I've felt for a while that being a freelance artist is less risky than having a full time job, especially in a struggling economy. Relying on my own talents in both art and business is more reliable than putting my eggs in the basket of a single company. But that's what I've decided to do.

For over a year, I've been freelancing for a startup called Card Gnome, a greeting card company. I designed their logo and some aspects of the website. I came to believe in Card Gnome and the vision of the founders. It was good work, but limiting in creativity.

Then I had a vision of my own - an ambitious, creative direction for Card Gnome that can change the world. The only way to make it work, was that I lead this epic endeavor. So when I pitched my idea to the founders, I asked for a full time position with the creative freedom to implement it. They high-fived each other.

Starting immediately, I am now the full time Creative Director for Card Gnome.

What does this mean for my successful freelance career? I'm cutting down and phasing it out. This saddens me because I like doing a variety of client work. And it excites me because it will be fun to focus on one large project. I'll probably take a freelance job here and there as I don't want to leave some long-term clients completely in the dust. But for now, I am not scheduling new commissions.

So, I've taken the risk of being an employee, but with it comes the opportunity to do something really big.

The Obama campagin is holding a national poster competition to promote his jobs act. I am one of twelve finalists. Three winners will have their posters sold in the official campaign store.

Please go here to vote for my poster below.

Vote for my poster today at http://artworks.barackobama.com.

Update: I did not win the contest. Oh well. Thanks to all who voted and congrats to the designers that did win.

The Glory:

For freelance artists, social media is an important tool for marketing. Visit any designer's website and you'll probably see links to Twitter, Facebook, Dribbble, Flickr, Google+, blogs and so on. The conventional wisdom is that you must leverage as many social platforms as possible to increase exposure to your work.

There is truth to that. If you’re successful in marketing online, your networks grow. People follow, like and friend you as they show interest in your work, and often you reciprocate. It really does work for marketing!

The Fatigue:

I’ve been growing tired and overwhelmed by social media. As a freelancer, I only have so many hours in the day to balance my work and personal life, both online and off. According to Dunbar’s Number, a person can socially keep up with around 150 people. I find this to be fairly accurate.

Currently I have:

• Facebook: 136 friends.
• Twitter: 141 people I follow, 683 followers.
• Dribbble: 241people I follow, 370 followers.
• Google+: 118 in my circles, 180 circled me.
• LinkedIn: 109 connections.
• This art blog.
• A photo blog.
• My website: CampSteve.com.
• Who knows what other random sites I signed up with.

For the social networks, those are actually low numbers (except my Twitter followers.) Overall, it’s an overwhelming amount of people to be connected to online (regardless of overlap between networks). I just can’t keep up!

When am I supposed to be making artwork, creating the next great thing I’m passionate about, or spend time with my wife? Honestly those things do come first in my life. Social media is not a priority but because of the social demand, it feels like it’s trying to be one.

The Release:

I’m culling my social. I’m going to abandon many of these networks, and choose one. The winner, unsurprisingly, is Facebook.

If you want to follow me and my artwork, I now have:

• Facebook: Please "like" my CampSteve page.
• This blog, where I’ll make key announcements about my work.
• My website will, of course, always be the best place to see and buy my art.

I will not be posting to Twitter and Dribbble, except for trying to migrate followers for a little while. I’m shutting down LinkedIn, Google+ and my photo blog.

As I said, social media marketing works. But I believe there's a balance to be struck. I don't think that means trying to leverage every network for maximum exposure. It means being smart about how you use them, whether you're active on one or ten networks.

Less distraction = More execution. It's time to create!

Since moving to Colorado nearly a decade ago, I've built a freelance career in illustration and design. I like being my own boss and I like working on a multitude of projects.

In the spring of 2010, I designed a logo for a local startup called Nudgems.com. Their original concept didn't take off so they pivoted their early company into a marketplace for greeting cards - real ones made of paper. It was renamed CardGnome.com.

Naturally, Card Gnome needed a new logo. They also needed a better looking website if they were going to compete with other online card shops. That's where I came in.

I did some initial design and illustration work for the site, but was pulled away toward other important commissions, including the large Whole Foods Mural.

The founders of Card Gnome appreciate the value of good design for their customers, so they convinced me to take a job with the company. I took a part time position so that I could continue freelancing and support my ongoing clients. It's a good balance and I'm having fun being creative in new ways with web design.

And of course, you can find some of my artwork on greeting cards here. 

Nearly every day that I painted the Whole Foods mural, the store's social media specialist, Ryan, set up a camera. It shot a photo every two minutes, which over ten weeks must have been 1,000s of photos. He edited those down into a time lapse video.

He also shot a short interview of me talking about my creative history and my inspiration for the mural. Enjoy!

Check out the mural progress photos here.

Click photo to enlarge it.

Besides painting the mural for Whole Foods, I also designed a series of 13 banners that now adorn the lampposts of the parking lot. Each depicts a Boulder or Colorado lifestyle scene. Seven of them illustrate the company's corporate values, which are written out on those banners.

The illustrations have some personal influence. My two dogs make an apperance and the hiking scene is of my wife and I. I like to sneak things like that into my work, as long as it doesn't interfere with the client's needs.

Here are the banners on the lampposts:

They look good across the large parking lot. (Click photo to view larger.)

If you don't get the reference in the headline, check out the funny Whole Foods Parking Lot rap on YouTube.