making plans, and research

the last few days i have been a researching fool!  i'm READY to move forward with selling my work, and have found a cool online site that will sell prints, as well as many other types of merchandise, from my original artwork.  i won't have to package and mail anything!  i'm excited to begin, but i feel the need to make lists and plan, which isn't a bad idea when one is undertaking a venture like this.  i've been looking up how to make an artist business plan, and the worrisome concept of copyright infringement.

hubby, mark, just wants me to be happy, and if all i do is paint and don't sell a thing, as long as i have a smile on my face, he will be content.  that man is a keeper, i tell you!  so, in his eyes i don't need to plan anything.  just put my images up and if they sell, great, and if not thats ok too.  why make a big production out of it?  i can see his point, too.  but, my thoughts are;

how will you know where you are going, if you have no map?

i don't want to bumble around, making mistakes that could be costly.   or not make any movement at all because 'it doesn't matter right now'.  the thought of not worrying about it sounds great, but if i never start to think about what i want my future to look like then i will stagnate and nothing will ever happen.

i worked on my business plan this morning.  i'm not sure if it helped settle my mind or made me more anxious.  i also got stuck on the 'goals and objectives' part.  i just have no clue how high or low to set my sights right now.  i have no idea if my goals are realistic or not.  but, again, mark just wants me to paint to be happy, and thats what i want to want, as well.  so, i feel i made realistic goals, as long as i start telling people where to go to find my art, and start showing my originals somehow.  i know i do not want to package my paintings right now.  thats stressful!  i have a block when it comes to trusting that my packaging is tough enough to be handled by the postal service.  no offense intended, it's just my fear.

there is a lot of pressure to be unique and be a big producer of 'stuff'.  the pressure to keep up the production of art is my own baggage, but to make sure its an original piece is out there.  it's called copyright.  i'm scared to take classes to gain knowledge of other skills for fear of making art that looks like so many others.  i can tell if someone has taken a class of several teachers out there.  there are a few 'trendy' looks in art right now.  how closely can one artists work resemble anothers before it gets fuzzy with copyright?  i'm scared to look on facebook as all the spiritual photos are so inspiring.  i don't want to unintentionally copy someone else's photo or artwork in my quest to bring out that certain 'feeling' in my canvas.

so, i have my 'list' of things i wish for, and a few ways to get there.  i guess all i can do right now is paint, paint, paint, and try to sleep at night for a change.

until later,
jenny