Several years ago, I was thinking about what to give a very dear friend's daughter as a very special present to express my sincere appreciation of her friendship. It was her daughter's wedding and the present needed to be a lasting and beautiful reminder of her special day. For her gift, I decided to do a painting of her wedding bouquet. The actual bouquet would not last, but the painting would always be a reminder of the beauty of that day. I have since painted many bouquets. Sometimes, they are gifts for friends and sometimes, a commission for a client to give to a relative or friend as a gift. What better way to express your thoughtfulness and to commemorate the bride's big day than with this unique gift. I have designed a gift certificate to give to the bride before the wedding day in anticipation of the gift. My most recent painting is pictured below and was painted for my daughter-in-law's cousin. What beautiful flowers they were and what a joy to paint!
I was in the UPS store the other day, mailing a large painting to a client, when a lady noticed what I was doing. When she realized that I was the artist, she said to me, "That is a wonderful hobby". I would loved to have explained to her that painting for me is not just a hobby, but it is my profession and business. As I read in a recent blog post from gallery owner, Jason Horejs, most people do not realize that an artist is a small business owner and has much work to do to keep the business afloat. There is making art, of course, but also, keeping inventory, participating in exhibitions and shows, keeping up with taxes, framing, packaging and mailing, writing a blog, posting on social media, pursuing gallery space and/or clients, emailing information about shows, and often much more. It is truly a business that takes much more time than the actual making of the art. Most artists do all of that themselves, because most artists do not have the funds to hire help. Attached to this blog post is the painting I was mailing to Julie Ann Segal, Metro Interiors, Minneapolis, MN.
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Kay HoflerI am a retired art teacher and now a full time professional artist who loves to paint and share my paintings with family, friends art lovers and patrons. Archives
February 2023
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