Whoever answers this question will win a limited edition (five each) Shadowland print. The answer lies somewhere within the website. Post the answer in the "post a comment" link at the bottom of the picture. Please leave your email address in the space provided so I can contact the winner. The question is: What picture did I start pulling my subject matter out of the painting?
A single failure is often a company's downfall. Never take on something you cannot handle. If you know the job is beyond your capacity, then recommend another artist immediately! Even if you can not do the job, the (professional) recommendation can be a success. You need to know artists that are accomplished in their medium, such as calligraphy, printmaking, oil paint, acrylic paint, colored pencil, photography, pottery, etc. A network of artists that support each other is essential. Always be connected to other professionals in your field that can take on jobs that you can not facilitate or do not want to do. You will retain integrity and maintain respect for recommending a suitable alternative. If you have the theory that "failure is not an option," you'll never fall into the "unprofessional" category. It's always more important that the customer get what they want than to compromise your field of expertise. I would much rather a client say, "he couldn't get to it right now, but he recommended so and so and they did a fantastic job" than "he said he couldn't do it". After all, if one artist recommends another, then we all win. Networking is what it's all about. The links to the right of this page are good examples. These are people I would recommend to you, and I suggest you do the same.
With the current economic state, what makes more sense: spending money on cars that will depreciate, clothes that will go out of style, or even music that will be forgotten as fast as it was downloaded, or experiences? Experiences are what define who we are. Is our money not better spent going to an art opening or museum? I mean, the first art museum I went to was Bob Jones University Museum and it changed the way I perceive art in general. Other life-changing experiences were the Terra-cotta Army and the DaVinci exhibit at the High Museum in Atlanta. My life was definitely more impacted by those experiences than anything I have bought as of late. Standing there in the room with 75 sculptures excavated from the ground all created in assembly line fashion to preserve one mans well being in the after life is an awe inspiring feeling. Imagine the feeling you would have as one of the chosen ones to create the entourage that would accompany the Emperors sculptural pro-session? The power and awe you feel standing in front of DaVinci's unfinished painting of St. Jerome is something that can not be traded for trying to remember what music you were listening to in 2010. Which story will you be telling your friends? What car you were driving or how it felt to stand in front of the Terra-cotta Army that was sculpted by over 200 artists and had been buried for 500 years? So next time you want to enrich your life, maybe you should re-evaluate your options. They are closer than you think.