I’ve been reading a lot about how I’ll know that I have ‘made it’.  That moment in time where I can sit back and shout  ‘yessss!! – this is it’ and crack open the bubbly.  What does success look like?  What does it feel like? 

In all honesty I should reveal that I’ve never thought deeply about what success as an artist will mean for me.  I feel that since I bought my first canvas and agonised over which coloured tubes of paint I should buy to ‘get myself started’ the train has definitely left the station and I’m scrambling to stay aboard.   The journey so far has been a blur of painting, workshops and learning, setting up appointments with galleries, exhibition submission dates, buying lots of bubble wrap for transportation of paintings and washing brushes in the darkness of night after everyone is tucked up in bed. 

This fast moving train and it’s journey which is carrying me along at break neck speed has had to co-exist in a world where I also have a job and a family, so I grab snippets of time, quite literally, to allow my dream to continue to grow.  It’s not unheard of for me to race home from work, apply a glaze to a painting and then race back out the door after 10 minutes to pick up my kiddies from school.  Everything is done in a way that maximises every waking minute.  So is success having the drive and capability to pursue my dream whilst living a ‘normal existence’ at the same time?

Or was it when I held my first solo show?

Or was it when I printed business cards with the title ‘artist’ on them?

Or was it setting up my own website?

Or was it simply completing my first painting that felt ‘good enough’ to hang on a wall?

If I’m generous with my thoughts about my own achievements I can say that I have experienced many occurrences of success.  Some of it has been quite public and some very private.  I intend on writing myself a plan – not a business plan (which is what I have had building in my head for a couple of years)  but a plan to achieve success – it will be very personal and will capture the feelings and picture of what success will mean for me; Kylie Law, working mother who enjoys painting in the evenings, at her home in Wellington, NZ.

With my own plan for success in the pipeline I see lots more opportunity for champagne and toasts!

K