Building UP inventory in a DOWN art market!

With the economy in the doldrums, galleries hurting and our country worried about a huge national debt and budget deficit, I suddenly have found my plain old white walled bedroom turned art studio is now my own gallery of sorts.  When clients or interested parties used to ask to see my studio, I had to somewhat embarrassingly say that “there is nothing to see. It’s just a bedroom turned studio.  All my paintings are sold.”  I had high aspirations of finishing off our attic, with a vaulted ceiling, ceiling fans, skylights and a nice antique wooden easel to work on.  Maybe ship models on stands, photographs framed of far away places and favorite paintings on the walls. 

There are many parallels to draw with me as a small business owner to big business and the economy.  We’re lean and mean, not hiring, building up inventory and waiting to pull out of a bad recession.  My walls are covered with paintings ready to go when those high end galleries start calling and there is a run on “Beebes”!  In the meantime, I will look on the bright side and tell myself that I now have a studio where I can show my work to those people whom are interested.  I can look around and enjoy the places that I found worthy of painting.  My work environment has come to life, turning a negative into a positive. 

I count my blessings everyday that I can work at home; keep up with the news and watch the golf channel on my big screen 13”TV; monitor the market in my mini-Command Center on my laptop; and look out the window and watch the golfers go by. 

On the other hand, all things considered, a sterile white walled studio sounds pretty good right about now!