Commissions are a great part of an art business. I get to paint knowing the customer is standing there with open arms and a check! It is wonderful to simply paint what floats my boat; it is just as wonderful to paint knowing someone really wants the piece. Here are some of the current projects:
People often confuse the word “consignment” with the word “commission”. May I help? Consignment: agreement to pay a supplier of goods after the goods are sold. Commission: to give an order for or authorize the production of a piece of art. I’d like to add a third word here: “conversation”. It means an exchange of words. I learned a long time ago not to count my chickens before they are hatched, although that is still my greatest talent! (also known as “optimism”) For the first several years of my business, I used to get so excited after someone said he’d like me to do a 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 c o n v e r s a t i o n. However, it never hurts to think about those conversations and tentatively plan. A lady emailed me to say she’d be coming to the studio during Studio Tour and she hoped I had some paintings of Fiesta ware. I don’t, but have been looking for a reason to paint some. I know that she did not commission me and hasn’t committed to buy anything. That’s okay, because I’m eager to do this subject matter. If I do a good job but it doesn’t suit her, someone else will probably want it! Here are the beginnings of three new paintings (probably best viewed from the back of a fast horse, or perhaps without corrective lenses at this point):
Oh, look! There are 2 Mineral King paintings – what a surprise! 😎
When I participate in various shows, I usually have expectations for great sales. (Optimism is a necessary ingredient for the self-employed.) Sometimes instead of sales, I just have conversations and hand out business cards and meet people. That is called “exposure” in Artland. It is a necessary thing – one needs to be exposed to the public in hopes that they will become the “buying public” someday. However, one can die of exposure, so when one’s career is a bit more established, those exposure events should be limited, in my opinion! Generally speaking I don’t do too many of those types of shows anymore, but Saturday night’s was pleasant despite the low turnout. Met lots of nice people, handed out business cards, sold a handful of paintings. The good news (there is almost always good news) is that I will have plenty of paintings available for The Studio Tour! Here is how my display looked:
This is one of the most dreaded, misunderstood and boring aspects of being an artist. We artists, in general, dislike writing about our work. Obviously this doesn’t apply to me! But while I love to write, the artist statement gets me bowed up. I don’t do well with Artspeak, and I hate pretentiousness. This a.m. I read an article in the business/art magazine Art Calendar about writing an artist statement and realized it was time to update mine (yet again!) I’m still not sure if it is supposed to be a personal history, a personal philosophy of art, or an explanation. Regardless, here is my current one:
Art has been my fulltime profession for 17 years. Pencil used to be all I’d consider – it was the best way I knew to get every single detail in excruciating perfection. As my drawing students and customers asked for color, I reluctantly entered the world of colored pencil to record life around me. It didn’t resonate with me the way graphite did (and still does!), so 4 years ago I began to oil paint. As my proficiency increases, I’m able to focus more on light and color, and less on minutia. Although my medium is different, my favorite subjects remain: giant Sequoias, Mineral King, citrus, and Three Rivers. Tulare County is my home and recording its beauty is my goal.
It will probably be rewritten many more times as I learn what this is supposed to be and do. Mostly it is a requirement for gallery entries or group shows. Since I tend to be a maverick (as my college photography teacher told me back in the late ’70s), I can usually avoid this part of an art career. Yea! So, have a look at what is almost finished for the Zonta show (and they invited me WITHOUT asking for an “artist statement”):
Ever use a GPS to help you reach a destination? If so, you have experienced what happens each time you choose to go a different route than the Talking Lady instructs. She says “Recalculating, recalculating!” That is exactly what I do with the prioritization of paintings in progress. Have a look at the current list:
How do I prioritize? If there is a paying customer, it goes high on the list. If there is a deadline, it goes high on the list. If it is tiny and I can work on it at The Art Co-op, it gets painted on Thursdays, in order of priority. The “spec” paintings are arranged in order of the shows coming up and how I am guessing (an educated guess of course!) they will sell at particular places. When one or a group gets finished, you know what I do? I recalculate, of course! 😎
a completed Sunny Sequoias in the ongoing series
a completed poppy for an upcoming show (click on to enlarge)
a completed orange for Mr. Ag Property
There is a popular book among artists called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. It recommends that artists take field trips to gather new inspiration. So, I took a field trip to Mendocino. I believe that we absorb much more visually that we realize, and although I might not have immediate plans to paint scenes of the North Coast (no outlet for selling them – gotta be practical here!), the beauty, the colors, something I saw in one of the galleries (or the yarn shop), something I saw or thought of while on my 9-1/2 hour drive could be the seed of a new idea. My friend is as obsessed with seaglass as I am with yarn, and since she lives in the Seattle area, we don’t get to spend much time together. I learned of Glass Beach in Ft. Bragg, and we decided to meet there. Although it was a stormy weekend, it was ideal. The best time to find seaglass is after a storm, and we were blessed with a sunny Saturday for our foraging.
The waves were awe inspiring.
This just cracks me up – Seattle girl soaking up Vitamin D on a California beach in January, BAREFOOT in a place called “Glass Beach” and with Starbuck’s coffee in her hand!
We had shoes on for this part.
It was definitely what John Eldredge refers to as a “rainbow day”. http://blog.ransomedheart.com/john/
Ever notice that the initials of Nine One One are NOO? That is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the words, “I know this is short notice but. . .” Saying “NOO!” would be bad for business. People come to me because I have something they need, and it would cut down on many business opportunities and mess up my hard-won reputation for being a non-flakey artist if I just automatically said “NOO” to these requests. So, I listen to the request, ask for the exact time the piece is required, think about my existing obligations and commitments, ask for specific expectations about the job, and say yes or no based on reality, rather than first instinct. An Art Emergency came to me last week – 2 illustrations for a book on the people of the Sierra. The author was notified by the publisher that the deadline for going to press was moved, and she couldn’t find decent photos of Miwok and Yokuts shelters. She had blurry photos and a diagram, and neither was adequate. She asked me to create drawings – “I know you are busy and this is short notice, but. . .” Since she is a very dear friend who has helped me in more ways than I can ever count, I truly wanted to help her. Besides, have I mentioned how much I love to draw? So, I did the drawings, and this is the first time I have ever confidently made up something without adequate photos and LIKED the results!
These are Miwok shelters made of bark.
You’ve learned about odd art jobs such as quilt patches and umbrellas (and NO, I DON’T WANT TO PAINT ON AN OLD SAW!) Now, I bring you Art Emergencies. This is where someone comes to you and says “I know this is short notice but. . .” Generally speaking, 30% of the work that comes to me is an emergency. Granted, there are no true emergencies outside of birth and death, and “poor planning on your part does not create an emergency on mine”. However, poor planning on the part of a customer often creates nice jobs for me. And, to be fair, sometimes Art Emergencies are not a result of poor planning but the result of a surprise as in “Joe Bag-of-Doughnuts just announced his retirement and we need a nice personalized gift for him right away!” Here is one from a couple of years ago:
If you are wondering about it, it was for a retiring Visalia City Council member and all the elements of this collage mean something to him. And no, he isn’t Joe Bag-of-Doughnuts; he is more akin to Joe Box-of-Oranges!
Back when the mural project began in 1996, I had no intention of learning to paint. There was a vague distant dream with no tangible plan for getting there. The dream was painting a mural in Exeter of Mineral King but much had to be learned first. So, learning to paint with oil, getting better at landscapes, then gradually increasing the sizes of my paintings became the plan. After getting comfortable with a paintbrush, I had to learn to use acrylic paint. It is not as easy for me as oil, but I’m catching on! 
Did you know that public speaking is most people’s biggest fear, ahead of death? Wow! That isn’t my greatest fear; in fact, I enjoy speaking about my artwork. (Such a narcissistic person!) In the past few years I have been asked to speak for several different groups, most recently on Saturday.The Mineral King Preservation Society had its annual Picnic in the Park. A historic person, Mary Trauger, spoke first and filled us in on life during the mining days. Then a current person, me, spoke about the Mineral King Mural. Despite the bridge being closed, there was a great turnout! Look at these folks:
We dodged the rain bullet – a few drops, but nothing measurable. I forgot to say that my paintings were for sale! What a missed opportunity, but Exeter, A Festival of Arts did quite well on the mugs, mouse pads and tee-shirts! 😎 I make funny faces when I talk, but we all had a good time!
