With a new year in front of me, I decided to take a look back at 2019 and process some of what happened. I made some big moves in 2019 when it came to my art, and they involved investing in myself. Here is the first set of ways I “invested in myself.”
Investment One: Renting Studio Space
Last Spring, I made my first investment in myself, as I decided to start renting studio space outside of the house. I went on a tour of Briarwood Art Collective in Okemos, not far from my home in Lansing. The simple (and affordable) space grabbed my interest, and to my luck there was an opening.
I long thought about renting a place to work on art and comics outside of the house, but it seemed financially out of reach. Thankfully, Briarwood Art Collective fit within my budget, and I wasn’t locked into a long contract if it didn’t really work out. There was the fear I would not visit the studio as often as I hoped, but I decided I would stick with it for at least six months and see how it went.
To help track my time at the studio, I installed the Boosted app on my phone. Boosted lets you create “projects” and you can track your time for each project (and even separate tasks within the projects). I tracked each month, March 2019 through December 2019. I couldn’t go everyday, of course, because of my day job. This would be evenings, and weekends (mostly weekends).
Some months were better than others, for example I didn’t get to the studio much when I was busy with art festivals in the summer. But, I put in over 140 hours at the studio in 2019 (and some times I didn’t turn on my tracker right away too).
Was the studio worth the investment? Yes! Having a separate space really helped me focus. There are fewer distractions at the studio: no internet, no cats, no TV, no video games, no housework that needs my attention. When I go to the studio, even if it is only an hour, I will get something done.
Investment Two: New Watercolor Paint
I go through a lot of watercolor paint, especially during a 100 Day Project run. While I love my trusty Sakura Koi watercolor kits, in 2019 I decided to invest in some fancier paints. Not only did I give more expensive brands a try, I also starting using paint from tubes, instead of cakes.
After reading the book, Sketch Now, Think Later, I decided to buy tubes of Holbein watercolors. These were very different from my Sakura Koi kit, and cost a lot more too. Yet, I could tell it was a worthwhile investment right away, and these new paints quickly paid for themselves.
Towards the end of the year, I again chose to try another new brand of watercolor paint. This time, it was the Daniel Smith line of colors. A friend gifted me a sample sheet, and I was hooked right away after using them on a 2019 Inktober cartoon.
I started with three tubes, then some more tubes, and even the Daniel Smith “blues” kit. I not only loved the colors, but the textures the Daniel Smith watercolor paints offered.
Like the Holbein paints, my Daniel Smith watercolors quickly paid for themselves several times over.
Investment Three: Upgrading My Wardrobe
As much as I love my usual quirky t-shirt and jeans look, 2019 was a time for an upgrade. Specifically, I wanted some new, fun clothes for art festivals and similar events. If I’m trying to get someone to spend money on my art, it can’t help to “look” the artist part, right?
I signed up for Stitch Fix (here’s my referral code). To sum up: you get a stylist, tell them what you want, and they send you clothes they think you might like. You can specify colors you like, if you want them to be conservative or go crazy. You also up or down vote clothing on the website (or app) to help them figure out your style.
This was a pricey investment, but worth the cost. I hadn’t bought new clothes in a long while. I wanted to look more professional, and Stitch Fix helped me out.
Currently, my friend Sarah (of SarahJean Sews) is my “thrift fix” stylist, and keeps an eye out for fun shirts and blazers for me.
