Ever see one of these posts?

"I'm looking for an artist who can (insert scenario here)"-- scenarios might include the following:

 

faux finish a wall or paint a mural on it

repair a painting

paint a portrait

design a logo

donate artwork

teach kids

teach adults

paint my dog

paint my mom's dog

paint a picture of my house

stencil lettering for me

join our art night with a display

frame my artwork

tell me what colors to paint a room

 

(You can probably come up with a bunch more-- whether you've just seen a posting, or been personally approached with requests yourself).

 

Do you ever answer any of these requests?  I have a couple times.  I quickly realized that in the future, there would only be a few rare circumstances where I would be willing to say yes.  For the rest, I would have to politely assure the requesters that they could probably find a much more suitable person for the rest of the jobs.

 

Ever accept a request you ended up regretting? I know I've signed onto a couple of events that felt like good opportunities at the time, but turned out to cost time and money I didn't have (although I did gain valuable experience).  I don't really donate artwork anymore either, although there are a couple of occasions where I might offer to do so-- causes of my own choosing, though, and not in response to random requests.

 

There have been a few queries that turned into life-changing, positive experiences.  Most of those involved teaching.  I don't know why I agreed to get up and teach in front of over 100 kids at the library a decade or so ago, but I swallowed any misgivings and tried it.  It was a blast.  I still teach in front of big crowds for the libraries, and although it's a lot of activity packed into a short session, I continue to enjoy the experience.  

 

I feel the same way about teaching seniors in memory care too-- I've always been able to handle rambunctious kids, but a room full of my elders was a little intimidating at first.  Once I tried it, I grew to enjoy it as well and looked forward to seeing them each month.  I often brought my kids with me too, because they don't get a lot of time with the older generations the way I did growing up with all my grandparents around.  I had to let that position go because of my own schedule, but would definitely like to do that again sometime when my schedule permits it.

 

When I first began substitute teaching in public schools, I was offered jobs in both special education and pre-k by principals who knew I was getting a credential and would be ready to take a full time job soon.  I told both principals I needed to be honest and say no.  I could have technically taken those jobs and gotten through them, but I knew my heart wouldn't be in those positions as much as it would in a regular elementary position.  The idea of letting those principals (and more importantly, the kids) down with a poor performance on my part gave me the courage to be honest about where my strengths do and don't lie, and to decline.

 

This subject comes up now in the form of artistic requests, and I like to explain to people that although I have some creative skills, there are other people much more skilled at what they're looking for who would probably serve them better.  Teach a class?  If I have room in the schedule, it's often a yes.  Paint a commission? If it's based on recent style and subject matter of my paintings, that's also often a yes.  If it's not my style or subject matter, then I have to decline as politely as possible.  Repair a painting or frame a piece? I might be comfortable doing these things for my own pieces, but would definitely not want the responsibility of doing these tasks for someone else-- there are people out there with much better skills in these areas who would do a better job than I would!

 

It's a great honor when someone thinks of you and your artistic skills for a project (unless you can tell they're just trying to save some money by asking a personal favor, which happens too).  If the request was made from a place of admiration and respect, a good way to return those sentiments is to be honest about whether you have the time, skill, and ability to commit to finishing the project.

 

In the case of using your artistic time and talents, it's ok to only take on the projects you are truly confident or excited about.  Being a professional means standing by your work, and if the experience is positive for both you and the person requesting the work, it will show in the finished product!

 

Speaking of teaching opportunities, do you teach paint-sips or easy step-by-step painting lessons?  Want to try a fun painting lesson at home with friends?  Stop by my Painting Tutorials section on Etsy (click here #mce_temp_url#) to download low-cost, easy to teach painting lessons for beginner and intermediate learners!  All of my tutorials have been taught live in the classroom, and come with printable step-by-step guides that can be used as many times as you like once you buy the digital download.