Perfectionism

It's already 9:45 am on New Year's Day and I haven't written a thing. That's because I was determined to say something profound. To utter some astonishing revelation or plan for 2006. Ha! Those things can't be planned. My "perfect" thoughts usually occur in the shower or the car, who knows why. Perfectionism results in paralysis for me -- so as soon as I recognize it I force myself to take action.

I have been thinking about where to concentrate my efforts this year with regard to my work. Driving around central Florida I was struck with how many hotels are being built. The business news is also full of real estate reports enumerating all the hotels planned all around the world. There's no particular area that I can pinpoint with more growth than another, it seems to be a massive widespread building boom in the hotel industry. And lucky for me, that's my market. Now how can I make more money, limited as I am by what I can physically create by myself.

The other hot thing in the building industry is healthcare facilities. I've done some work in this arena also. In fact, I was just invited to do a solo show at a major hospital in central Texas. Apparently they have a gallery as part of their campus. A show is not my preference, I would rather sell paintings to the hospital for permanent display. And that is an area I would like to develop this year.

Corporate offices are expanding at a fast rate as the economy recovers. Historically this has been a profitable market for artists. Extreme spending in this area has been cut out, but there is still a hot market for original art in reception areas, boardrooms, and executive suites.

Overall I would say that I need to come up with a marketing gimmick. Maybe that's not a popular term, but it is what it is. I need to be branded. I need something memorable to promote myself to the vast market that wants to buy my work. Yep, that's what I'll be working on.