In my last post I talked about Seth Godin’s “Hierarchy of Success”. (Read about it here). This is a bold way to approach your work, even as an artist.
If you read my newsletter (sign up for that HERE), you know that I have been thinking about making a change in the focus of my work. What better time for that than the new year?
I’ve decided to make small changes to my work . . . to add a new body of work as I continue with the poured paintings I’ve become known for. After all, as artist we have complete freedom over the work we put in front of the world . . . only these days it reaches more people and is much more public!
How does the “Hierarchy of Success” fit into this? I will use Mr. Godin’s approach to help my focus my work down the right path. Maybe this can help you in your never-ending artistic creations (whether you are an artist or not!)
Next post – I’ll begin with . . . Attitude.
I am a big fan of marketing guru Seth Godin, and have been thinking about how one of his recent blog posts might apply to an artist. It’s called “The Hierarchy Of Success” and has some great thoughts about how our approach to our work can sometimes be backwards. You can check out his post here:
Here’s his list of how we should approach our work:
1. Attitude
2. Approach
3. Goals
4. Strategy
5. Tactics
6. Execution
That order is not how we usually go about reaching a goal.
Mr. Godin believes that we get it backwards . . . in his words, “We spend all our time on execution”. In his case he is talking about marketing, but what would that mean from an artist’s viewpoint?
I have thought about this subject lately as I contemplate a “shift” in my artistic focus. I will be using Mr. Godin’s inspiration as I make this change in my work.
Stay tuned to see how I take this way of thinking to help me create a completely new focus for my work.
Here’s a painting that shows how you can use a “stylish” technique for a different look with a common subject.
I’ve always enjoyed painting carousel horses, and wanted to try painting one with my pouring technique. Let me know what you think!
This was painted on 300 lb. hot press Arches watercolor paper. This is one of the papers I most like to use – you can really get some interesting effects with it.
The actual image size is 14″ high x 10″ wide.
Here’s my latest sunflower painting. This is a small painting that I had a lot of fun with.
I poured bright yellows, golds and greens and then brushed in the darks.
Hope you enjoy this as much as I did painting it!
This was painted on 300 lb. Arches watercolor paper. I love the rough texture of this heavy paper.
The image size is 6 1/2″ x 6 1/2″.
Stephen Blackburn is a watermedia artist from Mishawaka, Indiana, USA. He is widely known for his free-flowing paintings and teaches workshops in many areas around the country.