Celebrating 150 Years

Last year I had the pleasure of having my art work featured in an article in Prospectors Magazine.  It was a definately a high point for my art efforts in 2013.  

Since that article was published I have added to my collection of prospector pieces and wanted to share a few of them today in this post.   Mining is such an important part of the history of Nevada.  Its appropriate to take a moment to think about this part of our history as this fall Nevada will be celebrating it's 150th birthday. (October 31, 1864)  You will find that there are many examples of both Cowboys, Ranchers and the Native Americans used in western art, but there are really very few pieces that focus on the rugid prospector.  I love giving a little tribute to the prospector/miner who scoured this state leaving their artifacts scattered all over the desert floor.  

More information on all of these pieces and many more are available on my Website at JulieTownsendStudio.com.   Come check them out and I would love it if you would leave me a comment.

mARkeTing is Almost as Important as Painting

Holding my framed copy of the magazine

mARkeTing 

....is almost as important as painting itself and every once in a while I have to ask myself am I doing everything I can to get myself out there.   This thought is more on my mind since it has been over 3 months since I have sold anything.  I found this article online and was pleased to see that most of the 16 suggestions I am already doing but a refresher never hurts.  http://rightbrainrockstar.com/general-advice/16-things-you-can-do-today-to-get-your-artwork-noticed/

Many of the artists I have grown to know in my two years of claiming to be one know very little about self promotion and frankly don't take advantage of the technology that is out there so besides this article I thought I would share some of the things I have done recently.

1.  BLOG, BLOG, BLOG AND BLOG!-  This isn't as hard as it sounds because as you can see I'm writing a blog right now and I like to write.  Even if you just post your most current painting to share or write a few lines about that art show you are going to it is getting out there.  I feel that it is important for people to identify with you as the artist on a personal level and blogging is the best way to do that.  Do you like your cat or dog?  Do you live near a tourist area?  Do you like old ghost towns?  Find something that will make you stand out and use that to BRAND yourself.  I try to blog several times a week and I check my blog statistics almost daily to see how many hits I have.

2.  Get a Website-  I love Weebly.com as I found it to be easy to use and I think it looks pretty professional for a free site.  My website is JulieTownsendStudio.com and I would love it if you want to browse my site and even ask me questions about it.  I check my statistics almost daily and so far my daily record for page hits has been 100 just a few weeks ago on July 19th.  Sometimes there are only 15 and other days I might see 75.  I don't know what makes the difference but I do know that on an average my page hits continue to climb and that is a VERY GOOD thing!  Eventually I believe that activity will generate sales for me.

3.  Join a Local Group- I joined the Vegas Artist Guild nearly 3 years ago and even served a year as their treasurer.  I made valuable friendships and have a number of opportunities to show my work that I wouldn't otherwise have.  If you want to be an artist, then you have to rub shoulders and elbows with artists (even if they are covered in paint and smell like turpentine).  I know have joined several other groups and they all have a number of opportunities.

4.  I have a FineArtAmerica.com account-  This is site that allows me to upload my images and then serves as a place that the public can order prints or cards with my images.  FineArtAmerica takes care of all the details and they send you a commission check each month for those sales.  I check my visitors to this site daily and browse the artwork that has just sold to get a feel for what is selling out there.

5.  Join a Co-op Gallery-  I have been a part of the City of The World Gallery in Las Vegas since January.  I rent a wall space and have about 15 pieces hanging there.  Each month the community has an art event called First Friday and this is a great chance to talk to the public about your work.  I get many compliments and positive comments and eventually that will equal sales.  I have to believe that.  There is no room for negative thoughts when it comes to marketing so don't get discouraged.

6.  Have FUN!  Don't paint just for sales but rather let the sales come from painting what you like.  I have to admit that I have been painting several smaller works (8x10) with the hope that a $50 price tag will be easier to sell over a large (24x36) piece that I'm asking $300 for.  I might like to paint large pieces better but my little chickens have been a blast to paint and they are so much faster to finish.

7. Find your Niche- If your art involves a specific location or industry then try to think of venues that aren't necessary art related but see if there is an interest. Get Creative and just jot down anything that comes to mind and then start researching who to contact.   I did that recently and it worked out very well for me.  I'm interested in Nevada Ghost Towns and so often I will paint something that is either a mining ruin or at least a desert scene.  I had painted a prospector panning for gold and decided I would actually contact the magazine, Gold Prospectors and low and behold they decided to do an article on my painting.  That article appeared in the Mar/April edition and generated a great deal of interest in my work.  Who would have thought.

Image of the page 1 of 2 in the Mar/April 2013 edition of Gold Prospectors

Everyone Needs a Critic

I have one friend that I can depend on that will always tell me the truth about my artist endeavors. She will always tell me what she likes about my creation but equally she doesn't hold back with truthful criticism and since she has nearly 40 years of painting experience, I know that she knows what she is talking about. Sometimes it is hard to hear but it is EXACTLY what I need if I want to grow as an artist.

Right now, my week has been consumed with working on my very first commission piece and last night my friend had a great deal of sound advice regarding my progress. The issue with this commission piece is that the buyer has requested a combination of two of my existing paintings on one canvas. Both of these pieces were featured in the Mar/April 2013 edition of "Gold Prospectors Magazine". Now with many paintings that might not be a problem per say but in this case we are talking about two completely different landscapes; one is of a mining shack that I painted near Tonopah, Nevada and is smack dab in the heart of the Mojave Desert and the other one is of a prospector panning for gold in a mountain stream. The focus of both is gold mining but blending the two together is proving difficult.

I had followed her previous council and had created a rendering by doing a pencil sketch of the layout based upon the conversation I had with the buyer. The buyer said he loved the idea and so I proceeded to start my painting. Visually, I worked to combine the sky and mountains between the two scenes and then my plan was to separate the two scenes by using tall pines trees and shrub pine in the center as a division. When I was about 3/4 of the way complete, I sent a progress picture to my friend and she had a great deal to say about it.

First, she told me that it was breaking a huge compositional rule by having large trees in the center of my canvas and that these trees are the focal point when they shouldn't be. No matter if the buyer agreed, it was my job as the artist to direct him to a composition that works and while they may be buying the piece upon completion, I still owned this work. They will probably be in awe at anything you paint because they don't possess the artistic skill to paint anything and that is why they hired me. She didn't want me putting something out there that I might later regret. All I can say about this is that I sure have a lot to learn about this art business.

Then she gave me some helpful advise to consider a correction. She advised me to take a heavy bristol paper and to tape it on to the canvas in the problem area. Then re-paint the scene that better brings the two paintings together and that will minimize the center pine trees. This way I can visually see the correction before I start laying waste to my piece and deciding this wasn't going to work. Wise advice to be sure.

I have included the pictures of my original works and the current piece in progression so that you as the reader might learn along with me. After all, the purpose of this blog is to hopefully help other aspiring artists like myself by sharing my journey.

Pinch Me!

If you are interested in viewing more of my work then please check out my gallery page on my website at : JulieTownsendStudio.com



Almost a year ago I was contacted by a writer of Gold Prospectors magazine following an email I sent to the editor regarding my love of sharing the rich history of this state through my paintings.  Often that would include the tough miners that came here in floods seeking their fortunes.  I had just finished a painting called "Dreams of Shades of Gold" and shared that image in my email.  Next thing I know I am being called for an interview.  Finally the published article is in my possession and I immediately had it framed.

I couldn't take a picture of myself holding the article just anywhere, so this morning we took a drive out towards beautiful Lake Mead.  Now there may not be gold in those hills behind me but they sure are a pretty color and lends nicely to the composition.