Well hello again!

Its certainly been awhile since I have written on here but I thought since events have come back, maybe I should come back to writing on my blog again:)

Today I was hired to draw caricatures out in the Town of Sedgewick for their main street market. As soon as I got set up I had some willing models and drew straight through till 6 pm. 

I managed to snap a picture of these two friends getting drawn together....

Busy weekend ahead with 5 more gigs! 

“The artist committing himself to his calling 

has volunteered for hell whether he knows it or not.”
~Steven Pressfield

Many people have asked me how I have been doing 

since I shut my cafe and committed myself to painting.

Well, to answer that question...

the last two months of painting full time 

have been hell.

(Just to clarify, 

I don't mean 

the "working at Walmart for minimum wage" kind of hell, 

or the hell of illness, 

or of injury

or death 

or the one hundred other kinds of hell 

that exist in life.) 

I'm talking about the kind of personal hell we go through
when we attempt to do something that we have desired our whole life

and have an unrelenting expectation to internally succeed at.

Lets just say, it certainly isn't the artistic "bliss" that I expected. 

I thought it would be FUN. 

You know... 

“a dream come true" 

kind of feeling…

"following my passion.... 

and doing what I have dreamed of doing my whole life" 

kind of fun.

 Trust me, 

it hasn't felt that way at all.

Now, don't get me wrong, 

there have been some ecstatic moments....

like that sudden and unexpected realization of victory, 

when I can confidently lay down my paint weapons, 

knowing that the battle has ended 

and that today, I have actually won.  

In those moments, 

everything feels right in the world and 

my decision to dedicate my year to painting 

makes sense and feels justified. 

Unfortunately, 

that feeling rarely lasts long enough

to clean the wounds from my last combat

and is usually completely gone 

by the time I start the next painting.

Thankfully...

in this past week, 

something small has shifted. 

 I don't know what has really changed 

or why it has but I do know that 

something feels different. 

Perhaps its simply that I am starting to know my artistic self a little bit better. 

...and for now, 

that is enough for me 

to keep trekking on this journey.

Next Art & Wine Night is Friday, February 21! 

Come spend a wonderful evening with a glass of wine & some great snacks, in a creatively inspiring atmosphere creating something unique and personal! We also take bookings for private Art and Wine parties for 7-10 people

On February 21st we will be creating 9 small 4” x 4” wooden panels using mixed media in a similar colour and subject theme. They will then be placed in a frame as a complete collage. 

Reserve your spot today! 

 

"Sweetheart Valentine's Day Special"

Looking for something romantic, unique and extra special to do 

this Valentine's Day with your sweetie? 

(or know someone who is?)

At the cafe we have a

 "Sweetheart Special"

Book your live cafe caricature sitting 

on Valentine's day 8am -9pm 

and get a wonderful caricature drawn live with your sweetheart,

2—12 oz cappuccinos and 

2 desserts. 

All for $50. 

*not applicable with other coupons.

Please call or email to reserve your spot! 

A wonderful article written by Marta Gold in the Edmonton Journal yesterday....

See you in the new Year!

Don't wait for permission from someone else 

to begin living your life with purpose and passion. 

Its not up to anyone else to 'let' you do it. 

Its up to you to start living that way now. 

~Cathy McMillan

Well, my cafe will be one year old tomorrow. 

Which I guess means that I have been a 'cafe owner' for one whole year.

wow.

Its actually very similar to being a first time mother and how I felt absolutely overwhelmed, exhausted and amazed at just how much work it really was....even finding myself sometimes thinking ......"What the hell have I done?"  

Waking up everyday in a new life with so many decisions to be made, 

so much responsibility,

and constant uncertainty of just how far 

I would be pushed out of my comfort zones each and every day.

This whole experience has taught me so much about myself and about business.

A year ago whenever I was doing some kind of official 'left brained business' task,
I often apologized to whomever I was speaking, warning them that I was 'only an artist'
 before I launched into the discussion or negotiation.
I was certain that I was at a disadvantage because I knew nothing
about business formulas, marketing strategies or profit margin concepts.

Since starting the cafe, I have had to make a LOT of decisions.
I really didn't know what "regular" cafe owners do, so I just made my business decisions the same way I do when I paint...from my intuition and gut.
Sometimes I really needed to step back and think about certain details intellectually
(like I might have to do with colour theory or value rhythms in a painting),
 and so I would do that and then quickly return
to the intuitive process just to make sure it was correct.

Over the past year,
I slowly figured out how to read my intuition for business decisions.
I learned that if a business decision didn't make me want to puke,
 that meant it was probably okay and I should do it,
but if it did, then definitely I should stay away from it.
If I couldn't get a solid decisive feeling about a something one way or the other,
I learned that it just meant that I needed to wait
and so I learned to be really patient,
trusting that eventually I would know exactly what to do.
And inevitably I always do.

So here I am a year later 

looking back over all my intuitive business decisions that have turned out right.

Building a cafe on a caricature artist's small income is one thing,
but then making it to one year,
completely debt free
is apparently a success in the business world
(at least that's what "business" people tell me).

Last week it finally dawned on me,
I have been successful so far
BECAUSE I am an artist, 

not in spite of it. 

So my cafe is now one year old. 

She is finally sleeping through the night, standing up on her own, and getting ready to walk by herself. 

Patterns and routines have settled into place,
 easing some of the daily uncertainty and decision making
and now everything feels like this has been our lifestyle forever.

And the best part of all,
is that I just love spending the majority of my days
in this special little place in the world.

Please come by and help us celebrate one year tomorrow.
All small hot beverages will be only a Loonie!