What is this? Inquiring minds NEED to know. . . we got a pair of insulating mugs for Christmas, and got curious as to which sort of mug will keep coffee the hottest. So, we conducted an experiment. They were all within degrees of one another, with the short Starbuck’s mug in the middle slightly ahead. Trail Guy is a little bit sad that his special old mug from Cabela’s with its hand-carved wooden handle didn’t win.
Subject #6
On Boxing Day, as December 26 is known in England, Trail Guy and I drove down to Lake Kaweah (AKA “The Lake”) to take a walk. This is an interesting place to spend time when the water level is low. There are great views of Alta Peak, lots of birds, an old road to walk on, a bridge or two to cross, cockleburrs to pick out of your socks, rocks to contemplate, the river (Kaweah) to watch, mud to slide around on, and people’s undisciplined dogs to fend off.
This deserves no photos. On Christmas Eve it was raining and dark when we got home from our church’s Christmas Eve service. Trail Guy pressed the button on the garage door opener (my favorite luxury item) and nothing happened. He pressed it again, the door went up a little bit, then it thudded back down with an uncharacteristic loud clunk.
Say what? My car is in there! The pickup is out here! What’s the deal?
A spring broke. It was very important. It took an hour with lots of banging, grunting, and possibly some swearing although no one here is going to admit to even knowing those words, and now the garage door is neatly folded in a pile in our front yard.
Here – look at the new green chair and feel better. I wonder how long it will take to find the right lamp table. . . will we go dumpster diving? curbside shopping? garage saling?
Subject #4
On Christmas Day we had 2 very dear friends join us for lunch along with my mama. It was a perfect day for a post-lunch walk.
Nothing to say except a good time was had by all, and the Central California artist probably ought to make a New Year’s resolution to give up sweets.
Want to know what keeps a Central California artist busy?
I like lists. Have a look at what I’m working on this week. Notice there is nothing on it about actually making art. This is what I refer to as “The Business of Art” or an “Administrative” week.
Preparing to give a presentation to the Daughters of the American Revolution next week. Why did they ask me? What do they want to hear? More will be revealed in the fullness of time.
Putting away all the stuff from doing weekend bazaars, boutiques and fairs. This usually results in a big clean-out. Why do I still have this, that and the other thing?
Gathering up, scanning and identifying old photos from Mineral King for a video to go on the Mineral King page of Tulare County Treasures. Why me? Because I deal in images, and Mineral King is my strongest subject. When you are able to help someone, it is good to say yes.
Teaching the oil painting workshop
Packaging note cards. Who writes cards? Apparently lots of people still do, because I ran out of this design and the reorder came this week.
This is the Thank You Acorn card. 4 cards and envelopes, blank inside, $7 includes tax. Email me if you would like some, or order through the website – under For Sale, click on Note Cards
Maybe today I will be able to plan for the next mural, the next oil commission, the next oil paintings to restock my inventory, the next blog post, the next coloring book.
That’s right! I was going to tell you about the new coloring book.
Stay tuned. More will be revealed in the fullness of time.
This Central California artist is never bored. Boring, maybe but never bored.
There is some term to describe what happens when people buy new pillows for their couches, and end up having to remodel the entire house. You know how it goes – new pillows make the couch look shabby, so a new couch is necessary. Then the rest of the furniture looks terrible and has to be replaced. This precipitates a paint job for the living room, which leads to needing new windows for the entire house, which becomes a project of knocking down walls and adding on rooms.
I got that new floor in my studio, and suddenly the mural on the front door didn’t suit me any more. It might have been there for 10 years, and certainly I can paint better now. Instead of refreshing it, I am replacing it.
This is how it looked before I started. You’d think I’d paint the outside of the building or re-side it or something. First I need to remember the name of that syndrome for why one should never buy new pillows.First, a new sky and a blue line down the middle.Next, a new mountain and blocking in of the next main spaces. The space to the right of the blue line is still the old mural.Sorry, Samson, you don’t get to help, and chewing on paintbrushes is forbidden.The blue line was the edge of this juniper tree. Now that everything is blocked in, I can begin details, if my brushes haven’t been chewed up by Samson.Yes, I’m talking about you, little destructive feline.Some detail is now added to the mountain and the juniper.And a bit more to the background, trees, shrubs, and ground.
The daylight was fading, so I quit for the day. It might be February before I get back to it.
An artist friend shared her donation policy with me. I retyped it to apply to me.
It has worked for my friend, but not one single organization has ever taken me up on this. However, the requests have certainly tapered off since adopting this policy.
In case you are wondering if I am a complete curmudgeon, let it be known that I do donate occasionally, simply because I want to support a particular organization or two.
These are thoughts first published on my blog on November 13, 2013
Pencil drawing of a bridge over the St. John’s River in Tulare County. Perhaps today it is a bridge over the troubled waters of donation requests.
1. Some of those “beg-athon” events are really fun for the community and anticipated with happiness.
2. I’m not the only artist who is worn out from being asked to give away my work.
3. Artists can request that bidding begin at a minimum price, which will help them maintain some dignity and their work to retain its value.
4. Should other donors be paid for their contributions, such as hair salons, motels, restaurants, retail stores?
5. Does donating help their businesses?
6. Are they able to write off anything on their taxes?
7. Are they tired of being asked too?
8. Is there another way to raise money for good causes instead of through donations and auctions?
9. Is it possible for the non-profit to say “We’ll pass on that donation because it doesn’t represent you well and it won’t bring in money for us”?
10. Some members of the public sincerely anticipate a piece of art from their favorite artists, and it causes them to want to participate in the auctions.
Tomorrow I will share a letter from an artist friend that she sends to organizations that request donations.
P.S. Here are some photos from Saturday’s bazaar. It was a very good day!
My 10×10′ piece of real estate for the day.Before the show, some of the vendors check out each other’s booths.Before the show, I like to enjoy the temporary quiet.There was about a two minute lull between visitors, and I enjoyed this view out of my very large window.
This is a reprint from November 6, 2013. Clearly the subject of donations is large in my thoughts during November.
Pencil drawing of bridge over the Tule River in Tulare County. Today, perhaps it is a bridge over the troubled waters of donation requests.
When non-profits want to raise funds, they hold dinners or tastings and have silent and live auctions to go with these events (called “Annual Beg-athons” by author Matt Gleason in the Huffington Post on 6/8/11). Typically, the first people they contact to donate items to their causes are artists.
Why artists? Why not dentists, lawyers, gas stations, pharmacists??
There was a year that I donated more than I sold. (Hmmm, someone might possibly benefit from a business manager here. . .) The next year, I began reading what other artists had to say about the matter, and as a result, I developed my own list of reasons for artists to not donate and a few for them to continue donating.
REASONS TO NOT DONATE:
1. An artist is only allowed to write off the cost of the materials.
2. Donating depletes inventory that is usually made by hand, involving enormous amounts of time.
3. Art work at these events usually sells for less than its full value.
4. If an artist develops a reputation for giving away work, those who previously have paid full price feel ripped off.
5. If an artist develops a reputation for giving away work, the buying public may begin waiting for the events instead of spending money with the artist.
6. If an artist gets tired of donating, she may begin donating second-rate work and damage her reputation. An artist friend once told me, “Just give them your bad stuff that won’t sell anyway.” Yikes, is that what is happening?? That’s not good for the organization, the artist’s reputation or the recipient!
REASONS TO DONATE (and some are pretty poor reasons):
1. An artist loves the cause and want to help.
2. An artist wants to reduce inventory.
3. An artist wants exposure (which is a myth in terms of building a business.)
4. An artist feels guilty and wants to “give back”. (What did he take in the first place??)
If you are part of a non-profit, you might rethink this common idea that artists are the best ones to approach for donations.
Here is an idea for non-profits: Ask to buy the work. The artist can sell it to you at a discount, you can write off what your organization spends, and you can begin the bidding at that price. Anything you receive above that will be profit for you, and none of the Reasons To Not Donate will happen.
Finally, here is a letter I’ve borrowed from New York Times writer Tim Kreider on the subject:
“Thanks very much for your compliments on my art. I’m flattered by your invitation to donate a painting or drawing or print or package of cards or to paint a mural. But art is work, it takes time, it’s how I make my living, and I can’t afford to do it for free. I’m sorry to decline, but thanks again, sincerely, for your kind words about my work.”
Somewhere recently I heard that it is a “subscription economy” we are in now, rather than a “membership economy”.
Several of the computer programs I use no longer just sell the program. Instead, they sell a subscription that is either paid monthly or yearly. So, I bought outdated versions, because my internet service isn’t dependable enough. I need the thing to be on my computer, not out there on the World Wide Web. And, I don’t need any more monthly expenses.
Then I got thinking about memberships to stores: I quit Costco because it bothered me to pay to shop (and a couple of other reasons.) But, I joined Amazon Prime for free shipping, because I don’t have to drive down the hill using up gas and time and adding miles to my car.
Lots of free internet services offer premium versions and upgrades. I don’t pay for the premium version of this blog platform because this one works. It already costs me about $500 a year to pay someone to keep it up to date.
I don’t pay for an upgraded version of LinkedIn. I enjoy reading their articles and finding links to good articles online but it isn’t a great use of my time.
Someone far wiser than I (Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism and The Disciplined Pursuit of Less) suggests that when you have to decide whether or not to pay for something that used to be free, think about it this way: “What would I pay to get this if I didn’t have it?”
The business of art requires continual decisions. Choices and consequences, choices and consequences.
What shall I do?? Join? Not join? Subscribe? Become a member?There. Take that, subscriptions. Guess I showed them.
Have you heard that we are now living in a “membership economy”? When I read articles and opinion pieces about marketing, particularly marketing online, this idea of membership is promoted regularly.
Before I knew we were in this new “era” (fad, trend, phase, something. . .), I struggled with all the requests to join various organizations.
3 different historical societies, 2 library organizations, 5 art groups, 2 chambers of commerce, and at least 2 more groups that I don’t know how to classify want my money every year. If every organization charged $25 per year, I’d be out $350 a year and buried in newsletters and little cards to put in my wallet. Oh, and there are the stickers they send for your car window and the magnets for your refrigerator.
I do belong to the Auto Club (my car is 20 years old with 208,000 210,000miles on it – how is that possible??) and to a few of the aforementioned groups because sometimes it is the only way to be able to participate in various art shows without paying an additional fee.
I’ve puzzled over how to create a membership to my fan club. (Wait – I am supposed to call the participants “collectors”? Hmmm, first I need fans, then I need to form a club, then figure out what they get for joining, design tchotchkes to persuade everyone it is worth the fee, figure out some sort of discount or other enticement to let members feel special, and finally, figure out some sort of internet dealiemabob so that it is automated.
Nah. I’m busy. Gotta keep shredding those membership requests so the bad guys don’t join in my name.
Samson is running away from requests to become a member of The Cutest Kitten Society, Fierce Felines United, and Tabbies International.
While I painted recently, I listened to music (Selah is the name of the group), fought off Samson and thought about things.
In Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies, I am without a doubt a Questioner. As a result, most of my thoughts end up as unanswered questions. If an answer arrives, another 2 or 3 or 15 questions pop back up.
Trail Guy and I recently found a cell phone. I emailed all the neighbors and asked if anyone recognized the number. The responses were “Nope, not mine.” Why did no one look on his phone to see if he had the number or name on his own contact list?
What good are mosquitoes in the whole scheme of things?
Why did none of my art teachers teach how to frame, approach galleries, set up shows, title pieces, sell, or reproduce art?
Did I quit school too soon?
Why are all those old cities in Israel buried so deep?
Who dumps dirt on their towns and then moves to a new place?
Why does Samson need to bite everything? (hint: if he came in a pair, his litter-mate would teach him better manners)
Why is it so easy to harmonize with fabulous voices like Selah and so impossible to do it alone?
And, here is a bonus question:
If 7/11 is open 24/7, why don’t they change their name and take the locks off their doors?
A moment of rest from attacksThe oil painting I will give to Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery annual auction (If Samson doesn’t climb it and wreck it.)
