Who is GaFra?

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Hi guys.....in this post I’m going to talk about me. Yes…..I know you’ve been curious as to who is this GaFra person whose real name is G ail Francis. Yep…I know my “About page” doesn’t say enough so why should you even buy from me…well this may help. I’ll tell you more about me and where my head is at.

I will do this as if it’s a photo album, as every photo has a story to it and this is how you will learn who I am.

This is me when I was 5 years old. I lived in Curepe and my father was a labour officer and my mother a secretary with one of the Utility Ministries. One thing I remember more than anything was that my father bred doberman pinchers and he trained them. I remember a time when my father bred his pincher with another high bred doberman.

Trinidad and Tobago Map

The Flag of Trinidad & Tobago

That was a thing then where high bred dogs were mated to improve the line. These dogs were very expensive, so after the female was mated she had quite a few puppies. I remember daddy putting about 4-5 boxes with pups around my bed so that they could stay warm and I would hang over the side of the bed and stick my finger in the box so that the puppies can suck my finger. That was so cool and cute.

I was comfortable around dobermans, we had one called Devil and I would ride his back, play with him. He was extremely smart, even young as I was if I was rough with him he never bit me. My father would train the dogs to follow commands and were taught to never harm me or my brother. one day one of the dobermans, can’t remember which, while my brother was playing with him he got too rough and hit the dog and the doberman started to growl and snapped at my brother. He only nipped him but my father went ballistic. He dragged the dog to the back and via punishment told hi to never do that again. He never did.

There was one doberman we had that was extremely stupid, he did the dumbest things and my father got fed up of his behaviour and that was also the first time my father got a dog other than a doberman. he bought an albino German Sheppard. My father decided to sell both dogs. I was very upset as I really liked him. Daddy sold them both to a Security Firm. Later on I found out that the German Sheppard ran away and they were never able to find him, he must have been trying to get home but never did. The security firm after a few months asked if they could test Trouble the doberman we sold them. They wanted to make sure that he wasn’t still friendly and playful towards his former owners.

So my father and I went to a grocery and there was Trouble tied to the front with a man standing next to him. Trouble looked like a soldier, not moving, starring straight ahead, not making a sound. They asked me to approach him slowly to see how he would react. As I approached his eyes started to focus and he started to growl so I stepped back. He didn’t know me, he was no longer our dog.

Port of Spain, the Capital of Trinidad & Tobago

This is a photo of the Capital of Trinidad and a beach in Tobago. Trinidad is the business and party island while Tobago is the rest and relaxation island with the beaches. We have sunny weather 80% of the time with a rainy season around May and June.

Carnival Queen Costume from Trinidad & Tobago.

Carnival Band in their costumes.

Trinidad is known for the best Carnival in the World. Or Carnival takes place in March and lasts for 2-3 weeks with the main days being the Carinval Monday and Tuesday where the bands dance and covort through the streets in their specific bands as they head towards the main stage at the Queens Park Savannah where each band is judged for the Carnival Band of the Year Competition. I’ve played mas once with Peter Minshall, aCarnival Band designer and well known Artistic Designer. It was great fun and I have to do it one more time.

My favourite part of Carnival was Jouvert. It occurs the day before Carnival Monday, starting at 3:00am in the morning until 9-10:00am Carnival Monday. Every band wears simple shorts and T-shirt and is either covered by chocolate, mud, or paint, depending on the band you’re in.

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Jouvert in Trinidad & Tobago.

My Jouvert band called “The Duck Crew” covers us with paint. I used to play with a band called “Coco Devils” that covered us with chocolate, That felt really nice and you smelt wonderful after you washed off the dried chocolate.

Whichever band you’re with it’s amazing fun and helps you release the year’s tension. That felt really nice, smooth skin and you smelt wonderful after you washed off the dried chocolate. That’s what Jouvert is all about. I’ll tell you more in my next post.

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FROM MARTIN WITH LOVE

Art or Poetry?

Hi guys.....I am on a campaign to publish some poems my husband wrote to me almost 28years ago....yes people the courting poems. Now in thinking about I realised that I am prejudiced. When I think of someone who is artistic I think about artist or as the markets have shown me  those who can create amazing things with their hands. Things for the kitchen like mittens  aprons, handmade soaps etc.

One young girl produced all of these.

But I never thought about poetry as Artistic until I started transcribing my husband's deep romantic poems into an ebook. It takes a special type of writing skill to be able to express yourself romantically in the form of a poem. As with all the creative mediums, poetry is another way to release the pented up emotions that are riding you.

As I read the poems after all these years and while transcribing them over into an ebook I saw the creative dexterity it took to write poems where while you read you feel what the person is feeling and the torment, joy or sadness they were experiencing when they wrote the particular poem.

So what exactly is the definition of poetry? It's defined as: Ideas given intensity by the use of a distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature.

So my husband had a rhythm and it was based on what he was experiencing with me (I guess I was giving him a hard time) during his period of trying to gain my affections.

It's the same with Art. You're in a type of rhtyhm when you're painting and it's all based on your emotions at the time.  Okkkk....I know you're curious.....So what's the story?

Well my husband was my best friend but I didn't see him or even thought about marriage. In fact I was eyeing some other guys and telling him about them....I mean he was my best friend and who else would I confide in? Not knowing that he was serious about me. Eventually I realised how amazing he was and what a great husband he would make...

So WHALA!!!!! That conversation came up....the big M word...and so we decided to get hitched and we've been together 28years outside of the 2 years we went around before we got married. So 30 years in total, with four great kids....a boy 27 and 3 girls 26, 24 and 23. 

Yes I had a child every year for 5 years so some people don't recognise me, not pregnant. Lol and my husband and I run a business together. In reading his poems from those days I saw the turmoil and pain he was experiencing through that time of wanting but not being able to have. 

I felt a little guilty, but that is a part of life and loving but my realisation was how emotional the poems were.

I will be offering them on this site as soon as I figure out how to publish it properly because they are good and I want him to feel proud of them despite the memories they bring back although we can laugh about them now. 

Time heals all and thank God for these different outlets that allows us to vent and at the same time create. 

Keep following my different posts and get my Free Planner below or check out my more advanced planners on my Shop page. There are a few FREEBIES there.

I FIGURED OUT HOW TO PUBLISH IT BY THE TIME THE WEEKEND WAS OVER. YEA!!!!! CHECK IT OUT!!!

FROM MARTIN WITH LOVE

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Aside from Art and In Life...Why Are Men So.....????

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Hi...I just want to veer away from art a bit to go into real life….I don't understand men...they do things that are so annoying and then they expect us women to unravel their stupidness. I've been married 28 years and sometimes its difficult to know how to be around my husband. He is a very intense man and because he runs our business, he has a lot on his mind and can seem very far away, so I'm sometimes unsure how to be around him. In his deep moodiness I try to interpret what is happening but what happens sometimes is a mis-communication and a mis-interpretation and no one asks or says anything.

A fine example is this morning, we decided to go to the gym for 5am, we started doing that  every week, but we missed last week. At least I missed last week. So I was prepared to get up early, pack and go off to the gym. Now the last time this didn't happen because he woke up late and wasn't feeling well, so we didn't go that day so all my/our plans were changed. This morning we got up kinda late (because normally he would rush me if we get up at 4:35am). This morning he seemed to be lazing, so I figured he wasn't going to the gym again. I asked if he was ok he said yes then I said "I'll walk later" because I thought he wasn't going to the gym . Lo and behold I get dressed for work and as I am packing the car he is dressed for the gym.

I guess in trying to interpret his mood I read it wrong and he never asked me anything because I said I would go walking in the afternoon. I was reallllly pissed. But its my own fault. I try to pussy foot around him when I'm unsure of his mood and instead of asking I try to interpret and I get it wrong and everything else goes wrong and I end up pissed and disappointed. MY FAULT. JUST ASK!!!!!

Marriage can be soooo difficult sometimes and it can also be very fun and pleasant but it's times like these when I'm pissed and annoyed at the situation and myself that I get really frustrated. No I'm not opting out of it and I'm just venting as usual. I feel disappointed because he didn't even ask me anything or push me to go with him. But then again he was under the impression that i changed my mind and didn't want to go to the gym, that I had decided to walk later in the day, so what was there to ask? Again all of this could have been avoided if I had asked a question.

Luckily for my family I don't stay angry long. But I did feel disappointed...not sure why...I guess because I wanted to exercise as I missed a few days the week before and I tend to baulk from exercising and I only do it when he pushes me and he didn't push or try to talk me out of it. AH WELL!!!

Later when he arrived at the office, he apologised but I stopped him to explain it was my fault and he did nothing wrong. The poor man, he must have been confused because he knew when he went off to the gym, he left a very angry woman behind. What did I do after he left to go to the gym (because it was way too early to go to the office)? I went to my room and penned this post. It calmed me down, helped soothe my anger, got me in a better mood and by the time I had finished writing this post it was time to leave for the office. I knew I was wrong and reaching early in the office I was able to decorate it for Christmas, do some emails and be in a great frame of mind when he arrived. I had even stopped off to buy him breakfast, whatsapped him that I had done so (I knew he would be ravenous after the gym) and I was in a much better mood when he did arrive at the office.

Ladies marriage takes work but we also need to know when we're wrong. Admit it, say you're sorry and make it up to your man. They too need to do the same when they are wrong. It's a two way street. Marriage is a 50/50, give and take not a constant taking. You met an individual with a certain personality, don't expect to change them, learn to love who they are, the good and the bad and if you can say yes to their good and bad sides then you can have a good marriage.

Like I said I've been married 28 years an its been great, yes we had a bad patch once, all marriages do (totally my fault) but it can be fun and it can be worth it. So hold out and work at it. Check you later and thank you for allowing me to use this medium to vent and get into a better space mentally and emotionally. Love you guys....inspite of the faces unseen : )

---

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The Truth About Blogging

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Hi…I’m on a rant again because you learn so much when you do all your research and from all the reading I’ve done I’ve learnt much where blogging is concerned. Firstly, I have to go back to the beginning as to why I started blogging. I went into blogging for different reasons.

1. I wanted to share and sell my Art…….gafra.org

2. I wanted to be able to share my thoughts about different topics……triniartstudio.org

3. I wanted to share my Natural Hair journey through my experiences…….gafraihairu.com

4. Blogging was a great way to make another income stream

5. I wanted a voice and to journal my thoughts and share them.

But no one tells you how much work is involved and that you need to be able to write well…your posts must at least be able to keep the attention of your audience. All the different research I did via Pinterest, Google, etc all say that its your blog and just be you and speak as if you’re talking to a friend. That was fine but it’s not easy to write content that is well written so that you keep people’s attention.

Luckily I love English and I like writing, plus I didn’t care too sh….t if people felt my writing was good or not. I just want to have a voice to say and share what I wanted to. That is not the case if you want your blog to be a means to earn a living though. I remember speaking with my brother-in-law, that was at the start when I was now beginning my first and only blog ( now I have 3).

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I had started a blog…www.triniartstudio.net…but it was started to share my Artwork and to try to sell it online, but as I went along and time passed, I went through a transition and that name and the look of the site no longer reflected me, so I rebranded to GaFra…..www.gafra.org….because I had changed and as usual I did a lot of research because now I wanted to sell my art online, after having tried all variety of marketplaces (Fineartamerica, Big Cartel, Artpal, Etsy, ArtFinder and many more) but none of them worked. I sold nothing.

So getting back to the point of this post, when you start a blog, there are few things you need to consider:

1. Can you write well enough to hold a person’s attention

2. Is what you have to share interesting or not?

3. Do you really need to build a list of at least 100 topics so you never run out of things to talk about?

4. When you share your information is it properly written?

5. Do you know how to create proper cover pages for your blog post? And do you know where you can go to do that?

6. Do you even know how to build a blog? (Check squarespace.com or Wordpress)

Oh and there is even more....I also wanted to write a book. So aside from knowing if you have the writing skills to write the posts I wanted to go further. I wanted to write a book. Right now I’m putting together my husband’s poems to develop an ebook and publish it for him. That will be my test run.

I’ve always had a book on my bucket list and after reading all the different blogs about how you can do this, I am still tentative, because I always find out how much is involved in doing any of these things after the fact of trying to do it myself, in spite of all the research I do.

But what is great, is that through the research, like I mentioned above, you encounter all these sites that can help you and I also read from other book publishers, that you can publish it yourself via Amazon Kindle Publishing, but there are also courses that help you go through the process easily. I discovered one of these programs, of course I found it after the fact. It’s always after you struggle you discover all these helpful sites. I recently came upon this program:

Its called The Low Content Mastery training package. It's a course that teaches you how you can make money publishing journals, planners and other profitable low content books on Amazon KDP Print. The program includes:

Module #1: Step-by-Step Training Guides (10, plus free updates)

Module #2: Done-for-you book templates (all sizes) 

Module #3: Premade Book Covers with Source Files

Module #4: Niche Profit Reports

Module #5: Over-my-shoulder video tutorials.

So don’t be like me and struggle, invest in learning the correct way to publish so that you don’t get lost or go off track like I did.

 So what I didn’t do correct was

1.     Write out the 100 topics so I had a flow for my blogs

2.     Learn to develop covers for every blog posts (check Canva.com)

3.     Understand the correct format for the posts and how to pull readers.

So I know I don’t want the same errors to occur when I start my book, which I want to start very soon. People do your homework and make sure you understand the best process to follow to get your book online and to even write good content whether its for your blog or your book. You want it to be purchased, do the right thing, be properly prepared so that it’s purchased. 

Check out Low Content Mastery.

Hi I’m GaFra

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Consistent Art. What is it?

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Consistent Art. What is it? It’s something we all struggle with but, find out more, This short journal of my ideas and an easy way to understand it.

Hi Everyone...There is something I struggle with a lot, and its that of feeling not having ‘a style’, and by extension, I feel as if I create work that is a bit all over the place. This is often followed by some self-excuses and reasoning and me justifying it by saying...‘but I want to try everything!’.

Most of us want to be able to commit to a focus and make more consistent art at least some of the time, but it’s not always as easy as it might seem. I recently stumbled across an artist who...just from her first blog post got me excited....no not in that way....She basically expressed exactly what I've been feeling and going through and she is an artist that wants to help. That got me excited...SHE UNDERSTANDS!!

Her name is Tara Leaver and this is what she said........

"If I’ve learned one thing over the last decade, it’s that *consistency in your art does not, for most of us, happen overnight*.I’ve also noticed that the *frustration tends to come from feeling we ought or want to be more consistent* way before it makes sense for that to happen, ie. when we’re still in the early stages of learning to express ourselves through art. And the early stages can take years, friends. That’s completely normal {if a total bummer at times}.

There seems to be this standard way of thinking about it.

We notice that our paintings are coming out different from each other without any apparent common theme or thread.We also notice that we’re far too curious about all sorts of different subjects, styles, techniques and media to feel able to commit to just one.

**So we assume there’s something wrong with us,** that we’re not ‘real artists’. That we will never be able to make consistent work.

I don’t like the word amateur at all; it seems to come laced with judgement whenever it’s used. But I do think if we were able to accept early on that those other ‘further along’ words we may want to claim – professional, experienced, skilled, ‘good at what we do’ – may take longer to apply than we imagine or might like, {especially if we don’t yet have a regular artistic practice}, the whole process of finding our way might be a little less painful."

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Her words hit home to me. I've been feeling that way for the past 3-4 years of my painting life. But she has been painting for many years and I am still a fledgling, so I expect what I'm going through is all a part of the "growing up" process. Its good to know this though as there are times when I feel like I want to give up in frustration. Especially when I also want my art out there and no one is buying.

There are hundreds of artist here in Trinidad and as I always reiterate, only a few are established and make money, the rest do it as a hobby or because as Tara mentioned it's inside of us and we need to let it out.

There have been times when I wanted to cry because I feel as if there is something inside of me that wants to burst out but I haven't found the key to release it yet and it leaves me sad, frustrated and upset. Then I have to let the feeling ride, bury it and deal with it another day because life has to go on.

That's why Tara resonated with me so strongly. She empathies with what we artist go through. I especially needed to read these next words from her.....

"So my first tip, in light of the above, would be to really try to let it sink in that

a} everything takes a lot longer than you think it ought to, and

b} in the beginning, you likely will want to try a lot of different things, your work therefore will probably look inconsistent {although there will also be common threads so stay alert for those}, and this is all totally ok and normal. Frustrating as all hell, but normal. In fact, I consider it a significant part of fully becoming your artist self."

Thank you Tara. Your words helped me feel a lot better about myself and these crazy emotions that pop up at intervals especially when looking at the work of other artists. i would feel lost and like a fake. The one thing that did make me feel better before seeing her words was the fact that when I did my markets people expounded that my work was beautiful and very lovely, I mean.....that is all well and good but when you know inside you haven't reached that point where what you create soothes that crushing need for expression and release., then hearing that is short lived. It soothes you for a short period only.

Tara recommended a few exercises which I try as they were also mentioned by another artist I again stumbled upon...Nancy Hillis......what they both basically indicated is that we should:

1. Work in multiples. Start at least 3-5 pieces at the same time.

2. That prevents you from getting too detailed and tight as you paint.

3. Move from one to the other, it also gets you to paint a lot looser.

4. Choose a theme, something you're passionate about or excited about

5. Or challenge yourself by doing a specific number of pieces within a one week period.

So as I like to say let's see how that goes. I hope what I read and learned from Tara and Nancy will help you as well. Read more of my other ramblings, as...

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE....

>Highs & Lows

>Research, research, research

>How I Create My Art

What Is The True Value of Art? Should You Compromise?

I did an Upmarket in South a few months ago and in chatting with another vendor who did work similar to mine, we both agreed that Art in Trinidad is valued by the minority. I mean the minority accepts its value and are willing to pay for it. The majority like Art but don't see it as an investment.

When an Artist has paid his dues and becomes famous only then is his Artwork seen as valuable. When he dies then it's even more valuable, e.g. Boscoe Holders work. But as a new Artist it takes a lot to stay positive about your work and to continue painting.

I have evolved over time, but in a direction I didn't plan. I now do a lot more small acrylics for the markets and less watercolours. This was not my intention but I've been pulled by the public demand versus my inert internal yearning. 

Why? Why has this happened?

1. It happens because every Artists wants their work to be appreciated, purchased and even demanded.

2. Compromising gives us a level of vindication, because the art sells but should we need that? Should we compromise? I feel not, but we do.

An Artist should paint because they are compelled to and create what they feel inside. Not paint what sells. I have fallen into that trap. Its hard to avoid. You don't want your work to pile up, unseen, unappreciated, unsold.

Sharing the beauties in my Garden

Triple orchids

Another view of my triplets.

Beauties.

So what do I do?

I to an extent, have no choice. Maybe I can do both. I paint what inspires me but in a size that is "sellable" for the Markets and I paint what I feel inside on a bigger scale for my exhibitions. I learned from my last Exhibition/Pop Up Shop that to be able to sell my large pieces, Upmarkets are not the way.

I am going the route of the Formal Exhibition. I am planning one next year and it will feature my large pieces only. I will invite guests formally to my opening and make a production of the entire event. Lets see how that goes.... : ) 

I've also stumbled on an abstract artist Nancy Hillis and she has an onlineworksop:

https://nancyhillis.com/artists-journey-3-secrets-of-the-masters 

and here I started releasing my creativity even more.

I completed one piece based on her direction and it was far different from my normal simple, geometric, flat design. I will continue following her worshop to see where it leads me.

So guys thats all for now. Check you next week. Love you all and continue to follow me and send in your comments via my website: www.gafra.org.

I also have a new blog called www..wordpress.com/Gafra_TAS. All bout my natural hair journey. Check it out. So until next time. 

Do Women Really Help Each Other?

HI everyone….Sorry but today I’m venting and venting…….so to begin….. I joined this women’s group. It’s not the first I’ve ever Joined. The last one was to promote entrepreneurship between women and network. That was an absolute blah……what I saw instead were women who said they would meet with you so you can share about your business but the meetings either never happened or you never got any business. There were also a lot of cliques and it was like a social butterfly club, so of course I stopped going.

This second women’s association is about promoting art. Sounded great and I felt I could learn from these more experienced ladies and the association will help market my art. Then eventually with experience built I would become a more involved member and play my part….so I took part in 3 events. The first was ….what can I say….nothing came out of that event nor the second. Met a few nice women, but no sales, didn’t really learn anything and all I realised is that they were a bit disorganised. But I gave it another chance.

They recently had an art exhibition and indicated that you can submit 3-4 pieces and the committee would approve the pieces that would be shown and it cost $300.00 to defer expenses. I submitted 4 pieces. So you can understand my disappointment when, after inviting 3 friends, we attended to find that only one of my pieces was up and it was the smallest piece I submitted. Now don’t get me wrong…don’t think.…Are you jealous?…..like a friend commented to me when I complained about it.

Some friend……seems that friend doesn’t really know me…..No….what got my goat is why ask us to submit 3-4 pieces and only one is up when you see almost everyone else has 2 and 3 pieces up. Wouldn’t it have been fairer to at least put up 2 pieces for everyone and not do 3 for some? This really upset me. It was disappointing and I’m sorry….it stinks of unfairness. One artist whose piece was below mine (she only got one put up as well) indicated she too was disappointed that only one of her pieces was featured but she is just grateful to be in the exhibition.

GRATEFUL!!!!!………….NOOOOOOO!!!! I’m not grateful. If you had told me that I was only getting one piece up at a cost of $300 (to defer expenses) then I would have said no thanks, I have a better chance of getting something sold when I pay the same amount for a table in a Fair or Upmarket. (They kinda owe me $2000). But as I say in life….you live and you learn. I’m not one to continue doing something that gives me no value or enjoyment. I tried it and it doesn’t work for me. I seek out, work hard to find or make my own opportunities. This association will work for some not for me.….so… NEXT!!??…….Lol

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Do women really help each other? I have to wonder sometimes. This is why…

Woman in the Red Hat

The Beauty of a woman in a hat. Art is everything.

I’m not mean so I won’t mention names or place pictures so anyone can Identify who or what or where I’m talking about. That’s not the point of my vent. The point is I find I continuously encounter women’s groups and instead of helping each other the women are competitive, cliquey, and sometimes petty. We can be evil as well. Not all women’s groups are like that but I’m still to encounter one where it operates such that all members feel like they’ve come home…..if you know what I mean.. Where there is a strong allegiance to helping each other.

Maybe helping people has to happen one person at a time versus in groups because like a classroom there are some who get lost in the crowd, get forgotten, get ignored, get left out and its a difficult thing to know how each person is feeling when activities or events are occurring. Being understanding and thoughtful is a lot of work when you have to consider the feelings of 20 or more people in the club. So maybe I’ll stop joining these associations unless there is a balance of men and women. Maybe that will be different.

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!. I feel much better. Although my friends will be surprised that I haven’t gotten over this issue yet, so much so that I had to write about it. It really, really pissed me off, but I’m moving on and like I said I’m working at building my……no I don’t want to use that word….braaand….ugh…..that word is so overused, we need to get another one. Let me rephrase…I am working at building my image/design/value/trademark…..pick whichever floats your boat….to get my artwork more visible. let’s see how that goes.

So bye for now, check you next week. Stay safe, be good, Love you guys. OH Just ending with a piece I just finished. Saw a pic somewhere and changed it up a bit.

Giving Of Yourself

Hi everyone...sorry about the late posting but yesterday I had a very hectic day as I worked in two stalls for my Church Harvest and today is my mom's birthday...so I kinda forgot all about posting.

The title today is what I felt as I worked in the Harvest. Sometimes you have to give to your community...find a way. If not through your church then maybe through a club for the youths or the communuty centre. 

That day it was a lot of work, very hot, very tiring and I had volunteered my kids to run one of the stalls without asking them. They weren't too happy about that and I basically had to organise everything myself and they simply came the day to run the stall. They did a good job but my son who is a grumbler....grumbled as usual........Kids!!!

A wide view during mass before the start of the Harvest.

Me and my friend in the stall. 

That is all for now. Check you next week. Love you all.

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I was a little upset with him and his attitude, so after the harvest when we were all at home I sent a message on the family whatsapp chat telling them thanks for their help and that they had done a good job and they had done their part for the church and I won't volunteer them again. ...yes...I dislike grumblers.

I had fun but my feet were killing me because after working in one stall, when it closed off I moved to my kids' stall to help there. Last year when I did the stall I felt worst but this year I had no aches or pains. That must mean that my workouts at the gym were paying off.

Back to giving of yourself...... I hope each and everyone of us can do something for others or to help our community as the community takes care of its people...its young and old. So lets do our part.

My Final Story

The last parts of my story.

Www.gafra.org.....Hi everyone...so on to part 3 and the final bits about me. How do I spend my time? Well I have 4 kids and I always find myself running around either picking up one of them or dropping one of them somewhere. I also run a Leadership Development Business with my husband so most of my day is spent coaching Executives. Then at the end of the day I go walking with a friend for exercise or I will go home and paint. I also do the gym in the morning with the huzzy......yuh gotta do what yuh gotta do to stay healthy

I paint whenever I get any free time which is normally in the evenings or on weekends. I also book and do a few upmarkets on the weekends. My art is my second business so I spend a lot of free time trying to become more visible to my customers. I also plan my own Personal Exhibition at least once every 2 years or I join group exhibitions as well. I've done about 2 group exhibitions this year so far and I had my own small exhibition in May.

When we start approaching the Carnival season then I spend time attending company parties and my husband and I play jouvert. On Carnival Monday and Tuesday we tend to relax.

Christmas is a favourite tine for me. Although my kids are big I still love putting out gifts under the tree for everyone and I love when they open them after breakfast and sit around laughing and teasing each other. Best time ever. 

This is the upmarket venue....NAPA

A view of my table at the most recent upmarket I attended.

My 4 kids. Their ages go from 27 to 23.

A piece completed for the market.

I enjoyed sharing with you all. Go check my new affiliation to Society6/gafra and Redbubble/gafra  

If you want items with my artwork on it check my website and get linked straight to those pages. 

Get a phonecase or bag or throw pillow.

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Hi Everyone...I have to vere off of sharing more about me to talk about the market I did this weekend. It was well attended and there were A LOT OF VENDORS. I sold one piece but I felt a little low after, because again I see how little art is appreciated. People love your work but.. ....mainly the ladies went after the jewelry and most don't see or understand how valuable Art really is. The gentleman who bought my piece was an Art lover and understood this. Most don't.

Its hard out there especially with the large number of artists in this country. How do you stand out and how do you get seen. How do you get customers to buy? I'm beginning to realise that the markets are not truly the way to be seen, I thought it was but it isn't. Many people take my card but never call. It means you need to find a way to get the contact info on the persons who show interest then start to build a relationship with them and send them your work to build interest. People who know you buy from you not strangers.

No artist wants their work to pile up, unseen, unappreciated, unsold. So what do I do?

 I want to sell my large pieces and I learned from my last Exhibition/Pop Up Shop that to be able to sell my large pieces, Upmarkets are not the way. So I am going the route of the Quarterly Exhibition. I am planning two or three next year and it will feature all of my pieces (yes I changed my mind on showing my large pieces only). I will invite guests formally to my opening and make it a special event. I want it to be different from the usual exhibition...but I can be lazy and I hate organising events so I just might hire someone to bring my ideas to life.  Lets see how that goes.... : )  Ahhhhh. So I've said my piece and now I feel much better.....thanks for listening...or should I say reading my vent. I'll check you guys next week or maybe I'll complete my sharing about myself this week...who knows.  Heres a pic from the market I attended this weekend. Hope you like it.

WWW.GAFRA.ORG

As I close this post I want to leave something for you. A Gift. Take a chance and be surprised by what I’ve left for you. Take it from me you can definitely use this in your life. ENJOY!!!

See you at my next post.