One of my hurdles for 2009 (and past years) has been trying to find direction for myself personally and my business.

It’s taken me around 3 years, and i still don’t think i am quite there yet. To be perfectly honest I  would never have thought it would be such a long process, everyone else seems to have found their direction did it really take them that long ?? Or maybe my direction changed so I had to re-discover that which others have developed over their lifetime? Maybe that’s’ it? Or maybe its just that I never really gave it much thought and thought I would just figure it out as I went along ?

Whatever the answer is, I have come to realize that having a purpose is the core to everything else that I do and such an important thing to find out about myself. It feels like now, rather than  jumping from place to place, “going with the flow” and feeling unsettled everything now just seems to falls into place in many various areas of my life.
If you are at crossroads in your life OR business, I definitely that you MAKE time to work through these issues. Once your focus, purpose, direction (whatever you wish to call it) is established, it will drive you, fulfill you and very importantly you will recognize when you are spending time, money on things that are not important.

So how do you / I do it ?

There is not one specific thing that has helped me like anything worth doing you have to do the hard yards and there is no magic bullet. However, here are 3 tips I can offer that have certainly helped me:

Trust your instinct and gut, if you are not getting passionate, enjoying or getting excited about things in your life: whether that is a task or project or event/person: listen to this and trust THIS.If you have a feeling there is something “off” with it or you simply don’t want to do it or put it off..
This is YOU telling YOU  that it’s something that needs to be looked at.

I am not saying that you ALWAYS have to be or can be doing what you love because that is not reality but maybe there is a way you can change what your doing. Maybe could can streamline the way your doing it, get your kids to help so its a task you can all do together, pass it onto someone else, or decide that you will no longer take on any more projects of that nature. YOU can decide if you let yourself!

Just the same if there is something that DOES excite you (as is the case for me as I was having so many negative things in my life finding something positive felt foreign to me), acknowledge and recongnise this thing and trust that this is something you SHOULD or CAN be doing.

Write in a journal – I have found that regularly writing has helped me immensely, it just seems to allow me to get all the guff out of my head so I can think clearly and concentrate. Writing any thoughts that are circling around up there just feels good, it could be connected with the kids, work, clients, life or nothing at all very important, just getting down on paper it means you can purge it.
Journalling varies to blogging, blogging is with a purpose, journalling doesn’t have to make sense and no one will see it but me. Sometimes i do it at home or take it to a cafe and enjoy a coffee with it, it REALLY doesn’t have to be about anything specific but sometimes can be about my worries or frustrations, usually by the end of that session I have worked out what’s bothering and have a solution to move forward – all by myself

Test yourself often and trick yourself, if there is something you want to be ie. An artist, test yourself out, call yourself an artist, if someone asks what you do say”I am artist”. You will be surprised how this works in so many varying areas, you will soon start thinking and acting like the thing you say you want to do or be.
Another thing is to pretend to write an article or an advertisement about you and what you do, even if you dont show anyone or do anything about it.  You will be surprised about how thinking and writing about yourself in this way will define your way of thinking in the future.
REMEMBER its all a process, its not something you will come out of believing 100% at the time, but slowly and gradually without noticing you will catch yourself out without realizing it.

I did this for my workshop this year, I had no idea how to hold a coloured pencil workshop, sure I had seen some demonstrations online, but all cp workshops are all overseas I have no point of reference to go from. So I thought about, ok, what would I expect if I attended a workshop, as I  teacher I would want my students to come away with XYZ.  So I tricked myself into believing I was a teacher and thus came away with the knowledge and became a teacher – and I loved it

So there are a few  things that have worked for me, as I said before I feel like I still have a bit of a way to go, but i definately now know what to focus my energies on, whats important to me whats not, and that gives me direction of where to go or at least a starting point – one foot in front of the other and all that

Here is a little illustration started as a concept for a client but didn’t end up being suitable for what they wanted (which is all part of the process).

Last night it was sitting on my desk and I wanted to finish it off so I did back to the original idea I had for it.

Today, though I wanted to show you all what can be achieved when we go from the original illustration, to the some finals. Keeping in mind there are a bunch of sketches and drawings and ideas that have come BEFORE the first illustration shown here, but this one is handdrawn on special paper and then archive quality pens are used to create the style of the illustration.

So its black on white, i personally like the cleanness of black and white and  I sooo plan  to have an exhibition of my pen drawings on day (but anyway), I totally “get” that this type of illustration doesn’t really work for a logo or a in a marketing material application unless you were specifically going for a certain look.

However if we use this illustration as the basis for other things we can then take what we have done here and apply a few different styles so it can be used in a bunch of different formats, for a bunch of different applications that can be suitable for different sorts of businesses.

They say “A picture is worth a thousand words”.

A picture is instant it conveys a thought, a feeling, an emotion without necessarily telling the person they should be feeling that. There is a bunch of reasons why you could use illustrations in your marketing materials which I wont go into but basically it can do something for you to work with your copy text to get your message accross without have to EXPLAIN it. It can also just be about having something about it that attracts people, a particular style might appeal to your target audience, if you want them to sit up and take notice of you, it might be worth while to show them something they like to see.

As an artist and illustrator i find it difficult I really would love to be able to provide these types of handcrafted illustrations to my clients, but i know that $ are always a factor for small business especially in these times, and i know its so easy just to wander off and use a product shot that you take with your digital camera or find one a generic stock photo one, but having something different really can make you stand out from the rest, and you can see that the one illustration really has a bunch of different applications that can be used and as I always say whats the point in spending time and money on marketing materials if no one sees you and/or your message does not reach its target audience.

2010 for me will have some exciting things in this area for myself and clients, I hope that this might have you thinking a little more creatively for your business as the new year approaches.

Regular readers of my blog will know that i have been on a path of self discovery of late, come to think about it when are we not discovering ourselves? Or on  path to at least somewhere in our lives… I don’t think it will ever stop, i think that’s the point that’s why life is all about!

Anywho,  i digress…., Part of my journey has been to try and find a happy balance life for myself where i can balance work, income, art, family, running a small business, feed my children, have some fun etc etc.

I often get asked how do you find the time for art ? The truth is I feel like i struggle constantly, but lately its been a “happy struggle” rather than a “stressed out mad struggle” because I am making time for the things I love and not so much of the things i dont!  No more excuses!

how ? I don’t watch much tv, my house isn’t always particularly tidy or clean, i sometimes forget important dates, i sometimes don’t catchup with friends or take my kids to the park… its not that i  don’t want those things i do, but i have decided that Art / Illustration is my dream and somtimes that is more important than the never ending housework , having a clean house, watching a movie etc etc.

That’s all well and good and particularly for anyone who has struggled with this you will know, it cant all be about me or art, the dishes still need to be done, the children need clean clothes i do have to pay the bills (grrr) and all those things that come with running a business still need doing… I  have identified a few things that i have been regularly doing that keep ORDER in this place and in my head and without them i think i would be lost, so i thought i would share.

Theres a few of them so i will break them up into 3 parts (in no particular order ) over the next week or so.

Formulas to help Work, Rest & Play – Part 1

1.Sleep - Sleep is so important, its something i can’t compromise on, but more importantly for me i have worked out a sleep pattern that works for me. I seem to be exhausted between 8.30 to 9pm. So if i need to work at night i restrict  until no later than 8pm. Any later than that i have a very restless and disturbed nights sleep because my brain seems to keep “switched on” for the rest of the night and the next day i am wrecked. If i want to do art, then i allow myself to go until say around 9 as its more relaxing and i can still be restful. If i am really pressed for time i will generally prefer to wake up and do work in the middle of the night or very early morning to get things done. It just seems to work better for me, rather than  working through it.

2. Journalling - I find if i am feeling overwhelmed, stressed or confused or depressed  it means i should get my journal out. I just pick it up an write. It allows me to get all the stuff out of my head without having to commit to anything, worrying about consequences or anything  overly much. It doesn’t have to make sense it can be completely random and always feel better for it later. It just feels like a release and even though i might not find a solution in my journal time itself it may come to me later on. This is a must for me lately particularly as my working life if here on my own it allows me to do a brain dump and just not have my head go around in circles.

3. Art / Drawing EVERYDAY - I tried the everyday matters challenge, i tried various sketch groups i find i don’t stick to it, as other things tend to get in the way, i seem to lose inspiration easily by trying to commit to the one process.  What works for me is to generalize it under my category of being creative / artistic as long as i do that i am on a winner! So it might be digital illustration, sketching, working on a painting, working on a coloured pencil drawing, it might only be for 10mins it doesnt matter i have done it! Doing just that little bit often helps calm me, i feel like i am working towards my goal and i can then move onto whatever other task i have to do knowing i have rewarded myself with something.

4. Keeping ontop of the housework, taking the TIME for it & doing “A little bit OFTEN!”
I feel better when i have some order in my house and it looks nice, but it rarely stays tidy for longer than 30mins after a whole day of cleaning.   Its frustrating, but it has to be done. I have certain days i do housework, generally its on the weekends when i can’t “work” as the kids are around me, thats when i get stuck into it, but i also find if i do a bit during the week and try to keep it up then there is less to do on the weekends. So if this means taking that extra 20mins to put the washing on, tidy the kitchen after breakfast etc at the beginning of the day, i need to make sure i do that and not be distracted by all the other stuff that needs doing. No brainer stuff really.. but something i need to remind myself of and not get caught up in all the stuff i need to do.

Hope your finding these of interest, that’s it for part 1, more to come in part 2.

I AM painting atm

This one is part of my contemplation series, really enjoying it.

The other day i opened up to some of my fineart friend’s about my struggle with direction and where to go and one of them – Jo Castillo, recommended for me to go and have a look at Maggie Stiefvater’s blog which is something that she always does when she needs a good kick in the bum. I am an avid fan of Maggie’s blog been following her for years,  now she is an author her writtings are focused on her books and i had forgotten abit about her….  but all her butt kicking posts from when she was producing art fulltime are still there in the archives if you ever feel like you need a reality check and procrastinating on something go along and have a read you will definitely come out  lost for excuses!

One of the things Maggie always does when she paints is to have music on. If she doesn’t she finds her mind wanders too far and ends up being unproductive. I have found i do this also! Its not something i have ever noticed before, but noticed after reading her blog and i work better if i have some type of music, usually at least the radio going in the background. Now i think its a must for whenever i work!

Today i am feeling incredibly stressed.
I am not sure really why, i just feel like i am so pressed for time…
I really don’t have time to be writing this post, i don’t have time to finish off the piles of dishes that are still in the kitchen, i don’t have time to hang out the washing rather than put it in the dryer, nor do i have the time today to vacuum the floor.

I did have time to get the kids off to school, but i don’t have time to finish off this client’s work i have been sitting on for a the past few weeks, nor the illustration that i have been working on the past few days.
Do I have time to make a coffee? Probably cause that will delay the time that I actually have to do something else. I don’t have time to check my facebook page, but i still do because that also delays my time before i have to decide what else to do and feels like i have someone to talk to.

I have time to make a list of all the things i need to do today and this week but i don’t have time to do too many off them cause i just don’t feel motivated enough today just want to curl up and go to sleep. Its a funny world i live in, today i made the time to give my boys an extra big cuddle before sending them off to kindy, but i still feel like time is slipping away cause i don’t have the time to sit and play with them or take them to the park….  instead i have spent the day worrying about all the things i have to do to help them grow into big people one day and be honest and caring.

Confused ? Yeah me to ..i dont have time to be confused…. best go make a coffee.

Yesterday, my family came to visit, with them my dad brought for me this wonderful print  framed as a gift.  As you can see it’s a sketch of some boats… yeah that’s “what” it is but what it means sooo much more. It truly is a gift that keeps giving…

This print is from a collection that has been laying around waiting to be framed  for years. They were collected on our family visit to Denmark during my childhood (my family comes from Denmark). I have such fond memories of my visits there, even on our first visit when I was 5 years old, I remember being  so interested by history – the castles, the lives and culture of where I have originally come from. Part of my visit back to Denmark in my late teens, I was taken to see the house where my dad had grown up and see where my grandmother raised  6 boys on her own in the country and the township surrounding that area (and sometimes I think I have it tough).

When I look at this artwork now,  I remember Denmark, I remember my childhood, my visit to Denmark in my teens, I remember an afternoon where my aunty and uncle took me to a place by the water with lots of boats and we had icecream and walked their dog. I remember being young and thinking about my life and the wonder & uncertainty of all that I had in front of me. It’s a happy feeling, I then also feelings of reflection about where I have “come from”,  my history and my life as it is today. Then something starts to happen – some of my current worries pass me by,  I realize how short life is and in the grand scheme of things some my current issues are all so small I shouldn’t let them worry me.

I also think about my dad, who made this frame for me himself using his own two hands (Something I will always treasure), I think about having nice things in my house and how they make me feel, and keep me happy.

This line of thinking often also moves me to think about MY art and my sketching and how I really must get onto some more artwork because look at all these wonderful feelings that this one little picture on my wall, what it can invoke in me. If the artist hadn’t recorded this moment in time I may not be having the same feelings that I am having right now and maybe I could be doing this for someone else in the future via one of my paintings or drawings.

I once had someone tell me about one of my pictures she had bought, she told me it had reminded her about her grandmother, as her grandmother had owned a similar item in her house and how just having that brought back all sorts of feelings and memories for her…how wonderful is that !!! it is something I will always treasure that I could have provided that for her.

So I will finish today by saying if you’re an artist, think about what you are giving with your art not just in the scope of exhibiting or income or anything else, think about the owner of that piece of art what do you think it would mean for them ?  use that as inspiration

If you’re  a thinking about buying a piece of art albeit an original, a print, a sketch whatever it maybe think of it as being more than just a picture on the wall, think about what it gives you day to day. Think about the emotion it may bring to you and your life and the feelings it can provide to you.

This print is now hanging in the center of my house, I would say I would see it at least 20 times a day, even if I am not directly looking at it I know its there subconsciously in my mind it something treasured, a pleasure if not even just a small one everytime I walk past it, I  Enjoy it !

Well, my feet have barely touched the ground following the Business Mums Conference  attended last week.

My prints and cards were a success all of the recipients were pleased with them. One of the recipients was a fellow artist so that was nice that she received a print.

I had a fabulous time, met so many inspirational women and businesses. What was so fabulous about this conference is the professionalism of the women and the variety of businesses without all the (as someone else put it) “hoopla”. Everyone is genuine and willing to help one another and comes together in the spirit of learning and sharing their skills and experiences.

I learnt about getting more energy for myself, organising and getting rid of my piles of paperwork joining personal and business, importance of having a laugh and working on personal and client relationships, more information on passive income, working on getting a budget as well as many other inspirational stories.

The keynote speaker Di Padgett – You are Special was so inspirational, she talked about many of the same issues i have found myself dealing with over recent years, she talked about branding and relationships with your family and clients, we have walked a very similar path I found her to be a fantastic presenter as well as what she had to say.

Since being back been busy trying to get ontop of many things, but enjoying the quieter times with my boys. It was a real achievement for me personally given the journey i have been on to have some reflection time, everything was very uncertain this time last year, it is good for myself to have some distance and pat myself on the back for all that i have achieved in the past year.

Today I feel proud, i completed one of my goals for 2009, which was to complete a sketch book, (the goal was actually to complete multiple sketchbooks, but i am taking hold of this achievement because at least i have completed 1). The majority of the sketches have been from my life drawing classes which i have been attending each week, and i am glad i have achieved something i wanted to achieve.

In relation to my sketch group, I also actually feel:

1. Feel privileged that i have been able to actually go in the first place (thanks to having help with the kids from my mum – i know if you are on your own it is soo hard to be able to do these things), this is not something i could have done this time last year with no help around.

2. Feel so glad that i have MADE myself go (there were a few times where i almost didn’t like today as I have so much other STUFF to do), and by doing this i have  taken the time just for me, its 2 hours out of the week where i am totally absorbed in what i am doing, no interruptions, no stress, i come out of the session feeling relaxed which is actually a strange sensation for me these days, always running around trying to juggle so many things.
So REALLY glad i am doing it, and i encourage you if you can to get out and do something just for you, it gives you more energy to give back to your family and recharges you. You have to make the time

I am also very happy to report i am getting some enquiries and RSVP’s already for my Coloured Pencil Workshop that is happening in October, run by the Central Coast Art Society. I am really excited about it Interested to hear from anyone who has attended a workshop or wants to what you feel was good and bad about it, i am sure i will be a bit nervous I want to make it really good

Plan for the next few days is to get ontop of my piles and filing and work, at the moment my latest cp drawing is at the bottom of some of the piles which isnt where it should be. Hope to post some more soon.

Apologies for the lack of posts of late…

I have just been completely flat out with everything, I had my youngest in the hospital last week with a temperature that wasn’t going down for 4 days which turned out to be tonsillitis, i have been sick for what seemed to be an eternity, plus I have had the usual work, cleaning, kids, and client meetings  etc so its been exhausting.

It seems i have also been in web development mode, (funny for a designer who has decided i am not going to “do” websites anymore). i have been designing, updating and planning websites left right and center, it seems never ending but at least i am getting some  tasks done which is great.

Part of this, you will be happy to know is that my blog is now fixed (thanks my fabulous hosts DotInfo).  So now my pages should work a bit better and people should be able to comment on my posts!

So post away, don’t be shy now !! I won’t hold you back.
If you have any problems i really would appreciate an email to let me know that would help me out alot. belinda.lindhardt@gmail.com

I have still been attending my life sketch group on Fridays, i really look forward to it and its becoming easier  and easier each week, my sketches are improving. I know my eyes and brain are working better as a result, and it’s nice to give myself that one thing out the whole week that i do just for me.

Next week will also be a busy week for me,I will attending the Business Mums Conference for the second time.
Last year was so inspirational and fantastic it really really helped me on my journey in both my business and art and my personal life.
Here is a post i wrote on my blog after attending last year: http://belindalindhardt.blogspot.com/2008/07/business-mums-network-conference-change.html

I am really looking forward to the change of  scenery and being able to catch up with some faces from last year. I know i will be exhausting though, last year my brain went completely numb by the end of the 2 days. Still i can’t wait. It will be nice not to have to worry about anyone else but myself for a few days.

As for my artwork, i have a itch to do a painting that i know i need to scratch, i have lots of coloured pencil things going on at the moment with the preparations beginning for the workshop i am doing in october and my artwork sitting here on my desk calling me to get to it. Busy busy busy. Must get to it.

Technorati Profile

Artists are often introverted people, they tend to be people who like to have time by themselves and lock themselves up from the world.

I know i can definitely relate to this and i have discovered that i  can only allow myself to indulge in this activity for a short period of time or i start to go a bit nuts.

Connecting with other artists can be a bit hard, everyone has their own set of circumstances, I for example have two small children so art events which occur generally at nighttime are difficult to get to. Other people’s circumstances also make it difficult such as illness,  if you don’t drive, distance (maybe events are not held in your local area) and many other reasons can mean that you miss out on connecting and gaining new ideas and inspiration and moving forward on your journey – It is REALLY important.

Connect with others from your own home

That is why i love the internet, it allows you to connect and do things from your own home that you might not otherwise be able to do . It is also why i started the Australian Coloured Pencils Network i wanted to be able to make it easier for others to connect the same way i had.
I learnt  my colored pencil skills from reading forums and doing tutorials on the internet under the careful instruction of other wonderful cp artists i was completely in awe of. During that time and still today I was amazed  there are not very many Australian Coloured Pencil artists. Most cp artists reside  in the US & UK which means that supplies, brands, workshops and classes are often out of reach for me and anyone else interested in using coloured pencils in their art.

I found i had all this information that i wanted to share and that i wanted to find other people i could connect with on a local basis in the hope that one day we can expose cp art to other people in Australia and increase the awareness , demand and supplys available etc etc.

So, that is why i started the website. It is growing in numbers and i have been delighted to see all the different artists and their styles that have been emerging from the site. I was especially delighted recently when a AusCP member told me she had seen one of my artworks in her local gallery and was able to talk to the gallery owner about my work and knew who i was (all from the site).

If you are interested in connecting with other artists and you are interested in coloured pencils artworks - come along and say hi, we don’t bite

Looking forward to getting to know more of you on the Australian Coloured Pencils Network.

If I  were to ask you how you are you going on your goals  2009  what would your reaction be ?

Would you be ecstatic be able to tell me your doing great ? Or would you be putting your fingers in your ears, start singing a lahlahlah lah song and continue running in the opposite direction?

Sometimes you set goals with the best intentions & you start off going well. One thing eventually leads to another and slowly your original plans are not at the forefront of your mind, or maybe you realize it might not be the direction that you need to take afterall… Whatever the reason, remember to:

Be Positive

Its almost June – Middle of the year,  a good time to take stock and see what you are and aren’t achieving and get prepared for the rest of the year. The key here i think is to remain positive, don’t be disheartened if there are things on your list that you haven’t been keeping up with, try to tick off  the things you have done and what has been working for you to date. Afterall, a task or goalslist  is only a intention of what you wanted to achieve, you do still need to remain flexible and open to opportunities which come your way and lets face it if we coud predict everything that was going to happen to us in life well it would be pretty boring.

If your a regular reader of my blog you probably would have come accross my goals and goals process for 2009, you can see here  Part 1 & Part 2.  As i wrote about in my original post i have my list stuck to my wall & I have been seeing it everyday since the begining of the year. Since about March, i have been avoiding reading my list as i knew it was no longer relevant to my direction, and i wasnt achieving all my goals. However, on the odd occasion i did catch small glimpses… I am extremely happy to see my Vision and Motto (which are much broader goals) are still current. I am still inline with my original vision, so it doesn’t matter that i haven’t done all on my task list,  my original vision is still being achieved.

Sometimes we need permission to cut ourselves some slack  and  to give ourselves a pat on the back and acknowledge what we have achieved. I hope this gives you that permission if you need to have it

Hope all your goals are going well and if they are not, well why not revisit them for your “mid-year revision”.

On a site note: i am having issues with posting comments and catergories on my site. I appologise i do know its an issue, trying to fix it ASAP.