Buying fine art prints is a great option if:

• You are looking for quality and character vs mainstream generic art prints
• You have a limited budget
• You don’t want to commit yourself to art long-term (like with originals)

I am an artist. I have always exhibited and sold my paintings through art galleries. To reach a larger audience I’ve recently decided to also create an online collection of fine art prints based on my original artwork.

The online art market is booming and buying art online is relatively new, but it’s a great affordable alternative to buying pricier original art. Above all, the selection of fine art prints is so much more inspiring than the generic and mainstream prints sold in stores like Ikea.

Here I am, sitting in a café somewhere in Amsterdam behind my laptop. I’m surrounded by other laptop workers and I’m wearing regular clothes. I mean, clothes without paint on them! You might think I must miss my studio heaps, but the truth is, I don’t mind being away from it all for a bit. I hate leaving, especially when I’m working on stuff I can’t finish, but the plane we booked months ago can’t be rescheduled so no sense in kicking and screaming! But once I let go, it is funny to notice how quickly I’m fine with the situation and don’t mind a change of scenery. 

People have often asked me if I need to keep practicing my drawing skills daily the way a musician has to. Interestingly enough that is not the case. On the contrary, I find that after a break of a few weeks or months, I’m more relaxed and find my technique is sometimes even better than before I took a break. I would find it very taxing to have to practice daily like a musician to keep my drawing skills up to par!

In my last few blog posts, I have talked about my road to becoming an artist, how it is important to have a theme and that it can be quite a search to find it! It is a great feeling when you get to that point, but it is just a starting point. It’s great and all, but when you don’t put in the hours and work your butt off,  a theme is just like the title of a book that is still in the head of a writer. 

Maybe you remember I mentioned that after painting commissions for many years I often felt like there was always someone looking over my shoulder while I was working. When I decided on my subject matter, I also decided that I wasn’t going to think in end results anymore. I wanted to explore the painting process without thinking of finished paintings, gallery exhibitions, and sales. Luckily for me, the software my husband had developed was selling really well and we decided that we could afford for me not to make any money for a couple of years. It is really special that in the process of our careers we both were able to support the other financially when it was needed. 

Why is it so crucial for an artist to have a theme? Shouldn’t you be free to paint anything you want? Of course, you should, but I find that having a broad theme, almost like an umbrella under which you create your paintings, gives an artist a chance to develop his or her work and explore the creative possibilities both technical and visual. I believe that when working without a framework, you run the risk of touching only the surface of a creative process that could lead you to more exciting works of art.

Before I became a painter fulltime, I was a project manager. I just finished my masters in art- and cultural science, which I started right after I finished art school. When I applied for the job I thought: 'there are two things I’m really good at, painting and organizing. I know I enjoy painting, but maybe I’ll enjoy project managing more.’

I’m glad I gave it a try so I’ll never have to think ‘what if’ and within a year I knew a few things for sure:

- I’m not a team player, I like doing things my way

- I didn’t enjoy office talk and people asking me on Monday ‘How was your weekend?’

- And I didn’t enjoy working for a boss, I wanted to be my own.

When I was sent on a management course and the team leader let us take a test to determine what type of person everyone was, I was the only one in the group who scored sky high on ‘Creative’. At the end of the day, he took me aside and said that he normally wasn’t in the habit of telling people what to do, but that it might be a good idea for me to look for my passion elsewhere! The next day I handed my boss my resignation letter and felt so relieved that I didn’t have to continue on that path. I told myself that I would give myself five years to earn a living as a painter and if that didn’t work out I could always be a postman. Okay, I would have a boss, but I would work alone and I wouldn’t be stuck in an office. Now, 15 years later I no longer need that fallback plan, but for a long time, it gave me financial peace of mind.