Random Thoughts

  I've accomplished a lot this week. I fixed my car, replacing the thermostat. (By the way, whoever designed the engine on the PT Cruisers needs to be punched in the nose. It took longer than it should have to do and took the help of my loving wife Malinda for me to get the job finished). I closed my Etsy shop and opened a new one in my name, rather than the name of my studio. I've also posted new paintings online and upgraded my backup computer. In between doing that I replaced the door knob on our front door. It no longer falls off in my hand and I don't feel like Oliver Douglas any more. This is also my second blog post this week. A whole lot more done that I usually do in my three days a week of being a full time artist. I just didn't get to paint as much as I would have liked to. Of course, I say that every week. I could paint morning, noon, and night for seven days and still feel like I needed to express myself more that week. I guess that's a good thing, that I never tire of putting paint on canvas (or board, or whatever I can find). That I'm always pushing the limits of my talent, growing as an artist. I look back on some of the paintings I did years ago, paintings I thought were the best I'd ever produce, and marvel at how much better I am now. I can only wonder what I'll be creating in another year or two.
   I've also been thinking a lot lately about marketing. When I started creating my online presence I bulled ahead and learned as I went. I put all  my online selling entities in the name Darkwater Studios, which is the name of my studio. I realized, too late in some cases, that the brand I needed to be promoting was Doug Baltz. I've corrected most of those, but my eBay store still has my studio name. I don't feel it's in my best interest to start that one over after building up my selling history. This is the reason I started over on Etsy. That was a no brainer since I never sold anything on there. I tried for a while and gave up. Hopefully this time it will be better, although it couldn't be any worse. I sometimes think about how different things would be if I could start my professional career over knowing what I know now. It may have been better, but the learning process has been fun for me ( in between bouts of frustration). It's probably helped mold me into the artist I am now. And I wouldn't want to change that at all.

"The Soul Within"