to list and when. So she is in charge of that stuff. And I just make with the art and the shipping all day long.

Next: 5 months that would change our world

More Treasury Thanks!!!

Thanks to Talula for putting me in her French Treasury that I only just saw moments before it will expire...

Here's some more folks I should thank:

Pocketshop
Gabba Gabba Hey

Cookoorikoo
Vitamin C

femputer
Charcoal

Timoshe
Robot and Love

And here is my latest Treasury.

State of the Treasury Feb. 1, 2008

I thought I ought to say thanks to the good people who give me a spot in their treasury. So...I'm gonna try to have a regular post that links into these folks' treasuries and sends the massive traffic this blog generates over to show their hard work. No, really, the traffic is massive. Okay... It's the thought that counts. Please comment if you like their picking abilities and visit their shop if they are sellers:

That said, the following folks are currently including me in their hard-won treasuries:

TeenAngster
Awesome groundhog inspired list.

eyecandycreative
Inspired by a Doctor Doolittle song.

hazelandhoneysuckle
Rainy day lovely dark leaves & things

CuriosityKilled
A Rusty Shade of Blue

BlueMoonRose
Colorful Goodness

archdelineator
Thoroughly Modern

MichelleBrusegaard
Aqua! Art! Aqua!

plushoff
Orange and Blue Favorites

hoffmanphotography
Show me the green!

theVintageZoo
Monsters!

If you click the screen name, you'll be taken to that Etsians Treasury. Thanks a bunch!

When what you wanted takes over... Part 2

With my newly expanded exhibition space in the Golden Gallery, I spent the next year or so creating more abstract photography and "running" a fledgling freelance graphic design and photography business. I say "running" with quotes because I did not really know what I was doing. I sat and waited for the work to come to me mostly (never a good idea), but it gave me lots of time to play around with my art.

I had taken a serigraphy course in college, and I used those skills to create small runs of silkscreened shirts and dresses, and I thought that might be something that would take off for me. But...while I sold them all, I never made more than about 30 at a time, and maybe 200 in total, so that empire was never to be.

Now as I said, I had started selling my work at 11 years old, so my path, whether I knew it or not, was set from an early age. At the time of all the silkscreening, I think I was at a fork in the road. I could stay in my insanely cheap studio, and my cheap little apartment and make whatever art I wanted all day long. Or I could move forward. I could put myself in new situations that would inform my art and grow my skills by holding me to standards that were, at the time, higher than my own. I could use my degree (graphic design) to earn a living.

But first I had to do the one thing that would truly set me back on my path. I had to meet my wife.

Next: Okay, now we're ready to puke, but since we know you're gonna tell us anyway, go ahead and tell us the mushy details. And what about the rest of the 29 years of waiting?

Image from an animated station ID I did for TechTV

White Persian

After some intensive line drawing, and then some new art brush development this morning in Adobe Illustrator™, I finally completed this White Persian for my cat series.

What's really cool is that each new breed in this series is helping me to develop ways to draw fur in Illustrator, and the better I get at that, the more breeds I can do.

This one is over at Etsy.

When what you wanted takes over... Part 1

This past year was one of those watershed years for me personally and for my art. After months of dipping one toe into the waters of Etsy, I dove...well, half dove, half fell in. While I certainly haven't discovered the meaning of life or the secrets of success on Etsy, I learned a lot this past year, and feel like sharing.

I was way over my day job. And I had a really cool day job. I designed for national and international broadcast clients. Chances are if you have kids about 10 or older, or are in your 20s, you saw some of my design work on TV. All that was great, and I worked with some amazingly talented and creative people.

But...increasingly, as the field grew more crowded with talent, you had to do so much more for the same budget to stay competitive. And I was already working 100+ hour weeks pretty regularly. And I kept saying to my wife, "I don't want to do this anymore" over and over. With a wife and 3 kids and a dog to support, I told myself just as much, "You have to."

Some folks would say I was manifesting, asking the universe to make things happen so that broadcast design would become what I used to do. I don't know, but I certainly was imagining myself as making a living from just the sales of my art.

I had been selling my art for a long time though. Since I was 11 years old. For 29 years. But it was never my job. I started with 2 linoleum block prints, which I sold from a corner of my mom's gallery. The corner was called John's corner, and would be my sole semi-permanent exhibition space until I returned home from college with a 4' x 12' Louise Nevelson-inspired wooden wall sculpture that demanded more space. I also had a small body of work of mostly abstract photography that I had created in school.

Next: Why did I wait 29 years?

Valentine Deadlines....

Just a reminder...

For international orders, Jan. 31, 2008 is the last day to guarantee arrival before Valentine's Day.

For domestic orders, Feb. 7th, 2008 is the last day to place Valentine orders.

Ladders!

The original image in this piece was taken in the late 80s. I am a sucker for repeated shapes, so this arrangement of ladders really grabbed me.

Makes me think of a line from a Replacements' song, "God, what a mess, on the ladder of success
Where you take one step and miss the whole first rung."

This would be a great reminder that you never stop climbing. Available at Etsy.

Another Heart-themed piece

This series is taking shape. The driving theme is sort of complete the sentence. "My heart:_____". Beats for you, skips a beat, etc. These are digital collages and are available for Valentine's Day as 4x6 prints in an envelope, suitable for giving to the one who makes your heart skip a beat. Order early for Valentine's delivery.

Available on Etsy.

Cats!

Can't save all the love just for the Fido Series! I have long wanted to turn my eye towards cats, and since the dog series was getting all my attention, I thought it only fair to get a few cats underway.

Here's a little Ginger Tabby to start on Etsy.

Giving Art as cards...

I thought it might be nice to make available some of my art in card sizes and formats, so that folks could give a little piece of my art at times when cards would normally be given. Not sure what to call this yet, as it is not really what I think of as an Art Card. It's basically a 4" x 6" art print on 5" x 7" paper, given in an envelope, with a paper insert so that you can write a note with the art.

It's not a greeting card, and it's not a reinvention of the greeting card...Well, anyway, while I think about a name, you can see the first in a series, "Belongs to You" on Etsy.

Happy New Year!!!

It's back to work time here at the John W. Golden studio! I have added to my film can collage series with "Carrying a Torch". It's a brief visual treatise on Love :). I may make it available as a card for Valentine's Day.

Right now you can get it as a print on Etsy.