Letter to a Young Decorative Painter

Letter to a Young Decorative Painter

25 Years of Painting

Recently I received  an email, the gist of which was the following:

Hello Debra,
I had an opportunity to view your website and I love your work. I commend you on your business. I recently began my endeavor in running my own decorative painting business, only to realize I have no idea what I am doing.
I have the creative background as well as sales background, but have no idea how to find clients.  I was part of Home Adviser, but they have no real category for someone with my skills.
What advice would a creative mind and business owner as your self give a fellow creative mind? I was given the advice to contact someone who is in the same industry as myself from another city  and ask questions,  being that I am not your competitor. I look forward to your response.
Respectfully,
Rene

Now, I don’t know how old in human years Rene is, but I do know that he has just begun his professional journey as a decorative painter, and thus is a “young” one, in terms of business years!

Here is what I emailed back to Rene, with a few additions and modifications, to make it  more useful for You.  It was interesting to review what I have done over the years to create, sustain and build my business, and how much it does take!  I realized this list could be valuable to just about anyone pursuing creative entrepreneurship…and entrepreneurship is always creative!

Hello Rene,

Here are my recommendations:

• Get a good Website, absolutely, to share and showcase your work.

• Start a Blog, focusing on the kind of work you would like to do, etc.

• Network with Interior Designers and Architects, as well as Painters, Paint Stores, and others in the Building/Built Environment field.

• Join a networking group, such as “BNI INTERNATIONAL“, (Business Networking International). (Google it).

• Take an entrepreneurship or business class, or whole program, and put together a Business Plan.

• Have a selection of good-sized Samples, depicting your strengths, and the kind of work you most like to do, most want to do, and from which you think you will get the most business.

• Create brochure, and a postcard, as well as a business card to go with your Site…they should all work together, as your business Visual Identity.
  

• Start an email newsletter, and start building your Mailing List.

• Put your card and brochure in Local Paint Stores.

• Selectively, Do Some High Profile Work, at a Reduced,  or no Cost, for 1-3 Clients…to get your name out there, and showcase your skills and abilities. Have a party to celebrate it, at the job site if you can, when completed.

• Follow Online:  Alyson Stanfield/Art Biz Coach, The Art Business Institute, Artists Who Thrive at Ann Rea Inc., Rebecca E. Parsons at her Artistically Speaking Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio, and Cre8tive Compass Magazine,  and “HOUZZ“.  You can Google and Facebook all of these to find them, and also “LIKE” them on Facebook. Read all posts, and save those that most apply to you and your work in an email folder.

• Get a Facebook Business Page, a  Twitter feed, and a Linked In and Pinterest account, and keep up with them…interact and support others in related fields, and post many images. Share, support, educate, inspire and inform.

• Follow “Seth Godin“ for rich, daily doses information and inspiration. You can research his work  through Google/Facebook. Sign up to receive his daily blog posts in your email inbox.

• Don’t get discouraged. Do something to grow your business every day, and keep plugging!

 

Here is how Rene responded:

Hello Debra ,
What it does in my opinion is simply show support that creative individuals as ourselves are willing to provide one another.  I truly appreciate the advice, and I have already set up a meeting with a client to provide my services at little or no cost, simply to attract his high end neighbors.  If I can ever be of assistance to you in any way, I would be happy to help. I thank you again and I wish you well always.   I would love to share my work with you as well.
Respectfully,                                                                                                                                                                                                                Rene

Have YOU ever looked back at all the things you have done, to establish, nurture, build, sustain, and grow your business?  I am certain that if you make a list you will be amazed at all you have done, and at all it takes. I look forward to elaborating on mine, and going into greater depth with it, for myself and others. It’s a fascinating and rewarding process!

Here’s to all of You creative entrepreneurs!

 

 

Brand of Colors: The Power of Compliments

Brand of Colors:  The Power of Compliments

When my colleague Debbie Josendale, of 3C Marketing Group, asked me to consult on colors for one of her client’s visual identity, which encompasses its  brand / branding, I was intrigued.  I had a deep purple color in front of me as a starting point, but knew that it was too dark and somber to represent what I understood her client’s message to be.

I read up on the client, I played with colors, I visualized, and knew that purple would be one of the colors involved.  And the obvious choice of a secondary “partnering” color would be its compliment, gold. Purple and yellow, violet and gold…these are combinations which are opposite each other on the color wheel.  They are sets of compliments, of opposites. They are complimentary colors and being opposites, set each other off in high contrast, much in the way that black and white do.  So that the color design wouldn’t be garish, I chose hues that were somewhat toned down, rather than bright, though they are strong and saturated. There is a slight earthiness to these colors, that I felt better communicated the feeling of the brand.  Color design for the visual identity of a business can also be tricky in this regard: the colors may look different on different computer screens, and even when printed on different papers or surfaces, and by different companies. The colors are used throughout the client’s site.

The symbolism, and associations of the chosen colors are also important in determining their meaning, resonance, and appropriateness for the brand and its story.  In a future post, we will  look at the color choices from the vantage points of:

The Energetic (the chakras, and their meanings, associations and influences), The Associations we have with these colors, (What they express, or represent) and their associations with the other senses (Sensory).  What does purple “taste” like?  How heavy does gold “feel”?

Visit us again to find out….and learn more about the wild, wooly and wonderful world of Color!

 

Media Medley

Media Medley

Being in the process of updating, retooling, adding and subtracting (mostly adding…subtracting is a whole other challenge!) my presence online, including  Website , Linked In profile, Pinterest, Etsy Store and more…I thought I would share some of my media offerings in an Artissima post.  Maybe You will get some ideas of media You can generate, to support, express, and promote Your work and business!

Let Your Voice Be Heard!

I had the good fortune of knowing a talented videographer (he is no longer working in the field, and does not accept inquiries…so, I won’t mention his name here), who filmed one of my projects, and put together a beautiful little video on it.  Although made several years ago, this video still feels fresh and relevant, because of his skill, and creativity.  Thank you Allen!

The Video Showcases an Image Central to My Site

The amazing and dedicated Carolyn Edlund, who “inspires artists to build better businesses”  through her ventures  Artsy Shark, and the Arts Business Institute was kind enough to interview me about how I built my decorative painting business.  The interview was done in two parts, and forms a “document” that can be shared with others, offering tips and guidance to support them on their journey!  Thank you Carolyn!

Use your Mind to Share your Heart, and Your Hand to Share your Voice

I was honored to participate in a project filmed for HGTV‘s Curb Appeal, entitled, “It’s All in the Details“, helmed by the inimitable John Gidding, architect, designer, and showman extraordinaire, and for the record, a great guy! John was kind, supportive, and a real team player on his show, where he stars, manages, designs, interacts, and even picks up a paintbrush!  Thank you John, and the HGTV‘s Curb Appeal team, as well as Johlt Productions…what a great experience.

Artistically Speaking Talk Show   is the brain child of  Rebecca E. Parsons,  Having met the wonderful artist/artisan   Lyna Farkus  through none other then Twitter (!…the power of social media, folks…),  who was at the time co-hosting with Rebecca, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the two of them.  What a fun, and gratifying experience was this interview , as are all the interviews conducted on the show.  A must-listen to for any artist, artisan, entrepreneur, “ladypreneur”, “solo-preneur”, crafter, and more. Thank you dear Rebecca and Lyna.

Create Success..Believe…Gratitude…

One thing can lead to another…after the  Artistically Speaking  interview, Rebecca and Lyna asked me if I would do a monthly segment on the show, offering “tidbits of color wisdom”.  I was delighted to become part of the team, and “The Color Muze” segment began airing each (well, most) third Sundays of the month, at 7:15pmEST/4:15pmPST.  It is a joy to share color information, experience and exploration garnered through 5 years as a color consultant/designer, and training through the International Association of Colour Consultants/Designers.  After each show, I write up the Color Muze segment into an article, which is then published in Rebecca’s  online magazine, Cre8tive Compass  in the Color Muze section.

Muzing on Color

As You can see, there are many ways to share, support, inspire and connect through media. The internet offers opportunities for video, audio, and text, through its myriad channels.  Presenting yourself through these channels is not only promotion, marketing and PR, it is also reaching out, offering information, lending a hand through your own experience, teaching, and interacting with others.  Who knows who You might meet, touch, awaken, or work with next?  Media is also its own art form, whether it be composed of sound, images, words, or a fusion of of these, it is always an adventure, an exploration, a new frontier, and, a little bit of a risk.

But then, putting Yourself “out there” always is, n’est-ce-que pas?

So cheerio, and bon voyage, and see You later…Have a Great Trip!

Featured Work: A Niche Greater then the Sum of its Parts

Featured Work: A Niche Greater then the Sum of its Parts

The Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “niche” as:

• a recess in a wall especially for a statue b: something (as a sheltered or private space) that resembles a recess in a wall
• a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted
• a habitat supplying the factors necessary for the existence of an organism or species
• the ecological role of an organism in a community especially in regard to food consumption
• a specialized market

What is the connective tissue between the various definitions above? It seems to me that the term “niche” indicates a unique space specific to an individual, species or thing.

Those of us in the fields of decorative painting, carpentry, wood working, design, architecture and building most likely have designed, created, built, painted or adorned a niche or two at one point or another.

Those of us in our own businesses, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, creative-preneurs, creators, and those of us training, schooling, learning, job-searching,  job creating , or job holding,  have at least one thing in common: we want, need, or are compelled to “find our niche“, our “place” in our respective fields, professions, markets, companies, schools, programs, jobs, or careers. We are moved to find that  elusive (and sometimes colorful!)  unique space which seems to defines us authentically,  in our worlds of work, family, society, and community.

Abby Kerr, copywriter,  blogger, niche marketer, and owner of Abby Kerr Ink says of her work: “It’s about nichifying your offerings to meet your right people right where they are.” .  Within the “niche” business model, the proposition of uniqueness in gifts, talents, voice, sensibilities, skills, and offerings would seem to be a given.

So it is with Clients, who wish to express themselves by making something even more unique of their architectural niche space, at home.

Beloved Clients of mine purchased a “dream” retirement home…well, a house they planned to transform with color, design, furnishings, and decorative painting INTO their dream home, with the skilled assistance of various vendors.

Their realtor suggested a mural application for the hitherto unadorned wine bar niche, and the game was on!

Niche before "niche-y" adornment

My Clients had spent decades living in Southern California, and were enchanted by the Sonoma Wine Country in which their new house was situated.  They were  thrilled about making the Wine Country a theme in their new home.

We chatted about vineyard scenes, and determined we didn’t want a “prototypical” one.  We looked at photos, colors, applications and mock-ups.  We determined that a softly rendered scene of lines of vines gently receding to meet misty hills under a golden sky would be best.  I applied the mural with semi-transparent washes of glaze, as opposed to opaque paints, (an unusual approach) to the back wall of the niche, and glazed its side walls and ceiling in layers of red wine-y colors.  Involved with the whole process from start to finish, my Clients were delighted with the outcome. which reflected THEM, and the unique place they were at in their lives, right at that moment.

"Niche-y" adornment reflects Them

The entire wall into which the “niche-y” Wine Bar niche was placed was treated in concert with its “niche-y” focal point, the Vineyard mural.  The walls were painted a strong red, mitigated by an application of three deeper  red “wine-y” hued glazes applied simultaneously.  An original “adage” penned by the Clients was lettered in “grapey” purple, and sparkling metallic colors.  The built-in cabinetry and bottle storage were base painted and wood grained (treated with “faux bois”) in tones of “sweet rosy brown” , which worked beautifully with the bar’s countertop.

The Niche is part of the Whole

My Clients were pleased with a result which reflected Them, and their unique take on where they felt themselves to be, right at that moment.  The process of developing a “niche-y” design of artful applications in their Wine Bar niche, and throughout their new home during a time of transition helped them through that transition, and eased their way into a new phase of life. You might say that they “niched” their new home to reflect the people they had become, and created a “niche” of the entire house which would  support them in their adaptation to retirement, containing and expressing both the effects of their “old” life, and expressing their excitement about the new.

In this way, “nich-ing” can not only become an expression of our deepest selves, our uniqueness, offerings and worth, it can also help us to embrace our lives and experiences as they are now, and move more confidently, and happily, into the future.

When have you used your art or craft to create or enhance a niche, for yourself, or for others?  What was the quality of the process and its outcome?  If you feel so inspired, please share your unique, “niche-y” experience with us. We love to hear from you. Remember, we are all  in this thing called Life, together.