This may be my last post on this blog.
I have no idea what compelled me to post today, I was writing about transitions over on my patreon page and thinking about the last blog entry I posted here just before we moved back to Canada and I 'officially' left my career in veterinary medicine for a full-time career as a visual artist. I had written this post and was in the process of editing it, tidying up formatting, adding links and such. I thought 'Hm, I wonder how long the blog was live? When did I start it?' and so I looked and saw that my very first post was....
September 19th, 2008.
Precisely 10 years ago today.
Okay. That is kind of creepy. All right then. Here I am... EXACTLY ten years later, and I feel that I can honestly say the events I wrote about on Sept. 19th, 2008 were truly the spark that started... well...everything. When I started this blog;
The reason that this is likely to be my last post here is that being an artist, particularly an independent one, means that my online presence is my business now. I still suck at 'curating' my presence, so my posts remain random and inconsistent (pretty much everything you are NOT supposed to do to promote yourself, that's what I do..erry day - or rather NOT erry day, that's the problem.. but I digress..) what has changed is WHERE I am posting - to wit, the bulk of my activity now is on Patreon.com where I'm trying to create a 'home base' where I can gather fans of my artwork.
I have no idea what compelled me to post today, I was writing about transitions over on my patreon page and thinking about the last blog entry I posted here just before we moved back to Canada and I 'officially' left my career in veterinary medicine for a full-time career as a visual artist. I had written this post and was in the process of editing it, tidying up formatting, adding links and such. I thought 'Hm, I wonder how long the blog was live? When did I start it?' and so I looked and saw that my very first post was....
September 19th, 2008.
Precisely 10 years ago today.
Okay. That is kind of creepy. All right then. Here I am... EXACTLY ten years later, and I feel that I can honestly say the events I wrote about on Sept. 19th, 2008 were truly the spark that started... well...everything. When I started this blog;
I had just left clinical veterinary practice.
I tried my hand at making a career of my art.
I failed.
I returned to veterinary medicine as a consultant.
I loved my company and coworkers, but the art still called to me.
I moved to another country.
I moved to another country again.
I couldn't continue as a consultant.
I tried making a career of my art again.
I failed again.
I returned to veterinary medicine as a teacher.
I loved my students and colleagues, but the art still called to me.
I moved back home.
I tried making a career of my art again.
And now I am here, exactly ten years later, and this time...
This time it has worked!
I am a full-time independent artist/illustrator now. I'm not saying I am financially 'there' yet, but part of the work over the past ten years was building up a 'nest egg' to facilitate this career transition. As the start-up capital keeps things going I am gradually increasing my art income. I am learning the ropes of being self-employed, being a 'business owner' (which still sounds very strange to me), getting over my hang-ups about getting paid fairly for the work I do, getting over my hang-ups about self-promotion, and feeling SO GRATEFUL that I have been given this opportunity!The reason that this is likely to be my last post here is that being an artist, particularly an independent one, means that my online presence is my business now. I still suck at 'curating' my presence, so my posts remain random and inconsistent (pretty much everything you are NOT supposed to do to promote yourself, that's what I do..erry day - or rather NOT erry day, that's the problem.. but I digress..) what has changed is WHERE I am posting - to wit, the bulk of my activity now is on Patreon.com where I'm trying to create a 'home base' where I can gather fans of my artwork.
If you are interested in seeing what I'm up to these days then come on by! I post everything from scratchboard pet portraits (of course!) to children's illustration, to webcomics, to Critical Role fanart, and even the occasional acrylic painting! The vast majority of my posts are entirely public and so is available to anyone who wanders by (though if you do come over I'd really appreciate a 'follow').
The platform of patreon does allow fans to subscribe to artists whose work they wish to support, so there is that option if you are so inclined - since this is my full time job now a dollar or two a month is greatly appreciated and will help me to continue to create art and share it with the world.
The platform of patreon does allow fans to subscribe to artists whose work they wish to support, so there is that option if you are so inclined - since this is my full time job now a dollar or two a month is greatly appreciated and will help me to continue to create art and share it with the world.
And as this is my final post here I would just like to say THANK YOU to everyone who followed and read this blog. I hope there was something in it that helped or entertained you. Thank you for coming with me on this journey - it's turned out so much better than I ever thought it would be!
In March of 2018 I travelled to St. Kitts as I had every fourth month for a year. I went to teach for the last time at the vet school down there. It was the end of a very tumultuous 18 month period in which my husband and I moved (one international move followed by two more local moves), he started a new job and I completely changed careers.
Well, not completely - because I continued to teach as a locum as I organized my life as an independent/freelance artist. (LOL.. organized my life.. that's a good one!).
To get back to the salient point - I had decided that March of 2018 was to be my very last teaching locum. Though I had been calling myself a recovering *ahem* retired veterinary internist since we moved back to Canada, I was still doing vet related work. And it was time to let go of that old trapeze bar and hope I had a good enough grip on this new one
Leaving behind a career that has pretty much been the focus of my life since at least high school (though I wanted 'to be a veterinarian' since before I could spell or pronounce 'veterinarian') - well, let's just say it was a big transition. I did all the things I knew that I needed to ease that transition but on the final days of March I was facing an airplane trip that would mark;
The end of a lifelong career
The uncertainty of a new career, in a completely different field, which happened to be visual arts (the thing my mother had warned me could not be done as a career)
Leaving behind the amazing students and faculty I'd come to cherish at RUSVM
Leaving my BFF (though arguable we get more done and drink less being a thousand miles apart... ).
This was coupled with excitement about being able to put full focus on my art career and my dreams of what I might be able to do with that. So suffice it to say that it was an emotionally... complex time.
As the month wound to an end the weight of the LEAVING was hitting me hard and I had growing anxiety - 'What if this was a stupid decision? What if nobody ever responds to my art? Is this a Very Bad Decision that I'll regret later?'. You know, the normal kind of stuff.
Then, on my last day of teaching, I got a message from my friend and local amazeballs artist Rosey that someone wanted to purchase some of my art from her gallery! Skip ahead a bit and two of my acrylic paintings were sold to a couple visiting the island on vacation.
It was the confidence boost that I needed just at that moment.
Knowing that my art spoke to someone enough for them to want to put it in their home - that is just an amazing thing!
Needless to say, I left St. Kitts still with a mixture of emotions, but feeling confident and optimistic about my career change! And now, six months later, as Jon and Madeleine share with me a photo of the paintings in their new home I can report that this was the right decision for me.
So here's to life transitions!
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| Good-bye and much love! |
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"TRANSITIONS" POST THAT WILL BE SHARED ON MY PATREON PAGE:
Well, not completely - because I continued to teach as a locum as I organized my life as an independent/freelance artist. (LOL.. organized my life.. that's a good one!).
To get back to the salient point - I had decided that March of 2018 was to be my very last teaching locum. Though I had been calling myself a recovering *ahem* retired veterinary internist since we moved back to Canada, I was still doing vet related work. And it was time to let go of that old trapeze bar and hope I had a good enough grip on this new one
Leaving behind a career that has pretty much been the focus of my life since at least high school (though I wanted 'to be a veterinarian' since before I could spell or pronounce 'veterinarian') - well, let's just say it was a big transition. I did all the things I knew that I needed to ease that transition but on the final days of March I was facing an airplane trip that would mark;
The end of a lifelong career
The uncertainty of a new career, in a completely different field, which happened to be visual arts (the thing my mother had warned me could not be done as a career)
Leaving behind the amazing students and faculty I'd come to cherish at RUSVM
Leaving my BFF (though arguable we get more done and drink less being a thousand miles apart... ).
 |
| https://youtu.be/lsVy7OsOXfI |
As the month wound to an end the weight of the LEAVING was hitting me hard and I had growing anxiety - 'What if this was a stupid decision? What if nobody ever responds to my art? Is this a Very Bad Decision that I'll regret later?'. You know, the normal kind of stuff.
Then, on my last day of teaching, I got a message from my friend and local amazeballs artist Rosey that someone wanted to purchase some of my art from her gallery! Skip ahead a bit and two of my acrylic paintings were sold to a couple visiting the island on vacation.
 |
| "Surrender" and "Inner Thoughts" |
Knowing that my art spoke to someone enough for them to want to put it in their home - that is just an amazing thing!
Needless to say, I left St. Kitts still with a mixture of emotions, but feeling confident and optimistic about my career change! And now, six months later, as Jon and Madeleine share with me a photo of the paintings in their new home I can report that this was the right decision for me.
So here's to life transitions!
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