I want to make LOTS of art. The more I make, the more ideas I have for new images to create. It is all that I want to do anymore, it seems.

I want my art to be enjoyed by others. What good is it if I am the only one who sees it? I also want to pay my bills. So, it stands to reason that I would want to sell my artwork to the people who enjoy it.

Artist, meet the Marketplace.

The creative genius meeting the marketplace is where the spirit and the ego collide. We want to stay true to our artistic ideals, yet the desire for recognition and for compensation cannot be denied. How does one reconcile the perpetual paradox?

Personally, I fear the marketplace. it is an intimidating environment full of people hawking their wares and trying to convince others of things that may or may not be true for them. Nonetheless, I cautiously court it, knowing that I won’t get far with my artwork if I do not engage in the business aspect of my creative products.

Will I and my art change if we are embraced by the marketplace? That is the REAL fear of an artist.

I have had tentative success so far, matching, no doubt, the tentativeness of my foray into “the biz”. That success has had positive and negative impact on me. I have had the kind of success where others grasped and celebrated my vision, allowed me artistic freedom, and compensated me for my efforts. But I have also had success where I had to adjust my creativity to satisfy the whims of patrons, sometimes taking the work out of my artistic comfort zone.

I do not have a problem adjusting my ideas as a result of collaboration, and I am not such a purist that I cannot be flexible with my ideals. I do have a problem being false, though. I do have a problem creating work that does not reflect my own vision. Somehow, I have to find a happy medium, and somehow, I have to find a way to interact with the marketplace that is true to myself.

Where will it all lead?

I do not have that answer, but I am committed to finding it. I invite you to follow along with me on my journey. Let us see where this adventure takes me!

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

Art Adventures Studios
Buy Artwork and Gifts by BZTAT
Art Adventures Studios, located in downtown Canton, OH
near Second April Galerie and the historic Onesto Hotel.

Well, I gotta hand it, er, paw it, to my mischievous little feline. He has really been getting the buzz! His last blog about his Twitter buddy Lou really was the sensation among the Twitter Critters. Lou was beside himself with joy! See Lou’s blog: Lou Mama’s Boy. Yesterday, Brewskie crossed the the threshold of 1,000 followers on Twitter, and today he is featured on the Cats Who Twitter blog site! He is turning out to be quite a good spokescat for Art Adventures Studios, I must say.

Brewskie has his own fan page on Facebook, if you’d like to join, and he also has his own product line on Cafe Press.

Needless to say, we have some major ego management issues going on in our home. Slick is not at all amused at Brewskie’s DJ efforts at Blip.fm, and she is thinking someone should put a knot in his tail. Who and Noah, though, are quite proud of him, and are strutting with him to Eye of the Tiger. Slick just wishes that they would all go away and leave her alone. She did partake in the celebratory Tuna that we all had last night, however.

Life is always an Adventure with the Brew around! Congrats on all your success, my little guy.

Art Adventures Studios
Buy Artwork and Gifts by BZTAT
Art Adventures Studios, located in downtown Canton, OH
near Second April Galerie and the historic Onesto Hotel.

From Brewskie Butt, official spokescat of Art Adventures Studios…

Hi Everybody! It’s the Brew! I thought I would share a picture that my person, BZTAT, has been working on. It’s a picture of Lou, who is one of my favorite Twitter Critter friends.

Lou is the most smiling guy I have ever met! He has taught me that I don’t have to be afraid of dogs, at least not when I talk to them through Twitter and Facebook. Lou lives with his adopted sister Pebble in Arizona. He has his own blog Lou Mama’s Boy and he is very active on Facebook and Twitter.

My person, BZTAT is working on a whole series of photos, drawings and paintings of different critters who blog on Twitter. For those who don’t know, Twitter is a micro-blogging site where you can converse with others around the world in short meaningful statements. Did you know that there were hundreds and thousands of animals who post on Twitter? There are cats, dogs, horses, hamsters, chinchillas, parrots–even a hermit crab! Each one puts up a small photo called an avatar on their Twitter page, and BZTAT finds these avatars to be very inspiring. Some of the critters have given her permission to use their avatars as points of departure for artwork. Lou’s is the first one that she has completed. She is also in the process of making a painting of one of my sweethearts, Madamoiselle Chloe. Purrrrrrr…..She is a very fine kitty!

Next up in the Twitter Critter series include: Monkey Cat (another fine and purrrrty girl kitty!); Pebbles, Lou’s sister; India, a real Bengal Tiger; and many others.

Hope you have a Brew-ti-ful day!

The Brew

Art Adventures Studios
Buy Artwork and Gifts by BZTAT
Art Adventures Studios, located in downtown Canton, OH
near Second April Galerie and the historic Onesto Hotel.