Like probably a lot of artists out there I have a second bedroom in our apartment converted to a small office/studio space. It is pretty crammed with a drafting table, lighttable, large desk with computer and some wall bookcases. Not a lot of room to put up an easel, let alone to move around it. Home studios are also not the best places to keep from frequently being interrupted. as well the close proximity of computer and television doesn't always help to keep one tied to the easel.

Having a studio away from the home therefore is wonderful and that opportunity was afforded me a year ago by being able to rent a space for reasonable rent at the Langley Arts Council (http://www.langleyarts.org), which had been able to secure a lease on the old Coast Capital Bank building that had been standing empty for a few years since Coast opened a new branch near the Willowbrook Mall. I have thoroughly enjoyed my space behind the old teller's counter. It has afforded me the opportunity to be more in the public eye and have my work out there for display together with other artists. To be able to interact with other artists, the public and to participate in events is great and I have received great feedback. 

Last month one of the enclosed office spaces became available and I took advantage of the opportunity to move to a more contained space where I was able to display my work better and I am very happy that I made that move. The location is just perfect, close to the entrance and the reception desk and all traffic has to pass by here to go upstairs. Although I am able to close the door if I want to work, I plan to have an open door policy and have my studio open for people to be able to visit and look at my art. There are usually large chunks of time where I likely won't be disturbed and can get work done. After all the show must go on and without work to show and sell you don't have a business.

So I am happy to introduce you to my new workspace, which granted still is not very big, but works very nicely for me at this time.  If you live in the area you are invited to drop by the gallery, look at the art on display and meet some of the artists.  The address is:

Langley Arts Council

20550 Fraser Highway

Langley, BC V3A 4G2

Tel: 604-534-0781

Looking at the studio from the Gallery

Came in to the gallery early today to fulfill one of my new year's resolutions - to get an earlier start and have a full working day, which hasn't happened on a regular basis thus far. Guess what, gallery doors are closed, and no one minding the store, so I had to ring the office upstairs for someone to let me in. Now here I am, sitting comfortably on the office couch with a good cup of coffee and time to kill, because the "key" people are not here and no one has the key to open the access door to the downstairs gallery and studio space. So I thought some philosophising thoughts and figured there is some analogy here to the artist's life (and probably anybody else's for that matter).

Normally I am not in the habit of making new year's resolutions since I would end up breaking them anyway - relate to any of this so far? So here's the thought - a road block has just been thrown right in front of me, and I could have just headed straight back home and find other things to do, probably none of which might have been productive. It's amazing how many things can vie for our attention and before we know it another day is gone without having made any gains toward whatever goals we intended to achieve. 

So one of my goals for this year is to make studio time count more and become more productive as an artist. This includes more regular activity on the Web Site and social media (for now that is Facebook and a need to re-activate my Linked-in account). Finding myself sitting here in the office I thought "why not make this time count and dedicate another blog to this experience?" Hence the thoughts expressed above. I much prefer the idea of goal setting over resolution making and then implement these goals over time.  

Have I always been successfull in doing this? Honesty again impels me to say no, but that does not mean I'm throwing in the towel. Rather I wait for the towel to wear out, then it becomes my paint rag. It might take a while for that towel to reach that coveted state, and in much the same way I'm going to hang in there and aim for that coveted state of mastering this craft and achieving the recognition that would come as a result. That will take hard work and the setting of clear goals. Like many of you, these might not be my strongest character traits, but if we keep our eyes fixed on the goal, and are willing to do what it takes to become the artist we were meant to be our chances of success are so much greater. So as the next obstacle on our path pops up let's get creative and turn that obstacle into a piece of art. Who knows what masterpiece we might create that would not otherwise have come about. Have a happy and creative year. Plan on it!

By no means am I unique in starting an art career later in life, many have gone before me and some have become quite successful. A lot depends on the goals we set for ourselves or whether we even bother. Some are quite happy to just be able to paint and that alone is their reward, while others like me want to be more serious about it and make every effort to apply ourselves and take a professional approach. Most of us late careerists did not always have the privilege of attending a good art school or had any other type of significant art training other than belonging to an art club or attending the odd workshop. A lot of us would probably put "self-taught" in our resumé. Most of the time a full time job or career in an entirely different profession and/or supporting the family and raising kids took all available time and resources.

However the dream is always there and gets nourished one way or another along life's journey to keep it alive and then....retirement! Now it's time to put our money where our mouth is, but that's always easier said than done, especially when resources are stretched. And having the passion to paint is one thing, but how are you going to build that second career without any knowledge of business practices and marketing? This is the part of being an artist that sounds less romantic - what do bookkeeping skills have to do with art and besides that I'm not a salesman - goes the argument. Most art schools to this day barely touch on this subject and that makes little sense. Why teach students to make a product without teaching them how to market that product? The expectation seems to be that that is what galleries are for, but that is hardly realistic.

In my case I had the bad fortune to lose a job due to the recession and then the good fortune to be able to qualify for a business training program for self employment. That involved a lot of homework even before qualifying as it involved doing market research and writing a business proposal as one would for applying for a business loan at the bank. Upon acceptance we had two months to write a solid business plan including financials that then passed by a small panel of local business people. If a plan did not pass their muster the candidate would be dropped from the program. Fortunately my plan was accepted and the following six months were spent attending workshops, writing progress reports and implementing our business. For me that involved studio time for practising, working on ideas and starting to build a body of work, which I did not have much of yet at the time.  

Honesty compels me to say that I argued in my proposal that my income needs from this business would not have to be very high as I soon would be having a pension income, and was not dependent on the business for paying the rent and having food on the table. Had I needed to rely on a full income from my art I would have had a much tougher time getting my proposal passed. Making a full time living from art is far from easy (especially in today's market) and depends a lot on one's personal circumstances which vary for everyone. But as long as we understand the realities involved and are passionate about what we are doing all things are possible. And also understand that this is not about quick sales (as much as those are great) but about a longer term process of career building. Your name is your trade mark, so make it known. That is certainly my plan for this year and take whatever steps are necessary to implement my goals. Be consistent in what you do and at some point you are going to be successful.

Rests me to thank FASO (Fine Artists On Line) for providing me at a very reasonable fee with an excellent website and terrific marketing and art related information through their various blogs, newsletters and a chance to periodically shine in their Daily Art Show and the monthly BoldBrush art competition. They have given me a much better insight and knowledge of art marketing and the art community as a whole. It truly feels like being part of a larger family and the technical staff has been prompt and capable in resolving any problems.

In today's competitive marketplace it is hard to stand out. Thousands of artists are out there marketing their art and many are outstanding, and that can easily intimidate.  The need to build on your own skills and becoming more confident is essential and having good marketing tools at your disposal is important.  The need to be active on the website , Facebook and other social media - whatever way you choose to connect with people - is evident once you are able to monitor website visits and see a response to your activities. Politicians have to be in touch with their constituents, but so do artists. Good communication skills are as important as marketing skills. Nurture them and use them.

These are some of the thoughts I wanted to share as I  started my travels on this new career path and felt that there are many like me out there and hopefully this little essay gives some encouragement to fellow artists who read this. They are by no means new ideas or concepts, but realities we have to remind ourselves of now and then as we plod along on this journey and we are all fellow pilgrims on this road. As Roy Rogers would say: “Happy Trails!”

Artistic talent runs in the Baarschers family. Dad was good at drawing and linoleum cutting, crafts learned while being educated in Amsterdam for a career in the printing industry. Unfortunately I have found no samples of his work unless they would be the stamps he so deftly produced to provide fake identities for people hiding from the Nazis in wartime. I do remember a beautiful large multi-colour lino print of a Bengal tiger, but in going through some of his effects this summer (dad passed away last fall at age 95) I have not been able to locate it. Maybe it will still pop up somewhere as we have not been able to look at everything that was there – dad literally and religiously saved almost everything.

However earlier this year I was contacted by the stepdaughter of my uncle Herman (my father's youngest brother) in Australia who passed away more than twenty years ago, and she still had his photo albums and one painting and two drawings made by their other brother Henk. I was very happy to receive them as much family history gets lost so quickly when people pass from the scene as photos get dispersed along with other mementos and are not always treated with the regard that they should be.

Uncle Henk was also artistically gifted, and taught himself to paint. This painting was likely done in the early years of the war and is a view from my grandparent's backyard in the town of Winterswijk in the Netherlands. Uncle Henk was active in the resistance at that time and in 1944 was betrayed and arrested. He was interrogated by the Gestapo and sent to the concentration camp in Vught in the southern part of the Netherlands. As the Allies approached he and many others were summarily executed.

A 1930's photo from the same backyard One of the pen and ink drawings

I remember the backyard scene from when I was barely five years old. My grandparents lived in a large house near the town centre. They lived on the upper floor, as my grandfather operated a bookstore with his brother on the main floor and they also had a printshop in the basement. There was a vegetable garden and a chicken coop in the back and I recall putting my fingers through the mesh and promptly being bitten by one of the chickens. I don't know if there is a connection, but chicken is still one of my favourite meats to this day.

My father also had three sisters, two of whom also were artistically inclined. The youngest sister, Titia, just turned 90 and earlier this year had a solo exhibition of paintings she made of scenes in Surinam where she lived for a large part of her married life. She now has lived for many years in the province of Friesland in the northern part of the Netherlands, in the small town of Buitenpost to be precise. Until quite recently she was part of a local painter's group and loved to paint landscapes. She would send out Christmas cards with reproductions of her paintings on them and and I scanned this one, a typical dutch rural winter scene.

One of Titia's paintings of a dutch rural winter scene

Mainly this short blog is a tribute for uncle Henk who gave his life so we can enjoy the freedom we have today. He might have pursued further in his artistic endeavours and who knows what beautiful artwork we never got to see. Uncle Henk was slated to take over the bookstore with my father, who would have run the printshop. Fate decided otherwise and as wars do, they end many lives prematurely and forever alter the course of others. It gives pause for thought and reason to be extremely thankful for what we have. Go hug someone near to you and then go and paint something (which for some of us might just be the fence).