When you read the load of stuff there is on the web about being successful as an artist, most of it talks about the importance of marketing your work. Of course, that’s pretty logical. It’s just that you have to have the time and the skills to do it. And perhaps something to market.

The timeframe leading to this exhibition has been short. If I already had a body of work, I could polish and curate. What I had at the beginning of the process were some ideas about materials, subject matter and techniques—at least, some things I wanted to explore. But marketing ideas rather than resolved works isn’t ideal.

I had some business cards and exhibition postcards printed (front of postcard below). The image on the postcard developed into a digital work 30cm x 80cm (yes, admitting that the ‘detail’ was selected before the work was complete!). I’ve also completed 7 other digital works (limited editions of 10), and am now working to complete 4 mixed media/collage works and 6 paintings.

I’ve given the cards out to friends, colleagues and family and my great friends Bill and Helen are doing a bit of promotion amongst their circle. I’m very lucky that there will also be an audience of several hundred most nights because of the location of the exhibition space in the foyer of the Ensemble Theatre. I’ve developed a strategy for exhibiting and selling work online, and I’m looking forward to implementing that as soon as the exhibition is hung.

So…first steps in building a body of work, and first steps in marketing that work. I am quietly excited about this progress, not least because I have learnt quite a bit about both!