Gratitude

if you're here, I welcome you my friend.  I'm writing this the evening of New Year's Day 2014 and my heart is full as I listen to the last of the Christmas carols.  The bittersweet sounds of minor chords, acoustic guitar, violin and George Winston on the piano have me feeling sentimental and a little teary eyed.

I've been immersed in this season of hope and joy for the past week.  It's funny because I've spent much of the time alone.  I'm fortunate because I've learned to enjoy the pleasure of my own company.  I've read; evaluated where I'm going and where I've been (I am so on target for 2014 I'm amazed!  Look out.)  I've treated myself to a few indulgences (seeing Walter Mitty and buying a juicer:) My little OCD heart is pleased because my pantry is stocked and tidy.  I'm not looking at the jewelry I've strewn in my dressing area.  I'm in the process of organizing it….I've practiced being gentle with myself. 

I've talked many times in this blog about the things I'm doing, the hopes I have, etc.  I don't need to repeat them in my Christmas letter.  It would be redundant. I have done some amazing things though!  I've successfully launched two amazing children into the world complete with debt-free college degrees!  Laura is traveling the world and Andy is crafting a new life on his own.  They are amazing and constantly inspire me.  They show me (often) how to live life full out.  When I falter I just look at them.   I've set up a new corporation and committed myself to creating my own art and to helping others do the same.  I'm committed to helping us all profit (literally) from it.  I've discovered a mature voice in my art that I'll enjoy developing in a new body of work.  It's no surprise that I'm finding that maturity in my art as I step into ownership of a mature woman's life.

I'm constantly amazed at the life that is unfolding in front of me.  It's as if I've finally learned the secret to the whole "thing."   Gratitude, love, acceptance.  Knowing that life always changes like the tides, the seasons, the light around us.  These are the bedrocks of a happy life.  I've learned that I can be happy.  I can let go of pain and fear. I'm meant to be joyful, at peace. It's my birthright.

I am stunned by the loyalty and love of you, my friends and family.  Because I am not always lovable.  I sometimes take you for granted.  I consider myself unimportant to you and thus diminish our relationships.  I'm flawed.  I'm human.  That makes me immeasurably beautiful.  It makes you the same.  I've circled back to my old friend, Gratitude.

It's funny, but I finally realize that I can't do everything.  I wasn't meant to.  But I can do one thing to perfection.  I can live my life to the very fullest.  I am myself.  I'll love the people I'm meant to love, walk the paths I choose with equanimity and just enjoy the journey.  I'm making the world a better place by being here.

Each of you is embedded in my DNA. I guess that's the point. I love each and every one of you.  I hear your voices, see your eyes, feel your Spirits lift when I soar and feel your arms slip around me when I stumble. I am so grateful to share this journey with you.  Blessings to you in this New Year.  All my love, Mary-Gail 

Making Magic and Listening to My Heart

Make Room for Magic  

Listen to My Heart

Become More Elegant and Efficient with My Actions

Keeping it real. I spent a lot of time at home writing and 

setting up the infrastructure of Mary-Gail King, Inc. and 

found I wasn't painting enough.  This is the space between 

my bedroom and kitchen.  I was able to sneak in still lifes

on a regular basis!

It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of you are also planning the year ahead.  I feel fortunate to be surrounded by passionate entrepreneurs and artists whose greatest joy is to share their talents with others. Let 's see what else we have in common;)  Over the next few weeks I'd like to share how I approach manifesting in my business and my life.  It's very specific and so powerful that I hesitate to state my goals because naming them literally makes them happen when I use this approach.  It always blows my mind.  

Here goes! 

Set my intentions
Evaluate where I've been
Remind myself of my purpose/ my why 
Sneak Preview of Tactics

Step One Set Intentions:

• nurture even more loving, uplifting relationships
• paint 
• dig deeper to grow in body, mind and spirit; 
• take an extremely service centered approach to sharing my art and my business knowledge to very specific people and groups of people.

Step 2:  Evaluate

This past year I developed a larger vision for my career.  It's been a bit less exciting than things I've done in the past, but I've learned and quickly applied what I learned.  I dug deep to envision the direction I want to take in the next 10-15 years.  

An office like this makes it all worthwhile.

As a sole proprietor,  I was painting 30 hours per week and teaching 6-10.  Since I logged my hours I also found myself doing the marketing, gallery sitting, press releases, openings, etc. during my "off" hours.  That kind of workload probably sounds familiar to most of you. I'm grateful that much of it doesn't feel like work.  The only problem is that if I'm not working, I'm not earning.  I also had a hard time investing in my retirement.  It's literally time to make a run for it!  What to do, what to do?  The magic word is LEVERAGE.  Leverage everything.

Step 3: Overall Purpose, where does my greatest strength lie?  

Getting my head around the fact that what I do is what other people do while on vacation or when they retire….someday has been important.  That still blows my mind.  

Step 4:  Sneak Preview of Tactics:

I'll keep most of these details behind the scenes for the moment, but rest assured I've identified and developed a system that is powerful and works.  It will allow me to move into the year and make some magic both for me and for those I am able to touch through my teaching and artistry.

This makes me happy and I hope it makes the new collector

who purchased it happy as well.  It's a joy to find new levels

of skill and poetry that others want to live with.  It allows

me to make room for more.  Thank you!!!

For a sneak preview of the nuts and bolts I've systemized to help me & you make money selling your art go to:  Monetize Your Art.

You can also look at my website for  classes and workshops. Mary-Gail King, Fine Art

The schedule is up to date through through February 8!  There are lots of FREE events for artists and non-artists who want to try something new,  basic/ intermediate painting classes, and unique workshops and networking events to power your business ahead.  If your resolution is to change the course of your art career and tap into your creative potential, come join me!

Ring in the New

Ring in the New

The difficult is done at once. The impossible takes a little longer.

New Year's resolutions have a pretty bad reputation.  Personally I'm setting myself up for success and setting goals I can achieve, so I'm keeping George Santayana's quote handy.

I thought I'd spend a couple of minutes looking back at some past achievements before I move forward.  It's easy for me to ignore where I've been because I'm focused so much on where I'm going.  Of course the biggest challenge of all is to just enjoy the journey.  Here goes.

I look like a French Musketeer!
It's a bit of a caricature, but this is me in my zone.  Aka heaven

I've been involved in juried art shows in one form or another for the past twelve years.  The first one I got into I was voted in as a People's Choice from an adult ed class sponsored by the Conejo Valley Art Association.  That was well over ten years ago.  The second show I got into I received first place in the amateur division of the Ventura County Fair.  Laura and I enjoyed ice cream cones with my winnings.  The thing is that I hit the ceiling in the amateur arena right away.  It's not that it was too easy; it was just evident I needed to set my sights higher.  I also did well when I turned pro.  I was slowly juried into regional groups and even achieved signature status in the California Gold Coast Watercolor Society.  These have been important to me as I've built a reputation and credentials.  However, it's just as important to continue to stretch and grow.  I'm getting involved in some national groups and continue to refine my painting skills and create more beautiful art.

Here I am in all my bold, feminine glory.

One of the most amusing compliments I've received was from a fellow artist whose work I admire.  He meant it in a very positive way and I'm still proud of the sentiment behind it.  He said I paint like a man.    I think he was referring to the bold approach I have.  My work has a feminine perspective but I do cherish the fact that I'm daring with it.  Actually most, if not all, of the women I know are bold.  Like does attract like.

Moving forward here are the dreaded resolutions:

1.)  I'll do larger scale non-representational work in the studio using the plein air work as a jumping off point.

2.)  I'll continue to paint outdoors to keep my inspiration going.  

3.)  I'll be doing more workshops and special events. 

4.)  I'm getting trained in public speaking and brand development and will be traveling with that. 

5.)  I'll be strengthening my business with better client communication and a consistent promotion strategy.  Streamlining social media use will be important. I'll have to separate the personal and professional a bit.  The blurriness won't be good for me as the business grows.

6.)  I'll also figure out how to spend more time doing what I'm good at and getting help with what I'm not so good at.

Some of these just build on what I'm already doing.  The new things will be more challenging. 

I'm headed to Joshua Tree for a camp called Enlightened Warrior with Peak Potentials at the end of the month.  It's all about creating success in spite of any obstacles.  It's off the grid and outdoors so I'll be tired, challenged and, yes, in heaven.  Between the goal setting I'm working on right now and the jump start Warrior will give me I plan on achieving amazing things this year!  I hope you'll come along for the ride.

Here Is My Heaven

Here in California to paint in plein aire is such a way of life among artists that it almost becomes mundane and ordinary.  Each artist’s statement sounds the same.  We are all motivated by the earth’s beauty and our love of connection.  But here’s the rub.  This ordinary is as extraordinary as the birth of a new baby or the explosion of a distant star.  I paint as part of a community.  We chase the light and live for the feel of rocks under our feet and a mist of salt covering our bodies.  We live for the slick feel of paint as it caresses a rough canvas.

Me in my heaven

I paint as a meditation.  Setting up the altar of my easel in preparation for my ritual, I gently wrap myself in my paint spattered apron. My mantra is the windchime sound of my paintbrushes as they jumble between my fingers and the hollow clink of metal as I open my turpenoid can.  With a tap and a swish I enter the present moment. 

A series of moments are captured with each movement of my brush.  I connect with everything.  Within the intimacy of a relationship with a rock or the ocean I enter into the rhythm of the earth.  I sense the breathing of the earth in the ocean’s heaving tides.  My breath and movements mirror the crashing waves. 

I blend my colors as I begin my dance with the paint.  When the palette disappears into the world around it my eye knows it’s time to begin.

I close my eyes and listen....I lick my lips and taste the salt.  The scent of ozone fills my nostrils.  When I leave this place pieces of it leave with me.  What you see here are the remains of the day...

Each of these pieces carries bits of the heaving deck of the boat or the crunch of my aging knees as I carry my gear up and down mountains to enter my heaven.  

Most of my time is spent away from these places but the moments I live there last forever.  

That’s why I do this.

Fall Football Flashback

During grade school and high school I lived in one of the outlying neighborhoods of St. Paul, MN.   The oldest of four in a good Irish family of rough and tumble kids, I was an avowed tomboy.  I loved running, jumping and goofing off with friends.  It was in the days when we could safely play anywhere as long as we were home before dark.

Every year the neighborhood kids would take over the streets playing touch football.  I learned to pass with fingers on the laces keeping my eye on my target as I dodged all of the guys rushing to knock the ball out of my hands. We were actually chasing each other attempting to get our hands on each other's pockets.  For the uninitiated it's called two-handed touch football. That may explain why we played the co-ed version.  We also spent many Sundays watching the Vikings almost dominate pro football.  

We moved to Alabama in 1976 where my brothers both played high school ball in Dothan, AL.  They were a year apart and shared the same position.  I think they were halfbacks; one would sub for the other.  It could get a little competitive around the house in August. We also went through a lot of cereal. My sister was in flag corps in Birmingham. Just west of there in Tuscaloosa, Bear Bryant was considered a god.  (See University of Alabama football in the 70's.)  When Bear passed away I was at the University of South Alabama where many of the big football fans on campus actually wore black armbands the day he died.

The trigger that brought these memories flooding back today came at my yoga studio.  In laughter yoga we played "Guerrilla Football."  It's basically a non-competitive version of indoor football where we ran around randomly tossing a stuffed monkey back and forth.  When I started to look for strategic openings where I could either run or pass I realized I had automatically switched into offensive mode!  Talk about a conditioned reflex.  This was a yoga studio.  Pretty funny.

When I got to high school one of my dreams was to be a cheerleader.
After much practice and coaching from my best friend Barb Seery, I managed
to get the jumping, clapping, and shouting thing down.

That class was topped off in power yoga with the hanumanasana pose.  For anyone unfamiliar with Sanskrit, the photo here shows me in the pose at about 15.  We called it the splits and I could come from a running jump into that pose.  HELLO hamstrings:)  I don't do that any more.

Neither of my children played football but Andy was in the band and our family spent lots of time cheering on the home team.  The little SoCal town I live in now has a classic cross-town rivalry and I'm happy to say that eight years as a Rio Mesa Spartan mom gave me a California alma mater that I still love to this day.  I cried the first time I drove by the local stadium where Camarillo and Rio Mesa played the first game of my post-high school years as a mom.  Funny how life and memories can hit.

The window to my apartment faces a large playing field not unlike the one behind my old Minnesota house and I can hear a group of guys playing Saturday ball.  The sound of running feet and occasional cheers adds another layer of memories.  I love it.

Art Journaling Workshop in Phoenix, AZ

Art Journaling Workshop, Create a Portable Vision Board 

Immerse yourself in a day filled with art and self-expression with California artist Mary-Gail King.

Saturday, November 16, 2013 from 9-3

Phoenix/ Gilbert area

Tuition is $197 payable on PayPal.  Receive a 25% discount and bonus mini portable paint kit when you register by November 9.

Lunch and some materials are provided.  Mary-Gail will send a list of what you need to bring to   personalize your journal as soon as you register.      

Additional location in Camarillo, CA on November 23!  Same discount as below if registered by November 15.


Imagine a place where only you can go. A place where you can dream great big, amazing dreams.  Journaling is a powerful way to center yourself on a day to day basis and it will give you a place to create a working vision board.  Experts like Dr. James Pennebaker of the University of Texas have found significant health benefits from journaling in their research.  It’s commonly accepted that simply writing down what you eat helps you lose weight.  Art journaling taps into a deep place in our psyche that helps us lead more joyful, productive lives.

Learn the power of non-verbal, visual language and how it can reveal your innermost desires.  Begin to create a new reality in your own private book.  It’s a great way to begin the holiday season.  The combination of a day away and the inspiration of new techniques to use in your journaling is a special gift just for you!

Directions on how to make this mini painting kit from an Altoid
tin will be in my next blog post. It's free with your registration for
the Phoenix workshop by November 9!

Mary-Gail will help you use mixed media techniques such as collage, watercolor, stamping and other processes she uses in her own work with step by step instructions.  

An award winning California artist, Mary-Gail King has been painting, sketching and journaling most of her life.  She has actually journaled regularly for forty years!  “My dreams, desires and the mundane things I have done over a lifetime have changed and morphed.  It’s been revealing to peek back into my fifteen or thirty-two or forty-six year old mind.  I’ve even started talking to my future self. I’m able to virtually slip back and forth across time and have learned what my life can become using this process.  I’m excited to share it with you.”  

Thanks to Solutions Real Estate 

of Phoenix for sponsoring this 

fantastic lifestyle workshop!

Tiny Steps & Big Results! The Power of Passion and Personal Connection

Have you ever wanted to make your passion your full-time lifestyle?  I've actually lived that way for most of my career having started my first business when I turned thirty. In the process of starting and running three businesses I've learned a couple of things.  Passion for your day to day work and intimate connection with your clients, customers or collectors are what drive a business. Any time you can nurture that connection with phone calls, email, newsletters or any other form of communication the more tuned in you'll be to their needs.

This year I've been hyper-focused on learning the cutting edge marketing strategies I've adapted to the field of fine art.  I've identified an incredibly simple system that can be used to create and grow any business. Here's the video introducing the system: 

I've written a book that is great to use as a reference for your own strategic marketing plan.  A preview of the book is available here: Monetize Your Art.  The final book will be released on Amazon.  In the meantime I want to be sure you can take advantage of the system to maximize your holiday sales.  It's the season for art shows and craft fairs and you can fine tune what you're doing by watching the free video series.

Subscribe to the six part series FLOW, Six Powerful Strategies to Monetize Your Art by downloading your copy of the book.  You'll receive the video series each week and be able to grow and improve your business as you implement each step in the system.

I'll be rolling out my life system Artist in a Box over the next few months but this is time sensitive.  It's prime selling season for the fine artist and crafter and this will help. 

Here's the Video "How To" as Promised!

Video is a growing, proven way of reaching people. It's not my art but I can certainly use it to reach potential collectors in a big way.

This is almost too simple. The hardest thing to do is get up the guts to do it.  Google how to set up a Youtube station or, as I did, get a kid to do it for you. (Mine happened to be 26 but he's still my kid;) 

Welcome to my video studio!  My son just informed me
that I can improve the quality of the next video by using
the iPhone camera on the other side.   

The setup here includes a french easel, two white umbrellas designed for outdoor painting to difuse the light and two standing lamps with incandescent bulbs.  There is natural light coming from both sides of the room where I'm sitting. My main goal was to avoid weird shadows on my face.  Next video I want to work on getting a little more polish...Makeup and hair can be refined.  I also need to figure out where to look so that I'm looking directly into the camera. Any tips on that are welcome. 

Three big tips for filming. 

1. Keep your energy up during your video. SMILE! Be sure that it reaches your eyes. I've seen one too many how to videos that would cure my current insomnia but a genuine smile will engage you and your viewer.  If you get bored or lost I can promise you that your viewer is long gone. 

2.  It's not about me! The video I'm filming is for you. I think of it as a tangible gift that I hope will help you achieve your dreams. That shows. My guess is that you can feel that. When you do your own videos, for example to invite your collectors to a show, keep that in mind. 

3.  Remember your motivation. It will keep you focused. I don't want to learn editing right now so I had to do this in one take. Anything longer than two minutes should probably be less linear. That will add interest. 

Please leave questions, comments and tips. You'll help anyone who reads this that way. Thanks and talk to you soon!  Mary-Gail