So the painting evolves

My Christmas Designs are continually filled with Santa, his reindeers and the selection of snowmen.

Many are buttons... 

I wonder if you recognise some of these ????

I love painting and the water colour paper has given me another dimension to illustrating and straight to paint desk....

I am pondering some options on how to use these painted designs.

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Something in the heat of summer, the times leading up to Christmas triggered memories of when I sat from light to dusk painting large Santa decorations to go to 2 stores in New Zealand who were doing shows.

My time was tight as...and to make matters even harder a designer was using the Santas in a fabric hanging heart if i recall ....

So I had 2 "bosses" of expectations to hold enough stock, paint, detail , spray the items , package and then box into posting boxes and tape up and off to PO....to enable them to further the sales for their own businesses.

I also was pressurising my wonderful machinist who also would work into the night when the machine was happier with cool night air..

Aust Post express delivered my raw wood designs....

And my life frittered away.

My bank balance should have been looking healthy but it did not...what came in went out of costs !

I was selling too cheaply with wholesale and each next business layer earnt more than I did.....

So I thought 

I am not growing fatter sitting here with no time

 to walk,

 to shop except for food supplies & post.

I raised the prices 

and lost the trade.

It really was not worth the ego trip of painting because so many loved my work.

My work is good, very good. 

But ,with many artists the fine line of pricing is so so hard.

In an economy used to buying cheaply ...not really caring at times for the artist way way behind that mass production creation & idea in another country....

We may quit or we may adjust the vision as the pursuit will remain that love of the creating.

So when you buy a product take a special look at it....

Think who made it, who thought of the way the Santa is formed and then painted, who used it to enhance a fabric design....many spoons are in the pot at times...

copyright Barbara Smith