Sometimes, A Struggle

    Today I am being completely honest.  Not that I ever lie as a way of life, but as an entrepreneur I think it's VERY important to project positivity.  This post is not meant to be negative but I simply need to be brutally honest with myself and my followers because I'm going crazy keeping it pent up. This is hard.  Making art as a living is hard.  Failing and failing and falling short of my expectations...all the time...is hard.  Measuring the gap between where I am and where I want to be in dollars is depressing.  Being proud of my art and watching people walk by and say they love it but 'don't buy art' or anything from me, not even a $5 dollar print is crushing.  Still having people view an art career as lesser than the rest  even though it takes a heck of a lot more hard work, failure and guts...destroys me.
 
    Recently I have been experiencing what I call style dilemma...it's an art thing.  It's this overwhelming fear I feel  that my body of work is not cohesive...on top of all that other stuff I just mentioned.  When it gets really bad I develop what I have dubbed clean slate mentality, the idea that I should just start over.  I have such difficulty blending my past work and style into the new direction I want to take my art (which is always changing) I feel like my old work is holding me back and the new art is too different from the old, I'm essentially stuck in art limbo....purgatory.  I've been reevaluating a lot and have decided to take the next three months off from making any 'work' per say and just doing art, no matter if its paintings or mixed media or crochet for all I care...I'm just going to make what I want to and see what comes out of the experiment.  The stress of my style dilemma is holding me back and I'm hoping going freestyle will in fact... free me.  I will be relying on my current collection and the pieces I have completed for botanica to sustain me during this time.
 
     On that note....and I write this not only for myself but for every artist out there, emerging or established, young or old.  If you are an art collector, supporter, fan, friend, family etc of an artist please realize the following.  If you are at an art show, gallery, craft fair, coffee shop wherever, and you truly LIKE someones art, buy it!  If you cannot afford the original, buy a print, If you have absolutely no room for any more framed art in your house, buy that $5 notecard or mini they have and use it as a bookmark!  Come on, you're latte costs more than that every day and...yep its gone, you drank it.  However by actually supporting that artist even if it's in the smallest tiniest way (sign up for their email list and share their art with your friends) by buying that little print of their work, that allows them to feel relevant and keep doing what they do, they might be at that show again next year with new art for you to look at!  They might make the next best piece of art around!  But artists need their supporters (Like every other business out there) to keep going.  And let me tell you, when we do make that sale with you even if it's small, it matters.  Personally it gets me excited, when I have a good show, I want to get right back in the studio and make something new!  I want to find better ways to get my art out there I want to take more risks (and this is really the only way to go forward)

    Whereas after a slow showing, I feel as I described in paragraph one, defeated.  I wonder why I dragged 25 pounds of art up and down two flights of stairs to a city 137 miles away from where I live, why I took off of work to be there, stayed up extra late making sure everything was perfect, wore foot killing demon shoes for 5 hours and smiled the whole time.  Why?  Because it's a dream I can't stop dreaming.  I don't think it's going to be easy, I'm not expecting cupcakes and unicorns and glitter (okay maybe a little glitter) But the point of this blog is to let you in, to let you see what it is really like.  and sometimes it's a struggle.  So there, I was honest, I'm an artist and it's hard and I need you all more than you know.  But like I said it's a dream I can't stop dreaming and I hope I get to keep doing this for a long time....     XO

#art #artwork #artist #struggle #dream #hardwork #lifestyle #artlife #dontstop #fans #support #honest #truth

Process | Progress

Today I wanted to give a little spotlight to the actual painting process.  So often I get caught up in taking good photos and posting new art once it is finished or blogging about events etc.  I want to start letting you guys in on more behind the scenes stuff, especially on this blog.  So here are some progress photos of my process with my current painting on easel...
     The process is a very important part of progress.  Everything is broken down into a process whether we realize it or not.  My artwork is no different, every step is important and necessary, no matter how routine, they all lead to the final product.  When painting I often start with a pencil sketch, I then like to add some tone to border or make the figure visible.  Then the layers begin adding detail and color and shadow with each step, going back over and adding highlights and depth, until the
painting is finished.
    When I get ready for a show I have a process, I try to follow a routine.  If I didn't follow a process I would have very little progress.  Over time I will try to be more transparent about my process on this blog, look for sneak peeks, progress photos (as I like to call them) throwbacks of early work and even failed pieces.  So do you follow a process routine?  Does it help you to be more progressive?

#art #artwork #artist #portrait #wip #inprogress #behndthescenes #wetpaint #painting #rikkisneddon #original #process #routine #daily #illustrator #illustration #fineart

Rikki Sneddon Art + Sechoir

I recently had the pleasure of collaborating with Sechoir + being featured on their video styling blog.  Sechoir features fresh, fun and functional styling tips and accessories.  Tanya is great, entertaining + fun to follow along with, she keeps me checking back often to see her new features.  This weeks feature is on summer weddings + where to get the perfect dress.  My art which s featured in the backdrop is a large scale print of my original watercolor 'The Love We Make' available Here.  See the full video and find out more about Sechoir Right Here!  Thanks Sechoir + Tanya!  You were a pleasure to work with!

#art #artwork #watercolor #floral #painting #artprint #sechoir #video #styling #blog #tanya #sechoirtv #renttherunway #dress #summer #wedding #tips #artist #pink #green

A loved Life

Starting out on new adventures this month.  Feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment which always ends up proving to me, that I work best under pressure.  I am very excited for where things are going.  Every decision you make, the things you say yes to and the things you say no to, all decide where your life will take you tomorrow, next month and next year.  So I say Yes.  I am inching closer and closer to my goal of being a full time artist, of one day walking away from my job.  there is so much more to my dream than that though ....there is so much that I haven't discovered yet.  That for me is the exciting part, that I don't know yet what I am capable of, 6 years ago I would never have even entertained the thought that I could be an Artist as more than a hobby.  I would never have even thought about being able to quit my dayjob and be a creative instead.  So I like to think about the future (not too much) but I like to wonder about the opportunities that haven't come my way yet, the people I haven't met and the places I will go....it's an exciting, intangible idea.  I would like to think that I will get to say yes to many of these things yet to come...I will have to wait and see and for now keep building this life I love.

#art #artist #life #sayyes #design #love #life #live #tomorrow #today #lifestyle #smallbusiness #owner #dreamer 

A NEW THING

So I finally took the plunge and tried my hand at Live Painting at my last event.  It wasn't as bad as I thought!  I had worked myself up to an extreme degree, the only other time I have even attempted anything similar was for the recording of my Pioneer Public Television segment and they required shots of me painting.  During that instance I was so nervous I could barely paint at all, mostly just repainting background to look like I was doing something (shh don't tell) I was shaky and unsure.  So with flashbacks of that one try I have been actively avoiding any type of public painting.  After all I would say, it's personal, I have to be in the zone, in my element blah blah blah, excuses.  However with a new art venture on the horizon a good friend of mine has been encouraging me to try again.  So try I did and it wasn't that bad!  I found that it really opened up a new dialogue between me and my fans and people in general about my art.  Many people had questions about what type of medium I was using and why, I was able to show them the layers behind a painting and the story behind a painting.  I think most people really enjoyed it because it exposed them to a new part of the process that they don't usually get to see, I got to show them what was in between the layers of a painting, and me.  That mysterious part between an idea and the finished image.  So after such a good result you can expect to see me live painting at more events and stay tuned for a very important announcement coming soon!

Don't forget to subscribe to my blog- HERE
#Art #Artwork #Outdoor #Livepainting #Painting #pleinair #Local #Downtown #alexandria #mn #Shop #Artist #Wetpaint #WIP #work #mylife #Artlife #Dream #New #wine #artcrawl

Masquerade

 Rikki Sneddon | 22x28 inches | Mixed media on canvas

Newest work completed this week.  She took me a long time but I am very happy to have her completed.  Prints of this artwork are available Here  

Original available $700 please contact me for purchase, payment plan available.

Also this week only Free Shipping on anything in my Society6 shop by following this LINK

P.s don't forget to subscribe Here

#Art #artwork #New #painting #mixedmedia #Floral #summer #Society6 #Sale #Promo #Thisweek

Rikki Sneddon + Slant Of Light

Wow, I am so excited to be sharing this with you.  Just received in the mail the records from my collaboration with Boston MA based folk/americana band Slant Of Light!  They look SO good!  It's amazing to hold something in my hands and know that it's going to be all over the place with all kinds of people I will never meet, looking at it and holding just like I am now.

 
      Seeing my art on a product like this is truly one of the most exciting things I have experienced so far.  The bands lead vocals, M.E Foley was great to work with as well as their graphic designer Erin Gerret she did such an amazing job designing for the record.            
      The album is now available for download on Slant Of Lights Website.  I will be holding a drawing through my blog and on Facebook in the next few weeks and one winner will receive one of the full size records including the 7" single that the band was kind enough to send me.

   
      Be sure to SUBSCRIBE (it's free) to this blog to stay connected and have a chance to win :D  Thanks again M.e Foley, Kevin Harvey + Aaron Zak!
     This is such a special  experience for me + I cannot wait to see what happens next, what opportunities will come my way + which artists, musicians, or people I have yet to meet and work with!


THANK YOU ALL!
#Art #album #slantoflight #Artwork #record #is5records #boston #MA #eastcoast #music #folk #band #americana #rock #release #coverart
http://www.rikkisneddonart.etsy.com