Enjoy the Process

A very common question asked to an artist is "How long does it take you to paint that?"  Mostly because the person standing there in front of you likes your work and feels the need to engage you as the artist but has no clue about the painting process so it is the first question that comes to their mind.  I have many times explained that I paint quickly but that I don't paint for long periods of time, so a 24 x 36 may take me a week to finish off and on where I can paint a 12x16 in one evening.  I usually then mention that is my main reason I like acrylics over oils and that if I'm painting in oils I have to be working on 3 pieces at the same time because the drying time makes me crazy impatient.  I would take a certain amount of pride in this fact.  Like the fact that I can paint fast made me stand out as an artist.

There is certainly a difference in painting fast and being prolific.  Prolific painting leads to proficiency while painting fast may only lead to stacks of mediocre artwork. After 5 years I think that I'm beginning to get it.  I've read over and over that sketching out the composition is a vital step, not to be skipped but skipping was exactly what I would do.  Please don't think that I'm saying that I think everything I have painted is junk, but I think often the struggles I get myself into with a composition might not have happened if I had taken more time to plan out the work.  

So this is my "Year of Art" and I'm dedicating myself to slowing down and enjoying the process involved with creating art and writing this blog.  So with that in mind, I thought I would share with you what I've been thinking about for my next painting.  A few months back I started what I saw in my mind a series of artwork that focused on my memories of the country childhood I was blessed to have being raised in Central Missouri.  When I think of one color that best describes my memories of Missouri, it would be GREEN.  Green was everywhere you looked most of the year.  A canopy above and several layers of undergrowth that covered all those hills.  Unlike it's neighboring state of Kansas, the thick forest and many hills would obscure your view.  I would often think that a tornado would be right on top of you before you could even see it coming.

I think that is why I painted the background on both "Life at the Fence Post" and "Lunch Under the Mailbox" in a solid green tone that kept the focus on the foreground.  I don't think that I will treat each piece in this series this way, but I am still loving how these two turned out.

For my third piece I want to continue with the fence post, morning glories and a definite grass line that shows the black, rich and fertile dirt that covers much of the state. I want a calf standing in the tall grass and wild flowers that is looking straight at you through the barbed wire.  I'm considering a chicken or a quail at the grass edge looking for a bug breakfast.  

In preparation of the start of this new piece, I have created two sketches so far.  Both have helped me greatly when thinking about how I want this painting to look when I am finished.  There are still questions that I still have to consider.  For example, which breed of calf do I like better, the Jersey or the Holstein?  What other wildlife if any do I want to include?  Do I continue with the solid green background or do I try to add sky and distant hills to this one?  It is obvious that I need to keep that sketch pad close by. 

I would love to hear from you and please visit my website to see a complete collection of my work.

Life at the Fence Post

Lunch Under the Mailbox

Renderings for my next painting

I Only Need to Paint 1.53846154 Pieces a Week

These past few months or so I have been attempting to multi-task by switching back and forth using both my left and right sides of my brain. I took on a seasonal part-time job working as a tax professional for a well known corporation and continuing to paint as much as I can during my time off. It has been a challenge for sure and reminds me of the days when I worked full-time as an accountant and would try to spend a few hours in my studio each night when I wasn't too exhausted.

Well, I have been retired from full-time employment for a year and half and while I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by I have to consider if I have been as productive as I thought I would be.  After today I will be once again be unemployed and able to devote more time to my artistic journey.  

Recently, I've been greatly benefiting from an e-course that is being taught by successful Xanadu gallery owner and author, Jason Horejs.  This course is full of great and practical advice and this information is exactly what I need to get my artistic goals clearly defined and propels me towards my dreams.  

Mr. Horejs writes, "Having spent over 20 years in the gallery business, I’ve noticed a key common trait of financially successful artists: they are constantly in the studio, hard at work. I would describe these artists as productive and prolific.  The realities of the art market today are such, that in order to generate regular sales and establish a strong collector base for your work, you have to have significant inventory. To a certain degree it’s a numbers game. You have to have enough work available so that you can show the work in a variety of venues and get the work in front of enough people to reach the buyers. My research has shown that, on average, successful painters are creating nearly 80 pieces per year."

Okay...this probably goes back to the accountant and tax professional in me but I had to do the math on that.  80 pieces / 52 weeks = 1.53846154.  WOW!  That's a worthy goal and one I'm going to work to attain it.

An exciting side note this week as I work to build MY COLLECTOR BASE....I was so pleased that my piece, "Casting Out the Darkness" found a new home with a couple from Lake Havasu, Arizona.  When I spoke to the wife on the phone, She stated to me that she and her husband had seen the painting in January while it was hanging at the Boulder City Gallery and her husband just loved it.  So last week while she was here in Las Vegas for a seminar she contacted me and we made arrangements to meet up so that she could purchase the piece for her husband as a birthday gift.  Let's just say I was doing the happy dance right there in the parking lot of the Hilton Garden Inn!

SOLD-GOT TO LOVE THOSE RED DOTS!

24x24 Acrylic- "Casting Out the Darkness"