Tag: Stephanie Konu

5 Regrets About my Artistic Practice

Now that we have all gotten accustomed to the worldwide Pandemic and its constricting measures; I have come to reflect on some regrets about my artistic practice.  Looking back, I wish I would have tried a little more, and learned a lot more. I can’t place too much blame on my past self, because hindsight is 2020. Regardless of whatever year this still is, here are my…

5 Regrets about my artistic practice

  1. Not embracing my passion early enough

    It took the threat of the world coming to an end before I decided to leave the things behind that were making me unhappy. For many years I felt stuck in a dead end job. I always stayed cheery, but each day took a toll. I wanted someone to come and save me, but I realized after a long time that no one was ever going to come. I had to save myself.

    The passion I have always felt for creativity was the signal beacon all along. My journey led me to the signs, but I had to change my mindset to properly interpret the signs. Now that I have embraced who I really am, I am also embracing my passions and pursuing them daily.


  2. Never taking art seriously in high school

    Ok, this one is not so much my “fault” as it is one of those things a person looks back on when they reach a more mature state of mind.

    In high school I was interested in art, but never signed up for it. I thought all art classes were just a boring process to rob you of your creativity. I wanted to have less structure in my creative pursuits. All of the students I knew who took art classes seemed pretty moody and miserable, so I never felt drawn to learn in that way. I took drama class, which fed my desire to create, but looking back I would have benefited from a few weeks of studying a colour wheel!


  3. Not investing in art history knowledge.

    Similar to my studies in high school, I regret not learning more about art history while in University.  I could have taken a more varied course load that would have brought me to art galleries and exhibitions (which I frequent all the time now). Perhaps I would have grown tired of them, but I could have saved myself a lot of time if I had taken an interest back then.


  4. Not networking with more artists pre-pandemic.

    My first exhibition was in December of 2018 at an exhibition space on St. Clair in Toronto. I was so nervous to be around other artists. I thought that they all must have had degrees in Fine Arts, and that they would immediately see me as an outsider. As I gained experience in exhibiting my work, I have learned that the best way to immerse oneself in a room of like-minded people is to smile and let the warmth radiate from your soul.

    I have been able to network with the few artists I met before the lock down via Instagram; but I am looking forward to more in the future, now that I have a better idea of what I have to offer.


  5. Skipping exhibitions because they asked for entrance fees

    At one point, after returning back to work from my maternity leave, I stopped entering my work for exhibitions. I saw the entrance fees as a good enough reason to stop applying to those shows, and only applied to the RARE show that did not charge a fee.

    I was lucky to find a few good opportunities, like my 2 year run of exhibiting my work in the Legislative Assembly Building at Queen’s Park in Toronto; however my regret is that I may have missed out on life changing opportunities because of minimal cost savings and overall cheapness.

Do you have any regrets stemming from a big change in your life? I would definitely like to hear about them! Leave your comments in the section below, and thanks for stopping by.

Stephanie

by @Lillybochic

6 Reasons why you feel like you aren’t reaching your goals

Photo by Polina Zimmerman on Pexels.com

Many of my blog posts are actually just letters I have written to myself. I like to believe that my words can help other aspiring artists on their own journeys. In my solitude I think “Hey Steph, why not write some of this stuff down, rather than talking to yourself and making hand gestures to no one? Might seem less weird”…

Ha ha ha a joke of course!

Ah…anyway!  I came up with this list in response to my latest inner dialogue of self-doubt. I feel like things move very slowly at times when I desire the opposite. Maybe this has happened to you as well? Here are my…

6 Reasons why you feel like you aren’t reaching your goals.

  1. You spend too much time on social media comparing yourself to others.


  2. You aren’t seeing results as fast as you want them to appear.


  3. You aren’t consistently doing things that add to your success.


  4. You are too young, and don’t realize how little time has passed in your life. You need to calm your ambitions just a tiny bit.


  5. You aren’t respecting the process.


  6. Your memory sucks! Maybe you are actually reaching every goal, but you can’t seem to be able to remember how right now. You might need some reflection time.

My sincere hope is that most of my readers fall into category #6. I know I do. Thanks for stopping by.

Stephanie

by @Lillybochic

5 Reasons why your art is not reaching its best audience

As an artist, I have struggled with getting the right people to see my work. Although the fulfillment I get from creating things is the force that keeps me going; fulfillment alone does not pay the bills. In order to earn revenue from my work, I need to target my message in meaningful ways.

At times this can be difficult considering the world is now bathed in digital media; but here are 5 good reasons why your art is not reaching its best audience…

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
  1. You Instagram hashtags are not plentiful enough (too concentrated).

    You may only use three or four hashtags for each post if you are a beginner; but did you know that you can use as many as 30 hashtags in every Instagram post? Maximize your hashtags! If you can think of more than 15, then use 15. The benefit is in getting as close to the maximum 30 hashtag limit for each post.


  2. You use too many tags in your blog posts.

    I learned the hard way that in blogging, tags work opposite to hashtags. If you have a post on your blog about your preferred paint brand and you use 30 tags for that post, you are communicating that there are 30 categories that your post fits into. When Google or other search engines rank your site, it will see 30 different topics for your post. This is not a good strategy because websites are ranked in order of how many times the same key related topics are mentioned. If you use your tags like hashtags, your content looks watered down in the eyes of the search engine’s algorithm and you may not be seen anywhere near the first search page for a long time to come.


  3. Your headlines are not great…

    Yes, it’s edgy and fun use headlines (titles) in your social media by quoting song lyrics, or a funny inside joke…HOWEVER step outside of yourself for a moment and think about this: Is a business woman from Sri Lanka and potential art buyer (who adores your art by the way!), going to find your gorgeously painted blue sky on canvas, if your headline for your post is a quote from a Fallout Boy song?

    Probably not.

    Link the content to your headline in simple words. Describe the content of the post in an attractive but concise manner, and you will get more attention for your art, as opposed to how well you know your modern music.


  4. Your photos need context!

    Some styles of artwork need to be framed or placed on a wall to give it the respect it needs. The great part is that with technology, you can digitally impose your artwork on the wall of a designer room to communicate your ideal for the setting of your work.


  5. You aren’t following enough other artists.

    Artists support other artists! I like to think of it as the first rule. Besides, support is reciprocal and you should give it before you expect to receive it.

These reasons are all based on my own experiences as an artist. Have you ever faced challenges or setbacks with gaining an audience for your work? Leave a comment in the section below, and thanks for stopping by.

Stephanie

by @Lillybochic