What a difference a few months can make. When I re-launched my small business in June last year (2024), I was so excited for the new direction I was heading with my art. I also knew I didn’t want to fall back into the trap of working all hours of the day for not much reward – so I took things gently. But, what began as a great business and wellbeing mindset (to take things slow and steady) soon became an unintentional pause on creating new art, with life having other ideas. However, that pause was perhaps the best thing that could have happened because, six months after re-launching, I realised I had made some big mistakes in my small business and I wanted (needed!) to embrace some changes as an artist.
I thought I wanted to niche my art.
Now, whether or not you ‘need’ to niche is another thing entirely, but whether or not I want to… well, I now realise, I don’t. I’ve been saying for the past year that I’m a contemporary abstract watercolour and textile artist, but I don’t want to be, or at least, not just that. I want to play and explore different ideas. So, for now, I’m happier with the less limiting idea of being a contemporary artist – full stop.
I lost sight of what it’s all about.
Joy, escapism, a calm mind… they’re all the reasons I love creating art, and yet, somewhere along the line, I got so caught up in trying to create pieces that will sell well, I stopped creating for my wellbeing. I forgot about the freedom of just playing with art and trying different things. I focused too much on the outcomes and not enough on the creating. The thought that I might create a ‘bad’ piece stopped me from creating at all.
In the last few months I’ve been reminded that life is so short and we never know what’s around the corner. It’s really made me rethink my priorities and reassess what I want to focus on going forwards… and losing sight of what’s it’s all about – the joy – is definitely one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in my small business.
So, from now on it’s back to playing, exploring, and enjoying the process of creating art.
I thought I was ready to show my art in galleries.
Don’t get me wrong, I dream of one day seeing my art on gallery walls… but I’ve realised, I’m not there yet. Rightly or wrongly, the idea of approaching galleries with my art has become yet another limiting control on my creativity. I worry about having to conform to their taste, or ‘fit in’. I worry I’d have to invest in lots of frames, and don’t even get me started on how I’d be expected to make the hard choice of which piece to show where. So, for now, I just want to focus on sharing my pieces with you and spreading as much joy as I can through my art.
I based my pricing on a long-term plan (and I mean looooong-term, way way in the future).
I thought I needed to have everything figured out now for what I intend to create and offer down the line, and the simple truth is, that’s impossible!
Right now, it doesn’t make economical sense for me to offer giclée prints, for example… they’re a really high-value and high-cost thing to get made well (when you take into account colour matching the originals as well) and because of that, offering giclée prints pushed all of my costs and pricing higher. Which also makes this one of the most expensive mistakes I’ve made in my small business!
Do I want to offer giclée prints in time? Yes, definitely – they’re the best quality prints you can offer. But do I need to offer giclée prints and attempt to be ready for those longer-term ideas right now? No, I don’t. I can strip things back to what it’s all about – the joy of art – and make things a whole lot simpler (and more attainable for you!).
I tried to fight the system.
I got so fed up with social media algorithms that I stopped posting content. I didn’t want to jump on trends or try to ‘hook’ people, but I also became tired of creating posts that few people could see (especially as I had a lot of other, more pressing things, that needed my time and attention in other areas of my life). So, deflated, I stayed quiet. But I’ve realised something… I want to work with the system, not fight it.
There are still many things I don’t like about it, and I won’t compromise my values, but, in the same way I want to remove self-imposed limitations in my art, I want to play around with content more… focus less on the outcome and more on the joy of sharing things with you. And, at the same time, give myself permission to try some of the trends and ‘tricks’ to get posts seen, because, quite simply, it’s a bit like cutting your nose off to spite your face if you don’t.
As they say, if you can’t beat them, join them! So, more play, more experimenting, more trying different things to see what I enjoy and what connects with people.
It’s not easy running a small business (I can’t quite believe I’ve been self-employed for around nine years now, and this business is almost six years old!), so I’m not surprised I’ve made some mistakes… there will be more along the way, I’m sure.
But I’m proud that I’m quicker to see the cracks appearing now, and don’t shy away from making big changes as an artist, when needed.
I’ve also set myself a ’25 Pieces of Joy’ challenge, to help get back to the joy of it all this year. See my blog post “Why I’m doing a ’25 Pieces of Joy’ art challenge” if you’d like to know more about that.
© Kerri Awosile 2024