unoriginal - age - merry-go-rounds - and more bent thoughts

1. Unoriginal - As I'm preparing for the upcoming Easter party, I'm realizing that I lack originality. I have scoured the net as well hunting here for theme appropriate art that I can use.
As I sat painting my arm for the thousandth time, I realized that there's been nothing painted on my much painted-washed-and painted again arm that is original to me... well... discounting swirls, and... okay, I drew this Easter bunny thing.... (oddly enough - I didn't feel like breaking out in song over this - no "climb every mountain" for me today) *L*
what an earworm song, eh?

This epiphany brought another thought to mind... how often in other aspects of my life (art related) I depend upon outside resources to create something. Whether it is a tree (I abhor drawing limbs), etc...
ugh... I want to be a great artist who whips out incredibly creative artwork, darn-it!
NOW!

It's been three whole months since I bought my first Snaz party set!!


err... (sets the coffee aside)


2. Age - As I mentioned above, I have become very intimate with my right arm. (and left thigh)
I have painted both unceasingly. Which made me realize that after taking pictures of my unoriginal (see above) artwork that I am getting older.
What?
What happened to that oh-so-smooth, unblemished skin of years-gone-by?

And, I'm going to have to start washing my left arm and thigh more often!
ahem... not that they don't get their daily scrubbings, mind you...
it's just that I can tell a difference between the often scrubbed (due to being painted) flesh and the regularly scheduled scrubbed flesh.
Please don't tell me that I'm the only person who paints their arm that notices this!

I swear, I think that my right arm is a shade or two lighter than my left arm!

3. merry-go-rounds
Hey, where's the brass ring on this thing!

Where I got on (the merry-go-round):

a. growing interest in face painting - researched/read for months before deciding to take the plunge. (not counting the times that I helped others.... that was nothing compared to this)
b. plunged (bought paints - practiced like a fiend)
.... I might need to interject that I'm OCD about some things .....
just sayin'
c. made the decision to "just do it!" (forgive me, NIKE)
d. read about how everyone is.... well.... doing it!
e. realize that before I can do one thing, I need to do another which leads me to the realization that I must do something else before doing the thing or the other - still with me?
example - business cards - it might seem simple to someone not OCD. Go out, print cards, hand them to everyone you meet.

sure....

e1. (kat's way of thinking) - 1. realize that before you print the cards you should have a website so that you can put that address on your card. Then, realize that you also need a better email address than the one that you created on a whim so that you can also put THAT on your shiny new business cards.
Realize - Hey - what are all these people (the one's holding the shiny new cards) going to see when they go to your website?
ugh!
f. paint (unoriginal art) some more - TAKE pictures this time!
g. Go to the newly created website (that may never be finished due to its owner being a procrastinating perfectionist) and load up the few pictures you've managed to take.

aside - I can clear a family event with the mention of face painting. Kids run, adults give me a funny look. (I'm going to imagine that they didn't do this BEFORE I started haunting them for face painting victims)

h. I forgot where I was going with this.... just a moment, please -
h. Oh, yeah... h... website - check, new email address - check - ..... business cards - well .... I'm working on them.

My point is.. that this is never ending, is it?
I've not even got to 'set up'. eyelid twitch

I say all the above with a smile.. as I know what the brass ring is - that smile of pleasure when they get to see their face for the first time.

4. Dining Room Tables - I know that I have one - somewhere.
My family has come to the realization that until *I* get things in order, they're going to be eating on one end of the table, or, on TV stands. Mom is NOT moving her stuff until she gets a dedicated workspace!

5. How many brushes do you need?
I told my husband that it's the same as it is with shoes and handbags - You can NEVER have too many!
I told him that his brow was going to freeze in that upward slant position if he didn't stop doing that every time I said something to him

6. Marketing myself -
I haven't been - pointing to #3 - merry-go-round
I'm still in the beginning stages .... getting practice, and trying to figure all this stuff out.
Not that I would turn down a paying job....
I do have some festivals/things in mind.... I just don't feel..... ready.

I sort of feel in a catch 22. Do I go ahead and sign up for future events (that are weeks/months away) hoping that I'll feel "ready" sooner than later? musings to muse over a nice bar of chocolate


If you've read this far, thank you.

(all the above was said in good humor - and not with intentions to offend anyone)

I can't answer any of your questions as I lack experience. I still haven't tackled the dreaded webpage. Kudos to you to get that far in just 3 months. you are clearly dedicated. As a result Im sure things will fall into place.
I found this thread quite humors esp. your husbands slanted brow. I swear my husband does the same thing. and btw, My left forearm is always murad of colors as that tends to be my practice canvas... I just paint, rinse, and repeat.

Hi Kat, I read every single word. I love reading your posts, If you ever write a book I will be the 1st one to get it

I am also unexperienced so I don't have any advice but I can relate. I can't seem to get myself out there, I have been stalling. I don't have my website yet, I can't print my business cards for the same reason as your, I was going to buy by domain and never got around to do it.
It seems like I just fell of the wagon and can't get back up.

Hahaha about your arm, my left arm is smoother, I guess is due to the exfoliation, should paint my face more often to get rid of the dullness and lines hehehe.

Go to the UPS store right now and have them print you a hundred buisness cards that say "Kathy (last name) Face Paint artist extraordinaire" and your phone number. NOW.

3.c. - just do it
You will continue to learn as you go, I have been facepainting at parties and events for more than 15 years and I continue to improve sometimes by leaps and bounds sometimes barely noticeably. But in that time even before I used professional make-up or had ever seen anyone else's facepainting, let alone a step by step and there was no youtube I still made people amazingly happy and they loved it.
You don't have to be perfect to start and you don't have to spend a lot of money to start up your advertising. For just the cost of a couple of sheets of paper(maybe photo paper) and ink, pennies really you can print off a really nice colourful business card, you can print as many as you want, even 5 sheets= 50 cards and hand them out, you can make small changes and go from there printing them as you need them. You don't have to settle on a website either many people start home based businesses with a link to their blog or facebook page. It won't help you much on a search engine but at least you have an address to to send people to to see your work.
It's fun, enter contests to stretch yourself creatively, look at art, go to google images, look outside and all around, it is beautiful and inspiring.
just do it
Danica (with a bit of Twink-elle the Clown musing there)

Hey Kat,
I enjoyed reading your post and I too can relate for most part.
For me it's not so much the not having ideas but the how to get those from my mind into a nice and decent design on someones face or body. I end up spending ages on google to find images (not facepainting images) of whatever I want to paint and when I found what I was looking for I am often too tired to get started painting myself, lol.
Oh, and we don't even need to start talking about website and buisness cards for I first need to get some good photos of my facepaintings, and as I am a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to such things. lol, So yes, I know exactly what you mean. I guess we just need to get up and do it and don't think too hard about it.

Hey kat, from one perfectionist to another... Breath in, breathe out.... now go! My mother and I had a really hard time with all of this as well, but we eventually realized that the only sure way to feel 'ready' is to have expirience.

I'll let that sink in a moment....

Yeah, we had none! Or at least very little. If you really want to get into face painting, you have to approach it like getting into a pool for the first time since before winter: just jump. You can work on all of this stuff as you go, you will find your business will just keep wanting to expand, and all this stuff you're worrying about right now will change down the road anyway.

It will be terrifying and you won't think you know what you're doing, but trust me, you do. Don't doubt yourself, you're awesome girl! We all have faith in you! You do great work, so what if it isn't your own ideas yet? That originality will come with practince and expirience. We all started somewhere.

As far as feeling like you NEED a website... to be perfectly honest, I am technologically challenged and am just NOW working on a website for my mom's and my business.... we've been painting for 8 YEARS. yes business cards are important, but a simple e-mail and phone number or fax number will suffice, the website can come later.

Yes, websites are great ways to get business, they are flashy, professional and impressive... but you CAN get by without one.... it's tough, but face painters before all of us did it without a webpage just fine.

So again, don't stress things... breathe in, breathe out... and go! Don't think about, just do it. I know you can!

Best of luck!

you can always change things later.... your website will always be a work in progress (and it SHOULD be)... you can keep changing your business cards as long as the contact info that you put on the first ones is not invalid shortly after (don't change your phone number).

As far as being "good enough"... that line will keep changing for the rest of your life. Just get out there and paint, the kids will love it, the parents will think it's the most beautiful thing they've ever seen no matter what it is.... you've seen some of the crap that parents post with their kids' faces painted... it's their kid, so it's always beautiful to them.

maggie wrote:Hi Kat, I read every single word. I love reading your posts, If you ever write a book I will be the 1st one to get it

I'd be 2nd

Get the business cards. Don't worry about the website yet... I went five years before I got my site up. You can get new cards when you get it going.

You can start with baby steps.

And I do love your posts!!!

anramire2,
I KNOW!
I almost want to say "The Webpage" in a Boris Karloff voice, it's so dread-some.. laugh

My page(s) are still in shambles. I really don't know what to write on some of them....

And, I HATE writing in third person.... but, from having read numerous other web pages, it seems the thing to do..
wants to be in the "the thing" crowd some day... *heh* Wait, wasn't there a movie with that title?

Never mind.
ahem

I kid you not, I read that part of this post to Mark... the FIRST thing he did was arch his brow... I ought to glue it whilst he's sleeping one night with Elmer's and convince him that it did indeed FREEZE that way! *L*

I once got told that as a perfectionist I had to learn to settle for 80%. It is terrifying putting yourself out there and a site like this as amazing and inspiring and awesome as it is can also hold you back as we are comparing our beginner work to the work of amazing seasoned artists some of whom have decades of experience.
Go to vistaprint, go to the free section and order 100 business cards. That way when you want to upgrade you aren't out of pocket.
Go on facebook and start a page as this has a gallery section and can serve as a website until you get one up.
Just do it. Kids and adults will be blown away by your art
Breathe
Breathe breathe.

Thanks, maggie!
grinning
I love making people laugh.
Though, it tends to Make Mark paranoid if I am tap-tapping away when he's around. He said that I tend to giggle ..... darkly.

Darkly?
he's looking over at me.... arching his brow
~ laughing so much ~

maggie, when you've got all the kinks worked out, give my poor site a good thrumming, would ya'? grin

Isn't it a terrible feeling?
I bought two.. one with my nickname and last name, the other katsfacesandmore. I thought, what the heck! It was 12 or so dollars... even if I didn't use it... it was there!
I did tack on a few things.. I don't know what they are without looking.. but, final cost on each was 24 dollars - I think.
We'll get there, maggie! One step at a time!

I kid you not, I gave my left arm a good scrubbing this evening! I hadn't realized until I was driving yesterday and happened to look down to see a subtle difference in my arms!

I tried painting my face - I don't like it!
laughing
I don't think I'll be adding that little tidbit to
my business cards...

________________________________________________

Geekophile, you're an inspiration!
smiling
Thank you for your kind words! I had no idea that they could print cards! You've just given me the impetus to get some cards printed and in hand before the Easter party! Thank you!

Danica. thank you!

I am SO thankful that I have this forum, and a multitude of sources to pull information from.
It can be overwhelming.

I had thought to begin entering a few things here.. but, gak! the TALENT!
I was tooling through a few Facebook posts this evening... face painting people... here, there, and other places... the talent found there (and elsewhere) - it's incredible!


Thank you so much for the great ideas!

I already have a Facebook page under my full name... can you have more than one? I don't really want to combine this with that...

I do have a domain and site started... I'm just at a momentary standstill... not sure what to do next... I desperately need some more pictures.
I sometimes forget... ugh... it's a slow process.

Again, thank you!

i'm responding a couple posts at a time because I tend to get lost in this little white box... *L*

but, goodness... I'm wordy!!
looking at the length of my posts..

I apologize now.... for all future ramblings... it's my bane.

geez!!
I AM getting old!

I've got this split screen thing going so that I can see the posts that I'm responding to while I type in another screen... I glanced down and saw "urological" and thought, WHAT?

plucking my glasses from the top of my head and putting them on.. never fear, the word was "unoriginal".

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Laura, I'm glad!

oh... the pain of that!
I can "think" much better than I can act upon. or so I try to convince myself... *w*
But, yeah... I can get lost in looking for inspiration ... and wonder where the time has gone.

Here I am trying to glean all that I can and my husband wants..... dinner? My son wants..... clean socks?
WHAT?
I've got research to do, people! heh

You're right... I'm going to try to improve... and try to be happy with "what is"...
Thank you for sharing your thoughts...

-------------------------------------------------------------------
waves back to Nancy!


-------------------------------------------------------------------
Punky, you make me smile!
You'd make a great motivational speaker!
nodding

After reading all the posts, I'm coming to realize what you're saying is true.
that, and that I may need a therapist.... *teasingly said*

I do tend to get caught up in the minutia of it all...


Thankfully, I feel like I've got an okay start on the website thing... other than being stuck at the moment...

fax?
hadn't thought of that.... *twitch*
just kiddin'

Again, thank you, Punky!
I'll keep your words in mind when I paint myself in a corner.. so to speak...

Perry Noia , thank you!
I'm getting there. with all these helpful posts!

I think you're right.
I hope that I'll always wish to strive to improve myself.

laugh
Thank goodness for love-blind parents!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Angela & maggie


Thanks, ladies!

Shannon, thank you!
I'm going to do just that.
and close my eyes to all the bright, shiny, sparkly gee-haws that the card sites want to sell ya'...

Until I get my act together. grinning

Thank you!

JBM, you read my mind!

It can be difficult to put my "paint by numbers" art out there with all the talent this site holds. grinning

I love your avatar!

vistaprint?
Thank you!!

and, thank you for your kind support...
heartfelt~

Anytime, Kat. I know all this can seem overwhelming at first, but the lovely thing about building your own business is that it really isn't a time sensitive thing with a set in stone timeline. You have room to be flexible and take things at your own pace in stride.

I too enjoy reading your post, they're so animated even if you don't use the smileys!

Thanks, Punky.

I used to roleplay.. italics were my friend!
I've only been exposed to the smiley things since I've been here.

It takes some getting used to.. a new format.

I'm off to see if Morpheus will relent and give me a small measure of sleep...

g'night, Punky... *S*

First off, I love the way you write.
Like many others said, Face painting seems to be one of those things you just have to jump in and do. I still change my web page all the time( just did it tonight) and am toying with my business cards. If the web pages seems to be a daunting task just make a Face book for now. I would recommended something thought, I personally like to have a place people can go to view my work.
I dont notice a difference in color between my arms but my thigh seems to have a spot that always has a fresh pink glow to it.lol. as for a table. I realized a long time ago that I shouldn't have one! I am a project person ( an Aries if that means any thing to anyone) and it seems I am always starting new projects and seldom finishing old ones. It was always my poor kitchen table that suffered the most through it all. So no table for me. and it works. I am forced by lack of space to clutter up to actually put things away!
Now for brushes. I had a TON of brushes in my possession when i started painting and felt that i had to have every one of them with me for my different needs. As I became more comfortable painting I realized I only used a few select brushes. Switching brushes takes A LOT of time. Time you dont want to spend at a PPF. So i now have my 5 brushes that are permanent residents in my kit.
And Finally Marketing!! I cant say much because I am pretty new to all this to but this is one of my hardest areas. I live in a small, clicky town. but I have reached out, gotten in touch with restaurants, photographers, daycares, ect. I am still working on it. I think it will be like the website--Never ending!
Good luck with everything. I wanna hear how those festivals go!!!

kat wrote:e1. (kat's way of thinking) - 1. realize that before you print the cards you should have a website so that you can put that address on your card. Then, realize that you also need a better email address than the one that you created on a whim so that you can also put THAT on your shiny new business cards.
Realize - Hey - what are all these people (the one's holding the shiny new cards) going to see when they go to your website?
ugh!
f. paint (unoriginal art) some more - TAKE pictures this time!
g. Go to the newly created website (that may never be finished due to its owner being a procrastinating perfectionist) and load up the few pictures you've managed to take.

aside - I can clear a family event with the mention of face painting. Kids run, adults give me a funny look. (I'm going to imagine that they didn't do this BEFORE I started haunting them for face painting victims)

h. I forgot where I was going with this.... just a moment, please -
h. Oh, yeah... h... website - check, new email address - check - ..... business cards - well .... I'm working on them.

My point is.. that this is never ending, is it?
I've not even got to 'set up'. eyelid twitch

I say all the above with a smile.. as I know what the brass ring is - that smile of pleasure when they get to see their face for the first time.

hey...how did you get into my head?

My story is a little different from yours, but Ive arrived at the same spot. I've been a clown, and a pretty successful one, for almost 12 years. Had my own deal for a while, but now work for someone else. (sigh) And am now trying to recreate myself as a non-clown facepainter.

However the merry go round that you speak of is the exact same one I'm riding right now.