This month I will be having an open studio weekend to attempt to sell some of my art, because not having a gallery close by/venue does make it difficult to sell work (apart from my smaller pieces which I sell on Etsy.) So I thought I would share the journey. 

First things first! 
I have three weeks to get things organized. I have enough art, I just need to sort it all out and get the word out. I think the sooner I get the event advertised the better, so this week I am going to get the promotional aspect sorted and ready to go next week, if not sooner.

My to do list looks something like this:

1. Design posters advertising the event to be posted around shopping centre/art venues and coffee shops.
2. Create an online gallery of artworks for sale (so that people can reserve artworks.)
3. Create a Facebook Events page advertising the open studio weekend.
4. Contact all of my art contacts in Haugesund asking them to help me promote the weekend.
5. Organize a debit/credit card terminal for transactions.
6. Organize some nibblies and drinks.
7. Rope in friends to help me run the day, as I would like to do a live painting demonstration.

My to do list for this week is:

1. Organise, design and print posters advertising the event.
2. Create an online gallery of works for sale.
3. Create a facebook event's page.

Wish me luck! 

Here is a visual story board of my latest work in Progress! The artwork below is where I am as of today! Slowly coming together! 

I woke up today with the sobering realization I have such a big hill to climb and I am not sure how I am going to do it. I guess if I let my thoughts talk too much then I might as well pack it in because the journey isn't going to get any easier, in fact the opposite. 

My CG (Creative Genius)  keeps telling me, 'you are where you need to be at this point in time,' but my ego says I'm not. It says you're wasting your time, money, and energy focusing so much on something which you have dedicated six years to and still can't make a living from. 

My CG says 'keep following your dreams and the rest will come.' My ego says that is not reality, that is not the real world, and that life is full of broken dreams. 

My CG says 'hold your passion, stay focused, and you will be rewarded for your efforts.' My ego laughs in my face and calls me delusional, it laughs so hard its belly aches, and just for insult it tells me I have no chance in hell of getting anywhere because I live in the middle of nowhere.

My CG says that by sharing my journey I am helping so many people become better artists, my ego says that by sharing so much, some people are only going to take and use me for my knowledge and then kick and discard me like trash.

I was listening to my fav spiritual teacher Dr. Wayne Dwyer yesterday talking about thoughts because I needed some words of advice apart from the ones coming from my own head. 

He said 'Just like you shouldn't believe everything you read, don't believe everything you think.' I get it, I get what he is saying, and for the most part I can stop the destructive self critical thoughts, but today the hill seems steep, so very steep.

My CG says 'don't focus on the past or the future because only the NOW is important and relevant.'

So listening to my wise little inner voice, that is what I will do today, 'one foot in front of the other.' Focusing on each step...

So today I thought it was about time for a clay day, time to create some little creatures. These are going to be pretty detailed when I am finished. Today I just created the basic body and face shapes, I will wait a few hours for the clay to firm up and dry out a little before I begin carving out all the details. I am going to fire them in sawdust until they are black then scrub away at them to reveal the colour of the clay. I am only working on three because there are a lot of hours involved with transforming them into little works of art. 

I create my faces from a mould which I made out of plaster. I got the original face design from modifying a dolls face and casting several clay masks from it slowly carving and reshaping it until I got a 'basic' design I was happy with. I then recast that final face to create the final basic mould which I use to turn out my faces. I do have several different moulds with all slightly different face proportions.

To stop the clay from sticking to the plaster I use baby powder and sprinkle a coating on the inside of the mould. I then wipe out the excess using a dry paint brush, a technique I picked up from a ceramics class at university.  

Here is a selection of different faces which were commissioned a few years ago for a boutique hotel. The client wanted to fill a specific bowl with the faces. All have slightly different expressions and designs.
I only create a certain number of masks each year, usually around ten, depending on how much time I have. As I mentioned they are time consuming to make and may take me three hours to complete just one. Then there is the firing which I do myself, which begins with the initial bisque firing done in a home made kiln followed by a second firing done in a pit. There is something I love about pit firing, it is like a connection to the past and your'e using real fire. 

My masks have even featured in some of my scanner art photography projects. They are weird, ancient, some say cute, some say disturbed, but one thing you can't dispute, is that they are definitely unique. In this photo I look just as disturbed as one of my masks, LOL.

The events which have transpired over the last few days have been mind blowing to say the least. Having someone contact you to say they want to buy not just one large painting, but four, is surreal and I am waiting to wake up and go 'Damn if only it was real life,' but it is!
As many of you know, I live pretty far from any decent gallery with the space to hang my large works, so unless I sell them at art fairs or privately then it is pretty difficult to shift the work. And lets face it, it is pretty hard normally to sell larger works over the Internet, especially to buyers in other countries.
So I was pleasantly, OK I was jumping out of my skin when I received the email, and at first i was skeptical 'as you are' because I receive a ton of emails weekly from all sorts of art related galleries and businesses. But everything proved legit. 
But I had been wondering for ages 'what am I going to do about all of my larger works' because I love making them, but my problem is what to do with them. My first idea was to try and set up a scheme where companies or businesses could rent the artwork for their space because I hadn't really seen anything like that here and I know of other artists who do this and make an OK living from it. And having sold a large abstract work a few years back to a Norwegian shipping company it kind of made sense. 
Now, I have several collectors already who purchase my work but it is generally more smaller pieces (and i am so grateful for their support) and to find a collector willing to invest in me financially on a different level is just gratifying and it is a nice feeling to feel your work has been recognized by someone who has the resources to invest in your development, it is a totally wonderful feeling. 

So the three works I sold are below:

I have had a few artist friends email me to ask how did they find me, well it is always the same way, through word of mouth, Google and YouTube. 
This particular Russian collector has been following my development for the last three years and decided it was time. So there you have it, now back to reality and OH BOY I GOT TO PACK THESE BABIES UP! 
So I want to end by saying a BIG thanks to everyone who has purchased work from me in the past, not only are you helping me to live my dream, but you are also supporting the arts! 

What makes one person stand out amongst the sea of others? What is it about someone who has that special personality that we all fall in love with? What makes them different from the average Joe?

I ask myself "What is that quality?" Is it because of their self belief in what they do? Or is it their pure passion, determination, and drive to succeed?  

I was recently watching a Beyonce Doco YouTube video (which is posted below) and it really struck a chord with me for all sorts of reasons and I think it answered my questions. 

It's nice to see someone who is successful and isn't completely lost in their ego or their need to prove to the world that they are the best. It is refreshing, it humbles me, and makes me think about my own journey and what do I offer to the world apart from the artist. I think that it is good that we all reflect from time to time on who we are and what message we are sending out to the world. 

I'll end this little blog with the words Beyonce said at the end of her video.

I am learning how to drown out the constant noise which is an inseparable part of my life. I don't have to prove anything to anyone, I only have to follow my heart and concentrate on what I want to say to the world. I run my world! 

Today I reached the '5000 Subscriber' mile stone on my YouTube channel 'Capricornartist73'. I have to say 'What a F***king journey' it has been getting there. I remember back MANY MOONS ago, reaching the first 100 subscribers and thinking OMG how bloody bizarre that people want to listen to what I have to say. I mean no one has ever really taken any notice or listened to me before, he he he. I was the kid/guy who kept my thoughts and opinions to myself, but that all changed almost 6 years ago when I relocated to Nowhere, i mean Norway. That's the title of my autobiography, by the way, 'Destination to Nowhere'.
Documenting one's journey is definitely an interesting experience, especially looking back after many years of filming. It is only now that I can look back on some of my early videos and go 'WOW! Who was that STUD?' NooooCH, I mean 'nervous guy who took an hour to process his thoughts into something half understandable to people'. 
And to prove to you how nervous I really was at one stage, here is an early CA73 video. So if i can do it...so can u! (Maybe not in jocks though he he.)

Sharing your journey with so many strangers is both thrilling and scary because you're opening yourself up to ridicule, judgement and criticism from people, who will either love you and/or hate you. I am pretty happy to say that over the years I haven't attracted too many haters to my channel. I think I have had around 5 really nasty, uneducated, personal attacks, and on YouTube that is pretty good I have to say!
I think as human beings we all want to feel like we have contributed something to the world, we all want to give something of ourselves unconditionally that will be remembered 'hopefully' for a generation to come. 
I would like to think that CA73 has given many people hope that they can make a difference. That being 'STUCK' in the middle of Nowhere with life commitments doesn't mean you can't follow your dreams or passions, and that you CAN have an impact on people's lives through the sharing of that passion. 
You know I look back at all the 100's of personal emails I have received over the years from people who had lost their passion, their hope, their inspiration, and how my act of sharing has changed their lives and attitude. That is a pretty powerful thing to reflect on and I find myself welling up with tears thinking about. That a little country boy from Innisfail has changed the lives of so many by simply 'sharing' the passion! 

'A personal joy'
One of the greatest joys for me through this whole process is seeing all the friendships which have been formed over the years as a result of people connecting through CA73 and my art social network 'Loving Mixed Media'.
It is such a great feeling to know that I have played a very, and I mean very, small part in bringing so many artists together to create friendships which will last a life time.

 

The evolution of CA73
There is nothing that has stopped me from pushing my own boundaries in terms of the art I create. Different styles, techniques, mediums you name it, CA73 is there pushing it all the way. I am the mixed media KING, and I'll take that crown! he he he
We are all destined to be great, we all have it in us, but unfortunately some of us don't realize or believe it. In order to find that greatness we need to explore ourselves on all levels, we need to try new things, new ideas, and new approaches. 'Everyday is a brand new day' and I wake up thinking that, even if I don't always believe it! 

I've created many YouTube channels over the years, all for different reasons and ideas. But you see being a 'live in the moment' type of artist that I am, that is how I function, that is what keeps me fresh and alive with ideas. I follow my instincts above anything else, above rationality and reason, because the moment I don't listen to those instincts, that is the moment I lose. I have been criticized for starting things and then losing interest, but that is my nature! I run with my feelings and convictions passionately and when I lose that, it is time to move on. And people have to accept that about me and if they don't get it and appreciate it for what it is, then they need to move on. That ability to constantly chop and change in an instant has kept me fresh.  I have pushed myself in all sorts of directions whether it is dancing in Lycra with crazy wigs, to singing naked in the shower, to teaching workshops, to burning 90 artworks, to making parody videos about other artists, to creating all sorts of art. All of this has been an evolution, not only for me, but for many other people too, and I think it has all been worth it! I have No regrets! 

So what is the future for CA73?

I don't know. 
I try not to think about it, I'm taking one day at a time, reacting and following the creative passion as it happens. I will continue to document my journey on YouTube and hopefully that will mean something to someone, and if not! That's life! 



So I want to end by saying Thank YOU, thank you for your support and friendship, and I hope you all continue to "Take your passion and make it happen!"