Oh my sweetums, something has come over me. Once upon a time, like last week, I was totally disorganized. Disorganized as in scattered, running around like the proverbial chicken sans head.
Like these folks.
Sigh of relief. You didn’t think I’d show a dead chicken video, did you?
The point is, I was running around flapping my wings and squawking (yes, squawking) about doing S.T.U.F.F when in reality very little stuff was getting done. Except the squawking. I’m good at that.
And then Alyson Stanfield, the Art Biz Coach and author of I’d Rather Be in the Studio, began having her way with my bad habits via her ecourse Organize Your Art Biz.
BTW, it’s a great book and no one’s paying me to say that. Buy it.
Back to being somewhat organized…I now have a office separate from my studio. And a clean inbox. And files, both electronic and paper that are shaping up and starting to make sense. Best of all I have discovered the elephant in the room…Evernote. And I am in luvvvvvvvv.
I will not go into all the details of Evernote here. Let’s just say it involves NOTEBOOKS! OMG, do you know how much I love notebooks? And those legal pads? I bet there are at least four on the kitchen table right now. But my EN notebooks are free from coffee rings and kitty puke because they only exist in cyberland. You can have as many as you want, give them each their own names, group them in related stacks and fill them with things you clip from the internet. Or notes you write. Grocery lists. Everything syncs between desktop, cloud and mobile. So if you’re out and about and want to save someone’s business card but don’t want to clutter up your wallet, take a photo with your phone and file it instantly in the right notebook in Evernote. And you can have Evernote send you reminders when something is due. So far my art ‘stack’ has notebooks for expenses, inspiration, artists to follow, ideas for classes, reference photos and submission deadlines. The notes within these notebooks had previously been all over my desktop and archived in email. Which means they were all but inaccessible. Forgotten.
Especially submission deadlines. I can’t tell you how many shows I’ve missed because the call to artists disappeared somewhere in the belly of the beastly laptop.
But not any more!
One of my newfound notes was a call to artists for large scale figurative paintings. Bingo! Some of those Women in Red that I did back in January on the iPad have been begging to live large on canvas. Well, now they will.
Which brings us to today’s work-in-progress. Ta-da… It’s a big puppy, 4×4 feet. This is early days, just blocking out the shapes.
I started with a canvas that already had some preliminary layers. I sketched out the figures with charcoal.
Then added the first of the color. Acrylic. Got a long ways to go but it’s a start.
Love to hear your thoughts on this. Have any great apps or productivity tips you want to share? Let’s get a discussion going in the comments below.
Meanwhile, remember this:
It’s turning into my new signoff, like Roy and Dale’s Happy Trails.
Once and again – you inspire. I’ve dipped my toes into evernote…but don’t seem to have it down just yet. I need a loud bell and reminder of when they are. And – I’d love to hear what other artists are doing about organizing their art businesses. Thanks Susan!
Glad to hear I’m inspiring you, Marcie! Go on Youtube and search for Evernote videos. I found the additional visual resources to be just what I needed to get past some blocks I couldn’t wrap my head around.
I found another app that I’m going to play with this week. If it’s as good as I think it will be I’ll do a post on it soon. Stay tuned!
Can’t wait to see your finished ladies. I am giving my website a bit of a remodel myself and things are also a teeny bit cattywampus. Nice to know I’m not the only one. I will check out Evernote. Thanks for the tip.
Website remodels are like moving the furniture around and deciding somewhere during the process that things would go better without this wall. Or that one. I think if I had just approached one website at a time instead of all three of mine AND the huge one from work, well life would’ve been simpler and at least one of them would be done by now.
But then that would’ve been too logical, wouldn’t it? 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Kate. Be sure to let me know how you like Evernote.
Hmmmm, I have Evernote on my new laptop. Think I need to explore it. Thanks for the heads-up!
Linda Watson recently posted..Diligence: Practice and Weave
Give it a try, Linda. I’ve had it loaded on my laptop for years but was too intimidated to figure it out. As I said somewhere up above, search youtube for a demo. Makes it much easier.
Oh my…..I can so relate to those legal pads and notebooks….I love them too!!! When I had my retail shop I had stacks and stacks of yellow legal pads. But now, I too have found the joys of computer note taking…in fact I type so much I sometimes think I have forgotten how to actually ‘write’ you know with pencil…LOL! Have not tried Evernote, but I have heard others love it too so maybe now is the time!
Debbie Goode recently posted..TropiToad
The thing I’ve realized about all those legal pads and notebooks is I never look at them again, Debbie. I never know where to find that gem I wrote once upon a time. I’m hoping with Evernote I can solve that problem by only saving the notes I want to keep and putting them in the most logical notebook. Like the perfect opening line for my next blog post would be filed under a blog post ideas notebook instead of sandwiched between grocery and to-do lists.
We shall see.
I love Alyson and her book! I haven’t taken her class on organizing yet but it’s great to hear you speak so highly of it. I’ve dabbled with Evernote, but have not been able to fully embrace it. You’ll have to share some of your tips!
Sue recently posted..Comment on The times they are a changing by Sue
I’ve barely scratched the surface of it, Sue, but I’ll let you know when I know. Meanwhile there’s another task oriented app that I want to try. Maybe more about that next week. We’ll see.
Ok so you had me witht he chicken dance clip. Oh my god but that is seriously hilarious. Love love love that show and so sad it is cancelled. However – gotta love Netflix. I’m now rambling, aren’t I? Thank you so very much for the Evernote tip. I am in dire need of it. Missed my brother’s opening last week due to my horrid forgetfulness. I’m gathering Evernote wouldn’t allow for such behaviour. Also – my mom loves doing the large canvases too. Unfortunately her left arm is giving her trouble and she’s had to put them on hold for a bit. Embrace the fact that you can still do them would be her advice, I think!
Looking forward to seeing those two gals flesh out and come to life.
Kelly L McKenzie recently posted..Cats In The Cradle
Evernote would’ve reminded you about your brother’s opening, Kelly, but it would’ve done so politely with an email. Wouldn’t have twisted your arm or anything. Who ever invents the ap that can do that will make a fortune…which is good because they’ll probably have to spend it all on liability payouts.
Sorry your mom’s left arm is giving her trouble (I take it she’s a lefty, as am I) She could always paint with the other one, that’s always a fun experiment. The biggest problem I had with this canvas is I’m used to doing large abstracts but figures are a different matter. I had to keep stepping back to see what I was doing but my drafting table was in the way.
Ha! I feel your pain! I have often made lists to organize my lists. How fun for you to be working on getting organized! Love it! I am actually working on a post on organizing the office space which will include options for artists/crafters. Maybe it will be helpful for you. I will let you know once it is posted (will be a month or so- or longer considering how disorganized I am 😉
Amy @ItsAMindfulLife recently posted..The “Fantastic Gifts For Graduates” Round-Up
I’d be interested in hearing what you have to say, Amy. If it’s a month or more maybe I’ll even be organized by then. 🙂
I’ve taken that class too – it helped tremendously – but I’ve had a setback. I’m making a bigger commitment to Alyson coming up – so this was really good to see – because I can’t do that without being organized! I have got to get my images organized, my website updated, a better inventory system. yes – I recommend her book – and I recommend her newsletter! I
Vickiei Martin recently posted..April Reading
It will take some time for me to do all that I’ve learned from this class, Vickie. I still have to organize all those photos, finish updating my website, get the inventory system up and running. At least now I have a map and directions.
Hmm, Evernote. I really need to check this out. Right now I have 4 notebooks laying on my desk. All, almost filled with info that comes to me. I also recycle all my used copy paper by cutting it into 4’s using the back of it. So I have thousands of those little 4×4 sheets with notes laying all over the top of my desk. They can confuse the heck out me too. Especially when I’m writing a lot. I’ve even had to put them together much like a puzzle to get the info of what I wrote. I’ve since wised up and now number the sheets as I write just in case I go into 6 or 7s sheets for one message. 🙂
This could be a good fit for me.
Definitely check it out, Kelli. One of these days I’m going to go through all those notebooks I have scattered about and see if there’s anything in any of them I need to save. Right now I KNOW there are cryptic blog notes sandwiched between grocery lists. Meanwhile my Evernote stacks are organized and concise.
Susan, I took your advice from an earlier post about separating studio space from office space. It’s amazing! I love having the separation. I’m getting so much more done in my studio! (My office tasks started to languish, though. Hmm…) I’ve used Evernote in the past, but grew tired of it for some reason. Probably because I don’t know how to use it very well. Well, that can change! I’ll check out that book you recommend — thank you!
Harmony Harrison recently posted..The Rotten Mussel Shell Experience: Daisy’s abiding love for all things stinky (and our abiding love for her)
SQUEE! I lOVE hearing that info I passed along comes in handy! Thanks for the feedback, Harmony. 🙂
And you’ll love Alyson’s book. But you have to buy it on her website, not Amazon. It’s worth every penny.
OOOH I can so relate…..I Love love love paper! Oh, paper tablets, notebooks, copy paper, colored paper, all of the different stock papers especially 80#high gloss paper, note pads ennnnnnvelopes and folders and OH my god BOXES!!!! OH yes….I cannot imagine giving any of it up….No, hell no! And it is allllll over the house, in the car, the purse, the camper, the pockets, Oh yeah, baby, yeah! Paper rocks, I love my paper! Love it!
So, ah, ahem. ok, I feel better now. Sometimes ya just gotta get that stuff out, ya know? Thanks! So….. evernote, huh?
I believe there must be a 12 step program for perky problem paper people, miz PR.
On the other hand, I’m not sayin’ you have a problem 🙂