Having Fun

 While my studio is under construction, I’ve been having a swell time painting 4x6 acrylic paintings on watercolor 140 lb cold press at my design table. I always forget how much fun it is to do paintings on paper. I started with watercolor but soon tired of that. I like doing pen with watercolor but plain WC, not so much. It always seems bland to me and I don’t have the patience to wait for drying between layers. It is just not my game without the ink too.  Opaque is my game and it always has been. I love oils,acrylics,and casein. I don’t mind gouache but it is not my favorite.  

 

Waiting for my studio upgrade is hard. The studio is quite empty and unusable. I know it will be worth the wait, but I sure miss standing in front of my easel, listening to my WW2 and other history podcasts while I paint with joy. It has to be finished by July 14th. Fingers crossed! If not, I will have to put the old studio back together for 2 days. I would rather not do that! I’ve been thinking some about changing some things around in the room when I move back in. 

 

New spaces are fun for country painters…… 

Which Path?

 I’m at the stage of life and career where I need to make decisions on my studio space future. My home town art dealer moved to St Augustine and I do have paintings in his gallery, but no longer have paintings in my home town. 

 I’ve been going back and forth on whether to rent a town studio space or to make gradual cosmetic improvements and stay put in my own studio/gallery space. These decisions need to be made carefully.

 I am not that far out of town, and my friends don’t seem to mind the trip out to my studio. Most of them love being out in the sticks and in the cool months, they enjoy my walking trails. I love having a separate building behind my house and being able to paint whoever I want to. Endless Covid is an issue as well. People know that my studio is a safe Covid free space. I have set it up so visitors sit at one table and I sit  at a different table for safety. 

 I have in mind to have the tea party/gallery room painted a pale gray, charcoal gray baseboards and new laminate gray wood floors installed in that room. Art looks wonderful with gray walls. I don’t need to do the other rooms. I use a smaller room as my working studio space, the hallway and utility room can stay as they are.

I think my current studio is where I belong. I’m saving up for this project. Happily, my contractor told me yesterday she will be able to complete the upgrade before the July Studio tour by GFAA. My theme will be an old fashioned hot dog picnic, with fixings, and veges for my vegan friends. 

 Country painters have great studios…..

Do you

 There are more and more formulas written by so called experts and coaches for selling art, especially for social media. Not a day goes by that I don’t get unasked for advice on how I can become a great influencer and have tens of thousands of followers. I just have to pay them for their advice, or promote soap, underwear or food products. 

 

Then there are the trenders in the art world. Let’s all paint abstracts, street scenes, kids on beaches if we want to sell art. Let’s make sure we are using the Pelatone color of the year. If one artist is using good ideas for marketing their work, we must do that too. Let’s not come up with ideas that work for our own needs. 

 

I say do what is authentically you. Ignore the trends, ignore the new trending color, ignore what the popular artists do, unless you happen to love their colors or style. I have gone my own way through my career. I often stop and check whether an art venue works for me. I do let my emotions guide me. 

 

Most plein air painters in Florida have forgotten that  Cheryl Ritter and I produced the first paint out in Florida and Hope Barton and I started the Epcot Center WDW paint out. I was the project manager for that event for 10 years, and I consulted on the Forgotten Coast, Winter Park, Jax Arboretum, Evinston, New Smyrna Beach, and Wekiva Paint Outs. David Johnson and I created Plein Air Florida.  Yet, a time came when I knew paint outs were over for me. I left that world behind. It did not ruin my career, it was just time to go. 

 

Country painters have a swell life…

Observation

 I have long been fascinated with atmospheric qualities of the landscape. I credit that interest to all my years as a hobby naturalist and years of observation as a professional painter.

I like to think of a canvas as three basic planes of the landscape, distant, middle, and foreground. I am ever aware of those basic planes. They can be adjusted up and down the picture plane, but they are ever present. 

The key is thinking in the way we actually see. Unlike a camera’s photo, everything is not crisp and clear in our natural view. We tend to focus on one area of our view. The painter has the ability to put the focus on a plane, either distant, middle or foreground.  Inexperienced painters make everything sharply focused or everything blurred. They make everything highly saturated or bland, middle range in values or too contrasty. A good painting has variety. 

The painter’s job is to create a beautiful or interesting scene, not to copy nature. We must lead the viewer into the painting and keep them there as long as possible. If everything is the same focus, color saturation, sharp or carelessly finished, it becomes predictable. 

Painting is hard for country painters……

 

Stay Aware

 One of the most important things and artist must do, is to periodically analyze their activities and to be aware of changes in their career. Many artists get into a rote pattern of doing what they have done before just because that is what they always do. I see this very frequently.

 

I constantly think about an event and evaluate its potential for me for sales and marketing. Am I really getting anything out of it besides a few hours of fun? Is the event wearing on my body, my time and resources without return on investment? Am I doing an event because all of the "brand name" artists are going to be there rather than because it really helps me in some way? Does this event take me away from my own market, my studio time, and cost money instead of creating ROI?

 

 Many artists use the excuse that events are fun, so are worth the cost and time management issues. Frankly, I can have fun with a real vacation without the stress of working through a paint out or other event. Why not spend a few hundred dollars to go on a real vacation, where you are free to enjoy all of the fun?

 

 Every artist has to go their own path to success. I'm not suggesting that everyone should analyze the ROI for their time. I am a business woman, not just an artist, so my time must be used wisely as often as possible. 

Country painters have a wonderful life….. 

Changing Mediums

 

 I think changing mediums makes me a better painter. I’ve been using oils for over a year now for my serious work. I like to change up mediums every year or so. In my long career I have taught myself to use casein, gouache, acrylics, pastels, graphite, and pen and ink.

 I’m switching over to acrylic on canvas for awhile starting this week. I always take with me a few things I learn from one medium to the next. I learned all about glazing in oils and carried it forward to acrylics. I learned all about clean mixing and placing paint next to color and value shifts from acrylics and it helped me to paint well with clean application in alla prima oils. 

 Today was my switch. I did this painting in about 90 minutes. I had forgotten how fast acrylics are. I really enjoyed it. It took me about 8 years to learn to paint with acrylics. I like to have them look almost identical to my oils in finish, easier said than done. 

 I prefer casein to gouache for opaque water based painting. Casein doesn’t muddy or lift. It is cleaner than gouache. I like pen and watercolor better than just watercolor, but I am forcing myself to use watercolor alone. I ordered some watercolor paper which will work better than MM paper. 

 It is all good fun for country painters…….

Studio Visits Leave Impressions

 I visited a studio a few years ago while on an artist residency. It was called a gallery and it was in a very upscale building. In fact, it is one person's studio so I would not call it a gallery. I was greeted at the door by the artist's wife though she did not introduce herself as the wife. I was ushered in with attention from her but was ignored by the artist himself, who obviously could see that there was a guest present. As soon as she knew I was a visiting artist, her greeting turned off like a faucet. She answered a few questions and then turned away, anxious for me to leave.

 I thought to myself that both of them could learn a bit about how to run a gallery, though I'm sure he does very well with selected clients. His work is very nice and traditional. He had no originals in the front room, evidently they are in another room. He must make his living off reproductions, saving back the real work for high end buyers. 

 The thing is, that you never know who is a serious buyer and who is a casual browser, and frankly, that shouldn't matter to you if you genuinely like people and want to build a relationship with collectors. I am quite delighted when people come to my studio. I offer them coffee or tea and a snack in hopes that they will stay and chat, because they are often quite bright and fun with interesting careers. I might make a new friend, whether they collect art or not. I have met some of the most interesting people, happy to have them as my guests. Some buy my work and some don't but many of them become my friends. Friends have friends too. 

 Because I got a negative impression from these studio owners, I will probably not go back again. I buy a few paintings for gifts each year, so I consider myself a regular collector of original art. 

 If you have a retail studio, think about what kind of impression you make to a visitor. My friends and collectors are vitally important to me. I could not have this wonderful life without them. My studio is like my home. I was raised to honor guests and to treat them like royalty. My momma always did. I do too. 

 Country painters have a wonderful life....

Growth as a Painter

 I have a lot of ups and downs as a painter, with periods of struggle and then nice easy periods. I never know when I will come into a bad stage or how long it will last. When I was a young painter, I used to feel panic about the bad painting spells, worrying that I would never come out of them, but now I know that they are a signal of a growth period for me. 

 I've never been one to learn technique and then cruise. I see that frequently in some pretty highly skilled painters. Painters who have a real gift, but for whatever reason, don't have the will or desire to push their skills along further. They have nice work and so they are comfortable with that level. Ten years later, their work looks the same. 

I feel lucky in a way to be a less than brilliant painter. I still crave that masterpiece that constantly stays out of my reach. I suspect that I would be lazy if I had great skill. Perhaps that is their great downfall, having great skill without the determination to reach further because they don't have to be hungry anymore. They have a style and a palette that makes them money so why rock the boat?

 The next fork in the road will show new technique for me to learn. The real joy of painting is the serendipitous, mystery of the game! The masterpiece is just around the corner.

 

Country Painters have a wonderful life......

 

Don’t be Rude

 Some artists are just plain rude. I have spoken about this before but it bares repeating. It is common on social media, but also in the real world. 

 I constantly get posts on my Instagram feed that say “ Gee I like your work but you should really follow so and so, you will love their work”. In other words, if you really want to see good art, follow them. 

 The worse culprit artists are those who come to your studio parties and whip out their photos of their paintings to show your collectors. I witnessed an artist who came to an exclusive paint out party for wealthy collectors and spent the evening giving out her cards. She had no involvement in the event at all. 

 Then there are the artists who push to have their paintings in the optimal location in a show. Then the artists who declare their art is too good to be placed next to an “inferior” artist’s work. If they thought about it they would know their more experienced work would shine next to a beginner’s. I actually heard two artists tell a gallery owner they were too good to show next to inferior painters. It was shocking and insulting to the gallery owner. 

 Then there are the artists who constantly air their dirty linen online. That is the worse thing they can do for their career. People love success! Fake it if you must! Ask for help privately if you need it, but don’t ever admit failure as an artist. Artists, get a grip! You don’t need to step on others to win!

Country painters are very lucky!

Birding

 

BIRDING

My bird adventure continued this morning as I walked along. I was first greeted by a chorus of Sand Hill cranes hooting along in rhythm from my neighbors large wetlands. It was a marvelous chaotic symphony, rather like a modern composer would write.

Next came the song birds warming up, accompanied by the two silly roosters who live next door. One is a tone deaf tenor, they other a baritone. These roosters are hilarious and completely inept. They try to herd the hens around, who completely ignore them. Definitely southern, as we ladies do that to most men here in the south. 

The final adventure was the most exciting. I have learned to approach the front porch quietly so as not to disturb the nesting wren family. As I approached, three wren burst out of the nest, two ladies and one gentleman. Evidently the second female had tried to horn in on the existing nest, not realizing it was occupied. The pair gave her what for in no uncertain terms! While they were in the trees cursing each other, I got a peek in the nest to see at least two tiny eggs.

 

Country artists love birds…..