Retrospection and Action

I prefer looking forward to looking back, but I know that history informs the future, so I force myself. Today I honor the birth of my son who left this life in the sands of Iraq in 1991. I want to say that this is the price of peace, but I cannot. These fifteen years later there is no peace in Iraq.

Today I focus on the many blessings in my life.

And of course I have already been in the studio, thinking thinking. What goes and what stays? What designs/colors/techniques/patterns/surfaces worked and what didn't? What knowledge from this year's paintings do I take forward?

My photography is selling well. It's a really good profit margin compared to paintings. Case in point: a 24 x 36 painting on canvas sells wholesale for $XX and takes me 8 hours. Same size photograph on canvas sells for 2/3 the price of the painting and takes one hour (taking the photo, manipulating, print setup). Both have hard costs in materials. The major advantage is volume. I can print the same photo multiple times and get the same price. It still takes a lot more time to paint, and I can't reproduce a painting or it's not an original any more. I need to sell more photography, obviously.

And clients. What clients should I devote more time to -- and should I leave any behind? Should I develop more? Can I make the time? Do I want to?

Stay tuned for the answers to these questions and more!