so i ordered a painting from an artist i adore on instagram
she paints portraits of women from 1950s yearbooks
but adds bruises & blood to their smiling faces
the piece i bought
however
was a watercolor heart and a parrot
a very small piece
i did not realize how small until it arrived
but i did not regret the money i spent
because the painting makes me happy
& she included an additional small painting
of a hawk
& she is a wonderful artist
with a unique eye
two days after i paid $45 for her 3″x 3″ painting, i sold 10 of my sea creature cards for just $5 a card.
granted, i sold them to a friend & had not agreed on a price before hand.
but, i realized
i am totally worth more.
my kids yelled at me when i told them how much i paid for the watercolor–not because i spent money that we do not have on art–but because i am not asking for more for my own art.
my problem is, i think i am worth the world, but i fear no one else feels that way.
which makes pricing my art, my creations, that much more difficult.
in other news, my newest muse called for a squid to be added to my collection of sea creatures.
i was skeptical. as much as i love squid they just remind me of penises (maybe that is why i love squid)
but i am totally in love with how this turned out.
Quixotic Mama 
I love it!!! The all hallowed triple exclamation point. When I was a kid that was a heart emoji. And TV’s had 13 channels. And I was the remote. Squids rule
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13 channels?? we had 4…5 when fox started up…. my old school heart emoji is xxoo (thank you)
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I’ve never been good at emojification. Maybe we didn’t have that many channels.
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me either. i feel like, as a writer, i am battling for written language. (though i do like hearts…& will resort to a smiley face so someone won’t hate me for what i’m saying)
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Good lord! What kind of penises have you encountered??
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haha!
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I hear what you are saying about pricing art. It’s difficult. I had someone tell me I was charging too much for beyond the field since it’s not a full length novel. When I think about how much time I put into the story and how much time you put into the illustrations, it confuses me that someone doesn’t feel it is worth $3. But whatever, they are entitled to their opinion.
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“well, don’t buy it then” is what i would say (& should remember as well when worrying about my own pricing)…it’s like when my kids don’t like lunch, “well, don’t eat it then.”
(your book is worth way more)
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I struggle often to figure out what I should charge for my art. I probably don’t come near to charging what I should.
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I love the squid. And your art is worth a lot😍
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thank you!
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