The Quirky and Cute Art of Stephanie Fizer

It’s been two years since I decided to ditch my terrible day job and take on the challenges of making art fulltime.  I’ve learned much through making my own mistakes as well as through studying the successes of others and although I am be no means a business expert, I feel that my experiences and thoughts may be useful to those who are just entering the art or craft world.  Over the next several Fridays, I will be presenting a short series of articles/blog entries on various topics from bookkeeping and promoting to the actual creative process itself. 

This week we tackle the conundrum of being unique and striving for perfection.  When I decided to try my litlte hand at illustrating for a living, I did a lot of research on what sold on Ebay because that was my first target venture.  I found that fantasy art, especially fairies and mermaids seemed to be very popular amont art buyers on Ebay, especially in the tiny yet collectible ACEO size.  Seeing that as a potential income, I threw myself into drawing/painting stacks of little fairy and mermaid paintings and proceeded to list them on Ebay. 

The result was mediocre, they sold but not for the prices I had hoped.  I continued to plug away in this manner for about my first year, creating what was already selling, hoping to eventually start making money because I was so persistent.  Nothing really changed though until I changed myself. 

Looking back on it, I realize that my heart was not truly in my creations.  I also realize that they were not uniquely me, you couldn’t tell my paintings from any number of other painters who were doing the exact same thing.  And with no heart came lack of perfection in the work, I could whip out a painting in a hour which I took to be a positive attribute.  Once I recognized the problems, I set about remedying them. 

I needed a unique voice in a world full of so much expression.  I spent hours with my sketchbook, searching for myself somewhere in those doodles, trying out different things until something just clicked and felt right.  Now, I certainly don’t expect that I won’t be evolving and changing throughout the years but I do feel that I managed to find a discernible style that I am absolutely in love with.  I love all the girls and animals I create and the little worlds I can draw around them. 

And because I finally truly love my work, I take the time to make each creation truly complete in my eyes.  As I grew to love my work more and more and as my artistic voice become more unique, my business increased accordingly and more opportunities became available to me. 

So what does all this mean?  While it’s only human to admire the beauty around us, when it comes to the business of art it won’t do to simply copy or imitate what has already been done.  It is necessary instead to find a unique voice and work hard to perfect it before releasing it for all the world to see :)  So when you’re getting ready to set up shop, take a good look at your work to ensure that it is cohesive and easily identifiable as yours.  Make sure that it is unique and so well made that you would quickly snatch it up if you happened upon it in someone else’s shop.  And most of all, make it with love and it won’t even feel like work!