by Barbara Gabogrecan
- Barbara Gabogrecan
My background is as an Art Teacher. Having taught Art for around 20 years in Secondary Colleges and part time teaching for the national Gallery of Victoria for 13 years, I finally discovered the thrill of painting on silk.
Yet it was purely accidental that this happened. The school in which I was teaching told me I had a class of Chinese students doing their matriculation. Wondering what on earth their background would be, I figured that they would all know a little about silk painting. So over the Christmas break I spent weeks trying different techniques and methods for painting on silk.
Well, the Asian students loved working on silk, but unfortunately that school ‘went under’ due mainly to problems associated with having too many Asian students…but that is another (and not very pleasant) story. Suffice to say when I found myself without a school; I decided to develop a business based on silk painting.
Wow – what an experience that was. In the first few months of getting orders I had a major department store give me a $100,000 order for silk product. I was suddenly in business and was desperately trying to build the business as well as produce the product.
So often artists are not the least bit interested in marketing and want to leave that to someone else (who usually make a mess of it) while they concentrate on their art work. But I loved marketing! My business thrived and in the second year I won 7 of the Australian Gift of the Year Awards. This was the first time a handmade product had won these awards.
This opened many doors for me, especially as I had such strong media coverage. Eventually I had large companies approach me to license my designs for their product. I will tell you more about this later.
I kept my growing business as a home based business and it was quite amazing how I managed, Virtually I had no home – it was a factory! But I was dedicated and determined to succeed and fortunately my husband went along with my dream, so there was no tension there because of the difficult personal situation the home put us in.
You can view a video where I describe my adventure and how I got there. The video is titled ‘From Fame to Fortune’ and it takes around 8 minutes to download. So make yourself a cup of coffee and sit down and enjoy sharing my journey with me (Playing time approx 23 mins).
Very inspirational!!! Silk Painting is a very good way to bring out your creation.
Wow, what a great story! I’m so happy for you that you were able to turn a new passion into a successful living! You inspire me to try branching out, myself, to find new avenues of expressing my creativity. Thank you for sharing this with us all.
Not only can silk paintings help you earn a few extra dollars, but using so much colour, vibrance and creativity can really brighten up someone’s day and even help them to be positive for a while longer. Silk painting really is a beautiful art.
I like your website a lot. Very informative.
It really inspires me to push harder into my arts now I can actually have fun doing my job! Thanks
If Silk Painting is your thing then i definitely believe you can make money and make a living and build clients who like your work.
You are absolutely amazing and talented. I am planning to learn this kind of art, so you truly inspire me.
wow, what a great story about getting a $100,000 order from a major department store. I guess you had to hire some extra help to complete such a big order. I know that I would not be able to handle an order that large. I create hand painted silk scarves from my home as well. I sell mostly online and at a few gallery shops.
Yes, it is definately a craft. Painting is an art regardless where or what it is painted on.
Silk painting is a good way of self-employment, where a person can earn some extra money while staying at home. Keep these kinds of articles coming.
Very insighful!
Great article.
It is a perfect time to make some plans for the long run and it’s time to be happy. I have read this submit and if I may, I want to counsel your few fascinating issues or suggestions. Perhaps you can write next articles referring to this article. I want to read even more issues about it!
Thank You this is great information.. I believe all experts must share and teach their work and that there is a lesson or thought behind every painting!
Sounds like a great way to make money and be creative simultaneously
It’s always great to hear of artists making a real living our of their work.
Silk paintings are very beautiful. This is a good informative article.
Extraordinary – inspirational AND helpful! Thank you!
Silk painting can be helpful to people who want some extra cash working from home. Thank you for your post.
What a great story you have to tell! I love your work!
I’m glad everything worked out for you in the end! Hopefully I will be lucky in the near future as well…
I would love to see more images with this new art. I think this could be a major breakthrough in the domain.
Awesome post. Very important for new fashion design workers like me.
Your story is fascinating. It is amazing how you discovered your love of silk painting and made a successful business out of it.
You seem to be doing quite well having turned your passion into a business as well. Licensing your designs sounds like it could be lucrative, especially if you are creating it once and getting paid over and over. I have a friend here in the States that is an artist. He does a lot of murals for businesses and sports stadiums as well as portraits of famous people like Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe, in his own style. Most of his business is word of mouth but he doesn’t like the whole marketing part of it, though he makes a full time living at it.
It sounds like you have a rich and interesting backstory that has gotten you where you are today! How great to discover such a love and passion for something in your life.
Such a great post.. its very interesting..
Thanks for sharing the tips. I love silk paintings.
It sounds like you have done very well with your business! It’s awesome that your husband supported the challenging transitions 100%.
What a great success story. It’s inspiring to see artists making it in the business world.
This is very inspiring! To make a career out of something as original and unique as silk painting, gives me hope that my creativity can become a career as well.
awesome article with superb informaiton; I like it very much
You did some great hard work for all this! And I’m glad you became successful at it; you deserve it. And these silk paintings are so interesting, I’m just learning about them right now.
Thanks for sharing your amazing experience. This will certainly help young creative peoples.