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Visualizing is EVERYTHING!!!

Right before the Christmas holiday my daughter sent in a video audition  to Pace University in New York for their Bachelor of Fine Arts program in Acting for TV, movies, commercial and voice over. Since then we have been waiting (tensely!) to hear whether she would get a call back, and if so, would the call back be on the day we wanted or would we have to make a second separate trip to NY (She is also auditioning for SUNY and Julliard and we've been trying to co-ordinate the timing into a one weekend event).

Needless to say that while on the outside I worked very hard to appear calm and self-assured that everything would work out perfectly, inside I was a bowl of jelly! That being said though, I thought I'd give this idea of visualization and picturing a successful outcome a try - I figured it couldn't hurt, and it just might help!

 So while the rest of my house was in hibernation mode, snuggled up in their beds, I lay with eyes closed and  mentally walked through our NY trip as if everything we wanted had come to pass exactly as we wanted it to happen.

First our Greyhound bus trip sees us arrive on time to Mid-town Manhattan's Port Authority terminal safe and sound. We grab a cab to our hotel which we find to be clean with affordable yummy restaurants right around the corner. We get a good sleep, waking up to spend the day getting the lay of the land, learning the best subway routes to each audition and visiting the Museum of Modern Art and Greenwich Village (where I used to live when I went to Parsons). The next two days are audition days and we head out to SUNY in the morning and Pace in the afternoon with Julliard on the following day. Phoebe (my daughter) of course nails the auditions, blows them away with her amazing talent. We go out for a celebratory dinner because of course she's been accepted to all three and now has a happy decision to make, and finally jump on the Greyhound bus, making it home in high spirits.

And..... so far so good! Today we just got word that my girl not only got a call back to Pace, but got it at the exact time and date that we wanted and needed to make it all happen!

I am a believer!!!

I mean yes, of course there are other factors, not least of which my daughter's talent and abilities, but when I think of all the little details that had to co-ordinate, well, like I said, I'm a believer!

What have I learned from this?

I can tell you that when it comes to my own art career goals, every day I now take half and hour and run through my own visualization scenarios of successfully getting representation in prestigious galleries, selling to interior designers, gaining recognition for my artwork and making sales like they are coming out of my ears!!!

I believe that visualization is a powerful piece of the success puzzle and I am already seeing results trickle in.

What do you think? Are you a believer too? Do you or have you used visualization and has it brought you success? I'd love hear your story. When one succeeds, the sharing of it inspires us all!

Too Much Talk & Not Enough Action

I Believe it's good to make goals and to have dreams. In fact every Christmas and on my birthday I always kind of do a re-evaluation. You know, how have I done. Am I making progress, falling behind. That sort of things. And for the most part I have done pretty darn good.

Except with my financial health.

In the past this has been my nemesis. But that is the last time I am going to talk like that because if thoughts are things - and I believe they are, then it's time to change my thinking, my internal pictures and my outlook in the future.

I am a professional artist. And I want to not only survive, but to thrive as an artist. So today I have spent the last few hours developing a plan of attack to set me on my path of not only getting my work recognized and respected, but also sold to clientele who really love what I do.

But before I get into that I just want to say that one of things that is just plain wrong is to talk, but not follow through with action. In my mind if you are not planning on doing what you say you are going to do, then SHUT UP! When I say I will call you on Tuesday at 1pm, then I will call you on Tuesday at 1pm. If we agree to meet to discuss a project then I will prepare for that discussion and I will be there on the day 5-15 minutes early with plans in hand. Why am I telling you this? Because I just want to be clear that I say what I mean and mean what I say. I respect, appreciate and feel honoured by people who treat me this way, and mirror that back to them as my way of saying thank you.

I have a goal of having my artwork represented by 10 or more prestigious, well-respected art galleries, and to have an excellent working relationship with 10 or more visionary interior designers. From these connections I have set my sights on selling 100 paintings in 2015. That's 8.333 per month or roughly 2 per week.

How am I going to do this?

1. I believe in myself and visualize my success every morning and evening.
2. Every week I am creating 1 to 2 new pieces.
3. Every week I am contacting 100 galleries and 100 interior designers (actually even more than that as I've been building a target list for each and I've almost got 200 names on each list.
4. Every day I am blogging about my progress and sharing my updates on all the various social media outlets

I believe that really it is all just a numbers game. There are 6-7 billion people on this planet and surely some of them have got to love what I do, and if I contact enough people eventually I will find the right ones. My father always says that in sales for every 100 calls you make, you should achieve success 1 to 2 times. So I'm going for it.

I believe that if I say what I do, and do what I say then I will achieve all that I believe I can make happen. 

What do you believe you can make happen? I'd love to hear it. Let's make it happen together!

SOLD at The Textured Landscape Show in Milton & New Work!

Last weekend was my Textured Landscape show at The Gallery Upstairs in Milton. It was a great success and I really enjoyed working together with gallery owner, Hedi Nowak and my partner in crime, artist Patrick McGoey .

I met some wonderful people at the show and was fortunate enough to make two sales to a lovely young woman who had heard about the show on facebook!

Here are the pieces that sold...

Which puts me in the great position to have to replenish my stock!

I am working on a new series that incorporate architectural elements for the sculpting and beautiful landscapes seen through the architecture. These are the first two that I've completed, but I have many more sculpted and just waiting for the paintbrush!

Each piece is 24 x 36 inches and I'm not quite sure of my titles just yet . I am open to your suggestions for titles so please feel free to leave me any ideas though as well as your thoughts on my latest artistic direction.

Now back to the easel....

Once Again, Thanks for Your Support!

Sculpting New Beginnings...

Last weekend saw me ripping apart old work and sanding off the old sculpting and paint to get ready to begin again. Love great equipment especially when you can buy it on sale! Sanding down 9 pieces by hand would have taken forever, but with this handy dandy sander I was done in 4 hours! And now that I've got refurbished panels ready to go, I've spent the rest of this past week sculpting new pieces.

My last trip to Montreal I met with the director of the Shayne Gallery. She suggested I might think about adding some architectural elements to my work which totally got my juices flowing. Below are images of what I have sculpted so far. In my head I have a very clear picture of what the finished products will look like, but I know sometimes it's hard for others to get the idea of my direction. For those of you interested in the process though, here is what the sculpting looks like before I start painting. Remember these are refurbished panels so there is still some old paint which will, of course be painted over when I move on to that step once the sculpting material is dried. So please ignore the splotches of colour you see in the non-sculpted spaces!

 It's hard to see, but the wall behind the lock will be a brick wall. A beautiful sunset/sunrise scene will be painted in the centre. It's a panel that is 30 x 30 inches.

 I saw these cool old vintage doorknobs and thought that they would look really unique once sculpted and again, a beautiful view will be painted through the keyholes. Both of these pieces are 40 x 30 inches






 This piece was inspired by one of those old "peepholes" that have little doors that open and close. My old friend from kindergarten used to have one on their red front door and I always admired it. This is a larger piece, 48 x 36 inches, and when finished, I think it will be a real stunner.

 These last two pieces are inspired by old wood barns. I love the old painted wood boards and wanted to do a couple pieces where the wood was missing pieces. Again, I realize it's a bit hard to visualize, but trust me these 24 x 36 pieces are going to wow!





I still have two more big pieces to sculpt, so next week I'll give you a preview of those and hopefully have some of these smaller works painted and completed to share with you.

As always.... Thanks so much for all of your support!

Growing Pains of Evolution

In the past weeks I have received a lot of feedback regarding some of my newer pieces, pieces that in my mind are some of my strongest work. The problem is, is that not all of the feedback has been positive, in fact much has been quite negative, and so, for the past week I have really been struggling with self-doubt - am I on the right track, should I skip sculpting and just paint, have I just not found my target audience / gallery yet, etc...







My work is evolving and has changed enormously from what it was when I first started doing landscapes. And I guess as it changes somethings are getting better and better (such as my painting of my sky and reflections) and perhaps somethings just don't fit anymore, or at least don't fit in the form they are in anymore and need to evolve and change too (like my sculpting of the tree branches). Not everything grows at the same place, and like an awkward teenager whose just gone through a growth spurt and now finds themselves tripping and falling clumsily about as they get used to their new dimensions, so too, am I struggling to find my way in my creations.



Consequently I have been doing a lot of thinking, spending quiet time alone determining my next course of action and while it wasn't pleasant to hear the negatives, I'm actually pretty grateful (now!) because all this thinking is making me push myself and I've come up with a whole host of new ideas, ideas that I can't wait to begin creating!

In the coming weeks I'll be posting images of work in process. I have ripped apart old sculpting and I am sanding down my wood panels to begin again. I have ordered more paint and I have been researching my ideas on line to clarify my vision. I am ready to launch myself to the next level and I can't wait to get started!

Until next week...

Thanks for all your support!

How Committed are You?!?

This week has been a long one. I feel as though I have driven halfway around the world and back again. I have been to and from Montreal in one day, to Grimsby, Waterloo and finally to Milton. But all this driving though has been for a great reason.

You see, I am committed to being a full-time professional artist. I want it soooo bad I can taste it. So for me, in my world that means that I am willing to go anywhere, and do anything to make it happen. 

That's why I was a crazy person & got up at 4am on Tuesday to drive to Montreal to meet with the director of The Shayne Gallery, show her samples of my work, & to learn more about her clientele. It was a 14 hour drive for a 1 hour meeting, but I got my foot in the door of another gallery & learned a tremendous amount about the market of that area.

Wednesday and Thursday saw me painting like a demon...

for two shows I am in this November. The first at The Gallery Upstairs in Milton on November 15th and 16th, and the second at The Paula White Diamond Gallery in Waterloo.

Textured Landscapes Show & Sale

Join us for Appies in the Afternoon

Saturday November 15th 1-5pm

& Sunday the 16th 2-6pm

Meet Artists Alison Galvan and Patrick McGoey, two up and coming talents on the Landscape

Arts scene. All original and highly collectible, Galvan's and McGoey's artworks take you right into

the heart of Canada's natural wonders.

Everyone welcome!

www.thegalleryupstairs.com  905 8788161 www.harroprestaurant.com

&

The coming week sees me repainting some older work,  researching some new ideas and making another trip to Milton to deliver more work for that show.

I love what I do and even though I am working harder than ever, I am totally committed to achieving success. How about you? How committed are you to achieving your success?!?

Something to think on. Until then....

Thanks for all your support!