Studio Note 05/25

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Happy May!

I'll keep this intro short and sweet and let you get to reading these little notes so you can mosey on with your day.
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P.S. I hope April was great for you and hope May is even better!

Art Notes

I started a new series I'm calling "Neighbors". It's all about the animals and flora found around my home. We have many trees on our lot, and it really feels like living in your own little forest, especially when I see a group of deer or a little rabbit around.

"Fox and Phlox" was inspired by a red-tailed fox spotted in my human neighbor's driveway, and the phlox that I just planted around our mailbox.

If you're curious to know more about this fox, you can read all about the process and paints I used over at Patreon.

Social Notes

I've written a new blog post all about art markets and the best ways to make your booth shine! I hope you find it helpful, and if you have any advice or tips you want to contribute, leave a comment!

Have a Successful Art Market Booth - Best Practices and Tips ​ Read Now

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Shop Notes

In case you missed the announcement, new print sizes and prices are here!

Pretty and petite 5 x 7" prints have been added to the shop, and her big sister, 11 x 14", has a smaller price point now. I always want my artwork to be as accessible as possible for customers, while still remaining profitable, so I can continue offering high quality artwork for everyone's spaces!

To celebrate, I'm offering you 10% off any order made this month! Just use code STUDIONOTEMAY at checkout. Valid through June 6.

I've also added new stickers to the product line up as well!

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I have also decided to merge original works and Limited Edition prints into the main shop. This will help me simplify updates! Don't worry, you will be tipped off early about new originals and special prints before they get added to the shop for early shopping privileges, so nothing is really changing except where the original paintings and prints will be listed.

A Note about Creative Energy

I've been trying to be more conscious about my creative energy levels, what affects them, and how I treat myself when I'm at low energy levels. Life activities, home environment, work, and health can call affect energy levels. For me, if my house or even office is a mess, I can't create anything until I've cleaned. If I'm tired and feeling low, I struggle to get a new painting started. If I'm feeling energetic, I tend to get greedy with time and take on more than I can finish in a reasonable amount of time.

I've reassessed my Notion dashboard and noticed I have "committed" to A LOT each quarter. More than is necessary or realistic to accomplish. So I went back in and reconsidered how much energy each task would require of me to accomplish, and gave it a label.

Low energy tasks like swatching new paint colors is something I can do when I'm feeling drained because it doesn't take much brain power or physical energy to do. Higher energy tasks, like conceptualizing a new collection or preparing a new video, are things I save for days when I'm feeling more energized. I also trimmed my Quarterly Quests down to working on 1 series or collection a quarter, 1-2 blog post concepts, and 1-3 personal tasks to complete instead of listing whatever I wanted. Immediately, I felt less overwhelmed by my lofty to-do list and thought, "I could actually get these things done."

If you're feeling drained, try reevaluating your project and to-do lists and eliminate what isn't necessary right now or you no longer want to do, prioritize what should come next, and set a limit to how much you'll add on your plate with your personal energy levels and those tasks' energy requirements in mind. Try it for the rest of this quarter and see how you feel!