Here's the thing about goals...

Magic Bus-drawing and Zentangle

Funny thing about goals, at least to me, anyway... is that when I set my mind towards one possible outcome, life seems to give me something else to consider. I wouldn't say that the new thing would be instead of the original goal but as a companion to the original goal. 

When 2014 came around the corner, I had a goal to write a book which I did and sell it to people which I've done. Aside from doing that, I wanted to loosely get something going with my art. The form of what I'd want to do was pretty vague at the time. I knew it had something to do with photography but hadn't settled on one certain direction. I never expected two months ago that I would also begin to put my own spin on drawings and be selling them as greeting cards. I never imagined that I would even want to really pull out the stops and make my 'part-time art thing' as a viable business. But here we are in mid-March and I'm ready to really go for it. 

I attended a local event yesterday called 'Country in the Park' along with my other friends from the Pinellas Park Art Society. All of us had many art mediums that we were proficient at and were either selling or displaying or both. That's the thing with PPAS (Pinellas Park Art Society), a good majority of the members have multiple talents. We have people within the group that paint, do pastel drawings, do scratchboard, photography and many other things as well, meaning that the people are good at more than one thing. A lot of us do a lot of different things and it's all good.  For someone that likes to draw, paint or what have you, this is a great group of people to be around. They are encouraging and always sharing their ideas with each other. It is because of my association with them that I have become a better artist. 

So, yesterday was spent as part of this great group. We had a row of tents set up and I had  a packed table. 

The above two photos show my table as I was getting set up. These photos are just a general idea of what I was working with. I left enough space behind all of this so that I could work on cards. I got two done and the rest of the time was spent talking to people that came to my table. 

Yesterday was a great day for me. I went in, expecting to have a good time. I let go of expectations for sales of photos and cards. I've been disappointed in the past when I've had the idea of making a certain amount of money. Putting a set amount does not work for me because it ends in disappointment. But yesterday was profitable and I am still on a high, mostly due to what a great day it was as a whole. The sales were part of it but I also had a lot of wonderful conversations with people. 

For some reason, the VW stuff goes over really well. I sold a lot of VW prints and some cards as well. Even people who might not be 'car people' found something to love. VWs make people happy. I love doing the art of them and I love taking pictures of them. You could say that this is a passion of mine. I've always loved cars and more recently have become more enamored with vintage VWs. 

That's the thing about following passions. I'd do it even if people didn't like it. Creating these pieces of art is that important to me. The nice thing in addition to all these good feelings I get from following my passions is that people are responding well to it. And knowing that people get such a big kick out of what I'm doing is enough to let me know to move forward with all of it. I'd move forward anyway but it is nice to accomplish that with the fact that this stuff will be purchased and people will enjoy their purchases. 

Some highlights from yesterday....

The above photo was part of the original All The Goods logo. I had two prints of of that which I was selling mostly because some people really love lighthouses. Anyway a man came to my table with his wife and another lady. The man said and I quote "That is the most beautiful lighthouse picture I've ever seen!" Needless to say, I never expected to hear that and I got a bit teary-eyed because it validated the fact that what I'm doing is meaningful to other people and what I'm doing speaks to them. The man's wife ended up buying a print of this photo as well. 

A bit later, a very interesting lady came by to see what I was selling and she had a lot of nice things to say. She told me about the 'Peace Through the World' photography contest where the winner would have their work exhibited in a gallery in Rotterdam, Holland. Hmm, I could do with some world-wide exposure. Why not? Even if I didn't win, I'd still get the joy of the experience out of it. It never hurts to try. (Note to self-Google this later.)

I have another event to look forward to the end of April. I have signed up to be a vendor at an event called 'VWs Over the Skyway'. The local VW club is hosting this event locally and I am going to be bringing all of my VW photos and cards. I think it's going to be really fun and I'm really looking forward to it. 

Having the goals of furthering my art has really opened up doors for me that I never knew existed or maybe hadn't thought about in depth. I'm eager to see what comes next.