Ghosted
A story of "you never know" what's gunna hit
I’ve been painting ghosts, and they are really cute.
They’re by far the simplest thing that I paint.
They’re my best seller.
I also paint cakes, and landscapes and large scale abstracts and botanicals. I try to keep it fresh in my studio, and one of the ways that I do that is I try new things all the time.
Some of the art that I make that takes months.
Sometimes I’ll have a canvas up that I’ll add two brushstrokes to at a time to until I’ve figured it out, and sometimes I’ll paint something, only to paint over it immediately and then the underpainting adds some depth and intrigue to what I am painting on top of it.
These paintings are more intricate, they have meaning and they are expensive.
They typically take a longer time to sell, and require a specific audience, and I am great with that.
I will not stop making these paintings because they feed a particular need for me. They allow me to create the kind of mess that I need to make to fuel my creative process.
The ghosts on the other hand, are straightforward, colorful, adorable and they sell like hotcakes. They are pop art - a semi rip on Pac Man Ghosts - and I could make two million of them a day because they are replicable and delightful. No thinking involved.
I almost didn’t put them out at market because they were a pretty big departure from the kind of work people know me for and ultimately the kind of work I want to be known for.
I thought they were cute, but I didn’t know if other people would think so too.
Ultimately I did put them out at market because I was participating in this great show called the “affordable art fair”, and I looked around and I didn’t have any art that was “affordable”, and so, the ghosts took center stage.
I sold ghosts in all shapes, sizes and color. There are hot pink ghosts with lime green backgrounds and blue ghosts on bubble gum pink backgrounds. In every iteration, people fell in love with the ghosts. They fell in love with their sweetness and they fell in love with their price.
I love these ghosts.
And still, I’m in disbelief that they are the thing.
So, as I think about plans, and making sure that I’m doing the “right” things to advance my career, I realize there is an element of chance, experimentation and cluelessness that simply must be present at all times to have a hit.
I love these ghosts for what they are, and in seeing their success at market, there is a lesson in there for me to stop trying so hard.
There’s a beauty in the ghosts’ simplicity that I was only able to access when I didn’t try to control things too closely.
So now to you:
Where has a release of control shown up in your life?
Where have you had the experience that when you took the easier route, it was wildly successful for you?
What’s something simple that you do that is hidden underneath something way more complicated?
Where could you test something at market and see where it goes?
I’d love to hear from you and learn where you are simplifying in service of your success. Schedule a 30 minute discovery call with my here to tell me all about it.
In the meantime, BOO!
xo
Kim
Cakes, Ice Cream and Ghosts
If you are in the market for some art, check out my latest install at Milk, Honey, Soul - this awesome salon has graciously offered me their walls for the last few years and I am in love with the way the latest show looks up on the walls.
I have ghosts, cakes and ice cream cones for sale there, as well as a large anchor piece that is a dreamscape which I’ve inserted below.
If you’re interested in any of the artwork in this newsletter or seeing what else I have available, feel free to reach out to me here and schedule a 30 minute virtual studio tour.
Simplify. I like that. I’m definitely going to mull those questions around. Thank you!
👻!