journey – Alexander harvey art

So far my takings are around the £100 mark, wich I guess isn’t the worst for a first week! Starting out with something new is always gonna be a bit slow. I’m excited to have got a chance to do a wonderful commission of a sweet little cat called Somer, open up my June pet portraits commissions and be waiting on a load of prints to be delivered from the printers! Ive also set up a few bits and bobs online I’m excited to build on.

First off I want to talk quickly about how greatful I am to of got this commission, this sweet little calico I painted was found underneath a toilet block at holiday campsite. Luckily the person who found her was a vet and little somer came crawling out and curled up in her handbag. Since then she has been a treasured companion.

Pet portrait commission of Somer the cat

Other than the fact Somer is beautiful and I am a real cat person, I was happy the client let me paint her in a way that was true to my style, I enjoyed keeping them in the loop about the process aswell as hearing precious little anecdotes about this kitty. After completing this and delivering it locally I decided I just had to open up pet portrait commissions via my Etsy! (Find info here). I look forward to chatting to many more people about their non human companions!

As mentioned before I’m super excited to get a load of prints ready for preorder, just waiting for them to be delivered this week so I can send them off straight away! I’m trying out this chipmunk illustration as a large square heavyweight print, I reckon it would be perfect for a nursery, what do you guys think?

Chipmunk illustration, watercolour and ink.

The other thing I’m wanting to get into doing is setting up a patreon, though this is hope to do an A5 print subscription for all my patreons where in exchange for their patronage they get an A5 print sent to them every month, I figure this will be great for people who would love to have their walls covered with art, and I love the community vibes you get from patreon. So great to see so many creatives getting support to continue their work. Still need to study up on how to create engaging content on this platform, but I’m looking forward to the journey! Anyone on patreon who has a good thing going? I would love some tips and ideas!

If anyone has any tips and advice for a new artist I’d really appreciate it! And maybe the comments will help some other people too? Always great when creatives support each other!

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Tomorrow marks the last day of my time working in animal rescue, and the beginning of an exciting new journey into being a self employed artist! . It’s both exciting and scary!

Chipmunk with brambles,mistletoe and Japanese anemone

This month I’ve been dedicating a lot of time to painting and drawing with the plans to start selling art prints and I’m so happy I have! My painting and drawing has improved in a small amount of time by just dedicating some time everyday! Well I’ve happily drawn all day on some of my days off… it’s been such a boost mentally! I’ve been struggling with a life long anxiety disorder and at the end of last year I finally started getting treatment after reaching a real low point! (I tried dating, don’t recommend it if you don’t honestly feel up to it, especially Grindr, take the time for yourself first).

After being on Anxiety meds for a few months I really started to fall in love with art again, so many negative thoughts and ideas had built up in my head from old art teachers and other people, stuff like “yeah but you shouldn’t draw that, it’s not proper art” or “there’s no point to doing that, it wouldn’t make money”. When you have anxiety, and sometimes even if you don’t, these negative comments can circle round in your head and consume you every time you draw or paint. It’s taken me a while but I’ve found that love for art again, that ability to just get drawing and roll with it and see what happens! That’s kinda the beat part of art, the freedom and enjoyment you can get from it.

Though I don’t really know if I can make it work financially I’ve given myself permission to try and believe in myself and not think of it as a never ever option. I know I will still have bad days, but on the bad days I can only hope to remind myself that those days will pass and better things can happen!

Hopefully I’ll meet new like minded friends on my journey, and be part of a supportive community that I can contribute to in my own way, look forward to getting to know everyone!

Feel free to check out my Etsy, my insta and my Facebook page to stay in touch, get regular updates on how my self employment is going!

Tag: journey

First week of being a self employed artist.

Leaving my job and starting a journey into the world of a full time artist.