Taking the Plunge

When do you just do it ? When do you stop practicing on yourself and any hapless relative that you can con or bribe into being a guinea pig and just PAINT THE PUBLIC ?! Is it a definite feeling like being in love or is it a more intellectual now or never type thing ? How much practice did some of you have before starting out ? Is it better to continue practicing at home for weeks or to paint "for real" a few times ? It might seem like an odd question but in my profession we have always waited for someone else to tell us we were ready so I'm a little lost. Thanks guys

This varies for everyone, but I will share what I did. You may have to seek out an opportunity to volunteer for charity, but someone posted it on a forum I belonged to in England.

Because it was a volunteer job, I didn't feel freaked out about my skill level. I was really terrible, but the kids still loved it, I got to practice and built some confidence. I did the first few volunteer jobs OUT of my service area so that my potential clients would't see my begining work. Once I felt like I was good enough to be paid for the job, I picked some volunteer work in my service area. I have found that I get most of my jobs by being see at other jobs.

One example that someone gave that was brilliant was that "Even the first day on the job trainee at McDonald's gets paid, so why shouldn't we." So we really should get paid from the moment we are spending money on our supplies, but I DO understand wanting to be at a certain level before charging.

Good luck!
-Metina

Metina wrote:
One example that someone gave that was brilliant was that "Even the first day on the job trainee at McDonald's gets paid, so why shouldn't we."

That would be me!

What I did in the beginning was offer my services to a summer day-camp program at a local park & rec facility in exchange for permission to take photos to use for my display. It was a "free" service for the campers BUT I got the photos out of it and lots of practise... so it was a fair exchange for me.

Shannon I did the same thing! I'd just started last July on my own kids and then we went camping. I took my snaz palette and started painting my own kids (which was near the playground) and soon all the campground kids were in our space. I painted for an hour and got some great photos and practice.

From there I started a facebook page and posted photos from playdates and church picnics etc. Soon friends and friends of friends started asking about parties. By September I had booked a few paid birthday parties. Then I offered to paint at my daughter's preschool to get exposure to more parents. Once I felt confident enough I called the local city event planners and asked about their events. I had my first paid public event last week for the Olympics Torch Relay. Now the relationship is established and they've promised me more events.

I'd say the key is getting out there and letting people know what you do. Take as many photos as you can (getting permission of course). Social Networking media is great these days and can really enhance your efforts.

Good luck!

Thanx Guys !