Joining forces....becoming a team

Following up my last post, on my drive back, I formed a plan to help make my relationship work economically for both me and my new beach gallery.

The range of my early small development studies requested by the gallery and more importantly the final selections the gallery made, gave me important tells and quickly was very beneficial in discovering what appealed to the gallery.

Oddly for a beach gallery, it had very few marine paintings...the reason they contacted me in the first place. I like to paint anything with water, including seascapes. The gallery gave me reason to revisit this subject and possibly develop a market for my marine paintings at the same time.

Virginia Beach has a large second home market - our target market. Eventually they look for art. And in my experience as a designer working this market on the west coast, it means filling bare walls of new vacation homes generally themed to the area.

Better yet, if a designer is involved, then it will be an informed purchase and space appropriate as well as filling any emotional needs of the owner. However in this case we have no client, so I'm first painting for the gallery's needs with the hope it will get some attention when they hit the gallery door.

My plan

My plan is simple - paint larger scale works of the local ocean beach; a subject the gallery gravitated too and indicated they needed. My plan also included using those paintings in upcoming American Art Collector full page ads. 

NOTE: As a new artist in this gallery, I have no selling history with them...the gallery has no reason to spend money or go beyond hanging my paintings. If I want this to work, I'll have to take the first step.

My inspiration from a study they liked

 #309 Sea Storm - study 8x10 oil on canvas panel 3/15/2010

I pulled the original 30-minute study as reference. The gallery never saw this. They did like the image of my follow up 16x20 painting #310 completed a few days later. 

#310 Morning Calm 16x20 oil on linen panel 3/17/2010

I chose this particular study as my inspiration. It was the one they really wanted, however, I didn't have a frame so I left it behind.....Lucky for me because I have the original as my main reference.

Size matters when your trying to get attention in a gallery filled with a mosaic of sculpture and art! 

 I had one canvas all ready to go, it was a 56x48. The original studies , both horizontal would  not necessarily work for what I had in mind. As a designer I know vertical is preferable to a horizontal. Vertical will emphasize height, very desirable, and a square is a good compromise to either.

My First attempt

#640 Virginia Beach 56x48 Oil on linen 3/1/2012

 As you can see it worked out fine, making a better vertical statement. It will grab attention either closeup or at great distance.

My palette was different than the two studies done in 2010.  I didn't realize it until the last day. One important colour, Vermillion, was missing. On the last day I added it back in and it helped a bit. However, this painting is still darker, tho more dramatic. It may be a bit ominous, and in all honesty could deter some clients. The gallery input will be useful here. In any event, I will paint it again in a higher key which will give it a much lighter feel as in the 309 & 310 studies.

This morning I'll varnish it, install it in a new gold floater frame I ordered earlier in the week and tomorrow I plan on delivering it to the gallery.