Today I put new dates onto my site about art classes in Salisbury. Without sending an email, posting anything on Facebook or telling anyone about it, some places have sold already!
Incredible.

During my years as a teacher I was used to planning way in advance. I apply the same strategy to my business. This is probably more useful to my readers who are fellow artists and running their own business, but I'm sharing this with anyone on my blog.

I've been reading Lisa Jacobs' blog for years and its really helped me plan my business and get develop a strategy, I'm not just an artist, I'm running an art business.
Lisa is a PRO at helping online entrepreneurs excel to the next level. Her strategies are tested and proven to win! Watch “Become a Better Business Strategist” when you sign up here (it’s free): https://iw250.isrefer.com/go/vid1optin/Louiselutonart

I'm booking out my diary for 2018 already...if you can't face it just yet, watch this vid, it's a great start to get you thinking about your next step in business.

At this time of year lots of people start planning new routines to get themselves organised. Organisation is key to being successful in any business.
From years and years of being a teacher, where every second of our lesson time and indeed our free time was precious beyond belief, I have 20 years of time management and organisation skills honed to a tee.

There is a myth that creative thinkers are chaotic and disorganised… though I’ll admit that part of my need for planning and organisation has definitely stemmed from my years of being a teacher and now they are serving me well in my years of being an artist.

So here are my top three - I'm not altogether sure I’d be able to live without any of them!​

I have three lovely workshops coming up and places are going fast so book early.

On Wednesday 1st February I'm doing an all day workshop in my lovely studio called "Art for pleasure". It's my most popular workshop, and I simply love it.
Everyone has a great time and learns how to get back to their art and enjoy drawing and creating once more, even if it's been years (decades!) since they last picked up a pencil.
[I also have a few places left on Oil painting for absolute begginers on Monday 6th February]. 
Each workshop begins at 10.30 and ends around 3.30pm.
Bring your own packed lunch, I'll provide tea, coffee and squash all day!

​
We begin with drawing. A few quick drawings to start you off.
I'll teach you some great techniques to build your confidence and get you going. You'll be amwaied at what you can achieve.

You can work in a variety of different media - pastels have proved really popular in the past, when people have wanted to add colour, but don't want to head towards paint straight away. Alternatively, Watercolours are great to add a wash of colour to a drawing. I'm an oil painter by trade but I absolutely love to sketch in waterolours and lay down my ideas in this medium, so I can help with your watercolour technique too.
​
My workshops are hands on - you'll work hard and I'll do plenty of demos to help explain how you can take your art further. I wont draw all over your own work, I'll demo on separate paper, so you'll really be able to see your won work improve and develop without me cheating!

My courses are relaxed and enjoyable. 
A Maximum of 5 places means that I can help everyone achieve better artwork.
Every course is always great fun, book your place on the next one!
There's more info on my workshop page or to a how to get started in in drawing


Don't delay, book today.

I'll send you confirmation and details of how to get to my studio. 
Treat yourself, you'll have a great day!

If you've got any questions, please dont hesitate to email me.
louiseluton@gmail.com

Do you share your life with a creative?
Or have a son/daughter pursuing the arts?
Maybe your best friend has just jacked in her job to finally lead a truly creative life?

Can they be a right royal pain in the backside at times? Don't worry, you can make them happy very easily with my top tips - I guarantee they'll appreciate your efforts.

1. Creatives can be sensitive!
That doesn't mean shower them with false praise! But try to be gentle if criticising their work; it can  be tough. However, in my experience creatives are very able to take criticism about other aspects of their business, so if you know a better printer, courier service or accountant, tell them - they'll want to know!

2. They're doing lots of things you can't see.
Creatives are often "one man bands" and do everything. I'd love it if every day was pure painting! But whatever it takes to keep business going, that's what they're doing. So if you feel you can't really  talk about their art/photography/papiermache hats then talk about their business. They'll love it and again you might have some useful insight that they'd really appreciate.

3. Online is good, bad and everything in between. And it takes up time.
Creatives need to be online, and sell online, and know what their competitors are up to too.  We need to have a presence online - and here's where you can really help the creative in your life: 

                     Like, share, heart, retweet whenever you can!
Facebook business pages don't have the same reach personal profiles. So
everytime you click 'like' on my business page, it tells Facebook that my post is good and groovy and it extends the post reach to others.
Everytime you share or comment, it pushes it even further. All for free. And boy do I appreciate it. I really do. It's the same for retweeting on twitter, putting a heart by an instagram photo and re-pinning a picture on pinterest. And yes, most creatives are trying to manage all of these platforms because they're good for business.

4. Give them a testimonial.
Pop them an email with a nice quotable sentence.
I really appreciate the friends who have, over the years, bought work from me, attended  my workshops, seen my exhibitions and visited my studio. And indeed, the new friends I've made by selling work or doing workshops. When they've written a little email with how much they enjoyed it, or how  much they learnt, or how much they love my painting - it's worth its weight in gold. It not only helps me through the tough days ( and that alone is great) but it helps fill a folder of testimonials, that help other customers develop trust in me, my work and my business..

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for supporting me!

I regularly do workshops at my garden studio Salisbury and at Salisbury Museum and Salisbury Cathedral! In fact, even as I write, I'm currently mind mapping my plans for a workshop on Constable, in October, as part of the museum's excellent exhibition programme.

But you don't need to wait to October, to decide to come to a workshop.
On Tuesday 10th May I'm doing an all day workshop in my lovely studio called "Art for pleasure". It's my most popular workshop, and I simply love it.
Everyone has a great time and learns how to get back to their art and enjoy drawing and creating once more, even if it's been years (decades!) since they last picked up a pencil.

I also have one place left on my Capturing landscapes course on 26th May! Places are going fast!

So what can you expect?
Each workshop begins at 10.30 and ends around 3.30pm.
Bring your own packed lunch, I'll provide tea, coffee and squash all day!

We begin with drawing. A few quick drawings to start you off.
I'll teach you some great techniques to build your confidence and get you going.

You can work in a variety of different media - pastels have proved really popular in the past, when people have wanted to add colour, but don't want to head towards paint straight away. Alternatively, Watercolours are great to add a wash of colour to a drawing.

My workshops are hands on - you'll work hard and I'll do plenty of demos to help explain how you can take your art further.

The courses are relaxed and enjoyable. 

A Maximum of 5 places means that I can help everyone achieve better artwork.

Every course is always great fun, book your place now on the next one!

​There's more info on my workshop page 

Don't delay, sign up today.

You don't need to pay in advance, simply send me an email, asking to reserve a place on "Art for Pleasure" on  10th May or "Capturing Landscapes" on 26th May.
I'll send you confirmation and details of how to get to my studio. 
Treat yourself, you'll have a great day!

louiseluton@gmail.com

Is there really a foolproof formula for a happy marriage.
Sure there is.
There are loads.
That's the damn problem, you've got to pick the right formula.

Formula number 2.
​Only marry someone who totally understands you.

Oh hang on that's not right either, I'm and artist, he's a scientist. Professionally we virtually speak different languages. Maybe that's what makes it interesting? We're always learning  from each other. It's nice to chat about stuff knowing the other person has to concentrate to keep up. It keeps us fresh.


Ah so maybe that leads to Formula number 3.
Opposites attract.
​Ah no...that's not right either. Despite the artist v scientist thing, actually I don't think opposites necessarily attract after all. We have the same believes and values deep down. We like a lot of the same music (which helps), we like some of the same movies. 

Right. I'm getting there now. 
Formula number 4. Marry someone who make you laugh. Definitely. This is true surely. Unless you're a very serious person, who doesn't like laughing. Which I'm not.

I'm definitely onto something now.
Austin Kleon, in his brilliant book "Steal like an artist" sums it up rather well.
​Marry well.

So there it is.
We all need a support network of some kind. Left on their own too long, artists might become self deprecating, anxious beasts.
Whether is your husband, wife, best friend, sibling or nice group of chums who put up with you; support is a wonderful thing.

I believe we all need a bit of nurturing to be creative. And by creative, that's not just artists. Scientists need to be creative too. Engineers, writers, cooks, gardeners, teachers...in fact all of us have creativity woven into our daily lives.

Picasso said "The muse may strike at any time, but she must find you working"

Since turning pro and being a full time artist this has been my mantra. The art world is littered with other beautiful art quotes which still amount to the same thing. Stop faffing about and get on with it!

The thing is that work, consistent work, constant effort, making mistakes, and making discoveries can lead to great inspiration, and great work. Picasso is right.


People still have grand romantic schemes that artists sit around in cafes, drinking wine, and discussing philosophy, politics and art all day. Then suddenly the Muse will strike them and they will head back to the leaky garret and create the next masterpiece ready for the salon to judge next season! Perhaps the modern English reality isn't that artists are sitting about in cafes all day instead  life consists of getting up late, taking the dog for a walk, seeing a beautiful tree leaning over a river and heading back to the studio and magically painting it. 

The reality is different.
I'm not complaining one bit.
 My artistic life is wonderful and I thoroughly enjoy it, but it's definitely hard work. There is a big difference between sauntering along a country lane considering the beauty of the sky while the dog sniffs around in the hedge, compared to lugging your easel and painting equipment, setting up for a day of en plein air painting. Serious concentration is required to really analyse the landscape around you. Sketch after sketch, considering light, colour, composition. The sketches produced on those en plein air days will help you in the studio the next day, the next week or even next year you can work from those sketches.
Here comes the muse, and there you were, working. That's why she came!

Part of the problem with artists' block is thinking that we must find something completely new and original. Modest subject matter won't be enough to sate our artist need. Not true.

While I'm writing this I am listening to Ella Fitzgerald singing "It ain't what you do it's the way that you do it" and she's right too.
There isn't a monopoly on painting landscape, or a beautiful flower, or a still life of fruit. We can choose to paint anything, we can find inspiration anywhere, it's what we bring to the party ourselves that makes our treatment of the subject matter interesting. 
That constant work while waiting for the muse is how we find our voice.
It's about our style, it's about how we create that landscape or how we capture that moment.
The artists I know don't magic a masterpiece out of the air.
It comes from graft, and craft.
We have to think about it, study it, experiment  with it;  we have to let it brew inside our minds and then find the techniques and skills put onto the page what our mind has already seen. 

 Creative clutter or tidy art haven?
 Last week I was talking about letting go while creating art and letting go so that you can sell it. This week I'm focusing on letting go of the creative clutter that inevitably accumulates in any artist studio! 


Broadly speaking since having a professional studio in Salisbury, all to myself, I have designated spaces for office and admin, storage, painting at easels and even delivering workshops; my studio has remained relatively tidy.

I have a good fortnightly routine where I give my surfaces a deep clean to prevent the accumulation of gesso, paint, dried up oil, and other detritus that can build up in particular areas.

However I have another area that has turned into one of those dumping grounds. Everyone has a dumping ground at some point in their life. In our homes it tends to be the cupboard under the stairs where mountains of shoes that we will never wear again, hot water bottles and random bits of carpet seem to congregate without anyone claiming responsibility for putting it all there!

In my studio my dumping area isn't the cupboard under the stairs but instead of peculiar space above the stairs! It's ideal for storing canvases,  upright portfolios full of drawings and any unused frames yet to find pride of place as the rim of a beautiful painting.
I know.
I've let it go.
I know I've been naughty and when my studio receives it's fortnightly clean the dumping ground remains the same with piles of things,  I even found some garden lights, and an old guitar. 

So this morning, bright and early, before I even did my small daily painting, before I even checked my emails I started clearing out the dreaded dumping ground. It was just one of those things I had to do. I need to clear my mind and in order to do so  I have to clear out the messiest bit of my studio. It wasn't even high on my list of priorities for today, even this week but I just had to do it. So armed with a strong cup of coffee I set to. 

 Here's how it worked.
 1.If  a canvas  is dented, warped, rotting, or damaged in any way throw it out! It's simply doesn't matter what's on it or how good it looks. If the canvas is damaged it's no use, its not even of any use to hang up in your own house because the dent will drive you nuts.
Chuck it out don't even think about it, don't pause for thought!

2. Papers can be precious and you have to be careful what you throw out.
 I discovered a big watch of heavyweight cartridge paper that had been slightly folded, there wasn't a crisp fold fold in them but it wasn't perfect.
Some of the papers I kept.
But they are now stored in a portfolio to keep them safe from damp and further folding.
Papers are incredibly useful I run workshops and I really like using lots and lots of paper to get people going. Having paper that isn't precious encourages a great habit of experimentation when sketching (see my blog from last week for more on that). However some papers simply won't going to be good enough even for practice sketches. Some pastel papers had become so warped when they have got slightly damp that they simply had to be thrown away.  This is another good reason to buy paper in good firm pads as they tend to stay in better shape even when they stored badly. Loose paper nearly always ends up crumpled and useless if you haven't got a good storage habit. In the process of clearing out my dumping ground I now have a better place to store my paper.

3. Old frames mounts and other things that you think really might be useful and you ought to keep. This is a real problem territory and you need to go carefully and I did. So I have kept three frames out of the myriad of ones that I found in my dumping ground area. The three frames I kept where clean, not warped in any way and still had true 90° corners and they're worth keeping.
However I did throw away a further four frames that were simply no good, they were either damaged or simply won't work with the kind of work that I produce now.
Now that can be quite a brave decision to make throwing out something that might be useful one day,  but if I hadn't have thrown out  those things I wouldn't have had the space to store the things I really need. 

4. Throwing out canvases that aren't that damaged.
This is really tricky. I threw out some work that were on canvases that weren't dented so why why did I make this decision?
I'm not as arrogant as Michelangelo to get rid of every sketch or anything I've ever done! If you are a student at the start of your career I urge you with all my heart to try and keep as many things from your early days as possible. I have three portfolios rammed full of sketches, pastel drawings and watercolours that record the way my style has changed and developed over the years. I value them and occasionally look at them to see how far I've come.
But in the process of my clear out of my dumping ground area I also threw out a good for five maybe six canvases varying sizes of work. So why? How could I possibly throw away paintings that actually were pretty good!
The answer is simple- neither the canvas  nor the paint was of a high enough quality that I could put them with my current work. Again this might sound arrogant but it's really not meant to be. I pride myself on only painting on the high quality canvas only using the very best paints, Michael Harding, Old Holland all of those great names find their way into my work.
The work that I threw out simply doesn't fit with my brand. Okay you might be thinking but you could've given them away that might have been a lovely gift? Well maybe but it also might devalue what I'm currently doing. This isn't about throwing out anything and everything that I can't sell,  I've kept a great number of pieces that I won't ever sell that are either sentimental to me or show a real turning point in the development of my art. And I'm very happy to keep those items.

 I'm confident now that all of the work on display my studio, and all of the work that I will take to future fairs or exhibitions is of a standard worthy of a professional artist.

5. Donating. There is a nice little joke tootling around on social media at the moment that goes along the lines of "I will take these clothes to the charity shop but first I'm going to put them in the boot of my car and drive around with them for six months!"
This could be true of artists donating unwanted materials.
 I urge you, particularly if you have changed medium, that you donate any materials that you no longer need to your local school. There isn't a school in the land nor an art teacher in that school that doesn't want your stuff! Note, they do not want your rubbish- but they do want your brushes, they want paper, canvas, they want paint, they want pastels, they want charcoal! So get it in the car and take it to the nearest school!
​

So now my dumping ground has had his little clear out, how have I used the spare space?
Well for a start, newly delivered canvases can now rest there safe in the knowledge they won't get dented with a load of rubbish.
Secondly my papers won't get damp and crumpled.
And lastly it means that I've been able to move some of the things around in my studio creating more space for some workshops that I'll be doing next week!
​ All in all it's been a pretty successful morning and I've now stopped for a cuppa.