image credit: jessica doyle

I have had the pleasure of lots of email correspondence with  successful self-employed artist Jessica Doyle. I posted about her on Design Milk, and she went above and beyond my “Do” list. She is so sweet and articulate, and her honesty is refreshing. Check out her story:

When did you start drawing?

Thirty-one years ago at the age of 4 in preschool. That would be the first time I remember drawing. And it’s stuck with me throughout life regardless of what was going on or not going on. Later in primary school my father worked at a local paper mill. He used to bring home huge end rolls of newsprint. I’d roll it out down the length of the hallway and mom would supply me with watercolour paint. Hours of fun!

Do you live off of your art?

Short answer; yes. At the age of 17, I began working in the arts industry as a custom picture framer before attending college to study illustration, graphic arts, surface design and loom weaving. Since that age I have been directly or indirectly working in the arts industry. I’ve been employed as a graphic artist, illustrator, children’s art teacher, pewter jewelry designer, custom picture framer, wall painter, magazine art director, freelance artist, craft store clerk, production seamstress, gallery manager, home decor designer and seamstress but had never given myself the chance to live solely off of my own art until three and half years ago.

When did you quit your job? What were the challenges in making that decision? Was it easy or hard?

I quit my last full-time job as an art director in the summer of 2005 after a bad battle with chemical addiction and mental health challenges. If I didn’t quit I would have died. I needed treatment and enrolled myself into an outpatient program in Vancouver, BC called Daytox and another called Dual Diagnosis. My income dropped by four fifths. It was the hardest experience of my life. I struggled daily and quickly learned new ways to cope with stress and earning below poverty level wages. I began blogging in 2006 in search of a new way of life. Shortly after I began writing for money on blogging news sites and freelancing online.

In late 2007 my boyfriend walked out on me. Six months later in May 2008, I could no longer afford to live in Vancouver and moved East to be home with family. I wrote about addiction and that loss of a loved one extensively on my blog. It’s all there in black and white. So yes, the struggle was hard and without it I would not be where I am today.

image credit: jessica doyle

What has been the single best marketing effort you made in the past year?

Honesty with no strings attached in wherever I choose to market. And regardless of how one markets artwork one must be honest with expectations or let them go completely. I find blogging is one of my best tools. It’s my personal creative space. It evolves with me. As with any site you choose to use please do follow the rules and don’t spam. And yes, rules can be broken creatively. But seriously it’s artwork. If someone likes it they like it and if they don’t they don’t. And if they don’t and you were honest to begin with then there is nothing lost in your marketing efforts.

Has your blog helped increase your artwork sales?

Yes. As much as I love to draw I do enjoy writing about life, personal experience, technique, creative process and promotion. I still touch on mental health and addiction subjects sometimes however it’s not so much in the forefront as it used to be.

How do you motivate yourself to do work when there is no boss watching you?

I keep a daily planner on my desk and write in it daily. I work out of a converted 13 by 13 foot bedroom that is completely devoted to business and creativity. My art supplies are never put away. They stay out in full view as they are my tools of the trade. I usually keep 20 to 30 different projects on the go in various stages of completion; this helps combat boredom. I refine, adapt and improve my systems of creating, packaging, and producing and I no longer create one piece at a time unless it is a larger scale piece. I try to think of series to work on and tie them into my blogging, twittering, and flickr.

Most of all I limit my social interaction both online and offline, for you can’t create when you are talking to someone else

image credit: jessica doyle

What is the most difficult thing about selling art and selling art online?

Offline I guess the difficulty is in finding buyers. I reside in very small city of less than 150,000 people. I rarely sell locally and do not attend art, trade, festival or craft shows. Ninety-five percent of my income is via online sales, custom and freelance work. It’s easier to find buyers who love your style with 1 billion people to choose from world-wide online. And that is where the honesty comes into play.

The trouble with online sales is sifting through the spam to find the gem, harnessing the legitimate power of linkage and SEO, understanding your statistics and referring sites. I do struggle to find balance in those things. And throw into the mix time to create… well we all become a huge melting pod of mush occasionally and must step back and take a break, open the front door and go for a walk in the real world to smell those roses

Can you imagine when computers become retrofitted and equipped with olfactory devices… my Etsy shop will smell like the beach and fresh picked flowers form another galaxy when people open the door and enter direct from the comfort of their own home.

Thanks so much Jessica– we’re so happy that you have been able to quickly recover and  become successful with your artwork.

Check out more from Jessica:

Blog – http://jessicadoyle.ca
Art Shop – http://JessicaDoyle.etsy.com
Vintage Shop – http://OLDisNEW.etsy.com
Gallery – http://www.flickr.com/photos/eastvanesica/
Twitter – http://twitter.com/JessicaDoyle

I hope that Talkin’ Shop will become a lovely regular column here on the BAKERY blog, but I can’t do it without you! So if you have business knowledge, tips & tricks, or a success story to share, please send us an email with the subject line: Talkin’ Shop.