Farewell at Dusk, 10×30″, oil on wrapped canvas, $500
There is an ongoing topic among artists about whether or not it is right to paint in order to sell. In general, the two schools of thought are:
- Do Your Own Thing And Express Yourself And If Nothing Sells At Least You Haven’t Sold Your Soul
- You Are In Business So You Had Best Please The Customers And Be Grateful They Like Your Work Enough To Part With Their Hard-Earned Dollars
It is clear that I belong in School #2.
Paint it out
Sometimes I paint something because I love it, and then I have to paint it out because no one in the local market of buyers agrees. The recent conversion of a river scene to sequoia trees is a prime example.
Paint it again
Sometimes I paint something that sells, so I paint it again and it sells again, and so on and so forth. Here is a recent example of that situation. Six times? Seven? I lost count. Because it was so popular, I painted the most recent version in hopes of selling it at the Silver City Store this summer. (Nope. . . is it waiting for you?)
Sawtooth Near Sunnypoint IX, 12×24″, oil on wrapped canvas, $550
Paint what I love
And the best of all is when I paint something just because I want to, and then it sells. But sometimes that feels disappointing because I wanted to keep it. (So what’s the problem? Just paint it again!)
Paint it better
Sometimes I paint something, it doesn’t sell, and then I have to figure out why not. I did that with this painting of redwood and dogwood, and it sold very quickly after the do-over. (I was tempted to name it Red Dog but knew that was a loser from a marketing standpoint.) 
The challenge with every scene, but particularly those I’ve painted many times is to make it the absolute best I can every time. No auto-pilot, no “phoning it in”, no sleep-painting. Focus, focus, focus.
As I often tell Nancy of Kaweah Arts, “I came here to earn a living, and I’d rather repaint a scene that bores me than be a waitress.”
The best way to not be bored while repainting a popular scene is to continually challenge myself to find a way to make it the best I can. Because. . .
7 Comments
Very interesting, and always inventive! Creating lasting beauty and pleasure for your patrons, past, present, and future, is certainly a worthy venture, whether or not money is involved, I would say.
Thank you, Laurie. So much noise on the internet, so much noise in my head. I appreciate your quiet encouragement. Money needs to be involved in my case or I wouldn’t have time to make art because I’d be making money some other way.
You can do both 1 and 2, as long as you do mostly 2. That is, until merchants agree to take paintings in payment. (If only!)
I see a theme, here. People like big Sequoia redwood trees!
Although I’ve never been a waitress, I don’t think I would ever like to try it. It’s hard work for little gain! So, keep on, CCA!
Sharon, it is good that I like the subjects that sell, although I would like to paint some beach and ocean scenes. Those eventually sell, but it is a slow bet. Sequoia trees are The Big Deal in Tulare County, with agriculture coming in behind. It was a bigger subject when my studio was in Exeter. Mineral King is a Big Deal too, but maybe that is just the crowd we run in.
Waiting tables was pretty good for meeting people, and when people like Fred Zurcher were present, the tips were great. But it is a scramble, true multi-tasking, and trying to keep everyone happy out front when the cook is bellowing “ORDER UP” in back is just hideous, annoying, and downright degrading.
Sorry for my ignorance, but who is Fred Zurcher?
And yes, I can see how “degrading” would be a good word. It’s a blessing to make a living doing what you enjoy, even when some of it can be annoying. I was fortunate to experience 40 years of enjoyment!
Fred was the Silver City cabin owner who played an Alpen horn.
Ah yes, I remember that story now. I even saw a photo at some point. How did he get that thing in the trunk of his car, anyway??
(J.K. I think it came apart into short, manageable sections.)
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