While I am busy preparing to open an online store to offer some of my creative output for sale as prints, T-shirts, book material, and so forth, naturally my brain is calculating how many itty bitty royalty payments it will take to, say, pay off an eensy-weensy portion of the hours-days-years spent producing said items. Fortunately for me, y’all know I’m a terrible mathematician, so there’s obviously no point in delving so very far or seriously into that topic or tragedy will surely ensue. I’m not fishing for compliments here, just stating the cold hard facts of the rarity of cold hard cash when it comes to art. Many of you friends of mine are fellow artists, so I know that you know just what I mean. Nothing particularly fishy about it. So instead of whimpering needlessly, I will just share one of my silly little verses with you and call it a day. A much cheerier way to close St. Patrick’s Day than worrying about the Bankin’ o’ the Green. Goodnight, my fine friends! Smooth sailing ahead for all of us!
The Gifts of True Love
In lieu of parties, holidays
And feasts and fests, vacation days
And celebrations—rather, heck,
Than all together—send a cheque!
A party lasts mere days or hours
And Wilts like last September’s flowers–
Festive events and gifts all fade—
No joy compares to getting paid!
So if you want to be recalled
And loved as one who has enthralled,
Forget the cakes, balloons and flash—
Just send me some heartwarming cash!
Art-Colored Glasses 
I. Love. This. Poem. And you knew that I would! May I, oh may I please post this on my Facebook page – I might even be convinced to send you a royalty check!!! As for me, I have a PAID job this summer and I was also just paid for some freelance graphic work! Yippppeeeeee!!!!
Oh, dear! It is not “convinced!” It is PERSUADED!!! Smooches!
Your smooches are, of course, both persuasive *and* convincing. 😀
Please *do* repost, my darling, you know I’m delighted sharing playthings with you any old time. And YAY YOU!!!!!!!! for getting some payback for all of your hard work. I couldn’t be more thrilled! You’re a superstar.
Hahaha!! Hilarious!! If I had some green bucks to spare I’d send them to you.. As it is.. I’m sooo excited for your online store.. will it be through Etsy?? All kinds of artists seem to get discovered and picked up by big-box stores through Etsy… Can’t wait to see what you’ve got going on!! xo Smidge
Hope I won’t take long (maybe a week or so?) before the big unveiling of the first shelf-full of things-for-sale. I’ve opted to begin with a commercial print/distribution approach for a small royalty percentage to get stuff out for sale as cheaply as possible for starters, so am using Zazzle for this and paying them the remainder of sales for their logistics so I can stick with spending all of my time on blog and image production for now. From there, we’ll see . . .
Cash is king they say. Can’t wait to see your online store – my hubby and I are still trying to get ours up and running – taking forever with him being way on business half of the time and me not being IT enough to do it on my own.
🙂 Mandy
I’m excessively impressed with myself just for knowing how to put up a post and press Publish! Well, I guess I’m a tortoise: slow and steady. Don’t know if I’ll win the race, but at least I’m moving *forward*, however slowly I do it. 😀 Good luck to us both!!! With a little help from our IT boys! 😉
A store! How exciting!
How much to get you to come hang out with me for a week and paint a cool mural in Angel’s bedroom? 😉
Hmmmmm . . . good question! Maybe I should charge in calories??? 😉
Calories ingested from the garden’s bounty, or calories burned chasing a small child around?
Of course, there’s always Hubby’s wine cellar….
I think it’s a great idea to open an online store. Thank you for all of your generosity in sharing so much beauty for free on your blog. I know there is nothing “free” about creating it.
Nobody knows better than you do what producing any quantity of creative output takes! I do hope there’ll be ways to get your writing into print in ways that can remunerate you at least a little for all that you give, too. We all have scheming to do, no? 😉
I love the colours in your image, so rich! Lets hope some of that richness is rewarded in literal riches 🙂
Thanks, Claire! The image is a digital painting I made from a photo of a 12′ wide banner triptych I did on commission years ago.
Excellent! And all the very best to you with the online store 🙂
Thank you, Tanya, we’ll just see what can be done! Meanwhile, I need to take more breaks from shelf-stocking and get a chance to visit over in Andalucia again very soon! Missing you and your handsome cockerels and your gorgeous food! 🙂
Welcome to the world of online store-ing 🙂
Thank you, Teri, may we all do well! 😀
Good for you, Kathryn! I certainly do hope your shoppe is as well-received as your blog has been and I can’t wait to have a look. 🙂
Thanks, John, as usual, we’ll see where life takes us all next!
Can’t say I identify with the sentiments in your poem, but I do wish you luck.
I like to think that, barring perhaps my direst days, I’m quite the opposite in attitude to that of the poem, but it makes for a good silly jingle. Not the highest goal perhaps, but then again . . . 🙂
Could I be second in line behind you for the cash? 🙂
I prefer to picture all of us arty sorts falling simultaneously into a big pile of money–why line up for it when there’ll be so *very* much of it! 😉
Kathryn, I can’t envision a venture involving your art for sale as being anything less than a raging success. What you have so generously shared and freely given, the seeds of love you’ve scattered all over this blogosphere, your broad and many kindnesses, these will come back and you will be (and already are) blessed! I can’t wait to see and hear how!
Xoxo
What a very sweet thing–so characteristic of you, of course–to say! Thank you, Antoinette. I really never do know where the next day will take me in life.
xoxoxo!
i think that it’s that very thing that’s conducive to a highly creative life! Miracles and wonders happen in the unplanned, “unknown” places. As does joy….which of course you knew! 🙂
This poem reminds me of one by Dorothy Parker called One Perfect Rose.
A single flow’r he sent me, since we met/All tenderly his messenger he chose;/
Deep hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet/One perfect rose
I knew the language of the floweret;/”My fragile leaves,”it said, ‘his heart enclose.’
Love long has taken for his amulet/One perfect rose.
Why is it no one ever sent me yet/One perfect limousine, do you suppose?
Ah no, it’s always just m luck to get/One perfect rose. Dorothy Parker
Oh, the fabulous Dorothy! It *is* such a great ditty of hers. I’ve a little portrait of her that I’ve just posted to Zazzle, since yes, she’s a favorite of mine too. Thank you!
Kathryn, this is hilarious; love it, and congratulations on your online store. Will you let us know, because I would love to pay you a visit or maybe just “pay you!” Hee,hee! I would like to take a stab at publishing again, but I need to make that effort to research and submit find the confidence to do so! Anyway, I wish you all the best, my friend! xx
Me, I have no confidence or stamina or any of that. I’m taking this stab in the tiniest, most controlled of ways via a company that I hope can do some of the hard parts for me (production, marketing and sales) in exchange for a bigger-than-agent’s cut so that I can just plain get some stuff ‘out there’ for a start. We’ll just see! Almost ready to launch my itty bitty boat! 😉
xoxoxo