One piece of advice I have heard often was “don’t spread yourself out too thin.” Spreading yourself out thin means taking on more opportunities and commitments than you can handle. It can result in overwhelm, exhaustion and burn out. I have been there myself.
About a year ago I was participating in 4-6 art shows and craft fairs a month for a whole year. Besides making products and trying to create nice looking displays, I was trying to stay on top of my marketing, online promotions and producing new art. I was also a member of an art group, attending self-development seminars and consigning with a few different boutiques in LA. It got pretty exhausting to say the least and eventually I get burned out, resulting in me taking a break and having a hard time motivating myself to get back into the game.
I think one main problem was being too afraid to miss an opportunity. I said yes to everything that came along. I have no regrets because I have learned something from this experience. The most important lesson I learned was when to say No.
Sometimes even though an opportunity seems good, you have to ask yourself if it’s going to benefit your business in the long run. Is it worth your time and energy? Shouldn’t you focus on only a few key areas that will help you the most?
However, if you are trying to get your name out there as an artist, you also want to spread yourself out as much as possible, right? Because the more places you are, the better.
I believe there is a balance between specializing and spreading out. You have to find that sweet spot between trying to be everywhere without trying to do every thing.
I’m still learning but I’m definitely getting better at it.

The post Getting Your Art Out There Without Losing Your Mind: Finding that Sweet Spot appeared first on Diana Levin Art.

Here is some more art inspired by the Wizard of Oz Wicked Witch. She is a Gothic Steampunk Witch wearing a curly hat and brown dress with a skull belt. At first this was just a simple sketch. I was working on note cards to sell at my Etsy store. But as I continue working on it, it turned into a full painting. I definitely got a lot of enjoyment out of painting her.

I have her available as a print for sale in my Etsy store. Gothic Steampunk Witch is printed on archival heavyweight 8.5″ x 11″ paper with a 1″ white boarder around the image for easy matting. Comes unframed and unmatted. Colors are bright and beautiful. Netter than on screen. Signed by me!

The post Gothic Steampunk Witch: Inspired by Wizard of Oz appeared first on Diana Levin Art.

Check out this wonderful collection from the talent of my FAEteam on Etsy. These are truly remarkable gifts and I wanted to share them with the world. I even have one of my own pieces in there, “Little Mermaid Steampunk Pendant”

Trinkets & Toadstools, Chapter 2′ by FAEteam

Flutter to FAEteam blog for the team’s entire springtime exhibition.

Steamy Love Charm Necklace

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

The post Beautiful Fae Gifts on Etsy appeared first on Diana Levin Art.

This Alice in Wonderland Print set includes 5 of your favorite characters: The Cheshire Cat, Dark Alice in Wonderland, Queen of Hearts, Zombie Mad Hatter and the Vampire White Rabbit. Each print is 4″ x 6″ and by me. Each print separately costs $5. If you get 5, one is free. What a deal!!! I always sell out of these at shows. Each print is printed on high quality glossy Epson photo paper. Beautiful bright colors. Looks even better in person. You can frame them and hang them up as a cluster on your wall.

The post Alice in Wonderland Art Prints: 5 mini prints in a set appeared first on Diana Levin Art.

If you are planning on being a vendor at an art fair or convention, here are some ideas to consider for a more worthwhile experience. Especially when sales are slow and your expectations have dropped to just wanting to break even,  consider that time is not wasted if you are actively engaged in marketing your brand. Considering the amount of time and money you spend preparing for the event, making products, buying supplies, displays and promo materials, setting up and tearing down, it is important to get the most out of your time. You are not always going to hit your sales goals. But you can always make contacts, build relationships and gain more subscribers to your mailing list.

Engage in Conversation.  When people come to your booth, say “hello, how are you doing” and try to engage in a conversation. People will be more likely to buy something from you if you are friendly and can chat them up. You can ask people questions about themselves, where they are from or what they like. You never know who you will meet or what you might learn and often times more talk will lead you to figure out what that person likes and you will have a better idea of what you can offer them for sale. I have made more sales this way.

Personally hand them your business card/promo card. If they seem interested in your work, hand them a business card. I have found people are more responsive when you personally hand them something rather than them having to pick it up themselves. When you hand it to them, mention a deal you are having in your booth or online store.

Get people to sign up for your mailing list. You should always ask people to sign up for your mailing list when they buy something from you. Even if someone doesn’t buy anything but shows a genuine interest in your work, let them know you have a mailing list sign-up and explain to them the benefits of being on your mailing list. Ex “You will get updates on my latest work” or “I frequently host giveaways and you have a chance to win free art”. The more people on your mailing list, the more people you can promote to on a regular basis.

Network with other vendors. I’m surprised more vendors don’t do this. Make sure to bring someone with you to the event so that you have a chance to leave your booth every once in while. Most likely, during the curse of the day, there will be down time–a time when sales are slow to non-existent. During that time is the perfect opportunity to leave your booth and socialize with other vendors. You never know who you will meet or what you will learn. I’ve made great friends and learned of new opportunities this way. Some of those vendors can also end up being your best customers and fans.

Connect with people after the event. If you followed my advice above, you probably met quite a few new creative people and taken their business cards. When you get home, follow them on twitter, friend them on Facebook or like their Facebook pages. If I especially made a connection with someone, I will send them a quick email letting them know how nice it was to meet them and give them link to my social networks so they can connect with me. Building relationships is key and will eventually lead to more opportunities and sales.

There is more to do at a convention or art show besides making sales. If you consider sales to be the only important and valid payoff to get out of a show, you will be missing out on the greatest opportunity for building a fan base and creating lasting benefits for your business. Your time is important so make it count.

The post 5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Art Vending Experience appeared first on Diana Levin Art.

I want to make new style pendants. I would like to know which style I should go with. Which would you buy? Please help me by choosing from these 3 images: Leave a comment with your vote!

1. Steampunk Mad Hatter

2. Steampunk Mad Hatter Rectangle

3. Mad Hatter Simple

1. Steampunk Mad Hatter

2. Steampunk Mad Hatter Rectangle

3. Mad Hatter Simple

The post Pick your Favorite Pendant Style! appeared first on Diana Levin Art.

For the past couple of years selling fairy tale art at various conventions and art shows, I have heard many people ask about Wizard of Oz. After seeing how well my Alice in Wonderland Characters have been received, I have decided to create a new character series for Oz. As always I like to add my own twist on popular stories. For my first painting of the series, I have the Wicked Witch of the West in Steampunk style. Because I love Steampunk and fairy tales, the idea of combining the two was irresistible to me.

I have hand-painted all of the textured layers you see in this digital painting.

The post The Wicked Witch of the West: The beginning of Wizard of Oz Art Series appeared first on Diana Levin Art.

As a chance to connect with my fans, I am giving away One mini original painting this month:

Green Caterpillar Acrylic painting on 4″ x 6″ wooden panel. 1″ deep. $75 value + shipping.

Giveaway will last for the whole month of February.

(optional, but would be appreciated   sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter by filling out the form on right sidebar of the page.

Enter the Giveaway Now:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

In my previous article, I have made a list of all of my 2012 accomplishments.. I believe it is important to reflect on what my accomplishments were and than focus on what I would like to accomplish the year to come. Every year I get excited because I get to buy a fresh new planner/calendar and fill it up with all of my goals and creative possibilities.There are a few key points I try to keep in mind when planning out my business goals and actions.

1. I Make room for new plans by getting rid of those that are just not relevant anymore.

2. I try to set goals that are realistic but with a bit of a challenge.

3. I Write everything down. When I write things down, set actual specific dates and specific actions, I put it into existence, When it’s just in my head, it’s easy to forget or brush aside. When it’s written, it becomes more real.

4. I Tell people about my plans and what I would like to accomplish. The more its out there, the more real it becomes. And friends and family might surprise me by helping me out in ways I never imagined.

These are just some of the ideas that really help me to achieve my goals.

too often when thinking about our businesses, we tend to only focus on what hasn’t been achieved yet. At least for me it has always been about what still needs to be done or how far I still need to go before reaching my ultimate goals. Although it is valuable to assess where I am in relation to my goals, thinking this way sometimes leaves me feeling like I have somehow fallen short. So to end the year 2012, I have decided to put together a list of everything I accomplished in my business during 2012. And as I set there writing this list, I realized that I actually have come a long way.

I got into the Hive Gallery in Downtown LA as a resident artist

Had a successful Holiday sales season–quadrupled my sales from last year

Signed a licensing deal with a successful clothing and print company–Lowbrow Art Company

Started selling my jewelry at a new store: Co-op 28 Handmade in Hollywood

created lots of new art

expended my zazzle store product line and am making 1-2 sales a day: Now I offer iphone cases and skins, mugs, t-shirts, calendars, journals, totes and more..

Opened my own market stall at Crafted at the Port of LA–even though I closed it after 3 months, it was great experience overall and I got a sense of what it was like having my own permanent shop

Exhibited at a variety of art shows and conventions: Wondercon Anaheim, Designer Con, Batz Day Holiday Show, Pink Parlor Festival, Ink For a Cause, Knotts Berry Farm Christmas Village, HPLovecraft Festival, zombie Fashion Show in Downtown, a more…

Signed up over 300 new fans to my newsletter mailing list

Met lots of new people and built some great relationships

““““

What is your list? What have you accomplished in 2012?

Awesomeness is happening the world of Diana Levin Art.Here are a list of new stuff going on:

Designer Con 2012-  is an annual art and design convention that smashes together collectible toys and designer apparel with urban, underground and pop art. Saturday November, 3, 2012. @ Pasadena Convention Center , 300 East Green Street. Pasadena, CA 91101

Bats Day-in the fun park. A show for all you Gothic ghouls out there. Sunday, November, 4, 2012. @ DoubleTree Guest Suites Anaheim 2085 South Harbor Blvd Anaheim CA, 92802

Co-op 28 Handmade-My wearable art jewelry will be displayed there. Stop by the store and check out some cute handmade items. @ 1728 N. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, California 90027

Hive Gallery- I will have wall featuring my original art at this amazing gallery starting November. Woohoo…Can’t wait.

Fairy and Dragon fantasy art print is a beautiful illustration of a fairy girl holding a baby dragon. She is wearing a purple dress and has pretty purple wings. Is the dragon her pet or her loyal companion? Although the girl is cute, the thorny background suggests that the environment she is standing in is very dangerous.

The print is on 81/2″ x 11″ heavyweight archival matte photo paper with a white 1/2″-1″ border around the image for easy framing

World domination just got even cuter. Cute Cthulhu Necklace is made just for you–Cthulhu fan. You alone can harness the power of the Pendant and bring the world to its knees. This little creature is based off a H.P. Lovecraft story Call of Cthulhu. He is a green squid chibi and I call him Cutethulhu.
The glass cameo pendant is set in a 1″ x 1″ antique bronze heart shaped bezel.It comes with a Antique inspired bronze chain. The chain is 24″ in length but can easily be adjusted to any length.

Cute Gemini

After a short break in order to get everything organized, I would like to officially open my new store Little Fairytale Art at Etsy.  This store will be used to showcase a lighter side of my art, both in style and subjects.  Diana Levin Art at Etsy is still open, so no one worry, the dark versions of fairy tales shall continure.  The reason for opening the store is in order to diversify my portfolio more and expand my clientele base.

Siberian Husky

Little Fairytale Art will include my zodiac line, there are a few up right now and I will be expanding the line in the coming months.  I will be creating more animal art too, real ones such as the Husky and mythological ones such as Unicorns.  So as my artwork expands, shall so my business, and I thank everyone who supports me and allows me to follow my dreams of making art.

As many an artist know, creating art can be a bit of a draining process.  The mental strain, time constraints, being one’s own worst critic… all of these weigh upon me yet I still love to create and show my work.  Must mean I was born to be an artist, so create I must and create I do, so I am here to give you a bit of a preview of what is to come, both in art and blog posts.

First up I am teaming up with the talented Paoling Che of KOKOCANDLES to design artwork for a line of candles with a Zodiac theme.

Aries are the cutest of all, if I do say so myself.

Second up is a bit of new artwork I am in the process of creating for my Alice in Wonderland collection, the White Knight and his mighty steed.

Along those lines, I saw the trailer for the new Sam Raimi movie, “Oz: The Great and Powerful,” which got me thinking that I do need to do a collection for the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  Possibly with a steampunk flair, but as always with the dark but cute style that I so love.  But as many artist know, when using established work that is in public domain, one must check to make sure certain interpretations of said material are not copyright protected (hint: those damn ruby slippers).  But that is a post for a later date.

Lastly is a small poem, written by Shawn Givens, for one of my more popular drawings Zombie Girl.

There was a girl with a Glasglow smile,

who walked for what was many a mile.

A rose in hand to lay on the grave bed,

of her boyfriend who is quite undead.

Here are some rule of conduct for buyers shopping at Craft Fairs and Art Shows…

Sometimes vending at craft shows and art events can be very tough and stressful for the vendors. Shoppers don’t really get to see the time and energy it costs the artists to produce the products, prepare for the even, setting up a booth and spending the whole day hustling for sales. All shoppers see is the end result–a beautiful booth full of amazing handmade goods. It can be very discouraging for artists to have to deal with people who don’t seem to have much respect for what they do.  By following some simple rules, buyers can help make the handmade marketplace a better place for everyone.

1. Don’t think aloud.  If you have a negative thought about someone’s art, please keep it to yourself. Its very destructive to say it aloud. Even if you think its constructive criticism. Artists don’t want to be critiqued. They want to make sales.

2. Respect the Artist’s Time. If you are going to stand there at the booth and chat with an artist for a long time, than at least buy something, even if its a small $5 print. It’s only fair. You are taking up valuable time that they could be spending on talking to other customers and making sales.

3. Please don’t take pictures of art without permission. I don’t know how many times someone will take a photo with their phone and not even say hi. Its extremely rude. First, the artist works very hard and is there to sell their work. Buy taking a picture of their prints, you are basically taking their work for free. Not cool. If you like it so much, BUY IT! If you are taking a picture because you want to blog about the event or for some other reason, than at least ask permission and explain what the picture is for.

4. Watch the Little Ones. If you have small children with you, don’t let them run around, destroy stuff and put things in their mouths. Watch them closely and teach them to respect other peoples property. If they break something or alter it beyond repair, it is your responsibility to insure that the owner is fairy compensated for the damage.

5.  Don’t bargain. If you know you are going to a handmade craft show, expect the prices are going to be higher than what you are used to seeing at your local walmart. This is not a swap meet where you can bargain for the lowest price either.  People buy handmade for a variety of reasons: They want something completely original and unique. They love indie businesses and want to support them. They understand the value of art and handmade goods and are willing to pay for it. Handmade goods are expensive to make and are often times under priced anyway.

Are you wondering what to do this Summer in Southern California?  Something special that will surely inspire you and amaze you? Than check out these fun events. I know I will be there.

Crafted at the Port of LA

Starting 4th of July Weekend in San Pedro at the Port of LA, Crafted is kicking off the summer with a variety of handmade vendors, food trucks, music and more. This permanent marketplace is promising to be a huge hit. It will be open every weekend–Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Renegade Craft Fair

Another fantastic handmade fair full of amazing artisans. It will be taking place July 28+29 at the Los Angeles Historic Park.

Canoga Park Artwalk 

Brought to you by 11:11 A Creative Collective, this epic event is happening every 3d Thursday between May till September. The Canoga Park Artwalk is the best Art event ever to hit the San Fernando Valley.  Its full of talented artists, vendors, food trucks and bands. It’s a place where the community can come together in support of art in the valley.

Introducing new pendants: Punk Flower Glass Pendant is girly, edgy and fun. This necklace is the perfect gift for your friends and family. The yellow flower is part Mandala, part Lotus. There is a skull in the center. The skull can signify the end of something in your life, or it can signify a new beginning.
The “1 in diameter glass pendant is inside a vintage bronze bezel setting. It comes with a vintage Antique bronze chain. The chain is 24″ in length but can easily be adjusted to any length.
Silver bezel and chains also available.

GREETING CARD SET -Whimsical Tree in Wonderland, 4 Card Pack

Are you a Master at Giving Gifts?

Whimsical Tree in Wonderland is a beautiful painting of a tree with curly branches and frosty swirls in the background. There are 2 different images, one winter blue and the other Autumn Brown. Both tree images depict the two seasons –Winder and Fall.

4 Greeting Cards come in this set, 2 brown trees and 2 blue trees as shown in the photos.
Each card is 4″ x 5 3/34″ folded with a blank insert for your message. Each card comes with its own envelop. The blue tree comes with a stark white envelope while the brown tree’s envelope is a slightly warmer off-white tone to match the image.

These are perfect little gifts for the people in your life. Practice random acts of kindness by giving your friends beautiful tree image cards. Just write your personal message inside the card and match it with another gift or just by itself to show someone how much you care.

Want to match these cards with a cute pendant? Check out this pendant gift idea: https://www.etsy.com/listing/64704614/glass-pendant-whimsical-tree-necklace

All 4 cards will come in a stack, wrapped in a pretty ribbon and shipped in a sturdy unbendable envelope.

GLASS RING – Chocolate Cake on a Finger–Jewelry that Imitates Sweet Desserts

The ring band is plated silver and it’s attached firmly to the base of the glass pendant with resin, making it waterproof and sturdy. It is adjustable and can fit on any finger.
I have 2 different colors: Red and Yellow.

GLASS PENDANT – Alice In Wonderland Necklace, Fairy Tale Wearable Art Jewelry

Alice In Wonderland Necklace Fairy Tale pendant is a wonderful fantasy piece. Its perfect to give as a gift to someone or wear it yourself.

One of my favorite fairy tales is Alice in Wonderland. This cute little girl is wearing an Alice in Wonderland costume and is holding a bunny toy by the ear. I call her Miss Wonderland. The Glass Pendant Art is created from my Miss Wonderland digital painting.

This Glass Tile Pendant is 1 1/4″ tall by 7/8″ wide. A larger size is also available

It comes with an ultra Fine 1.2mm Silver Plated Snake Chain Necklace with Lobster Clasps. 16″ and 18″ chains are available.

Want to match it with a cute set of Alice in Wonderland greeting cards? Click Here

Are you you living up to your fullest self expression? Self Expression is not about being driven by fear, anger or trying to prove yourself. Rather it is about pursuing a dream that you are most passionate about and having the courage to live as who you truly are. It may not be the safest route nor the easiest but is definitely the most rewarding.

I truly believe that doing what I am passionate about is the most important thing in the world. It is what lights me up and gives me the drive to go forward. It is what gets me up in the morning.
And its not that I don’t have doubts or fears. Many times I experience self doubt and uncertainty about the future. At least a few times a day a thought pops into my head about how it would be so much simpler to just get a “real job”. It would certainly make life a lot easier.
But at the end of the day, I go to sleep with no regrets. My life is filled with the things I love.

I don’t think its my job to preach to anyone what they should do with their lives. If you choose to live a life where you put aside your dream for the sake of stability and safety, than that is your choice–and its valid choice. You might have very good reasons. Just make sure that you can live with that choice.

I am committed to full self expression for myself and for others. I am a space for human beings to find their creative voice. My journey has been interesting so far, filled with ups and downs–and yet I am still here more empowered than ever to continue to create. I know what my place is in the world and I am very grateful for that.

GLASS HEART RING – Evil Bunny Loves Anatomical Heart Pink Ring

The glass ring is 1 1/4″ tall by 1 1/4″ wide.

The ring band is silver and it’s attached firmly to the base of the glass pendant. It’s sturdy, waterproof, adjustable and can fit on small to medium sized fingers.