Do You Remember Your First Fabric Paintings?

The ones people raved about thinking this was surely the fabric painting design of the century. How kind of them to say so. Those words actually caused you to press on believing that there was some chance of you making your mark in the design field. 

My First Paintings on Fabric & My Bags Were Hilarious!

I remember my first designs. Friends and family thought they were exquisite; they said I was on to something great. My fish and flower designs looked mal-nourished, and my paint cracked and flaked after the first wash. And just in case you haven’t heard my story before, the cheap tee shirts I painted on seized up after the first wash.

Looking back now, I think they were speaking to my potential. I had a fire in me to paint fabric that would not die even though my artwork sometimes looked “dead on arrival.”

Those were the days. But we have to begin somewhere as designers and artists, don’t we? Not all of us were naturally gifted; some had to work at what we wanted to do. Most people look at where you are today, not taking into consideration where you came from. They call it an overnight success. You and I call it something a little less pleasant as we recall the early days.

But one thing is for certain we had the courage to start, the boldness to dream, and the tenacity to hang in there even when it looked like our business was going nowhere fast.

Knowing How to Paint Fabric

An old Kenny Rogers song called The Gambler said, ‘you get to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away and know when to run…’ The same principles apply in business. Unfortunately for many of us, we run just before we receive our breakthrough. We don’t anticipate the bumps in the road as we are tossed about. Rather than holding on to the reigns a little firmer, we jump off and shoot the horse before storming away completely mad with ourselves and the world.

There are times when you need to get sound advice to determine if your business is viable or is it just draining you of every resource. In those instances, you should consider walking away, at least for a season, to regroup and get the information or training so you would know how to paint fabric properly. That is one way to ensure that you succeed.

So don’t shoot the horse; put him in the field to get fat while you develop your skills cause he’s going to need that strength to take you and your bundle to the bank. Do not despise your day of small beginnings in fabric painting, my friend, celebrate them as you learn the art of how to paint incredible fabric.