Launching new work

- while wrestling with procrastination

Aug 25, 2023

I recently relaunched my website shop so I’ve added five brand new collages made over the summer. They’re on my website here. UK shipping only at the moment, but please contact me if you’d like an international quote.

I work on a collage mainly intuitively, sometimes it will go in and out of the plan chest drawer several times over months, which makes it so much more satisfying when something just hits and it is resolved. Needless to say they often start a lot more busy, and it is removing pieces that can make all the difference. Abstract collage is really one of my pure joys, it’s a meditative experience.

I’m not really a procrastinator, I generally like to get up early, get my walk in, get to my desk, do all the things. I’ve been making and selling my work for 15 years and I’m confident in it, but when it comes to making an announcement of any kind about me or my work, I find it almost impossible. Why does it take me so long? A number of reasons -

Deciding to relaunch my website shop after wrestling with Saatchi pricing issues for a very long time.
Wanting to make a series of 10 and only having 5 I loved enough.
Two many creative outlets at one time - collage, painting, print design, licensing submissions, wholesale orders. I couldn’t find the head space.
Wondering what was the ‘best way’ to announce new work - a slow drip via instagram or a newsletter or one big drop.
But mainly just a mental block. Unable to take the last step.

So what changed today to make it actually happen? A combination of serendipity and simply refusing to go one more day worrying about this stuff -

I decided on final pricing.
And went to make a cup of tea.
I sought out an Art Juice podcast on procrastination to give me a kick up the bum - Are You Getting In Your Own Way with guest Georgina Noel. Perfect. When you realise no-one really cares that much, it really is very freeing.
I scrambled an egg. Sat in the sun. Looked at my website. Scrolled. Started this newsletter (completely differently to how it is ending up).
Went back to designing prints for Minted. Thought about launching larger prints from my own shop via a drop-shipper. Mind wandering again.
Searched for print on demand recommendations and found The Print Space, joined their Facebook group and found lots of good live instagram reviews all mentioning how important reels still are (something I had been procrastinating over for oh, a couple of years).
Thought about finally making a reel, but how?
Made tea.
Went into my Connected Artists membership group to find a reels demonstration. All looked much easier than I thought it was.
Sensing my anxiety was starting to fade away like the photo in Back To The Future, I seized the moment and took two short videos of one of my collages, put it to music and made a reel in about 8 minutes.
I saved it to drafts of course, and thought about getting in my own way one last time.
I posted my reel and thereby, without fanfare, launched my website shop. Of course I’ll have to do more, but the first hurdle has been jumped.

I cannot tell you how freeing it is and how bonkers I feel actually typing this out. But I know so many artists feel the same way, so if this resonates with you, how do you get over those blocks? Do you have any recommendations for podcast episodes that can really get you out of a jam? Please let me know!

Paintings coming soon. No, really ;-)