How Unbeatable Confidence can be Found when you are just Starting Out?

ME AT MY STUDIO.

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How it all Began.
Hello fellow artist, When my husband, Paul, and I were building our first gallery. He was in charge of the reno, and I was responsible for a collection of paintings. We had about four months to put everything together, and it was a crazy but inspiring time.

We worked tirelessly but blissfully around the clock. For my first collection, I aimed for 30 paintings. So I set up my easel and purchased many different size canvases. 

At that point in my career, I have only sold my work via art shows and galleries but I have never had to produce that much work in a short time frame.

Three months and 27 paintings later, I felt proud of my collection, and I have conquered my fear of producing a large amount of work in a crunch.

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My Heart Stopped and a Flush of Fear Overcame me. 
The month before the opening, Paul and I were scrambling to have the gallery open by Mother’s Day, so we headed to town to get our last-minute supplies. When we were in Staples, Paul was looking for RED DOTS. Knowing fully well what those red dots meant, you know those dots that you put on the placards next to the SOLD paintings, my heart stopped, and a flush of fear flooded my entire body. 

That was the first time in 3 months that I had the time to stop and let the reality and magnitude of our project hit me. The Red Dot shopping solidified that the time to prove to myself that I can do this is NOW.

Artist, it is so easy to let negative thoughts invade our logic and paralyze us. The way I combatted fear was to think bigger than myself.

How I Overcame the Fear.
And this is what I did; instead of thinking that I can’t sell any paintings, I came up with a plan to sell the entire collection. I wrote stories for them and got prints made. I made story placards to place beside my paintings and came up with a strategic marketing campaign. 

I discovered that when we think beyond our negativity, our minds become super focused, and we shift into solution mode. Our fears become challenges, which encourage us to educate ourselves further and get the tasks accomplished.

That summer, I sold 20 paintings and countless prints. I have proven to myself and my husband that we can do this! 

After that, I became a lifetime student of art marketing and had continuous success in nearly sold-out collections.

Confidence came from Doing Hard Things.
When you have proven to yourself that you can do hard things, you will feel very competent in your field, and confidence will naturally come.

Confidence comes from having the courage to do things that are out of your comfort zone and finding a solution to do it well.

May I Suggest?
Artist, do not let fear be your boss. You have to be the boss of your mind and take control of your art future. So be courageous and forge a new road for yourself and start that art collection now. 
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If you need help finding inspiration for your art collection, please feel free to grab this guide, 22 Ways to Tap into your Inspirational Well. And if you need a support group to hold you accountable, come and join my new Facebook group and learn with like-minded artists, building a dream business that you can be proud of for years to come. 
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Name me three things you didn't know how to do but now you are an expert at.

If I can do it, so can you.

With Creative Joy,
​Ting