Lately, I have felt that I am at a crossroads as a artist. I've spent a lot of years trying different media and subject matter. In the last ten years, I have focused on acrylic paintings of flowers, cacti and other images with a Southwestern feel. But now what?
I've read a lot over the years about personal branding, but I've not given it that much thought. Last night, on
Twitter, I came across a link to the website of
Maria Brophy, specifically to her post "10 Principles for an Artists Success". Now, I've read a lot of artist advice before, but for some reason, this really clicked for me. Principle #3 has to do with personal branding, which is basically, who am I? This included an exercise, which required writing five words that describe who I am. I replied to the post with - family, faith, dreamer, humor, creativity. It was kind of hard to come up with just five words, but I really can't see myself without those basics in my life.
Family - My children, my relatives and even my friends, well, that's what it's really all about. To be successful as an artist would mean that I have the means to spend time with everyone the way I want to.
Faith - My faith in God has been shaky at times, sometimes almost non-existent. But it is still there and something that I want to grow. I know He is there and I know He loves me and I know He has a plan for me.
Dreams - I have been a dreamer ever since I was a little kid. Sounds silly, we all have dreams. But, it's a big deal to me - I'm a big believer in dreams coming true!
Humor - I say humor because I love to laugh! It's good for my soul and I love it especially when something strikes me so funny that tears come!
Creativity - I have to have this every day. I either have to be painting, thinking about painting, looking at someone else's art, etc. Life would just be ho-hum without it.
In addition to the five words I selected, I would like to add this. I grew up in North Carolina and moved to New Mexico when I was thirty years old. I have now been here almost 24 years. In my first year in New Mexico, one of my college professors was here for a workshop. We had a brief visit and I remember her saying to me about my art, "Just remember that you are a North Carolina woman living in New Mexico". I have never forgotten that.
