So how can you make money with your art?

First let me share with you my personal experience on how I got started painting window and wall murals.

When I was a younger lad, just barely 18 yrs old, I decided to leave my home town of Quebec city and hitchike westward across the great Canadian Country side in search of work, possibly with it, fame and fortune.

Needless to say, fame and fortune were not written in the books...

I soon learned what it really meant to be hungry and not have anything to eat for days on end. I soon knew how it felt to not have a comfortable home to come to...I soon realized how dangerous this world that I live in can really be when you are living on the streets.

When I look back at those past days, today I realize that they somehow shaped me into the person that I am today...I feel those hard times made me realize that life is very precious and one must never let go of their dreams.

We all have our special little place in this world...

So how did I get started painting windows?

One sunny afternoon in Victoria, I was walking the streets in search of work...

At this point I had been working part time jobs in order to survive. The way I look at it is, I was lucky if a had a couple of extra dollars in my pocket to even spend on a cup of java.

This is how painting windows all began for me...

During my regular daily job searching, I came across a fellow who was painting a sign on a store front window...I stood there watching him, all the while thinking to myself, wow that looks like a fun job! All inspired I went home in my little one bedroom bachelor suite, pulled out my pencils and started drawing like a crazy man...

For the next week or so, I drew all day long illustrating ideas for the rapidly approaching Easter holidays. Once I had a good portfolio of designs together, I decided that it was now time to get out there, show my work, see the reaction of potential clients and hopefully get a contract or more.

I was very excited that I had spend the time to do all this work and was very confident that something positive would surely come about it all.

The next morning I put on the best clothes that I owned ( a pair of second hand jeans and a clean t-shirt) and went knocking on as many downtown shop owner doors as I could, armed with my portfolio of Easter designs at hand.

The day was long, but in my opinion turned out to be very rewarding.

Here were the results:

I had a few people interested in having their windows painted, some asked me to come back in a few days, some asked me to leave them my business card, others said that they would be interested in having a design created for an upcoming promotion, another loved my work and booked me in for a window painting...

Wow! I was very excited...I got my first client and also had a potential list of future clients to be.

At the end of the day, I knew that I was on to something...Something that would surely open up doors in my destined path. To this day, I strongly believe that because of my positive attitude and willingness to succeed, that I was able to convey this excitement to whomever I came across and this in turn, helped me make a sale and make new contacts for future sales.

Today I look back at those old sketches I designed back then and I am amazed at why someone even bothered hiring me to paint their windows...but the fact is, they were still good enough to make a sale. As they say, artists are their worst critics.

Stay tuned for Make money painting window murals Part 2...coming soon!

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Health, Happiness and Success!

Mario Labonte

http://www.artistbc.com

Work from home...WebProsperity Team Leader

http://www.teamultra.info

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