Opening Bid: $50. What I gained was far more valuable. (Ok, so it sold for much, much more than that.) Even so, the workout my heart got from the experience still outweighed the final price tag. I was asked to paint during a fundraising benefit event a week ago. It was not my first, but it's been a while. I do these every two years or so.
So how do you build confidence for living painting (or any other next-level challenge)?
Each of these events holds a unique opportunity to showcase art in a shared experience: corporate event mixers, city events, trade shows, and from my church pew or up front.
But it's always a stretch.
It's never easy to pass or fail publicly. And perhaps with a time constraint. And maybe even needing to be valuable enough to gift, sell or auction. *With you present as it's being received or auctioned. {gulp!}
That trifecta is a gut punch. Let's take those one at a time.
Strategies for Stepping into your Next-Level Live Challenge (particularly as an artist).
A little simple planning, mindset, and trust goes a long way to build confidence for live painting.
Get a handle on time.
Teaching live online has really taught me to know my own pace. But you don't need the years of experience I've earned. You just need to give yourself one dry run. Paint your planned subject matter and time yourself. Don't just get the total, note intervals.
You may set up a timer and take a snapshot at each interval. You may also take a video of your painting, noting the times later. Once you see how long it takes to warm up, lay down first washes, define your subject and add special touches, you'll be able to gauge where you need to be at certain time intervals during the live painting. Do note that you may work faster when your adrenaline is running high.
Additionally, you'll get better at your craft for this particular subject.
Add value to your work.
Art is not just for the masters. Art is valued by everyday people. But at an event, there is an expectation (or hope) of bringing a bit of "wow." But how?
What drives value in art? Prestige can come across in a variety of ways: uniqueness, skill, personalization, and presentation to name a few.
Take ANY ONE of those and capitalize on it. Take any two, and you're solid gold!
Speaking of gold... did you notice I added gold flakes to my art? That special touch goes a long way to add value--and it's so simple! I also painted this on an Aquaboard which is an upscale, ready to hang surface for watercolor. As a best practice, we coat paintings with a clear UV-resistant varnish before handing them to their new owners.
Create with Confidence
Finally, the biggest challenge of all: yourself. Your attitude will tell the whole story. I often remember this advice while planning my wedding, "no one will have fun if the bride is not having fun." Your attitude towards your own art is contagious. The things you tell youself about your work will be what others think as well. You have the power to downgrade, elevate and completely flip another's opinion. Why? Because as the artist, you're the Master Noticer. Notice what's wonderful about your work so that others will, too.
As an extra tip for the moments before paint hits paper, build your confidence up by stretching as any athlete does. This could be mixing paints, wetting the surface with millions of mundane brush strokes, wiping your brushes or visualizing the art on the white surface. As you prepare your materials, go about preparing your future art.
And remember: as with any project, remember: they chose you. They asked you. They want you. All that's left is to prove they were right in doing so.
Have you painted with a live audience? How do you put yourself out there--with worms in your gut and energy in your fingertips? Comment below!
You never know when you're going to be asked to step into a new level of creativity.
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