Can we talk?

Can we talk?  Where are my clients this year?  Now that I am so much better and should command higher prices, I see fewer inquiries. I am currently running a sale which reduces my base price by $65.00.  This is drawing more browsers to my website, but so far no takers. The recession has changed many things. People don't see the value in original art work.  Potential clients grasp every dollar as if it is their last.  I understand this better than anyone.  (Another story for another time.) I'm less and less willing to go through my pricing and commission process. The attitude is that I can work miracles out of bad photos in last minute conditions. And that I should do it cheaper and cheaper! Where is the respect? Would you ask your plumber to work for minimum wage? Reproduction art is cheaper.  I have no problem with selling art prints, if they will sell.  The sad part is that the viewer will not have the same experience with reproduction art as they will with the original.  In the original, if you look closely, you will see tick marks, brush strokes, eraser marks, wipe downs- the back and forth of the creator's process. Though the print might catch the marks, it can't record the grit, the digs, the sweat left behind by hours of work. A good reproduction print on heavy rag paper, using light fast inks, is a beautiful thing in itself.  It is in essence the cleaned up version of the original.  But to own the original!  Now that is like owning a piece of magic. For enclosed in that border of wood, encased under the sheet of glass, is a piece of human experience perhaps even genius. So much more than a print!

Working in a gallery and frame shop I see clients who are more than happy to drop hundreds of dollars on framing, but walk right by the original art.  Even our top sellers, who show at multiple galleries are complaining about the lack of sales.  What gives?  I am itching to use my abilities, but find myself working on my own stuff.  It's fun, but I can't live off it.

Go quickly!

This is a little piece I started Friday and finished today.  It measures 10 x 6.5" and was painted on a silk mat board. Due to texture and reflection it is a little difficult to photograph. This is the best I can do today.  Anyway, the point is, after hours and hours of work on a bigger piece, with no end in sight, I decided to stop for a bit to do something easy and fun.  This is called Roadside.

Accepted into book STROKES OF GENIUS, Northlight Books, F&W Publishing

Thursday I arrived home from a long day at the Vet hospital where I work as a vet assistant to good news.  As is my routine, I checked my emails and happily came across a notice that one of  my painting "Who rescued Whom?" was one of the 144 pieces chosen from 1500 entries to be published in the 2014 Strokes of Genius by Rachel Wolf- a Northlight, F&W Publications book.

Yes, another cat!

This is a very early work in progress (WIP) of yet another cat.  Using Thomas again.  This should be fun.  My favorite time of year is Halloween. Can you see the broom beginning to emerge? Let's see if I can pull it off. I'm working on 4-ply rag mat- less forgiving than my most recent cats, which were painted on linen mat. I have to be very careful to leave untouched surface for the brightest white.  Keeping those areas pristine is difficult when creating large areas of dark. I use the scoring method, which also has draw backs (oo a pun,  Get it?).  I tried using a liquid mask once, but it was a total bust. Enjoy and be sure to check in from time to time.

Thoughts about social media from a "non joiner."

For many years I have belonged to an artist's FB page.  Today the honeymoon is over.  With all groups,  comes politics. I have spent my life running away from groups, from sorority to PTA.  I do not do well in them.  I skim read  social cues, choosing what I think important and almost always find myself in trouble with someone. I am not very consistent in anything I do, especially when it comes to understanding rules. My intensions are good, but unfortunately in groups, rules are more important than positive input, good energy, insightful discussion. One would think that in a social media forum, one could hide behind the cloak of internet space, that things would not become personal.  Nope. In fact, without context or facial expression, comments on a FB page can become that much more powerful. The writer must be oh so careful!  When words take on their own meaning outside what was intended, there is no catcher's mitt on the internet. So now I am in the position of deciding how much I need the interaction among other artists on a FB page.  Though I made many "friends" there, are they?  Yes, one must be very careful.

Shor Park in Summer, Wins Third Place in Annual Competition.

Just goes to show ya, art is subjective. When you enter a juried show, it is near impossible to guess which piece might take a ribbon.  This little CP painting, a study of my walking park, was entered as an after thought.  My other three were passed by, but this took third place! Surprised but still delighted!