Lost in the Jungle

"Butterfly Jungle"
9 x 12 Chalk pastel on paper
Click here to purchase or view large
A month after having a baby boy, it's still difficult for me to get painting time in-- this piece was finished mostly in one sitting, but it took several adjustments to get the last details right.  I forgot how miserable it is to try and concentrate on anything when there's a crying newborn around.  The irony of the fact that I recently wrote an article on not abandoning your art blog and then disappeared for a month from mine is not lost on me...

I've spent a lot of time this last month reading about how other artists approach marketing their work, and have reached a conclusion: I don't want to use sales pitches and gimmicks to get my work sold.  One artist I follow mentions not using "hard sales" tactics, because it never pays to have a buyer regret purchasing your work once the art makes it home.  To me, buying art is like buying a favorite book to read or song to enjoy; it should be done because there is a connection to the piece that the buyer wants to enjoy over and over.  I think buyers should even be cautious about giving art as a gift unless they really know the recipient's taste well.  Art is a personal purchase, and I would rather people buy mine for enjoyment's sake than anything else.

So, there won't be any holiday specials, or posts trying to convince people how much my work is going to appreciate in value (I've seen this on some websites).  I will occasionally offer free shipping, and I'm also going to offer a standard 20% discount for previous buyers.  If you've previously bought work from me, just email me with the title of the piece you'd like to purchase, your name, and the name of a piece you've previously bought, and I'll send you a special Paypal button with the discounted price.

I'll also uphold my end of this arrangement as an artist: when I create my art, it won't be with marketing in mind.  I'll be creating for the sheer joy of sharing the way I see the world, and if someone likes a piece enough to buy it, that will just add to the fun of the whole experience for me.

To see more of my artwork, visit my fine art website at http://www.nikihilsabeck.com/.

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