Many times, evidently.
It begins when I feel pressured, like I did just before my trip to Florida to visit my sister and stepson.
I received a last-minute order for two prints, one of which was a reproduction of a painting I had sold a long time ago. The problem is, I was also missing a high-resolution file for it.
Therefore, this painting should not have been on my website at all—but it was. The confusing part was that my website said it only came in the smaller size—as if I had a good-enough file to make that size.
It’s that “as if” that was the problem. When had I made that decision? And what was my reasoning then?
After accepting the order, I looked for the image files I had for this painting, but the only file I could find was the quick shot I had taken in the studio—a photograph good enough to put in a blog or on my website—but not a professional high-resolution file.
The order was going to another country, also, so shipping costs would be very high.
I could have told my clients I couldn’t make a print of that painting. I could have at least talked to my printmaker about the quality of the file beforehand and gotten their advice.
I did neither.
I placed the order with my printmaker and left for Florida.
Even on vacation, I check my email periodically, so naturally I got the one from my clients saying this print had turned out very badly. Since they had ordered two, they could see what a good print was supposed to look like and knew immediately that the other one was bad.
When I had accepted my clients’ original order, I had a queasy feeling about it, but I didn’t pay attention to this feeling. I had started something and I didn’t let anything divert me from that path.
That’s what I do when I’m stressed and under pressure. I forget to breathe. I forget to stop. I forget that there are options.
Now, back from vacation, I am still cleaning up the mess I made.