A Smile in the Making

So the boxes are unpacked, for the most part. The major necessities are fixed on the new house, for the most part. Company has come and gone as well as the holidays. Now it is time to get known in this area and get my business on line.

After nearly 14 years of getting established as an artist in the northeast Wis market, we moved to the greater Philadelphia area. Getting established in the Green Bay area market is not the easiest thing to do – especially if you don’t paint Americana, wildlife or football players. I was excited about the move, yet crushed that I would have to start over marketing my art.

For a long time, I have wanted to make my career more portable. Something that I could do whereever I lived. After submitting portfolios and mailing brochures, a few years ago I finally signed a contract with art rep agency that deals with the educational materials publishing industry. All my assignments are handled over the phone or by email and when completed, Fed Exed or emailed back. While it is a very portable career, it isn’t always steady business.

I had talked about setting up a website, but it seemed like a lot of work. Several artists started posting about blogging on WetCanvas They talked about how easy it was to do and it was the “thing to do”.

Plus it was free.

So last year I started a blog A Planet Named Janet

If there is one thing I have learned in making it as an artist, you dont necessarily have to be good. You can be mediocre or maybe even bad. But you do have to be in the right place at the right time and know how to take advantage of opportunity.

“From Cheesehead to Cheesesteaks” – that was the subject line of my email to Philly.com’s call for citizen bloggers. From Wisconsin to Philly. How will I take advantage of this opportunity? How will what I have learned in Wisconsin work in Pennsylvania? Do all we have in common is cheese and Reggie White?