Creative ART Coaching - How did we get here?

Elaine Weiner-Reed and I met nearly 20 years ago in an art workshop sponsored by the Laurel Art Guild and taught by Joe Mayer. He was a very well known and accomplished artist in Maryland. I don't recall the exact title of his workshop, but in essence his workshop was about finding your artistic voice. He had images of a wide variety of famous artists posted on the wall. He had us decide which of these images spoke to us the most and told us to think about why. He, of course, gave a great deal of other input that day. We were to do a painting from our own reference material in a style consistent with the image we selected.

Elaine and I were sitting near each other and interacted a little during the day. By the end of class I remember Elaine looking at my painting and commenting that I should definitely pursue that direction in my art because she loved the result. 

It turns out that Elaine and I supported the same customer in our day jobs, but we didn't discuss that at that first meeting, nor did we have any interaction with each other in a business relationship.  Our only continuing connection was through the Baltimore Watercolor Society, since we were both members.  Even that connection was fairly superficial, but I knew I really enjoyed her company from the beginning. It wasn't until about 5 years ago that we reconnected and became friends. 

At that time I had retired to pursue my art full time and she was planning to do the same. We spoke one day at an exhibit reception and discovered our common backgrounds and paths forward. We started to meet with each other periodically and a great camaraderie began.

Our paths into art and our direction in our work are extremely different but we are equally driven by our new art career paths and give ourselves wholeheartedly into this adventure. 

Our endeavors overlap in our desire to share our art and expertise through our blogs. We've both participated in numerous National, International, and solo exhibitions. I spent the first four years in my full time art career refining my skills by painting five days per week, spending countless hours reading art marketing and business blogs, attending art business webinars, and participating in a two year Art Business Academy lead by Jason Horejs of RedDotBlog. Apparently the results of this hard work were noticed.

Over time organizations have reached out to me to give presentations on a variety of art business topics. I recognized that the time spent preparing to do a better job on the business-side of an art career positioned me to help other artists.  I designed a few two-hour presentations and full day course, which has morphed itself into a course with three, half-day sessions. 

Elaine has been called a critical thinker, problem-solver, and "idea person." One of her strengths lies in helping others discern and fine-tune their unique voice, personal style, and creative vision. Elaine is a contributing author for the creative living-focused blog Live An Artful Life, her art-related blog posts include a three-part piece From Artist to Art to Art Shows, Building Bridges with Art, and Risking Everything For A Great Painting. She has participated in over thirty five International and National exhibitions.

Elaine and I have grown to understand that bringing our vision and expertise together results in a partnership that is greater than the individual pieces. Our different perspectives on art and the horizons that can be achieved allow us to offer a unique experience. We are now offering Creative ART Coaching.

Creative ART Coaching with Elaine Weiner-Reed and April Rimpo is designed to be an  interactive session focused on helping serious artists looking to bring their art and their art business to a new level.

If you feel stuck in achieving your professional goals, whether it is increasing your exposure through shows and exhibitions, planning a solo exhibition, building a portfolio, finding a gallery, or understanding what people mean when they say they are looking for "a consistent body of work," our goal is to provide you with insights on how to get beyond your current hurdles.

Our first Creative ART Coaching session is scheduled for May 15, from 1 - 3:30PM Eastern Time. This session will be held at Slayton House, 10400 Cross Fox Lane, Columbia, MD 21044, in the Bill White Conference Room. Click here learn more about our coaching session.

More information about these coaching sessions will be announced through my email newsletter. Sign-up here. April segments her newsletter so you can select topics you'd like to hear about when you sign up. For the Creative ART Coaching session, select Interested in Creative Coaching.

Contact April or see more of her art on her website

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