5 years in, Juicy buttery paint and loving it!

Today will mark 5 years as an oil painter. My first 3 years was spent developing my art, developing my name and brand, not on marketing to galleries or sales. I only did that after I had a product to sell and I did it through advertizing. I stayed focused long and hard on paint quality. I wanted a  juicy buttery quality to my paint, not just on a small painting but at any scale. I wanted a fresh clean look to my colours. I wanted my paintings to look good closeup, if you will "touchable art", and read at 100 feet. I had an objective and I didn't expect it to happen overnight. I didn't get frustrated and feel it was unattainable and god forbid, ever thought of it as "work".  Even though on the surface it might appear that way, it was not! It was done over the course of painting; a lot of painting, improving each brush stroke as I went.....making sure it was the most beautiful one I could make. I did not want a labored look to my work and rarely gravitate to any that do.  I like a painting to have a flow, a rhythm and shapes that "feel right", not awkward. I don't mind gritty as in Lucian Freud, there is a beauty to his work, especially his handling of paint......"good paint quality" always wins.  Good paint quality establishes  a visual quality to our work; call it craftsmanship, attention to detail.  All these are important, including a quality appropriate frame for your intended market and most important to where you eventually want your work to hang. As for myself,  I want and paint only for the best walls. I have no second position nor do I want one.  I do not want my paintings hung frame to frame in a gallery, although it happens. That's not a "best wall" situation, nor will it attract a quality buyer who is in the market for that special piece. It diminishes the value of the work, artist and the gallery. To get those creamy, dreamy display spots, paint quality is just one requirement amongst many!  I would say unequivocally, "size" is the most important thing there.....a painting has to hold a wall first and foremost....and lastly, if in a gallery, sell!

I painted a variety of smaller sizes during my learning years and found it useful but not marketable in my situation. My intended market would not be interested in small works and neither would I be as a designer.  Most of my work is meant for larger spaces and when smaller paintings are close by, including my own, they are invariably ignored. When large work is presented well with air or by itself, it becomes a statement and if the right buyer walks in, it will leave the room. Galleries know this but also need affordable work to go along with statement paintings. If the statement piece is out of financial range, as it would be for most beginning buyers, the smaller work will stand a better chance of selling those buyers. I'm not talking about the tiny 8x10's our world is swimming in. These are not best wall paintings and could hardly be expected to hold a decent size wall. The walls most are looking to fill.....the proverbial "statement" art, the hardest to find, to fill the most valuable wall space frequently left bare until it is found.

As a daily painter, to keep my routine fresh, I also developed a broad range of painting subjects......not styles, perhaps the most important aspect my art. I have a natural way of working; my taste and personal preferences come into play.  I don't try to be different.  I'm not trying to be the "next new thing" or emulate any other artist; only to produce beautiful paintings for important walls for a chosen market. I have a signature look, in both design and now art because of it.

MY FAVORITE SUBJECTS

THE JAMES

 KOI

VENICE

WILD HORSES

BALLET

LONDON

WATER FIGURES

WATER 

NUDES

PEOPLE YOU KNOW

SUN, LIGHT AND COLOUR

MOST IMPORTANT SIZE!

My motto is simple, "paint big and for the best walls"! 

Awhile back I dropped all my small sizes in favor of one, a 20x20. I use this size for en plein air (a valued learning tool), research and development (R&D), warming up to a larger painting or simply practice paintings....all are one-session paintings. I chose this size because previous sales indicated, a 20x20 with a 4 or 5" gallery frame makes a nice presentation for secondary walls.....not a market I deliberately paint for. But, Galleries can sell them to fill the "affordable" slot my main body of work won't fit into anymore.

VALUABLE TOOLS - SMALL 20X20 WARM UPS

VENICE

Because my paintings, so far, have appreciated and by default are a good investment, I believe only because I protected my brand and did so from the start. I don't have discount sales on my work. I protect my galleries, my prices and therefore protect my collector!

Like a good investment stock, we expect it to increase in value.......if not, we instinctively shed it. The owners of a statement painting won't have that luxury. They won't be happy if a friend got one cheaper at a sale. They won't be back!  Investment might not be the reason it was purchased, however once in their possession it becomes an asset they want to see increase in value, not down!

I don't put inferior or unfinished art out for sale...ever! LOL....I don't burn it either! It goes into deep storage as part of my painting history. I'd rather control it than have it end up in someone's garage sale or dusty attic.

My standard work process is always finish a painting to my best ability and never have multiple paintings in various stages of finish in my studio....it would split my focus.  I want each and every painting to have my undivided attention, and if it does, the rest will fall into place!

Some of the other important things I do to protect my brand is national advertising. I do it to keep my name in the public eye and show new work. I list my galleries in those ads because I only sell through galleries. I do not sell directly! All my sales and prices are qualified gallery sales based on what the market will bare and last sale. I have also effectively used size to break price barriers.

All this said, it still requires a good work ethic and genuine talent.  It can't be successfully done without it. Just like a business, it also has to be managed with discipline; without that no amount of talent will  make it work! And by that I mean........pay the bills and have lots of change left over.

A good artist can make a serious living doing what they do best and to my surprise, with good focus it can be done in less than 5 years.

There are many reasons to be an artist; paint and produce paintings is just one of two reasons I do it! The other, I enjoy doing it!

FULL PAGE AD DESIGN

  American Art Collector ad March 2014

BEST ADVICE
Know your market: "Paint big and for the best walls"

Later....

Still in the Venice mode

I had a free day after finishing my Venice commission - still in the mode it seemed logical to revisit my first attempt with a fresh eye, perhaps improve on it a bit?

Soooo...out with the red marker!
 

RED LINE COMPARISON

889 Venetian Mist 48x44 oil on linen (2-16-14)

INSPIRATION PAINTING

 550 original 72x60

Aside from a colour shift from the original intent, I lined up three (3) key elements (sun, Salute and water reflection) without thinking. Not a major issue if I didn't also have filtered light drifting down to another major element, a reflective hot spot. Three is not a bad number in design, however here, it also caused a major balance shift left. The Salute is the only identifying element saying Venice skyline. It got in the way of my light drifting down to the waters surface. The drift is much cleaner when in front of a more nondescript background as in the original (above). The same (3) elements where used, creating a clean triangle. What happens, and did, because it's wet-in-wet process along with maintaining the Salute's integrity, I became overly cautious; you can't, there is only one shot here. It can easily become over cooked which I think it did! In the end it needed more air than I was able to give it here without moving the sun. A very good reason to jump ship with a fresh version, which of course I did!
With that in mind I decided to beef up the intensity and see where it went.

RED LINE PLAN

Red line #1 - I decided to bump up an "S" pattern already there and extend the suns light effect more right. This established a stronger secondary reflective light pattern in relationship to the Salute. The simple solution here is move the Sun, but I don't want to. I would rather take the time working with it, extending the light effect merging into my lagoon to the right....follow the light and see what happens....if anything.

Red line #2 - Needed cleaning up from overworking.

MODIFICATION

 889 Merging of Light and Water 48x44 oil on linen (reworked 3-2-14)

DETAILS

FRAME TEST

 

Not too bad in a frame either, good inventory....:=)

Did I improve it? I don't know. Making comparisons to the original design was a good exercise for sure. This isn't the same, so on it's own only time will tell..... 

The one commonality or charm all (3) paintings have, the original, this and the second commission version, is how they respond to different light conditions regardless of how soft or intense, but especially in relatively dark ambient surroundings. The subtle colour shifts add incredible depth and begin appearing more translucent as the surrounding light drops.....originally not intended as "evening paintings", it's what they became. The tragedy would be not discovering it.

Next project! Deliver commission painting - I'll show them both and hope for the best!

Later....

Back to reality!

After all my little side excursions, I still had some unfinished business, my failed Venice commission.  So with a fresh canvas, along with a great sunny day, makes for wonderful painting conditions.....game is back on!

Commission painting is meant for above the mantle in this lovely new ocean front home. 

Fabric sample......a commission must..:=)

FIRST SESSION

892-1a Skyline established

892-1b

There are some cloud details I can do better with a dry canvas so I'll let the sky dry and work on the lower section tomorrow.  Nice thing about a large canvas, there's always someplace dry to work.

SECOND SESSION

982-2a (interior grey day shot)

My second session went well, a full 8-hour day with about the same lighting conditions as the day before.....bright and sunny! As you can see I have the lower section covered. All my key elements are in place. As planned, I allowed drying time for my sky, being very careful not to disturb it while painting in the buildings. Its useful if both are dry before merging.......especially in a situation like here, where a wrong move could destroy a good passage with no recourse.

After sleeping on it, I know my salute is under-scaled in relationship to my other buildings and my original painting. I didn't really work much on it other than blocking it out.....glad now, otherwise this would be a repaint, something I don't want in this painting. 

THIRD SESSION

892-3 (outdoor shot)

Even though our day was very grey, my session stayed on track....still leaving my original session sky alone I worked on mist and fog merging into my water. I did increase the Salute mass....perhaps still not enough. Tomorrow should be my last session, the last 15-minutes, the moves that count...or escape us! Dry canvas will help a bit in latter..:=)

FOURTH SESSION

892 Venetian Mist 48x44 oil on linen (2-26-14)

 Not exactly my final day, as it turned out - a few things stood out and required a little further noodling.

FIFTH & FINAL SESSION

892 Merging of light and Water 48x44 oil on linen (2-27-14)

 Detail

 My final day was more about how it reads 30 to 100 feet away. The important "first impression" test. A completed paint is required to pass. Studying and making a few marks here and there....messing with the Salute, just generally softening edges, punctuating important details or perhaps reducing one trying to take center stage.

NOTE: There does seem to be a common truth in this business. The majority of the buyers, if not all, are first looking for art to decorate an important wall, we as artists endeavor to supply it.......if we are lucky, they grow to appreciate it, become collectors of our work and by default called collectors!

Love collecting them and their best walls! 

Later...

Small pieces of time

I had eye surgery to remove a cataract from my left eye....as they say, very easy, very fast! As luck has it, I didn't lose much time from my easel either....perhaps 2 days at the most. So with all that's going on I'm left with little bits of time.

Getting bored silly I picked up from my last painting with the idea of doing another version of the sun....again on a 20x20 because of time. At the last minute, I decided to use a few wild ponies in my foggy dawn pasture setting.

891 The Sentries 20x20 oil on linen (2-21-14)

After adding the ponies, the concept and arrangement worked for me, but from 30 feet my central horse shape feels off.....I spent an a inordinate  amount of time working on it before throwing in the towel as a lost cause.

The following day with a fresh eye, I could see the error of my ways - no point not fixing it so out with my scraper and red marker!

I have (2) issues circled in red; my far horse head is too small and my central horse hind section needs to be made lager and extended. His hoofs need to line up better (perspective is off).

BEFORE

AFTER

Much improved darkened distant pony added some needed contrast - extending and bulking up my central pony was on target....especially when viewed in full context below.

FINAL VERSION

Note: All the above images were taken indoors - the final image below was outdoors in morning filtered sun light and accurate to the original. Like my images above sometimes I can't sort it out with Photoshop.

891 Sentries 20x20 oil on linen (2-22-14)

I'm thinking it rates a move up in size...perhaps a few more ponies. This is like an extension of Dawn Passage completed in 2012......neat painting! Dawn Passage was not a small painting either, at 48x56 it ended up over a mantle. It was a really good size, enough elbow room to get in and work it!!

742 Dawn Passage 48x56 oil on linen (10-19-12)

The floater frame used worked well........anything much larger could work against the space and painting. A vertical format would have worked well here too.....perhaps my 1st choice. Once a hanger is installed it will be off the mantle and make more sense....it needs a little air at the bottom to break the horizontal molding line on either side of the mantle wall.

Later.....

LOL.....You gotta love failure to excel in this game!

It causes you to become more determined to raise the bar and makes success even more appreciated!

My 1st attempt at Venice commission was remarkably OFF! Clinking back and forth on my blog images this morning it's even more glaring how off target I really was!......I know a credible second version is within my ability as a painter. It's in my nature to dig in when confronted with something I know I can control the out come of.....like this!

Regrouping, I spent the day stretching canvas and ended with some time left to paint this little 20x20 Sun painting below. It's a view of the Belle Isle Quarry in the middle of the James River. This is a typical sunset there and very much like a sunrise I see from my studio windows overlooking an old farmers field. Back in 2009, I did a 15-Minute Sunrise series of 8x10 En Plein Air paintings. It was perhaps one of the best learning curves I ever experienced while painting.....of course morning fog always played a large part in my reason to do it in the first place.....in combination with the sun, very impressive stuff! My view is not that exciting so I drop in different views like below. Turned out to be a good move because now I can apply the sun and the experience to any subject I choose to paint. If you were to review my painting history as I did last night, one could say it became the foundation of what I paint today.

 LITTLE TIME TO PAINT

890 Quarry Sun 20X20 oil on linen (2-18-14)

Today, I go in for cataract surgery on my left eye; an annoying problem for a daily painter as I am. It's not a colour thing so much as a smear on my eye that can't be corrected with glasses anymore. Something I didn't know, they also put in a corrective lens; so perhaps tomorrow I'll see better and without glasses! How cool would that be:=)

Later....

Commissions...gurrrr

I got bogged down, knew it would be testy at best......always a serious challenge repeating oneself. Occasionally I like trying my hand at it. Although not exactly a commission requirement......only the colour and soft nature of this painting was. However, this was the painting they wanted but was too large for their space over the mantle. I fear anything else will be a disappointment. So getting the feel is important!

BASELINE

550 Merging of light and water 72x60 oil on linen

COMPARISON TIME......Oops!

 889-6a Session Six (morning) 48x44 oil on linen (2-16-14)

My side by side quickly revealed how off colour I am......however, not this obvious in the flesh - in fact from 30 feet it seemed on target......my suns location is more left and intersecting the Salute...perhaps marginally acceptable. What is not acceptable was the use of Alizarin Orange - it never occurred to me how much impact it would actually have. The more saturated cerulean blue, which I liked very much, was acceptable. 

I inadvertently used a relatively new colour for me, Williamsburg Alizarin Orange. It got in the mix and I limited a very important one, Williamsburg French Ultra Marine, an unusual tone which the original revolved around......on the surface, not earth shattering, but it was. 

SOME QUICK MOVES

 

889-6b Session Six (afternoon) - modified sky

After some very quick afternoon modifications to my sky, using Williamsburg French Ultramarine Blue, was definitely back on track. But, it would require repainting some of my moves which have to be done wet-in-wet......harder in a repaint. Knowing that, and my misstep, I can get a better result with a fresh canvas, than meddling further with this painting. Don't get me wrong, it's not a clunker, just not the painting my client was expecting. 

I'll sleep on it; perhaps make a few subtle improvements, stretch a new 48x44 canvas or two.....hard to say here. After all, this is a commission, predicated on client expectations. As a designer, I know the rules; all my furniture was manufactured, custom designs. Any complicated or new design, we always made two; one to work out the kinks, the last for the client. We never gave them R&D......if you do, it never works !

Back to it!

Later.....

More Venice painting

The same day, right after finishing my last painting, I did this 20x20 (same subject/view). I had some time and wanted to work on my sun a bit more using this particular view again. The parked gondolas normally found at this location were omitted to keep it simple. The painting didn't actually need them.....plus I was running out of time and light.

   888 Morning Promise 20x20 oil on linen (2-8-14)

MY NEXT PROJECT

My next project is a Venice commission based on a painting I did in 2011, one of the largest at the time, a 72x60. It was painted as a center piece for a gallery show and more importantly to break the 10k barrier using size as a weapon and give them a deal they would find hard to refuse. No question it would be too big for a lot of collectors but that didn't stop them from hovering. It didn't sell at that show but did at another one in 2013 for a more substantial price. What was interesting about it, more than a few where apparently following it around from the first show.

If I could point to a "best wall" painting that had genuine "jump factor" this is it!

550 Merging of Light and Water 72x60 oil on linen (7-5-11)

It's going to be fun and it's going to be a challenge!

Later....

A weeks worth of paint and canvas

Time for a break. I'm pleased with my figure painting progress; I stayed on plan. And certainly glad I did, because I'm not remotely ready to tackle a more ambitious painting yet. In the mean time the real world beckons. If I want to keep my galleries happy and if I want to sell, its time for a break from R&D. However only a small break, because I intend staying on track until I get what I'm after.

After a few years you get an idea what sells and what doesn't........right! Well in truth, that's an open book, but it's a clue and one of the reasons to paint. It keeps the game moving in multiple directions and by default keeps the game fresh. That being said....time for the "money makers". Actually I like doing them because generally these are the ones, at least for me, refereed commonly as so called "zone paintings"; you know the score, you play the music at your best. In my case it's atmosphere!

 VENICE FIRST STOP!

Canvas 887 Venice 30x30 - Sienna wash

 Sun reference - Delaware sunrise experienced last summer

Stage 1 - horizon stopping point

 887 Morning Rush 30x30 oil on linen (2-7-14)

HISTORY  CHECK

I thought this was a new view for me but as it turned I messed with it back in 2010 using the actual sun as my reference (plein air). Might be fun to see if there's any progress?

236 - 8x10 actual sunrise using Venice as my setting

237 - 11x14 studio off the 236 study

Mmmmm....I'm thinking perhaps the little guys are better. My little guys have air, clearly defined shapes - can't say that about my latest because my gondolas are too close together...I have some basic decluttering left so with that in mind back to it!

Crop of crowded gondolas - like paintings on a wall, they need air too!

Revised - better with more air and definition

Final version

Much happier with my revised version, certainly time well spent. I'll be more careful next time!

Later....