This of course also gives me a bit more free time to work on artwork, which is great because I’ve got a new commission, and a possible chance at illustrating some children’s books.

I’m also in the midst of printing new business cards, and some bookmarks of my art to have a new offering in my Etsy.com store. I also think it may be time for a nice facelift for Joieart.net. New era, new design! I hope to have some new artwork very soon!

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be in an art show and expo next starting TOMORROW right here in Atlanta! I will have prints of my art available for purchase, as well as some originals for sale and viewing. There’s a good chance I’ll have my worktable set up as well, so if you come you can see me painting and drawing in action!

I’ve got TWO new prints up for sale, Autumn Ballerina and Hipp-po-po Toe. Hipp-po-po Toe has JUST been released tonight and is the newest piece of art I’ve done! I’d love for you to come see it in person.

If you’re interested and want to know more information, please visit March of Dimes to find a location to walk in your area or to make a donation!

Edit: I managed to raise $175 in just under 48 hours for the cause! Thanks everyone!

Entry #1	Entry #2	Entry #3	Entry #4*

*(This one was submitted with the title “Believe Me When I Say….”)

Update: The official winner is Entry#4 with a staggering 61% of the votes! Congratulations to Prentice O. of Marietta, GA!

1.) Download the Contest Lineart.
2.) Color it in any way that you wish– it can be done digitally or printed out and colored traditionally (markers, crayons, colored pencils, paints, etc.) and then scanned in.
3.) Submit it to me to become an official entrant in the contest!

Easy, right? You bet! You can get your entry to me via Twitter, Facebook, DeviantArt, by email or right here in the comments of my blog!

Now, how do you win? By being the Fan favorite! I’m going to set up a voting system with all of the entries so that you have a chance to win by popular vote.

!!WAIT that means you can enlist your friends to come vote for you! Spread the word about the contest, get your friends to come vote for you, and WIN!!

Prize:
The winner will be able to select ONE (1) print from my Etsy store and I will mail it to them after the winner is announced.

When is your entry due?

Deadline for Entries: March 21th, 2010 at 10:00 PM EST

The voting will begin the next day, and the winner will be announced on March 28, 2010. That gives you a FULL week to rally your friends to come vote for you!

OMG, are you excited? Colored pencils quivering in anticipation? Hold on, gotta read the RULES first!

Rules:
-One entry per person, please.
-Only entries received prior to the deadline will be considered.
-No voting for yourself, that’s just dirty.
-No purchase necessary.
-The prize can ONLY be selected from Joie’s Etsy Store Account: No exceptions will be made.
-Entries may be submitted via tweet, Fan page posting, Facebook wall posting, email, or comment at Joieart.net.
-No entries that someone else colored for you. This is supposed to be about having fun and being creative!
-No entries may be submitted by postal snail mail. Sorry– visit Kinko’s if you need scanning help!

What if I can’t/won’t/don’t color? Don’t worry. There is a contest made just for you coming next month!

Ok, that’s it! Here is your lineart! GO!

Download the lineart here!

This piece started out as an idea to complete a ballerina painting to represent each season, however it somehow took me two full seasons to finish this one. I suppose it’s just one of those things– life gets in the way. I’m in the middle of a day-job transition and am looking into grad school. Plus, within this time frame, I’ve moved, opened an online store, and been dealing with a handful of commissions.

Anyway, this is a fairy-esque ballerina who represents the spirit of Autumn. I made her outfit a little more modern in style because I didn’t feel that a true pancake tutu would fit the scene. And of course, she has a Welsh Corgi escort– no fairy should be without one! This was completed with Windsor & Newton watercolors on Bristol Board.

Prints of this piece will be available shortly, and will available at all of my upcoming shows this year.

Autumn Ballerina Preliminary Sketches: Ballpoint pen on paper

Autumn Ballerina – 11″ x 14″ Watercolor and ink on Bristol

Autumn Ballerina – 11″ x 14″ Watercolor and ink on Bristol

Autumn Ballerina – 11″ x 14″ Watercolor and ink on Bristol

Autumn Ballerina – 11″ x 14″ Watercolor and ink on Bristol

http://joieart.etsy.com

Etsy.com is a website dedicated to the sale of handmade items. I thought it would be the best platform from which to begin selling my prints. Currently there are four prints for sale, but there will be more as the week winds down. I also only accept Paypal as a payment method– but hopefully that will be remedied soon.

There’s lots more fun news, commissions, and new art that’ll be posted in coming weeks. I’ve got plans formulated that I’m very excited about! Thanks for stopping by again.

My very first question was, “What are other artists and freelancers doing?” I needed to find some successful artists, see how they are doing business, and what they did to get there. I asked around, hit the library, and did some heavy web surfing to come up with some answers. I’ll share what I have thus far.

5 Key Tips for Getting Started in the Art World

1. Make more art: Pure and simple, content is king! Make more, talk less. But don’t sacrifice quality for quantity.
2. Improve networking: Even when you think you know enough artists, it’s best to know more.
3. Researching business: There are a plethora of art-appropriate options for businesses, making money, and making sure that it’s is tax legal.
4. Marketing, marketing, marketing: Facebook, Twitter, and other social media can really help catapult you into the public’s eye and get the word spread.
5. Shows and publications: You have to get yourself exposed, and social media can’t cover it all. Experience here is a great thing for meeting real life buyers and collectors.

Those five steps seem relatively simple, right? Sure they do. But in execution, it’s not as streamlined as you may think.

So what do you do now? Well, get started, of course!

For example, I have a show next month, and need to make new art for it, which takes care of Step 1 and 5. I’ve Tweeted and Facebooked about said show, and have already started talking to some of the other artists that will be featured in it. There’s Step 2 and 4. I started my UStream painting program, which has helped me create more art, meet other artists, and attract more visitors to my website. That’s Step 1, 2, 4, and 5 in one go! So far I’ve got a decent start.

That only leaves Step 3: Business. It’s not an easy thing to tackle, so I’ll give it its own post as the next part of this series. As of right now, I have a tentative plan for what I will do. Each artist will have different needs, but luckily the business world can be approached from many angles.

So there you have it: the five basic principles behind beginning to make art your career. I’m glad I’ve started to find my answers and make some plans—time to get out there and make it happen!

Next: Art in Business