Watching Paint Dry

Last week I shared my thoughts about how the world is now wanting things to be juiced up.

Here is the juiced up version of a new Mineral King painting, with enhanced versions of two other paintings, all drying in the painting studio while it is RAINING OUTSIDE!!

It is hard to tell that the 2 top pieces have been enhanced. I might need to work harder at figuring out this juiced-up thing. I am such a pragmatist and a realist. The truth drives me. However, I have been known to exaggerate in the past to make a point or to get a laugh. Perhaps I can direct this ability to my oil painting.

The Mineral King painting (on the bottom) is quite bright. At this oblique angle it is hard to know that it is still missing a great deal of detail.

Meanwhile, I’ll wait for the paint to dry and engage in some productive procrastination.

I just learned how to make chalkboard paint – stir about 1 Tablespoon of UNsanded grout into about a cup of paint. It gets thick and it dries fast and you can write on it with chalk! A person could get carried away with this sort of information.

I don’t know why I wrote those phone #s on the pegboard for drying oil paintings. First, I know those phone #s. Second, if I forgot them and there were wet oil paintings on top of them, they wouldn’t be visible.

Is “productive procrastination” an oxymoron?

Honestly, I just couldn’t figure out what to do because when it is raining, it is too dark for painting. I could draw, but the drawings are finished for The Cabins of Wilsonia. I could draw something else, but it is oil paintings that sell the best.

So, I’ll just watch paint dry and thank God for the rain.

Thoughtful Thursdays – A Juiced Up Life

Now that the drawings for The Cabins of Wilsonia  are finished, I’m thinking about oil painting again.

I’d like to make a 2015 calendar of paintings, and need to decide if I have any that can be used or if I need to do 13 new paintings. Thirteen? A year has 12 months, a calendar has 12 months PLUS a cover.

I’m studying some paintings I didn’t use in the 2013 calendar very intensely. Why hasn’t this or that painting sold? Is it the old “right person hasn’t come along” or is the painting just not good enough to grab those who have come along??

When I wonder about things like this of a philosophical and esoteric nature, I talk to my friend D about it. She and I have decided that we live in a time when we are all used to things being instant and awesome, or as I think of it, “juiced up”. Here are some examples:

Photos

A. regular photo – nice.

B. juiced up photos, like the ones in the link I gave you yesterday.  We are impressed when the light and color are enhanced, or juiced up.

Music

A.  friend playing a song on a guitar – nice.

B. juiced up, hearing it in stereo on our ear buds with all the accompaniment

Movies

A. old movie – entertaining in a dorky sort of way.

B. juiced up – big flat HD screens with stereo sound and special effects and surgically enhanced actors

What does this have to do with painting?

I can paint what I know or see, mixing the colors that match nature and reality. Nice.

Or, I can juice it up – exaggerate the colors, enhance them and show people a scene the way they remember it, because it was a juiced up memory.

Here is a non-juiced up photo:

Nice. Of course it is nice; it is Mineral King!

Here is a juiced up painting:

The colors are brighter, I added a peak, I subtracted a tree. The tree was good, but it didn’t fit the shape of this rolling trunk with a slightly warped lid.

I decided to paint this same scene on canvas. If it turns out well, I’ll put it in the 2015 calendar.

It is very wet and the color doesn’t look juiced up yet. When it is finished and completely dry, I’ll rephoto or scan it so you can see what I mean about juiced up.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, but I don’t dare turn on the comments and be hit by a tidal wave of spam. Sigh. You can use the Contact the Artist tab above or email me if we are already correspondents.

Commissioned Oil Paintings With Far Away Customers

Commissions are an important component of earning a living with art. Some artists love them, some do them while figuratively holding their noses, and some artists flat out refuse. I fall somewhere between the first 2 types of artists, because it depends on both the idea and the customer.

While I worked with Lisa on her commissioned oil painting of the Lake House last fall, I did some thinking about commissions. It is so tricky to work long distance, using photos, email and an occasional phone call. Words mean things, and relying on words to explain an unseen thing is tricky.

Three Rivers commissioned oil painting

There are several elements at work in this type of art-making endeavor:

The Ideas: Those who know what they want, and those who are not sure, and those who keep editing.

The Customers: Those who can communicate and those who cannot.

Hmmm, that makes 3 x 2 = 6 possible commission customers

1. Knows what she wants and can explain it – The easiest!

2. Not sure what she wants but can explain as she figures it out. . . keep talking, because eventually we will arrive. (Hi Lisa! We did it!!)

3. Keeps editing and can explain each new idea – keep talking, but my prices are really too low for this type of continual editing and changing. Construction companies call these “Change Orders” which means they charge each time a customer orders a change.

4. Knows and cannot communicate – yikes.

5. Isn’t sure and cannot communicate – Sorry, Toots, I am unable to be of any assistance here.

6. Doesn’t have an idea and cannot communicate – Fuhgeddaboutit.

It all comes down to communication.

The painting above was painted for a customer in the #1 category, except that she isn’t far away. She wants another just like it. That will be fun, and I will add the personal challenge of just like it only better.

P.S. I see it is time to update my commissioned oil painting page because I have put commissioned paintings on the sold page instead of where they belong! Where are My People? I need People for this stuff!

Learning to Oil Paint

Remember in the olden days when I was an oil painter? This was before 2013, the year I drew 180 pencil drawings of Wilsonia cabins.

A number of my drawing students have been pressuring me to teach oil painting. We know one another fairly well so they understand how I teach, and I understand how each one of them learns. Besides, I believe strongly that a person needs to be able to draw before painting. You can read about it here.

There were four students in the first session, and they painted oranges. That is the first thing I  painted when I started learning. They painted from photos, because the light changes way too fast to paint from real life. It is especially tricky when one is mixing from the primaries, which is the way I paint. (Some day I will post about that for you.) With four people painting, I spent the entire time going from easel to easel, with a short lunch break. Every time I finished helping one person, the next person was stuck. It was exciting!

The following week there were eight students! Three were returnees, one had been to my studio for a private lesson and the other four were brand new to oil painting. The new ones were wondering how they’d do, the returnees wanted to finish their oranges, and one ambitious painter wanted to also paint a lemon.

The results of the two days painting sessions were FABULOUS!

Yes, I know. “Drawing with a paintbrush” and a watercolor brush at that! So? She was getting the job done and easing into it with the tools and style that she was comfortable with.

This is a former tole painter who has been learning to draw with me. We were very pleased with her results! (She likes to “draw” with short handled brushes too.)

At last year’s oil painting workshop, this participant painted a pomegranate. Now she has almost an orange to go with it.

This fabulous orange was painted by an advanced drawing student. If she decides to not pursue a career in medicine, she can always become an artist.

Last year a pomegranate, this year an orange AND A LEMON TOO?? In another year, I’ll be taking painting lessons from this woman!

Pretty good, eh? And this is her first oil painting in her entire life!

Sometimes when we are drawing, we turn both the photos and the piece of work upside down. It works for painting too, unless you are painting from real life. This gives our eyes the chance to override our preconceived notions of how a thing is supposed to look. It gives the right side of the brain precedence over the left side. It helps us fix the parts that aren’t correct. It is hard at first, but it is a great way to get better accuracy.

Not finished, but when it is, it will be stunning.

Orange, pomegranate and lemon oil painters, I am proud of you!

 

Lisa’s Lake House, 10

Lisa’s Lake House is completed – signed, varnished, photographed and titled correctly as “Hjartebo”.

Now it sits in the painting workshop so I can follow it while working on the duplicate paintings for Lisa’s sisters. You’d think I’d have this completely memorized, but my visual memory is not quite that developed. I could work from the photos of the painting, but the color matching would be off.

Hang on, Lisa, I’m painting as fast as the weather, the light, drawing lessons, developing a 2014 calendar and The Cabins of Wilsonia will allow!

Donations Bloviations

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). 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. . .) That year I decided to stop the insanity. I began reading what other artists had to say about the matter.

Sequoia oil painting, 8×8″, sold? Nope, donated. 

There are many 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 hard-won inventory.

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 paid full price will 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.

A few weeks ago I got caught up in the spirit of an event and spent a very long day helping to create labels for the silent auction. It was a fun day, and I ended up donating a painting. A good friend bought it, and I’m very happy for all the parties involved. I donated the painting because of Reason To Donate #1, which I think is the only good one on the list.

Meanwhile, 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.”

 

 

Lisa’s Lake House 8

And finally, it is beginning to look detailed! There will be an extended drying session, because the shadows on the house are all wet. The next step is hollyhocks, lilies and geraniums, and they will go over the house, so it cannot be wet when I add those.

In addition to seeing Lisa’s Lake House, you can see I have several unfinished paintings and that I have painted the trim in the workshop a lovely teal. What you can’t see is that I poured teal paint on the floor while moving those telephone wires around. I think teal and brown are a beautiful combination, so the spots on the floor look okay to me. It’s a workshop, not a living room! (although sometimes it feels as if I live there. . .)

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I just turned my back for a sec, and look what happened on the easels! I think I’ll go lie down for a bit, maybe take an aspirin or find some chocolate.

Lisa’s Lake House #5

As I was painting on this fifth pass over the canvas, the phone rang. I was between colors and just staring at the canvas, so contrary to my normal phone habits while painting, I answered.

The caller identified herself, and I was completely blank mentally.  Completely. I realized that I was concentrating so much on the details of the painting that I felt as if I was at the lake in Minnesota. In addition to not putting down the brush, not interrupting the flow of thoughts is another reason to let the answering machine pick up while painting.

After showing Lisa step #4, she made a few requests and changes and additions. I paid attention, then put on my strongest magnifying glasses and went to work on the details of the distant lake line along with some other things. I LOVE detail. (Hmmm, I’ve mentioned this before, yes?)

Here is the latest pass over the canvas:

The lake was looking rather ocean-ish. Because I couldn’t see the horizon line in any of the photos, and Lisa asked me to open up the trees for a better view of the lake, I was just baffled as to what to do. (My normal thing is to bury stuff that I can’t see under growing things.)

Lisa sent me a video, taken while standing on her dock and slowly turning 360 degrees around the entire lake view. I watched that video numerous times, and then paused it and studied the distant shore line. Aha! So THAT’s how a lake shore looks at a distance. . .

The house and windows now have tighter detail. There needs to be more shadow on the house, but not as much as in the photo sitting at the base of the easel. I’ll work on that next.

I began “planting” things below the house on the left. When Lisa advises me as to whether or not these are believable, then I’ll either turn them into something else or continue. (Well, duh, Captain Obvious.)

Mineral King is Closed

Hmmm, this is all so weird. I will refrain from sharing my opinion about the government shut down, because people come to this blog to be entertained and inspired. Discussing a difficult and divisive subject could possibly be entertaining, but I doubt if it would be inspiring.

Have a look at a painting of a familiar, comforting scene in Mineral King. Feel inspired. Feel entertained. Don’t worry, be happy!

Mineral King Autumn, 8×8″, oil on wrapped canvas, $95, sold