There's Plenty of Time for Quitting When I Die.

I don't consider myself an expert, or even successful...YET. I'm just an artist who is trying to make someone as happy about my art as I am!
   This past week we've covered a lot of ground on this blog. It may seem overwhelming and impossible. Let me tell you, sometimes it will FEEL overwhelming and impossible. These are the times to try harder.
   Marketing my art has become almost as much a passion as creating my art. It's taken me just over two years to get to where I am now. In many ways, I don't feel like I've done all that much. In other ways I'm amazed at how far I've come.
   It was hard work! It meant busy nights, rushed afternoons, and full weekends. It's been disappointment after frustration, but I always managed to keep plugging away. If something wasn't working out, I tried something else. If I felt discouraged, I read something. (In fact, I once read that economic down times are a great time to create and market your art!) If I got depressed, I talked to someone. If I got confused I took a walk and thought things through.
   2010 was a losing year for me, after what I considered a great 2009. I took to calling it 'my growth year'. Be positive! Instead of giving up, I learned about Google ads. I spent even more money, with no results. In October, I hung a show at Mother Fool's in Madison,WI, where I was sure I would sell, but didn't move a single painting! But I was so sure that what I was doing was the right thing for me, that I simply could not quit. Either that or I'm just too dumb to quit!
   Then things started to turn around. At the end of 2010 one of my paintings sold at a benefit auction for $1000.00!! That was a boost! By November of 2010, I got two commissions due at Christmas time. Both of these commissions have lead to other commissions. In December I finally sold something from Michigamme Moonshine Art Gallery. 
   In February and March of this year, I was busier than I had been the whole year before. And just when I was about to pull my Google ads, I was contacted by a gentleman near Seattle,Washington. He wanted to commission a nude(see below)! Just last month I was commissioned by a lady in Florida as well as a lady just a few miles from here. I'm working on both of their paintings now. I have three paintings lined up for Christmas, with two more likely on their way.
    You owe it to yourself, your art, and your prospective clients to never give up!

 "Persephone of the North Woods" 2011, collection of Richard Clayton.