A weeks worth of paint and canvas

Last week was busy with (3) paintings completed and one day off. I also attended two evening art openings (1) Gallery Flux and (2) LeGrand's Soiree.....I especially enjoy Sue LeGrand's Soiree's because I get to meet art lovers in a more personal residential setting and of course talk art. 

I like to look for the jump factor and hear what they like about a painting and why.

An interesting observation and something a regional painter might be interested in....people seem to gravitate to international or universal subjects more - perhaps because it reminds them of a favorite vacation spot. They get excited when they come a across a painting that reminds them of it too. It becomes the first step of making a sale.

I'm beginning to believe the painting first needs a personal connection, whether universal or local.....more than meeting the artist. Meeting the artist might have a future bearing on collecting their work - otherwise it seems not to be a factor.

I'm glad I spent the time at the front end broadening my base to include painting anything and continue doing so - as in the portrait and figure project I'm working on now......only stopping when I can't take it any further! Then, waiting for the next opportunity to make another run at it...as a result, I don't think I'll ever get bored exploring painting.

 #779 Koi & Lotus 30x36 oil on linen (2-5-13)

#780 Surfer Soul 24x20 oil on linen (2-8-13)

#781 Jenni - study under LED light 24x20 oil on linen (2-8-13)

I'm starting to make progress on my portrait project. My portrait #781 is the 6th study of Jenni.....because I've started thinking of the final painting I know my Jenni studies are over.

The serious one will start taking shape after a break. I have the concept in place for at least one of my Portrait Society of America contest entries. I can submit (3) for consideration - with (3) weeks left it's possible:=)  

Later...got a date with a painting!

Contests a lotto for artist or does it have value?

It's really a good question and I don't have a clear cut answer. I know they had value beyond awards and prize money at the front end for me because it was a way of seeing how my work stacked up against other artists...peer validation if you will. So, at least for me I received value for time and money paid. I got out of contests and organizational juried shows in 2012 with the exception of OPA - feeling my reasons and goals were met.

Now I'm back in the contest game for other reasons.......to win! How do you that? I don't know...most refer to it like winning a lotto. But, I've studied it a lot and know its different from what I call best-wall paintings or gallery paintings....if you study the Raymar contest archives, finalist and winners, all judged by different and well qualified judges - it appears consistent with a very high level of quality work. If you're a serious representational artist, as I am, the Raymar archives are worth studying.  Over a (6) year period it gives you a solid road map of what's expected and what will win....so perhaps its not a lotto after all.
  
Art contests are typically judged by master artists or art editors, museum directors...rarely gallery owners. The only one I know juried and run by a gallery is Greenhouse Gallery's International Salon out of San Antonio, TX.  They select a top 50 out of the juried paintings. But the serious awards are selected by a celebrity master artist....perhaps with a different thinking, perhaps more academic based rather than saleable art galleries need. BTW if memory serves me right, most of the top winners will sell in this show....perhaps because it was juried by the gallery in the first place. Painting to sell and not painting to sell, but hoping you do, verses the elite academic art circles, is an aspect of the art business that is so contradictory it's mind boggling.....at least for this artist. I look at all this as just another reason to paint!

• Learning
• Galleries
• Contests and Juried shows

Not complaining - fascinating game and I love every aspect of it....a good painting, a good camera and lots of money is all that's required....no supporting cast, just yourself to make it or not! 

Right now my 2013 play list looks like this:

(1) Greenhouses International Salon (1 of 3 entered, selected)

(2) OPA - Oil Painters of America, including newer online contests I'm qualified for. (2-entered in 2012 National)

(3) American Portrait Society and all their online contests

(4) The Raymar contest 7th season (registered)

Enough to keep any artist totally swamped and broke!!

SOME SOLD PAINTINGS 

#431 Parliament Winter Sun 20x16 oil on linen (1-16-11)

 #517 Venice Canal Light 8x10 oil on linen (5-20-11)

#523 Venice - view to San Giorgio 8x10 oil on linen (5-24-11)

Congratulations LeGrand Fine Art!!

Later...

A Weeks Worth of Painting

The last week saw (3) paintings completed...mostly it was a good painting week.

#776 Virginia Beach Stroll 48x44 oil on linen (1-28-13)
Gallery painting 

#777 Jenni Study 20x20 oil on linen (1-29-13) 2-hour study 

First Serious move on the Portrait project - Below is a 3-day portrait - on the second day I scrapped the face off..oops! Likeness is starting to get important!

At the end of 2nd day....face scrapped!

Detail

#778  CEO Jenni Kirby - "People You Know" series 24x30 oil on linen (2-2-13)  

It was worth the extra time repainting the face, sorting out the problems then setting it aside or worse yet moving on to something else with unresolved issues still at hand. I call this a good work session and a prelude to the next one!

 SOME GOOD NEWS!

One of my (3)  Salon International 2013 submissions was accepted by Greenhouse Galleries in San Antonio, TX. I didn't go with my surfing paintings (my only matched set - good for the awards judge wrong for the gallery) wrong part of the country - long horns and horses would fair much better but I didn't have any of those either except my beach ponies. As you can see they didn't fair well either.....LOL won't do that again! 

ACCEPTED!

#595 Venice View to Dogona 16x16 oil on linen (9-19-11)

Beach Ponies Didn't Make it!

Perfect for the beach gallery tho! However Brenda says the Venice painting won't win any awards....I think she has a point!

Later....

A weeks worth of painting

With my main painting objective in mind - the portrait contest- all I have to do now is get (3) paintings done and entered by March 4th! Hopefully better than my last (3) entered!

But, I have a serious business conflict running parallel to all this. I have two April gallery shows and each require fresh work........which gets the priority? If I'm smart, neither....here's where painting subjects in rotation comes in handy. My portrait project is research and development and the other business - as in galleries which are in place with needs to be serviced.  

My experience as a designer tells me I have to run these in parallel...."discipline" is the key word here..."divide and conquer" also comes to mind...Yesterday I didn't paint....should have but I didn't! I did do something equally as important tho, I spent time "stretching canvas" because over the next few months I have to paint 30 to 40 new works!!.....Ominous when you look at the total....possible when you break it down to days.........1.5 days per painting...most will be smaller works with a few larger paintings to be used as anchors.

Here's what I've done so far - the paintings are in sequence so you can see how I'm rotating my subjects....

 #767 Jenni - study 1 - 14x11 oil on linen (1-19-13)

Jenni will be my model for my full figure project - painted from photo 1.5 hours

 #768 Koi & Lotus 18x30 oil on linen (1-19-13)

Gallery painting

#769 Merging - study 16x16 oil on linen (1-20-13)

 Quick 1-hour study for major gallery painting

  #770 Self-portrait (1st ever) 20x16 oil on linen (1-20-13) - few hours from 3-year old photo

#771 Flamingos 1 of 3 20x20 oil on linen (1-21-13)

Gallery painting - hang as matched set of (3)

#771 Flamingos 2 of 3 20x20 oil on linen (1-22-13)

Gallery painting  - hang as matched set of (3)

#773 Flamingos 3 of 3 20x20 oil on  linen (1-23-13)

Gallery painting  - hang as matched set of (3)

 #774 Jenni - Mug Shot 20x16 oil on linen (1-24-13) 2-hour study from photo

   #775 Jenni - 3-quarter study 24x20 oil on linen (1-25-13) 3 or 4 hour study from photo

Some progress for my projects 1st week - as you can see at this stage I'm working from photos with each effort going a bit further than the last...if you will, getting to know the subject in paint. It's a different palette from my norm and where likeness will eventually be key to it's success or failure.  

Likeness won't be an issue for the contest, but it will for the Series "People You Know", which is the future use of these paintings and the larger reason for the project. The fun part of this project; it has no boundaries.

Yesterday I took more Jenni photos - today I'll do the same with plans of doing a few more random studies - I'm not ready to tackle anything serious yet....

PERHAPS THE 1ST PAINTING AND INSPIRATION FOR THE SERIES 

"PEOPLE YOU KNOW"

#406 Betty in the Roses 14x11 oil on linen (11-18-10) private collection

Later....

Painting the full figure portrait

I need to focus on the art of portraiture and full figure poses....the genre is not new to me but it might as well be - I have to raise my painting bar so high it will cause imminent nose bleed! 

A few years ago I did enter the 13th Annual International Portrait Contest......and afterwards even had my entries critiqued. However, my attention got diverted away from portraits...it wasn't on my critical path and I wasn't interested in commission work associated with it.

However, portraits and figure work are a very big part of the art world and something to be mastered if you want to play in the big sandbox of representational art.....just an observation, but most of the attention and awards seem to go to this genre of painting.

Reviewing my painting history (to my surprise), I do use a lot of figures in my paintings, so maybe its not a surprise portraits have my attention again....not commission portraiture but painting the human face and body as central elements to a painting.
 
I did attend a live model class at the end of 2012.....I guess as a prelude to re-entering the game....If you will, gathering pieces to a projects concept....not knowing what it was. Like many things, art has a natural flow and one thing leads to another and all of a sudden it becomes logical. That's where I am, at a logical point in my art career. I need to get good enough to win! Until recently never cared about prestigious awards, but now I do! 

My first project is to get (3) paintings completed by March 4th for the  Portrait Society of America's 15th Annual International Portrait Competition....LOL the goal is to become one of the 20 finalists! Now you know why those imminent nose bleeds are probable.....the competition is stellar and fierce! The only advantage in my corner is I know what I'm after, I know what I have to do to get there...simply paint brilliantly!......I know, I'm still cracking up! Obviously this is going to take more time than the 4 or 5 weeks I have right now.....but no time like the present:=) 

Later...I gotta paint!