This week I had a conversation with a very talented artist, which I learned a lot from and look up to. It was so inspiring to be able to chat with her.
She gave me some brilliant advice since I felt stuck and did not really know in which direction I should or would want to go. She had a look at my website and also my Instagram profile to share some valuable feedback, including the challenge.
I've gained a lot of clarity. During or while planning this challenge I felt a bit discouraged with my art. It didn't seem to resonate with people the way I'd loved and wanted to. After some time I thought maybe I should adjust my florals to a more "mainstream" or traditional approach. More impressionistic rather than abstract elements.
One piece of advice this artist pointed out almost first off was, to do your own thing! Create paintings that people will see and think; Oh, that's a "Nicole" for sure. This would be so hard to achieve when painting like almost everyone does.
Another point was the caption of my posts on social media. I know I'm not good at them because my clear focus on connecting with my audience is my blog and email list. It often feels very intimidating to sell or worse to share personal stories in my captions. This just doesn't feel like me. So, she told me that I needed to communicate clearly that my paintings were available for purchase. Just writing one line, like the original painting is available for purchase, dm me if you're interested. So simple, so easy, and short. Not pushy or overly salesy at all. All these things she told me I theoretically already knew. But to hear them from someone speaking directly to me was needed and important.
The same with my painting. I painted in a way I thought people would like me to. But in the end, it is my work and it is unique to me. There will always be people who will not like my art at all and that's fine. Indeed it needs to be exactly this way.
I felt unsure about my work and this conversation sparked a lot of inspiration and gave me new motivation to keep up my work.
So, for my second week of painting, I wanted to bring my personality into my artwork. This was way harder than I thought, mainly because I instantly am way harder on myself and my work. When pursuing my visions and ideas I want them to work from the beginning. Safe to say I struggled way more during the second week than the first. That's why my newsletter, blog post and post of day 15 were all late this week.
The third week already started a little chaotic but hopefully, things will get sorted.
Stay tuned for next week's update.
Day 8: Oleander
Day 9: Sweet Magnolia
Day 10: Lily and Tulips
Day 11: Roses
Day 12: Peony and Snowdrops
Day 13: Kupaloke
Day 14: Carnation
