My name is now Kate Wand and my business name is Wand Illustrations. I was previously known as Kate Sharp and many of my social media and website names were @kate.r.sharp. It's a welcome change, I mean who doesn't want a magical name like Wand?!
That's not the only thing that's changed for me in the past few years, I've made a lot more work, grown in confidence and cut all of my hair off.
I haven't posted anything on this blog since January 2021. It's now April 2023... 'Consistency is key' clearly didn't stick with me.
My last blog post in 2021 was titled 'Finding your style and holding on to it.' It was a look back on my time during university and how I struggled a lot with finding my creative voice. Now that I'm well into my twenties I don't think I put as much emphasis on style or consistency. I make art that I like and then I find that the rest follows naturally. You can grow your engagement with your audience in an authentic way. Your 'fans' start to learn a bit more about the person behind the art.
You are not just a collection of perfectly curated images. I believe that a lot of people starting out in the art world want to be anonymous and let the art speak for itself. Maybe that would have worked 10-15 years ago but in this world we have such an over exposure to art online. If you don't bring a bit of personality, your wonderful work will end up drowning under artists with more followers and likes than you. This doesn't do wonders for your self esteem.
I try to make a habit of posting 50/50 art and personal content on my social media platforms. I find that some people come for the art but others come for my pet rats or my obsession with goats. It's nice to have a mix.
Side note: I definitely should be more consistent in putting myself and my work out into the world because that's the only way these things will grow.
Another aspect of my life that's changed is the need to be a full time freelance Illustrator. Leaving university, it felt like I had two options; get a job as a Graphic Designer or become a full time freelance Illustrator. Both of these options would be amazing but unfortunately life doesn't always work the way you want it to. Financial restraints meant that freelancing straight away wasn't viable and graphic design jobs were few and far between. I got a job in a non creative field and beat myself up over it. I felt that I was wasting all of the years that I had spent studying and making art. I equated my illustration career success on followers and how many Etsy sales I had. I felt like a failure. When in reality, I had several companies commissioning me to do work for them and I was dipping my toe into the world of editorial illustration with monthly features in a Nottingham based magazine. I put so much pressure on myself to make my business a full time job that I burned myself out and I struggled to create anything.
In the past few years I've learned that, as long as I'm comfortable in life, I'm successful. (By comfortable I mean financially stable and mentally healthy.) I don't earn enough from my business to make it a full time career but I am still an Illustrator. It will always be my dream to be able to support myself on my freelance income but if that day never comes I will not have failed. If you are reading this and thinking of giving up on your creative practice, please don't.
In two years I've made a lot of work and have some amazing opportunities. I've also added a bucket load of confidence and self belief. I can't wait to see how I evolve over the next two.
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