One Function Stuff

I have a policy in my kitchen that unless an item performs 3 tasks, it doesn’t belong. A friend tested me once, going through my drawers, pulling out things and saying “Aha! What about this?”  (Hi, Carol!)

(Just for your information, a potato masher turns bananas into bread worthy gunk, mashes 2 kinds of potatoes and pulverizes applesauce. Just sayin’.)

I’m not entirely unreasonable about this, because I am NOT giving up my popcorn popper. (A nut chopper? Get lost, Pal – I have a chef’s knife and I know how to use it!)

When I painted the mural on panels for the museum at Mooney Grove, it pained me to have to buy these clips. Almost caused a twitch under my eye with their one-function purpose in my studio.

Yesterday I began a set of 6×6″ paintings. This is usually routine business, but with this splint on my hand, it it not possible to hold the canvases in my usual manner. HEY! THOSE CLIPS!

Look. I was in such denial about having to buy One Function Stuff that I never removed the tags.

What handy little canvas holders. BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE. . .

They work as easels too! That’s 3 functions for these items – guess I’ll keep them.

11 Reasons to Buy Art

Buckeye Bridge,  16×12″, oil on wrapped canvas, $250

Tulare County is poor. We have high unemployment, even in better times. We aren’t very educated, and people buy inexpensive posters and cheap prints for their homes and offices. But not everyone. . . I have been earning my living with art, a full-time occupation, a business with art as my product since 1993. How?? By God’s grace, for sure. By not giving up. By building my skill and my reputation as a reliable business person who works well with customers, has fair (read “cheap”) prices and meets deadlines.

My good friend and I have been discussing art, business, and all variations of same.We know it is a luxury rather than a necessity. We know it continues to sell, people continue to buy it, even in a place like Tulare County, even in crummy times.

Why do people buy art? I thought of eleven reasons.

  1. It reminds us of good times.
  2. It reminds us of good places.
  3. It transports us back to those good places.
  4. It keeps our walls from being bare and boring.
  5. It brings color to otherwise dull decor.
  6. It absorbs sound. (Don’t believe me? Take all your stuff off the walls and listen to your room!)
  7. The flowers don’t wilt.
  8. The fruit doesn’t rot.
  9. It can be any season we want it to be.
  10. It can show you a scene the way you remember it, without all the junk that shows in photos.
  11. It is easy to rearrange the look of a room by rearranging the pictures – they move more easily than furniture!

Have you bought art? Care to share why?

Colors, a Studio and Gallery

I have mentioned Colors in the past as being a delightful place to visit. It pops up suddenly along Sierra Drive in Three Rivers, and the parking is a little squishy, but it is Oh So Worth the effort to visit!

Colors is the studio and gallery of local artist, Wendy McKellar, one of the most versatile and high energy artists I have the privilege of calling friend. She has begun a blog, and we had such a good time learning together how to use WordPress.com. We sat side by side in my studio with our laptops, and just clicked, talked and laughed for almost 2 hours. I was able to help Wendy because my blog is very similar but on WordPress.org. (This is a confusing, hostile and territorial move that computer people have done to normal people just to keep us, the normal people, out of our comfort zone – it’s a conspiracy and a plot but I digress.)

I have added Wendy’s blog to my blogroll, under the heading of Blogs I Follow so you can regularly peek into her world of colorful creativity. It is so encouraging to have friends alongside in the journey of making art and making a living from art.

Different Roads

#14 in the series “Thoughtful Thursdays”

Becoming a professional artist takes more than talent, training and desire. It requires a plan, because one’s art can be the best in the world, but if it isn’t seen, it can’t be purchased.

The traditional method of “making it” in the art world is through galleries. An artist can build a professional reputation by entering and placing in juried and judged competitions, and by studying under professionals who are known in the art world. These artists prepare an artist statement and a biography that lists shows, prizes, galleries, professionals studied under,  and other art training.  These types of documents are very important in the formal art world and are often the key to opening doors.

It is more convenient to make it in this traditional manner if the artist lives near cities where shows, master artists, and galleries are available. Since each gallery has its own personality, it can take awhile to find the right match between artist and gallery. Between internet sales and the stalled economy, this traditional road is no longer the automatic route for artists to pursue.

The less traditional method of making it is to be self-representing. These artists seek direct contact with buyers through weekend festivals, commissions, selling on consignment in local shops and by opening their studios to the public. Instead of making art to fit the personality of a gallery, they are making art based on knowledge of their buying public.

These artists tend to have plain speaking loyal customers who say, “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like!” Their customers might be impressed by shows entered and prizes won, but often are not familiar with the shows. They may find it interesting to know an artist’s training, but usually haven’t ever heard the names over which other artists go gaw-gaw.

Now that the internet provides direct access to millions of people, many artists are following the less traditional route. There are artists who sell all their work through eBay. There are several artists’ groups that specialize in completing a painting per day, and these are selling very steadily. There is a site called Etsy that sells handmade goods, and another called Cafe Press which will reproduce artwork on merchandise for the artist to sell. Most serious artists have a website for direct sales to customers.

In Three Rivers, I know several artists who haven’t found it lucrative to sell in Tulare County; they have gallery representation in cities and are building their reputations by entering shows around the country. There are also artists who prefer to stay local and sell directly to the public. All are friendly, helpful, supportive, respectful and genuinely excited to see one another succeed at earning a living through art regardless of the road chosen.

Distraction from California Art

If you are a follower of my blog or just know me, you are aware that I have a bit of a knitting hobby. Hmmm, that may be a bit understated. I have a bit of a knitting obsession. I am not just a knitter, I am a Knitter. Today was one of the most fun I’ve had with a paintbrush in a while. Painting yarn is the best way I know to combine 2 of my favorite activities (although i suppose I could knit with paintbrushes instead of needles).

One more to go – I think it will have a combo of 3 new colors of yarn. They have to dry so I can sign them and then take official portfolio photographs. Ahem. This is a serious art/business endeavor, you know!

C Words

Eighth in the series “Thoughtful Thursdays”

(yes a bit out of order – why WordPress didn’t publish this as scheduled is a mystery to me. Why I didn’t notice is perhaps because I was doing other things – I need people for this!)

Two of the most common ways to earn a living in art are consignment and commissions. They are not at all the same, but I am discussing them here in the same article because those two large “c” words are often confused.

Here are the definitions: consignment is an agreement to pay a supplier of goods after the goods are sold. A commission is an order or authorization for the production of a piece of art.

Consignment means that the artist provides the store or gallery with work that is not paid for until a sale is completed. The advantages to the artist are that she doesn’t lose control of her pricing and can reclaim her work if it is needed somewhere else. The disadvantage is that things can become shopworn, keeping track is added work, and sometimes it can be hard to collect one’s money.

Commissions are orders for custom work. This is a very important part of earning a living as an artist, especially in times when people are spending cautiously. The advantages to the artist is that she is almost guaranteed a happy customer, and there is a check waiting at the end of the job. Two disadvantages are that the artist isn’t freely creating from her own ideas and often there is a deadline. Occasionally a commission customer will say these magic words “You’re the professional!” or “No hurry”.

Since we are learning “c” words here, allow me to add one more: conversation. This word means an exchange of words, not orders and not money. Despite repeated experiences with this reality, my greatest talent still remains counting my chickens before they hatch.  For the first several years of my business, I got so excited when someone told me he’d like me to do a specific drawing for him. I was counting eggs, chickens and dollars, forgetting that until money exchanges hands and there are photographs on the table, it was simply CONVERSATION. It never hurts to remember those chats and even follow up with a phone call or an email. That is also part of the business of art.

Colors in Three Rivers sells some of my paintings on consignment.

A lady of great taste commissioned me to paint this apple.

A Co-op is Not a Coop

Ninth in the series “Thoughtful Thursdays”

What is a co-op? If the hyphen is eliminated, it could be mistaken for a pen of poultry! In this context,  “co-op” is an abbreviation of the word “cooperative” and means a joint venture or collaborative effort.

In an area of few galleries and other places for selling artwork, artists often combine their time, money and art to create their own gallery. Everything is shared – the space, the expenses, the “sitting”, and many many decisions.

It takes a tremendous effort and a bit of luck to put an effective co-op together. The participants need to share a vision, to have approximately the same level of professionalism, and most of all, to have a leader or two, depending on the size. In all groups, there will be those who work their fingers to the bone, those who coast and all sorts in between.

A shared vision has to be addressed before anything else. If some envision a cute store full of unique tchotchkes and others want spacious white walls hung with a few knockout pieces, there will be conflict. If some think it should be open to any and all artists while others believe a certain level of quality should be maintained, there will be conflict. If some never notice dust and spiderwebs while others develop a twitch each time something lands on the countertop, there will be conflict.

There are those who want all types of art, others who only want 2 dimensional pieces. Some think a mix of styles is preferable, others want only representational, and some think that abstract is the only true art.

Regardless of the decisions reached about style, a compatible level of professionalism is necessary for retail success. There can be endless discussions of “art versus craft”, and reaching agreements on quality can almost require Solomon-like wisdom. If some art is clearly made by hobbyists and other is made by highly skilled practitioners, the difference will confuse the customer.

Personalities can make or break a co-op. To combine a large number of opinions in an orderly fashion requires a strong leader with good organizational and delegational (not a word, but you know what I mean, right?) skills. There has to be lists of tasks, assignments, goals and accountability for completion. Meetings need to be kept on subject and participants need to be kept on task, or things result in chaos.

Co-ops tend to be a bit fluid as artists grow and change. With the right mix of artists sharing a vision, a co-operative gallery can be formed for a season, or it can last for years.

These are 2 co-ops I belonged to in the past 2 years. The top one is no longer active; the bottom one is still going, but with a new mix of members than when it began.

Painting in the Studio

It is cold out. Today I needed to do work in the studio and also paint (and run around, but that isn’t part of this story). My studio is a little office/gallery where I do paperwork, phone calls, packaging reproduction prints and cards, and, believe it or not, actually draw! When I began painting, it seemed prudent to keep that mess away from my drawings and paperwork. We have a workshop with lots of windows in the front half, and it is a fairly mess-proof place. That is not exactly right – it is full of messes, but it doesn’t matter. As I said, it is cold out, and it made sense to only heat one building. So, I did 5 miniature paintings because they seemed to be the least likely to create a mess.

These are 2×2″ – miniature, for sure! The purpose of these little poppies is to sell at Colors for the First Saturday of March. March 5, Three Rivers, to be specific. The theme is. . . POPPIES!  I know. duh.

What is Geotourism?

According the the web definition it is ” ‘best practice’ tourism that sustains or even enhances the geographical character of a place, such as its culture, environment, heritage and well being of the residents”. What does that have to do with cabinart? The National Geographic Society is making websites of maps for geotourism. Currently they are building the site for the Southern Sierra Nevada, and it includes Three Rivers. We who choose to participate are nominating ourselves to be on that map. This is a wonderful opportunity to market Three Rivers, to present our best self, and to show us to be irresistible to those who are planning to visit Sequoia. All the sites in Three Rivers are currently pending nominations, but they are visible if you go to the National Geotourism website. Click on the Main Map page, and when you mouse over the Three Rivers area, bubbles appear with a title, photo and description. (If it is too cluttery, use the sliding scale at the top to make it larger and more spread out.) I invite you to visit my site and if you like it, please give me a thumbs up. Thanks! Thanks a lot!

I thought it a fine example of my very regional oil paintings – showing off our river!

Three Kinds of Artists

Seventh in the series “Thoughtful Thursdays”

A simple way of categorizing artists is to divide the approaches to art into 3 varieties: those who make art for fun, those who make art as a secondary occupation, and those who earn a living from their art.

Those who make art for fun undoubtedly have it the easiest. Without thinking about what might sell or being bound to any one style, this type of artist is free to try any medium or technique. He can bounce from teacher to teacher, class to class, pottery to watercolor to drawing in any order. He can dabble at anything that strikes his fancy. Goals may be set, and even reached, but in the end, fun and self-expression seem to be the main purpose. Once I even had a drawing student tell me, “I don’t care much about art – I just want to meet women!”

Those who straddle the line between a day job and making art probably have it the hardest. To make quality art in enough quantity to sell takes an enormous amount of time, and it is very difficult to fit this into a week with a 40+ hour bite already missing.  There is a struggle while working a “real” job to focus on the task at hand while one’s mind is roaming the halls of Artland. I remember working in a dining hall at a camp and constantly being distracted by the deep golden brown color of a giant container of tea, or admiring the brilliant orange of grated carrots against the spring greens of lettuce. Needless to say, my co-workers thought I was a nut-job.

Engaging in art as one’s main paid occupation rather than as a pastime is a highly rewarding approach to art-making. It takes a strong commitment, an unwavering resolution to never give up. When sales drop, galleries and shops close, students get old and no new ones come, long-term art shows fold, there is much to do besides make art. If sales don’t happen, there is no income! Art is a luxury item, not a necessity, and in the current economic atmosphere this fact is more evident than usual. Tulare County has higher unemployment, poverty and welfare dependence than much of the country even in good times. Despite that, it is possible to earn a living as a professional artist here. In upcoming articles, I will explain some of the avenues I have followed to make that dream a reality.

Wave Action, 10×8″, graphite, $100