Most Popular Posts of 2014

Let me start off by saying THANK YOU! 2014 has been the busiest, most exciting, stressful, fun and overall successful year of my life and I owe so much of that to YOU! 

On September 17th, 2014 I finally started taking the advice of some very intelligent artists and began blogging every day (Monday-Friday). It was a hard habit to start but I had heard such great results from others who had done this so I knew it was worth a try. I had no idea just how much success it would bring my business! and so fast too! 

To give you an idea - before I started blogging everyday, I would receive 1-2 commissions a month and MAYBE sell one ready-made painting or print from my shop, making the majority of my money from small art shows and festivals. Now I'm getting thousands of clicks to my site, frequent sales from my Store for small paintings and calendars, and for the months of November-December I got SIXTEEN commissions! All I can say is that if you are an artist and you want people to know about you, START A BLOG. Be consistent. Write EVERY DAY. I've learned that I have to spend 50% (sometimes more) of my work day marketing (sharing the art that I'm making, posting to Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.) to remind people I'm here and I want to make art for them. The best part about all of this is how YOU have responded... 

I just scrolled through every blog I've written from Sept 17th to now, checking out which ones received the most clicks, the most likes, finding out which ones interested YOU the most. I am beyond pleased to see that the blogs that I spent the most time on, the ones I really poured my heart into, are the ones you liked the best. When it comes to business, to art, to blogging, I don't think there's anything better than that. Thank you!!

In case you're curious which posts I'm talking about, here are the most popular ones from 2014!
(Click the orange title to read the full post)

The Waiting Room  

9/24/14

"Then my name was called to sit in a private oatmeal colored room about the size of a walk-in closet and wait for my doctor for another 30 minutes. In place of the television set, this stared at me while I waited:

I don't know about you, but when I'm waiting to find out what's wrong with me (which by itself is a pretty crappy feeling), I'd like to look at something different. Pretty much anything different, really. So I started brainstorming... "

For you, the Sky 


10/21/14


"But then my attitude and my painting took a turn. I made the conscious decision to not be so angry, to not let this terrible person affect my life anymore than he already had. And I got to thinking about those things I mentioned above, the beautiful things in life that are bandaids for the pain we humans go through. The sky. The ocean. The forest..."

Reflections Under the Tree 
Part 2 

11/25/14

"Being in the Memory Hall, in the midst of these women I'm fighting for, broke my heart. At the same time I felt that sense of purpose pounding in my chest. THIS is why I make art. For the victims of Alzheimer's and for those who love them."

Roots and Wings           

12/2/14

"Mother, she done set me free
From all the locks that once held me
She whispered in my infant ears
That I was wise beyond my years
So even on my darkest nights
I've felt the ground and I've seen the heights
And one day may you do the same
Oh, child of mine that bears my name"
-Stephen Kellogg

Happy New Year everyone!!