Painting my soul

It's late at night and this is my first blog post for Soar Purpose® NZ. I have another blog at Soar Purpose® which has only been added to sporadically. I've had previous blogs before that. I wasn't sure if I would start another one.

But here I am.

I've recently taken the plunge of turning a longterm hobby into a small business. When I do something, I give it my all. It's quite scary to take the risk but I felt like it was time to give it a go.

Unless I miraculously sell a lot of prints in the next few weeks, I will be making a loss with starting the business near the end of the New Zealand financial year. I can get a tax rebate though against my other income.

I dislike the business side of things, but I have started a spreadsheet cashbook. For those who don't know what a cashbook is, it's a document tracking income and expenditure and it's required by our tax department as part of record-keeping for a sole trader. I've opted for sole trader rather than company as company is a bit of an overkill and much more expensive with financial reporting etc.

Fantail Rose by Xanthe Wyse

It's been months, even years in the making. Resisting the idea when people from overseas would ask if I would sell my art. Well, I have sold some art (made no profit), previously. I figured I would burn out if I tried to make it into a career.

Although, I had been thinking about the possibility. Around a year ago, I applied to trademark Soar Purpose®. From the little R in circle, I guess you can see it was approved. It's inexpensive to trademark in New Zealand and I figured it was a good idea, even if I didn't take it to the step from passionate hobby to business.

I'd been spending the past few years writing a book which I haven't bothered much to try to market. Just days after I published it, my Dad died. Just over six months ago. It's still raw.

I painted Fantail Rose in memory of my Dad. My Dad was a sole trader (carpentry) for decades.

I've been a sole trader a few times (music teaching, pet care). I burnt out each time. Some of my fear was that I would burn out trying to take another interest and turn it into a business. I don't want to go into all the details in this blog but I have disabilities which impact on every day of my life.

I currently work part-time as a merchandiser even though I have a university degree in science that I can no longer use.

I've spent the past few weeks building this website, with many changes. I stayed with a web builder I am familiar with (except for the e-commerce part). E-commerce websites are shockingly expensive, so please excuse that things are pretty basic for now. It was kind of the least expensive from the options plus less stress to build a website with a builder I've used for over a decade.

I decided to cluster the items in the store according to three main sizes - small, medium and large. All larger than standard photo sizes.

I've been having test prints done with a boutique fine art printer. A little bit fancy but I want as high quality as I can get yet still offer a reasonable price. I believe art can be accessible for everyone, not just the wealthy. I've chosen archival rated prints which print a lot more detail than the previews on this website show.

I've decided on one paper out of the range, to keep things simple. I've been figuring out which sizes to offer from just three paintings to start with.

I want my niche to be inspired by nature in New Zealand. I also backed up several hundred potential reference photos. I have a new collection of photos, as I invested in a better camera (to take better reference pics plus better photos of my art).

Recently, I did a free two hour online introduction to business seminar with the tax department in New Zealand. Refreshing what I already knew. So, I've been pretty busy.

I sold my first fine art print today.

I chose the title of this blog post because someone a while back said, 'You paint your soul.' I wrote the story into a memoir which is buried under a heap of others, hardly seeing the light of day. Although someone from Germany recently informed me they bought my books. Found via my vlog which I am too burnt out to do anymore.

Writing is very much on the backburner now. Soar Purpose is actually the title of a novel, inspired by my experiences. Which will probably take me years to complete.

I find visual arts to come more naturally to me than writing. I have memories painting at the easel at kindergarten. I've ebbed and flowed with when I have painted.

I'm now into my fifth decade. Dad is no longer here but his values and wisdom remain. I feel motivated to give it a go. To try take my art to the next level, from the messy, raw, unrefined, process art (which was still apparently interesting enough for two solo exhibitions) to fine art.

I am grateful to artists and other fellow creatives in the community who encouraged me and mentored me with my art journey. When I was completely broken, I didn't feel good enough. That's why I did the exhibitions - to challenge those beliefs.

Time to Shine by Xanthe Wyse

One of the most commented on paintings at my last solo exhibition was one of the most simple. 'Time to Shine' (named by others). Just two colours plus white (I tend to be colour overload when I paint). It took a long time to start to sign my name.

I've experimented, I've learned to pushed the boundaries, I've learned restraint.

Now, is my time to shine.

Soar Purpose® has a broad scope of my creative efforts. I decided to build a New Zealand focussed website to focus on my art. 

I don't currently have many paintings. Some paintings were sold, many were given away, some were destroyed. Some were repurposed from the destroyed pieces. I even sold a sculpture at a community exhibition made from what others would consider to be junk.

Art is the best therapy ever. As long as one is free to create and experiment and not subject to harsh criticism. Anyway, this was a much longer blog post than I expected. I shed a few tears about my Dad.

Fantail Rose is available as fine art prints in two sizes, with and without a border. Check out my online store and also the FAQ. Social media links for Soar Purpose are in the footer of this website. Thank you for reading.

​Xanthe Wyse

'Fantail Rose' Fine Art Print

NZ$35.00 - NZ$55.00

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