Smart strategies for artists who procrastinate

'Being who you are that's happiness' 

 I made this canvas when we moved home is appropriate for today and it's a wonderful day, got up early, did some miracle morning, meditation and personal development, taken the dogs to the park and all the leaves are glorious autumn colours, crunched through leaves, found a pine cone and discovered this gorgeous scented flower in our garden. Had coffee and a danish and now I'm going to do some creative work.

I have really been  trying to get my bum into gear and be proactive in my business which I do find difficult because I love the creating bit and still imagine successful business women in suits (can you imagine me in a suit hahaha) so it's undoing all those limiting beliefs, I posted in Leonies forum and got great support and some cracking answers. 

This is what I asked:

What do you think this is about? I am really creative and have billions of ideas, I start loads of projects but rarely finish them, I know I'm talented and have a 'gift' and if I got my ass into gear could do pretty well I think but everyday I wake up with great plans but then faff around, read a book, walk the dogs, snooze, eat food, watch a film etc anything really to avoid doing what I should be doing. The thing is we are now really struggling financially and it's either carry on with my art or get a job (which I really don't want to do) so have any of you been thorough this? Any tips to make me be proactive? 

Loads of various answers came back but the ones I found most useful were:

Read anything by Barbara Sher. (I have started looking at this author and feel she will be a good fit with my scatter brained approach, let me know if you have read any of her books)

First, don't think about how long something is going to take just tell yourself you're going to do fifteen or twenty minutes. (I like this because it doesn't seem too long if I get bored)

Sit down and write all about your fears and blocks around success. write down every "disadvantage" of being a successful artist/woman; your beliefs around financial success; everything you have heard about those topics that is negative or any comments from people throughout your life that say YOU can't become successful. Once you know that you can work on them and see how false they are. 

(I like this because I know I have some weird ideas as above the suit thing)

Make a "someday maybe" box or folder for your other ideas. (This is brilliant for me because I like making and creating so this could work really well and the symbolic gesture of shutting the lid on my ideas will help)

So with all that in mind I went onto my Pinterest vision board this morning to visualise and ended up finding this awesome site for creatives

I have been printing some great worksheets and reminders too last week, this was Sunday night organising for the week, I need to get my ass in gear and be the best I can be, I want to be financially free and travel, eat out, have holidays and move from Blackpool so I'm going to ride my wild donkey and get stuff done this week!

Love Dotty xx

Scrapbooking tutorials and positvity art video

I made a video today with some of my rainbow positivity art and handmade makes on it, 

what do you think?

It's a pretty cool site called stupeflix where you can choose themes, add music (they have a library to choose from) or you can add your own, you can then add your photos, then you can publish directly to Youtube. 

Make sure you change the settings on the video to high def before watching. 

I have spent most of the day, after walking the dogs on the beach, researching about different paint techniques and found some really interesting blogs with different tutorials on them.

Birgit Kerr has some great scrapbooking techniques, I loved this one where she teaches you how to transfer print onto your canvas with mod podge. 

The daily marker has done an easy tutorial on using distressed ink too, something I want to have a go with but haven't got round to yet.

I am looking forward to making more Alice inspired canvasses, all 3 of these sold at the fair I did on Saturday.

I really enjoy getting my fingers full of glue, glitter and paint and creating something which develops and grows with each thing I add to the canvas.

I have had an idea to do a big rectangle one with her falling down the rabbit hole. I have collected some patterns and images from an old copy of Daphnes diary, have you seen it yet? its such a wonderful magazine.

Love Dotty xx

How I made mixed media art in one evening

Plan for it, learn new things, keep growing, thats all youve ever needed to do, that will take you to your goals - Leonie Dawson.

With that in mind, I was watching some Youtube videos and mixed media and altered art and was so inspire to make my own piece. So I did! then I made this video all about it, I kinda go off topic about moving house and internalising guilt that makes you ill but its all good ;)

Check me out ;)

Always learning something new and playing around with new techniques, I tried making some mixed media artwork, this was my first attempt. I am in total love and really enjoyed feeling free, the creative process just flowed from me.

I was so in love, I stayed up and made another one!

 

Ohh I can see me becoming addicted to these! someone on my facebook page has asked me to do a workshop on them, so when I have moved and got the studio set up, thats what I shall do - awesome!

Love Dotty xx

My dream job - making art

I have a dream, I have had it since I was 12 in art class at school, I drew a pair of hands, shaping a bamboo handle, it was a pencil drawing and my teacher really praised me for it, it built my confidence and I knew I wanted to be a fashion designer, I loved the feeling of making marks on a page and it transforming in front of my eyes, when I was 16 i went to art college and loved it so much, I learnt so much and I really wanted to be an artist and live in Paris (after studying fashion design in London) but alas fate had other ideas and I met someone and was pregnant at 17, I had my first baby one month after turning 18. I had to drop out of art college because I was so ill from pregnancy, I then went onto having 2 more children all before I was 22. I lived life in a domestic bubble (not one of love either, but that's a whole new story) eventually we split up and I was a single mum with 3 children under the age of 5, no time for drawing or painting or much else to be honest. Then after a couple of years of madness and me trying to 'find' myself things settled down and I began painting again, I was a single parent for 8 years then I met my one true love.

No matter how many different jobs I have had or hobbies I have tried I have always come back to drawing, I have always wanted to do it for a living, I can't imagine anything better, I am always telling my sons to find a job they love and they will never have to work a day in their lives, I want drawing, creating art and painting to be my work.

I haven't put this 'out there' before but I have changed a lot this year and next year I am 40, I am just going to be honest and say it as it is from now on, I have been self employed for 14 years and although I have had wonderful successes, its never been constant, from one week to the next I don't know if I am going to earn money, I trust the universe will always look after me and my loved ones, I truly do, but it would be so nice to be able to not even think about money, to be able to know I can do amazing things and help others without having to be thinking where the next bit of cash is coming from. So now I am putting it out there to the universe and the world....

 I want to draw and paint and sell my beautiful creations in an easy and relaxed manner, in a healthy and positive way, in it's own perfect time for the highest good of all.

So I am now taking commissions, Shhh Christmas is coming (#sorrynotsorry) so if you would like your own piece of bohemian art making for your loved one, get in touch or send me a message on Facebook