Back in The Saddle Again
From Art to Business
The mural competition has been over for almost two weeks now.
The other day I sat down to sketch a new artwork on a 16 × 20 sheet of paper, and I couldn't help but laugh. After spending all of June painting on a 3½ × 7½-foot mural panel, the paper felt absolutely tiny.
With the mural behind me, another challenge has stepped into the spotlight—the reality of starting a small company.
Trademark filings. Copyright registrations. Business licenses. Sales tax. Product decisions. Packaging. Shipping supplies. Wholesale pricing. Website details. Banking. Insurance.
Sometimes you discover there are questions you should have been asking all along... questions you didn't even know existed.
I've ordered the wrong size packaging supplies. I've invested money into ideas that needed refining. I've spent hours researching topics I never imagined would become part of being an artist.
And yet...
It all reminds me of standing in front of that enormous 3½ × 7½-foot mural panel just six weeks ago.
I remember looking at that blank surface, realizing I had a very large painting to complete in a very short amount of time. It felt overwhelming.
Years ago, I learned a little technique to calm myself whenever life starts feeling bigger than I am.
I ask myself a simple riddle:
How do you eat a whale?
One bite at a time.
The answer never changes.
Whether it's painting a mural, building an art business, learning the legal side of entrepreneurship, or chasing a dream that feels much larger than yourself, the path forward is always the same.
One brushstroke.
One form.
One phone call.
One lesson.
One day at a time.
Little by little, the impossible becomes finished.
So, I'm back in the saddle again.
Here's to the next bite.
— Kit S.
