Tag Archives: nlp

3 Motivational Tips on Getting Back into the Artistic Arena

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I am back from my trip to Egypt and what an adventure it was!  More about that on my Thursday blog though.

Inspiration and Chaos

It was a whirlwind of events, inspiration, emotion and culture shock but inevitably, on the plane home, I started processing my experiences and began to drift into the abyss of ‘what am I doing with my life?’.

You know the feeling, right?  You go on holiday and then you have to come back home to the same old same old…

“Go full throttle or go hide under a rock!  Instead of grabbing the bull by the horns, grab it by the balls…more risky but you will get an infinitely more intense reaction.”

Not me!  I made a firm decision not to climb back into my safety box — Oh no!

Time for Change

So what changed?  3 things spring to mind:

  1. More Risk — I decided I needed to take more risks.  So what if I fail, at least I tried!  This can be on the artistic front and dabbling more in multi-media projects;  trying out new techniques and new marketing techniques.  In fact, a few days before I left, a good friend of mine and NLP/Reiki coach (www.soulworks.co.za), did some Reiki on me and said that when she approached my throat chakra, she sensed that I was not sticking my neck out enough.  How right she was!  The trip made me see even more clarity in that statement.  Go full throttle or go hide under a rock!  Instead of grabbing the bull by the horns, grab it by the balls…more risky but you will get an infinitely more intense reaction.
  2. Simplify — My day-to-day life and schedule was a bit ‘all over the place’.  My big toe was in this venture and that.  I needed to get real about my goals and to simplify my agenda.  This took me one afternoon to sit down and write out my new set of goals and ambitions.  Now I have a clear intention about where I am heading and it is much more flexible than my old agenda.  I have a lot more free time to just be.
  3. Be Authentic — Find out what you are about. What sets you apart from others?  What is your true passion?  What can  you do differently?  How can you incorporate all your multi-faceted uniqueness into one ball of creativity?  Brainstorm these questions and come up with your own set of rules for riding out the next wave of your life.  Surfs up!

The last thing I’d like to add is — don’t sweat the small stuff.  We often get so hung up on the finer details of life instead of looking at the bigger picture.

“You will be amazed at how other people don’t really care about your failures, it’s more about your damaged ego than their perception of you…”

Everything will be alright if you are in your integrity and walking your path of power and purpose.  Trust in that and enjoy your life to the fullest.

If you fall off the bike, dust yourself off and get back on again.  Who’s looking anyway?  You will be amazed at how other people don’t really care about your failures, it’s more about your damaged ego than their perception of you, so what have you got to lose?

Finally, what are you doing to increase your creative stamina and keep the flame alive?

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Art Commissions — The Soulworks Project (Part 4)…The Finished Product!

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Please read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 to recap.

Let’s Pick Up with a Hiccup!

So I left off last weeks blog with a slight hiccup…

My client came to see the painting and she liked it but I could sense something was bothering her.

“I had misinterpreted her want for silver, black, a hint of green, pink and purple tones to mean that was all the colours she wanted in the piece.”

When we got into it she divulged that she had wanted more of an orange/pink glow in the sunset and that the whole painting was a bit monotone.  I had misinterpreted her want for silver, black, a hint of green, pink and purple tones to mean that was all the colours she wanted in the piece.

This turned out not to be the case.

What to do next?

I listened to her requests and told her that I would first come up with a digital overlay of what she was asking for.

“It is important to listen to the needs of your client…”

I do this to see what the painting will look like with the changes and if it actually suits the painting.  Here is what I came up with:

What I did here was take the photo of the painting and use the ‘airbrush’ feature in my Ulead programme (most photo editing packages have an airbrush feature) to paint in the required adjustments.

I saw that it actually brought the picture to life.

It is important to listen to the needs of your client but it is also important to stick with the integrity of the painting.  What does that mean?

Integrity Check

Well, if I feel that the changes that the client wants do not fall in line with the artwork then I will let them know.  If I feel strongly that it will ‘take away’ from the artwork, then I try to explain the potential hiccups in changing the piece.

However, in this case, the changes my customer wanted actually enhanced the artwork and I had to agree with her in the end, that it was for the betterment of the piece.

Once we had discussed all the little changes she wanted, I went back to the drawing board (or easel, in this case).

The Finished Project

After implementing the final adjustments to the painting, the Soulworks Project was complete!

Here is a picture of the finished artwork.

Available as cards and prints – click here

My client was thrilled it now hangs in her office/consulting room and she now uses it on her business cards and brochures as well as her website.  Check out her site at www.soulworks.co.za.

Don’t forget your FREE copy of my book ‘Creative Expression’ — GET IT HERE

How to find your inspiration…

Art Commissions — The Soulworks Project (Part 1)…meeting with the client

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A step-by-step guide on how a commission is put together

A lot of artists would like to know how one goes about starting a commission and there are also a lot of people who would like to have something commissioned but are too scared to ask.

What is the procedure and what is involved in the process of a commission?

The Key Steps

  • Meet with the client and get a feel for what they want — show them your portfolio
  • If you accept the job, the next step is to supply the client with a quotation for the job (upon acceptance of the quote, I usually require a deposit of 50%)
  • Draw up a prelim sketch of the artwork and give a detailed synopsis of how you got to this stage with the information and specs the client has given you
  • Start the job and show the client the finished work (I usually refrain from showing the client the process as it could cause confusion, as you will see in the blogs to come)
  • Present the client with the finished painting — I usually send a photograph before they actually see it ‘in the flesh’
  • Voila (oh, and get the rest of your payment!)

In the weeks to follow, I will be taking you through the last commission that I did for a very special client who wanted a triptych for her office.  I will be addressing every step that is taken up until the painting is delivered.

Today’s Art Blog is going to look at the first step:  Q&A

Step 1 — What does your client want?

This is obviously a very important step and one of the deciding factors if you and your client are on the same page.  When you have finished questioning your clients likes and dislikes, you can assess whether or not you resonate with each other and the project.

I never take on a commission that I don’t feel comfortable with.  If it goes against my style, principles or anything else, this step will let me know if I will proceed with the client to the next stage which is quoting for the job.

Here were my clients specs for this commission:

She wanted to incorporate

  • Nature
  • Butterfly (part of her logo)
  • Silver spirals/patterns
  • Peace
  • Connection
  • Mountains
  • Well-being
  • Joy, Beauty and Fulfillment
  • Inspiration
  • Passion
  • Green, purple and silver colours
More specs from the client — you can never know too much, only too little!

When we discussed these ideas, she conveyed to me that she liked the spiral patterns I use in my art (see picture below for example) and she also liked the idea of having a human form in a tree (see my other picture below).

 “It is vital that you show your client a portfolio…”

This was important information and got me on track to visualizing this piece.  It is vital that you show your client a portfolio so they can point out the colours, subjects and styles they like of yours.  It also helps the client get an idea of what you are capable of doing.

As she is having this painting commissioned for her office, we also delved into her practice and what that entails.  She is an NLP practitioner (Neuro-linguistic Programming) who wants something pleasant for her clients to look at whilst in they are in session.  It has to be something that ties in with what she offers.

Next week I will be posting the prelim sketch of the painting along with the detailed synopsis of how I interpreted her needs.

Read Part 2, Part 3, Part 4