One painting at a time - my grumpy "X"

As a young fledgling artist I don't remember frustration and art in the same thought - I was pretty much happy with my results. Besides, I'm not sure as a kid I had a reference of good or bad. Today I do.....so when  I mess up something that was right....you know a bit of diddling on a good passage or someone asks you to repeat a good comment and you can't with the same clarity - I get annoyed....that's what I call frustration....not because I couldn't but because I didn't!

Venetian Gods was one of those moments where good sense goes out the window. Normally when that urge comes on it's time to stop - take a break or end the session. LOL....Well I did end the session with a big nasty "X" across 4-days work....my frustration was gone and it felt good too:=) Imagine, a temper tantrum at my age...you gotta love it:=)

Then remorse took over; good thing too because I had the good sense to remove the big "X" and scrape the messed up passages off - in this case the gondolier, my star.  

Oddly it remained on my easel untouched for almost a week - normally it would have disappeared, but I wasn't in a painting mode. I had other things to do so it didn't have my attention, or did it?  

Yes, I think it did. I also think my week long break saved it...It was unfinished business and needed to be resolved before starting a new one. Removing the damage was the first clue I wasn't done with it. If I hadn't removed the "X" it would have been finished with no regrets and nothing to stop me from starting a new painting, which I had no desire to do....even after a week.

I think working on large multiple projects most of my adult life taught me to finish each stage before moving on or changing directions. In other words, complete the thought. In my mind, a painting is not a long term project and deserves my attention until its resolved one way or the other. It keeps the mind free from a lot of unresolved clutter.....like my grumpy "X"

 End of day 4 - before grumpy "X" was removed and Gondolier scraped smooth

DAY 5 #759

  #759 Venetian Melody (renamed) 30x30 oil on linen (12-8-12)

DETAILS

 Detail of Gondolier - this whole section was off and over cooked

 Detail of final Gondolier and oar - I got carried away and decorated his oar - one of my favorite details....I'll do it again too

Much the reason for the grumpy "X"

Final Venetian God 

I'm good with my results and decided to do another Venetian God, only this one will be 48x44 - Yesterday, I stretched the canvas for an early start today.......well see 

Later....

Learning curves - distance and art

Getting any painting done over the last week was tough with the WOAS show charging in fast. I'm in good shape tho...my shipping and framing is done and will be in Vegas next week....it was quite a learning curve for me but not the pros at JFM who got it done!

My everlasting appreciation to Pat, the JFM staff and Barry the art dealer, a total stranger on his way to Atlanta who agreed to meet me at I-81 & I-64 to deliver my paintings to JFM the following day.

Today with that behind me, I'm a happy camper; so maybe a few paintings will emerge, like another try at my failed Venetian Gods..LOL

Even with a failed painting, I actually had a good last week. I also spent time on the packing and shipping thing because it's become problematic, especially as my paintings get larger and galleries get further away. FedEx has worked exceptionally well as long as I can do the packing. I can handle singles up to a size myself, but it's not practical for large paintings or quantities of art. 

It costs about $600 to $1,000 to ship and crate a large framed painting (58x54) via most art shippers. If it's a sold painting perhaps OK but this is not the case in Vegas where I'm sending (17) paintings...some very large ones too as in this one below. No doubt a specialty art shipper could do it but could they frame it too?

WOAS is a 3-day show and I could easily be faced with return shipping. How would you like this one coming back...LOL

Framing and shipping is a big deal, costly and time consuming, taking valuable painting time....it's just a different mindset - shifting gears and all....not my job description!

This alone makes being a regional artist most attractive....even for a gallery, it is expensive to operate outside driving distance. Perhaps another reason we're swimming in small paintings...had to get that in:=)

So where is all this leading? An interesting alternative emerged from JFM, the company who supplies the majority of my framing. JFM is a wholesaler out of Atlanta, Ga. They might be unique in the business because they are multifaceted. JFM has an art reproduction printing service for artists, which is how I was exposed to some of their other services. I found they frequently drop ship finished work for artists....makes perfect sense.....even more so after fooling around with it the last few weeks on another project.

I also had a new gallery that wanted (8) paintings - most were shipped FedEx - (1) crate at 48x48x8 . I couldn't lift the box but me and the FedEx guy struggled and got it done. Going forward I needed a better solution - keep it light and manageable. Plus, I still had to ship the last painting, a 54x50 to the gallery. Knowing I would be faced with this more often than not led me to searching and buying larger custom corrugated boxes to fit my larger paintings up to 58x54 framed. The boxes would not arrive in time for Vegas tho...thank god!

All this brought me to JFM who I knew from experience could ship large heavy frames damage free. 
 
I approached them about framing and shipping my paintings to Vegas. They agreed and suggested sending the paintings not stretched but rolled up (less expensive); they would stretch, frame and drop ship to Vegas...or wherever. My kind of answer and just what I needed, a dependable vertical company that could do it all for me. 

So why wouldn't this work for my gallery shipments too?  My paintings and framing would be handled once and shipped direct. Aside from the obvious cost, saving over double shipping and handling, it saves time and allows me to ship worry free to any gallery or distant show. In my case, the latter being most important.....less stress (no failed paintings) more easel time!

Rolling my paintings up for shipping works for me and FedEx drivers will be a lot happier too:=)

Going into the new year I have a viable shipping solution....a serious learning curve!

Later....

Venetian Gods

The other day I started a 30x30 Venetian God painting, #759. It's been almost a year since the last one.....one sold a few weeks ago and a gallery snatched the last remaining one, so it was time to take a fresh look at Venice............ by the way it was called "Venetian Gods" because a Venice painting seems to demand the gondolier. Those iconic figures are idolized by millions worldwide. Perhaps remembered for their company while exploring Venice and if lucky sharing a great sun set too. 

Interestingly enough, galleries seem to gravitate towards gondolier paintings too.  Perhaps the right reason to paint a Venetian God.....perhaps not!

The recipe for #759 is simple (1) gondolier (1) Golden sunset with a pinch of gorgeous water reflections. San Giorgio in the distant horizon  (viewed from the Grand Canal); and the cherry on top would be the Salute or Dogona on the right anchoring the whole composition. 

Note: A good moon can be substituted  

DAY 1 #759

DAY 2 #759

 DAY 3 #759

DAY 4 #759

DAY 4 (2nd session) The "X" Factor?

 Not the kind one hopes for.....every once in a while a painting takes a turn and deserves a big  
"X"

#759 Venetian God "X" 30x30 oil on linen sank (11-30-12) 

LOL..I did remove the "X" but only after remorse set in. Now what?.....Fix it or move on........of course move on:=)  

Maybe a 5th session is warranted here......rather like the idea of a BIG RED "X"

Later...

WOAS - Vegas

Aside from painting for a couple juried events I have one last event for this year and that's the World of Art Show in Vegas. A big deal for me because it's a new sandbox to explore and my first major road show. It will be at the Wynn - nice digs too. I have a 10x20 space to fill which means crating and shipping many of my larger works across country...a new wrinkle to my art game. I'm looking forward to it because Vegas is familiar ground...hopefully I'll get to see some old friends too.

Doing this show will be a serious learning curve; cross country shipping, marketing material, and perhaps most important, making the right choices for an unknown market.  This one is wide open to a global audience. Can I hold my ground and sell?...I wounder what the Vegas odds would be on that.....LOL

I've already made my main selections along with a healthy group of 8x10s I can stack vertically in groups of 3 or 4. These will add some separation and structure to space left by my larger paintings. I look at these as samples of my brushwork and range as an artist. 

In my Crossroads gallery I actually have a 10x20 alcove so I know what my WOAS space will be like (below) The grey blue area is 10x20. (left wall is 8' but right is 10') You can see in the photos how structured and effective a stack or double stack of 8x10s framed alike can be. Looking at it here I might take the red ottoman too..:=)

CROSSROADS 11-16-12 OPENING 

The gallery is all set up; only waiting for the food and music to arrive for the art centers bi-monthly art festivities taking place later in the evening. Photographer Rebecca D'Angelo will cover the opening so I'll have more photos to share a bit later.

My double stacked of 8x10s adds a wonderful design element to the flow on this side of the gallery

 A NEW PAINTING

#756 Koi & Sun Drenched Lily Pads 30x30 oil on linen (11-25-12)
  

A SOLD PAINTING

#615 Venetian Gods 36x36 oil on linen
Congratulations - LeGrand Fine Art, Richmond, Va.

Later..  

Looking for my next project

My fall season has been busy with back to back openings, soiree and the like - more juried exhibits to paint for than one can count. I'll only enter two for the 2013 season; OPA National and Greenhouse Salon International out of Texas. So, I have to start now - I'm guessing this will be my next project. That means lots of fresh new square paintings in my immediate future (30x30's max for Greenhouse and 34x34s max for OPA). OPA is important because I only need one more national show to apply for signature status...one of my original goals. Greenhouse because this is a gallery I'm interested in and their juried exhibit it a good way to get through the front door. I've exhibited there several times in the past to earn a few peer credits. However now I look at them differently, because as a painter, my work has matured and I think it's time to retest the water. That is, if I get anything worthwhile to enter...:=)

Of course I'll paint for the maximum wall space and exposure allowable. The snakes fill every square inch with my competition.......and hang frame to frame which I despise! 
  

 A NEW PAINTING

#754 Morning Grazing 30x30 oil on linen (11-19-12) 

SOLD PAINTINGS
     

 

#641 Matador 44x40 oil on linen 
Congratulations to Richard Stravitz Fine Art Gallery, Va. Beach
 

#724 Sunrise 8x10 oil on linen
Congratulations to Crossroads Art Center, Richmond, Va.

Later..

Painting large is tricky

If it's so tricky then why do it? I'm not totally sure other than when it's big like this 77x66 you're in it....at least until you step back because while your painting it covers your full vision area. I can tell you as a painter there's a sense of freedom as if there are no boundaries, but of course we humans do eventually establish boundary lines. However, until then I have some choices. The first one that comes to the forefront is a more abstract approach over my normal wet-in-wet transitional style. Nothing I would think about on a small canvas, although I have done small transitional paintings bordering on abstraction called scrap paintings; so named because I would take my palette scrapings and randomly apply it to a canvas panel with a palette knife. After a few days or once the surface was totally covered, I would study it....you know, looking for possibilities - one always crops-up; so off I'd go......messing with it for an extra few minutes.

Staring at my "big one" I pulled these out of storage. 

SOME SCRAP PAINTINGS

 #367 Looks like a wave - added a sunrise 11x14

 #392 Looks like a Vermillion Koi so I added some lilies 11x14

 #369 Looks like a landscape - added a sunrise and some tree branches 11x14

It was fun and useful. There was no wasted paint and used up some old cotton panels. I liked all of them too.  

Now every once in awhile I make an unlikely move like the painting below......as you can see, full of energy and oddly related  to my scrap paintings completed at a later date. Perhaps all  preludes in future things to come...

#335 Venetian Equestrian 20x24 Oil on linen panel 

DAY 1 

My 2-hour wash blockout establishing my composition. I liked where it were it was going - lots of possibilities....

DAY 2

I always start at the top laying in solid background colour - basically avoiding the lily pads and fish. So today, like yesterday, I only had a few hours - again late in the day so I wasn't able to finish.....not a good way to work. I paid a price too, guess what? I forgot my mission...and followed my normal routine - too late to backtrack......you gotta love senior moments..LOL

 

DAY 3

I had a full day and was able to complete my first solid paint layer including starting my Koi.  I like to go as far with each Koi as possible - this includes painting the areas around each. Sometimes you only get one chance to make this part work - if I'm not careful everything after reduces the spontaneity so I go back in, prepared to cover good work.

 

Detail of the pair of yellow and black Koi
 
DAY 4

Generally I start adding detail into my background before moving into more detailed work such as the Koi. You might call it a safe warmup to the more serious stuff to come

DAY 5 

 

DETAILS 

Today I also got into the lower half completing this Koi lurking in the lily pads

DAY 6

I wasn't happy with the overall colour - much too saturated and leaning heavily to green and blue - so I started adding warm rose tones to my top lily pads - it helped, so I pretty much continued on for the remainder of the day getting the top half to a finished state.

DAY 7  

As you can see, the painting is very much together. I dressed up the top white and red Koi - added more refinements; then spending the remainder of my day on the lower half. 

I actually thought it might be time to sign off but soon, after some study, the lower left section of blue water wasn't working....incomplete thoughts...bummer 

 DAY 8 - A REPAINT & FINISHED 

I got up knowing I had to go back in and repaint a fairly large section of blue water around middle black Koi - I didn't have a clear idea yesterday and ended up diddling around with it. However after sleeping on it, it did give me a road map. So with a fresh mind I got to it!

REPAINTED AREA

 

 Before (Interior LED)

 
 After (outdoor)

 FINISHED PAINTING

#749 Black and Yellow Koi oil on linen 72x66 (11-13-12)
(Painting shot outdoors in natural daylight)
  
  DETAILS

My paint was reasonably dry so with the help of my medium Neo-Megilp by Gamblin I was able to add paint and maintain my natural flow seamlessly into my unaffected areas...as you can see it worked:=)

 

 

 

 

All in all not a bad outcome for an 8 day painting......perhaps next time a bit more abstract 

Later