My Green Paint Society Launch! (August 1st)

I mentioned in my last blog post that I’ve been working hard on my membership program, The Green Paint Society. I’m excited to announce I’ll be launching in one month, on August 1st!

This endeavor felt so daunting at first. It’s something I’ve wanted to develop for a while, but procrastination got the better of me. My plate already feels full, so I wanted to develop a program that I could stick to every month. More importantly, a program that’s worth my subscribers’ time and money. Striking that perfect balance was tough. I had a lot of decisions to make along the way, but I finally got there.

The first decision I had to make was choosing between Patreon and Squarespace. Most artists I follow have Patreon plans. Their platform is nice and user friendly. However, I didn’t want to go with Patreon just because everyone else was using it. After much debate, I finally decided to create a membership area on my Squarespace site (the site you’re viewing now).

How did I come to this conclusion? Well, I have an Etsy shop and the main benefit of that versus my own site is that Etsy sends a lot of traffic my way. The negative is that they can change their fees and terms without warning. Basically, sellers are at their mercy. Also, when I refer people to my Etsy shop, I’m sending customers away from my site. Never a good thing if you can avoid it. I’ve seen most artists directing subscribers to Patreon via their social media pages and websites. I don’t imagine many people searching Patreon for additional accounts to subscribe to. Traffic comes from the artist. Therefore, using Patreon wouldn’t bring me any additional benefit. I’d just be sending users away from my site. Also, I love how Squarespace gives me more design flexibility as to how my membership program looks. The links to other areas of my site are right there, accessible to all. Pricewise, Squarespace seemed better too because the plan I’m on charges a 4% transaction fee. Patreon charges 8%. While Squarespace does have a monthly fee, that doesn’t go up with the number of subscribers you have.

Next, I had to decide what to name my membership program. I went through names like The Thriving Artists’ Society, The Gold Paint Guild, and finally landed on The Green Paint Society. Why green paint? Because it makes me happier than anything. Green is my favorite color. When I’m using green paint, I feel inspired and passionate about my work. I want my program to spark that passion in my subscribers. I want to help them discover what it is about their art that makes them tick.

Next came the decision about pricing. First I thought about what I would pay. While I value advice of other artists, a monthly fee is a big commitment. I don’t want to ask too much, especially from my fellow artists who are working to grow their own businesses. I decided asking my subscribers to buy me a monthly latte in exchange for my advice sounds fair. So I’m going with $5.99 per month.

Lastly, I had to decide what to include in the program. This was the hardest part. I knew the mission for my program right away - to help artists make their best work based on my own experiences. As a self-taught freelance artist in her mid-thirties, I’ve had quite the journey to get to where I am today. The road has not been easy. In most subscription programs, artists are posting an inside look at their process - like a live painting video or a look inside their sketchbook. While this can be helpful, I don’t want to teach my subscribers how to make work like mine. I want to teach my subscribers how to improve their own work. To celebrate our individuality as artists, and bond over the struggles we have in common. This is what I would want for a program. It’s also what’s kept me from subscribing to other artists’ programs. I don’t want to learn how to copy someone else’s work. I want to learn how to improve my own work and find my unique voice as an artist. While I do intend to share secrets from my process, I mainly want to help you develop your own process. That’s how I landed on the idea of monthly themes.

Every month, I’ll be choosing a theme for us to focus on. I’ll be following the program too. These focus areas will give us something to improve upon each month. By the end of the year, we’ll all be better in twelve focus areas. And next year, I’ll cover twelve new focus areas. I plan to alternate between more passive themes, and more technique-based themes. Each month, I’ll be sharing advice in each area in the form of a short article, a video lecture, four journal prompts, four sketchbook prompts, an assignment and some online gems I’ve found that relate to the topic. The prompts can be completed weekly or all at once. I’ll also be sharing bonus articles and resources on my membership area homepage. By focusing on twelve themes per year, I hope this program not only helps you find joy in your art, but in your life as well. When practiced the right way, art should enrich all areas of our lives.

As a little teaser, I’ll share that my first focus area for August is inspiration, because that’s where art begins and ends. We’ll be getting to the root of what inspiration means to us. I’ll be sharing my favorite types of inspiration, while helping you find your own unique sources of inspiration. We’ll also develop practices to support our search for inspiration for years to come.

I’m so excited to embark on this new endeavor with you all. People often say the best form of learning is teaching, and I’ve found this to be true as I’ve started building out my program. I already feel better about my art, and I’m excited for you to feel the effects of my membership program as well.

So mark your calendars for August 1st! I’ll be posting the signup link on my homepage. I hope to see you all then!