I somehow came across artforshelteranimals.blogspot.com (it’s listed in my blogroll) and it seemed like a great combination of marketing effort and direct benefit to charitable groups that I support but don’t have a lot of money to donate to. To sum it up, the artist donates a painting of a shelter or rescue animal directly to the shelter organization, which then owns the work and the copyright to do with as they please–calendars, coffee mugs, notecards, direct sale, T-shirts, whatever. They can use the image over and over again any way they can dream up. So I fired off a few emails today to my favorite horse rescue organizations, and we’ll see if there’s interest. For full details, visit the artforshelteranimals blog. It’s really a neat concept, whether you need to market yourself or not.
Charm, showing off the only braids that will stay in her endless mane.
For not the first time, but maybe the last time, I have started a "home business". The difference with this one is that it is one I really enjoy. I've drawn and painted horses since I was (at least) five years old--that's the earliest one that my mother saved.By the time I entered my teens, Mother had grown a bit tired of the subject and urged me to do something else with my artwork besides horses. I followed her advice and never looked back until ten years ago when it occurred to me that people might actually pay for horse portraits. I have had many exhibits of my landscapes, and sold a good number of them--but not enough to provide any kind of steady income.
I'm hoping that if I work hard and market this business well I will be able to delight my customers, make some money, and have a lot of fun doing it.
Visit many more horses and my rural landscapes at http://allifarkas.com, or click on my photo above.
Alli Farkas Artist Adventures 