A perfect start to my painting day

The other day we had an unusual sunrise slowly rising across our back farmers field. Because of the ground mist the disk was perfectly formed and visible without eye protection for more than an hour. 
Instead of painting it, I watched it. I wanted to study the saturated colour transitions from cool tones to warm then lighter and less saturated - hard to do under normal conditions.  

A few transitions from memory

698 Sunrise 8x10 oil on linen (8-2-12)

699 Sunrise 8x10 oil on linen (8-2-12)

Tomorrow I have to get up early to paint with some plein air friends at Urbanna Harbor - a gorgeous location with glass mirror reflections and harbor views. 

Eye Candy with a price

#693 Koi & Algae 24x24 oil on linen 7/26/2012 - framed $3250.

Do we list our prices or not? It never occurred to me, not to! Of course Yes!

I don't even understand the useless debate in the first place. If we're serious about making a living as professional artists or aspirations to do so, selling is part of it. Not listing our prices would seem at odds with the concept or even having a website to begin with. In my experience over the last 3 1/2 years I found few artists who didn't want to sell. So why not list our prices?
 
If  memory serves me right, I did at the front end and I made some sales too! My very first sale was off the internet...if we choose to, we can sell off the internet! At the time my price points were not established because I was still developing as an artist and selling was not the priority. However, you have to start pricing somewhere and test the markets. Later when my work reached gallery quality and galleries came into play I removed my prices. Not because a gallery requested it but because my pricing structure changed to accommodate the additional costs associated with galleries...so for a while my pricing was in a state of flux. In the real world this was really the beginning of establishing my worth in the market place as an artist.

Some galleries list prices and some don't. Here we're not talking about galleries and their policies, but our own as artists.  If we use the gallery system and have a website too, then our price points must take that into consideration and line up....no exceptions! 

When we post our price points it saves time and effort and we avoid disappointing a potential client if we're beyond their budget.....last thing anyone in retail wants, and make no mistake about it, as artists we are in retail! We have many reasons to paint, but when we sell, we sell a product, and the quality will establish our compensation and the market. The public makes the final decision.....they like to see the prices first, then chat.

Reviewing our own history

Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary 

A little late, but last month was the Goldengate Bridges 75th anniversary........probably forgotten by most until the next big anniversary comes along.  As I clicked through groups of news photos showing some of the history of our Goldengate it reminded me I painted the bridge a few years back for a juried National Parks event I was interested in...now packed away and long forgotten....however those (2) bridge paintings still exist, more easily retrieved from my digital files than storage. It reminded me how important our history is and why it might not be a good idea to destroy any of it. Off and on I spent quite a bit of time during 2010 on the National Parks series  - without question a significant learning curve for me. The collection of about 40 paintings included #319 Bakers Beach and #325 Paragliding (view from Bakers Beach National Park)

        #319 Bakers Beach 11x14 oil on prepared canvas panel 4/7/2010 from photo by Frank Kehren

#325 Paragliding 20x24 oil on linen panel 4/22/2010 from photo by Frank Kehren

When I started painting back in 2009 I recorded and numbered my first painting and every one since - good or bad I recorded the painting. I keep the digital images in a yearly file - stored in my computer and backed up on external drives or DVDs easily accessed for my occasional visits.


The  thing is....I wouldn't remember any of it otherwise, like the sequence without the numbers or the date completed or how long it took me. Did I fail or succeed...am I making progress? In the larger picture....important information if you're a serious painter. If nothing else, having a simple visual timeline showing your personal history and progress as a painter makes it worth the time.


In today's digital world all this is easy and most of us are starting to track our history.....along with everyone else...LOL


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Gallery 1708 22nd Annual Art Gala and Live Auction

 My Winning Bid!

 Liz Miller Untitled 01 (Mimetic Deception) Mixed Media on paper 24x19x8.5 - 2012

The 1708 Gala is held yearly to support the contemporary arts,  a  non-profit artist run gallery and a derivative of VCU talent.

The music, champagne and wine flowed freely, mixed with a wide selection of tasty hors d'oeuvres taming a very large crowd of Richmond's finest art connoisseurs and of course the cream of the cream of our local contemporary artists. And one very slick auctioneer John Nicholls...John was fascinating to watch and listen to. He could easily get the the momentum going on a bid with the excitement of his rhythm. He almost caught me a few times, but I didn't come to buy, but observe, enjoy the company, and meet a few new friends.   

I had the good fortune to run into Sandy Kjerulf, whom I met previously at a Childsavers luncheon. Sandy is chair of the art committee at Childsavers and gave me some very good news; several paintings I submitted to the Childsavers art collection were accepted.   


Aside from the very successful live auction, the gallery also had a silent auction, closing 30 minutes later. I'm not sure how those art works were selected, but all were hung in a very nice rear entry hall leading to the tented pavilion where a disk jockey and more grazing was in process. One piece in particular caught my eye by artist Liz Miller, called Mimetic Deception (a mixed media paper construction in a acrylic box). Not wanting to feel left out at the end of the live auction I placed a successful bid for it and left the gallery a happy camper as did a lot of others. 

 Two of my personal favorites

 Robert Waltz - Isola 36x36x4 - 2011

 Susan Jamison - Egg tempera on panel - Recluse Me 20x16 - 2009

As a very special treat, I was introduced to both Robert Waltz and Susan by Jennie Kirby, our table host. And later Susan was invited to joined us at our table during the live auction. At the time I didn't know Susan is also the new incoming President Elect and a board member for 1708 Gallery.

My first time going to this event and certainly not my last.

Storm Surfing

Storm Surfing - It never occurred to me storm waves like this could be managed by surfer dudes - Guess what! They can and do off the coast of Virginia beach. Fearless surfers live for days like this, photographers like Matt waits for the shot and artists like me live to paint it!

#645 Thunder Surfing 44x40 oil on linen Alla prima 4/1/2012

Painting the sea

Recently I had the good fortune to be asked by a beach gallery to show my paintings...mostly marine related. It gave me the opportunity to paint the sea on a more regular basis. This became part of my daily painting rotation if you will. The sea is a genre which has incredible range for an artist. It's important for a working artist, because as an artist I need a reason to paint the sea other than the inspirational aspect, which is surely important to the creative process. However, the occasional genre painting won't elicit the growth and knowledge of a subject like painting it on a regular basis will.

The sea evokes extreme emotions. From the romantic peaceful sublime as a sunrise in “Dawn Seas”, to the raw power of “Breaking Thunder”. And, it does this with hypnotic rhythm.  Humans migrate towards her, sailors cross her and surfers can’t resist her. They try endlessly to tame her and if not tame her, merge as one – if only for seconds.

"As a painter I want to capture the essence of those moments in my paintings." 

642 Dawn Seas 44x44 oil on linen completed 3//20/12

583 Breaking Thunder 44x40 oil on linen completed 8/14/11

641 The Matador 48x48 oil on linen completed 3/7/12

I am currently painting the Atlantic side in and around Virginia Beach with the help of photographer and artist Matt Haddaway.  Virginia Beach has a large surfing culture to draw inspiration from. Many of my marine paintings, as well as “The Matador”, a painting showing one of those moments, are available through the Richard Stravitz Fine Art Gallery in Virginia Beach Va. 

In Good Company, Present & Past

Friday evening it was my pleasure as judge to present awards to five deserving Richmond Artists. Anne Walkers attention getter oil "Chairs at the Negresco" was best in show, Sylvia de Shazo's good as it gets "Breaking out" was 2nd place, Kathy Miller's superbly handled watercolour Stargazing took 3rd with honorable mentions to Ellie Cox  for "Vignamaggio Morning" and Nell Chesley for "Quit Winter" a wonderfully executed winter scene - all clearly in the zone!

 best in show

Anne Walkers attention getter oil "Chairs at the Negresco"

second Place

Sylvia de Shazo's good as it gets "Breaking out"
 

third place 

Kathy Miller's superbly handled watercolour "Stargazing"

honorable mention

Ellie Cox  for "Vignamaggio Morning"

honorable mention

 Nell Chesley for "Quit Winter"

It was the last night of an exhibit by the Bon Air Artists held in the James River Center Atrium (Omni Hotel). It was also nice to revisit my old stomping grounds from 30 years ago. My old offices were a block away - lots of fun and many old memories. Those players are now replaced and for a moment  I became a player again.

Oddly appropriate, behind me hung two enormous John Court paintings - good ones at that. Someone whom I helped at the front end of his career - in fact, I gave him his first one-man show here in Richmond - black tie - catered dinner 450 of Richmond's finest attended. Cool night, in my mind he was the most important painter to come out of Richmond. Over the years he came to California a few times and would show up on our doorstep unannounced, always good to see him. He is a very talented, fast and prolific artist with the ability to paint on a compelling scale. John's dedication was hard to ignore and the moment reminded me of his roll in a decision I made 30 odd years before to stop painting. The gallery and John's dedication made me realize, it's a serious business and if I wanted to do either well I would have to give it my full attention....I wasn't willing to do it. I closed my new gallery "Beaus Arts" shortly after his premier show and followed my design career. Aside from a huge financial loss it was a brilliant choice to both do it and close it!

 A painting by John Court

Senator Berry Goldwater 1983 18x14 oil

This morning I tracked Court down via the internet - sent him an e-mail. He lives and works out of  San Miguel in the Portuguese Azores http://www.johncourt.com/contact.html

Nice digs for an artist..I'm packing my bags as we speak....LOL

Blog Venting

 EYE CANDY

#632 Parliament 30x30 oil on linen - 23k water gilded frame Sold 3/21/2012 

Up at 3:00am with no plan other than knowing it was a waste of time staying in bed thinking. Thinking and sleep don't mix. Sometimes good things come out of it like making a choice - many of my solutions as designer and now as artist develop from this process - then I fall asleep - however I would rather sleep when hitting the mattress. When I wake up I like to take a few moments to plan my day and move on it. In my experience those are my best days. When I'm working on a painting over a few days, I like to review my progress a bit; maybe plan my move before actually falling asleep. It means I'll wake up with it and continue on.

I finished a painting a few days ago and didn't start a new one. I had to stretch a few canvases, get a painting wrapped for shipping to Florida. Basically all the things a working artist does. My studio, including the rest of the house, is now reduced to pathways  - paintings stacked everywhere - unopened boxes....SERIOUS CLUTTER. I hate clutter, here I am sitting in the middle of it. If I'm painting, I don't pay attention to it. That night I went to bed with it - tough night with no solutions.

It meant I probably wouldn't paint the next day either. I should have been thinking of my next painting - that blank canvas on the easel...instead I'm thinking of tearing the damn place apart...I diddled a bit yesterday - made bigger paths LOL.

Morphing with an end goal

Eye Candy 

 #643 Dawn - Virginia Beach 44x40 oil on linen

After 3-years I think artists are like morphing moths continually emerging when the time is right. Each time we're different, each time with different rules, until we finally shed our wrappings, take control, and come into our own. 

It's a simplified description of a very complicated or sophisticated process - I wouldn't have noticed it other than I’m on a fast track, and very deliberately heading for a planned end goal. 

Talking with other artists, which is sometimes difficult because we all have different end goals, stated or not. Oddly, artists are well organized as a group, but not individually, at least when it comes to art. Or as frequently stated by many "My passion"....makes you wonder why they don't give it proper prospective and do something about it - Take it seriously!!

I can quickly tell when an artist is focused on an end goal, they understand what I'm saying and can add to the conversation,

As a designer and space planner you quickly become organized, form a plan, and do it! Organization is a discipline critical to success, completing a series of tasks getting to the end goal in a timely fashion....dismal outcome without it

I'm always astounded and have great admiration when I meet fellow artists, who, against all obstacles, make it work.

My Review of Centurion Deluxe Oil Primed Linen Rolls

Originally submitted at Jerry's Artarama Art Supplies

Centurion OP DLX Professional Canvas Rolls Superb performance and perfect color retention Specifically designed for oil painters Oil primed for the most brilliant results Made of medium weight linen All purpose weave and beautiful surface texture Exclusive OP enhanced oil priming Suggested Use: For...

Centurion Deluxe Oil Primed Linen Rolls

Up date on Centurion Oil Primed Linen

By Chuck from Richmond, Va. on 3/21/2012

 

5out of 5

Best Uses: Art

Describe Yourself: Artist

Primary use: Business

Was this a gift?: No

I've used Centurion first as panels then rolls ever since it was introduce last year. It has a few quirks like occasional shipping damage, but Jerry's always makes it good.
Some other quirks can be annoying – but solvable.
Over stretching on sharp corners causes some separation of primer and is quickly avoided once you experience it. Stretchers with soft radius corner would be preferable. I've taken it up to 60x72 - not sure I would go much bigger - a lot depends on your stretchers.
The canvas has a lot of stretch for such a tight weave. I found a quick and easy solution - when the canvas is first stretched I wet the entire front surface with water and within 10 to 15 minutes it's tight as a drum and ready to go within a few hours.
Once the painting is complete (at any time) Dents or any surface irregularities can be removed in a heartbeat by applying water with a brush to the backside (only to the affected areas). Within a few minutes it's history. In my experience it works with no bad effects.
It would be nice to know the surface specifications however in its present form a good painting surface with a nice comfortable tooth.

(legalese)

643 - Finished, Signed and Sold

You ask what happened to day 3-8?........Camera problems - my LED lighting and camera aren't getting along. Don't seem to have a setting or solution for it either.

I do have 6 and a combination of 7 and 8 which shows a serious last minute move after it was signed.

#643 Juno oil on linen 69x57 - completed 3/19/2012
(643-8 with title)

Sunday #643-7 (no photo with golden sky except below) I only worked from the horizon down detailing the foreground water with darker tones from my left wave, adding depth and interest -  basically tying my composition together. Now it's all connected into my suns reflection. I signed it and napped.

This morning, very early after sleeping on it  I decided to also remove much of the golden area in my sky (see below) - I softened it a bit, tying it more into my lower section - this was a very quick move - maybe 20 minutes - it did something else too - made it an 8-day painting - normally that's a death move for me......it was the right move...got lucky today:=)

#643-6 Saturday - shot in full late sun - a bit washed out but close to actual colour

Saturday I removed much of the gold below the horizon with layers of the sea colours - it creates depth and ties into the water reflections and at some level my main wave - sort of a block out for my next move.