Painting and Playing

Several weeks ago I invited a number of artist friends to join me in my backyard for a playdate with paint and whatever creative materials anyone wished to bring.  So, on a very hot, humid Saturday we gathered in as much shade as we could find and began working together.  


I originally did this two years ago after my collaboration experience with Mike.  One of the things I do not get to do often without taking a class is to paint with others.  I teach and I love that, and glean much from my students, but it is not the same as painting with them.  

This is a photo from the first playdate, which I dubbed Collaborationathon.  I had only two rules : anyone attending must create (just watching not allowed!) and everyone had to be open to allowing others to work with them -even on their piece.  We had a blast.  So, two years later, we had Collaborationathon II.  

This is a photo from the most recent day....Mike is using a cement trowel, borrowed from Liz, on my canvas.  He is swirling paint and thickener that I have poured onto the canvas as it lay on the ground.  A few others had their hands in there as well, so this one did become a bit of a collaboration.  I had originally begun a painting of two dogs that I repainted on a different canvas, so this was a perfect surface to play on.  

This is Bun, working on one of Mike's large panels. 


Artists are often creative alone.  We need that time to process and work.  We do find ways to connect with one another and we do take workshops, classes, etc.  But just having a fun day to let loose, try something new, or have other input into a piece while working on it is so enriching.   I hope to host more of these in the future and can't wait to see who attends and what unfolds.   

The Beginnings

I am often asked why I paint the colors I do and what got me started painting like that in the first place.  I have a difficult time explaining it in the 60 seconds most people are willing to listen.  I began thinking about it quite a lot this month.   What really started the thinking was a visit with our friends and my first commission clients, Keith and Leslie.  We know this couple from my husband's job AND because they stole our wedding date from us.  (ha! so now it's public knowledge, Doogie!)  Seriously, we both decided to get married at the same time and really did pick the same date, but since my husband and Keith both worked in the same department, that wasn't going to work at all.  They legitimately beat us to the punch.  


So, back to the painting.  While chatting with my husband and some other friends at the Gosport Arts Festival last month, Leslie mentioned that they were my first clients.  Yes, indeed.  They were. They saw a painting I had done of my pup Gracie and Leslie wouldn't give up until I agreed to paint their "kids."    

This painting is about 24 x 36 inches and I began it quite realistically.  I had been painting in pastels and some acrylic, doing beach scenes, florals and people.  My work was no different than dozens of other artists doing the same thing.  And I was bored.  So, I started painting wild colors, a lot, LOT of red, all over Gracie.  Then adding sweeping gestures of bold blues and oranges and yellows.  Colors I typically did not use and nothing found in any dog I knew.  I left the studio that night and didn't look back.  
The next morning I went into the studio and poor Gracie!  She looked like she had been born in flames.  wow.  Helldog.  But, I loved the striking colors and now I had the challenge of bringing it back.  This was done in 1996.  It's not a great painting, but I learned a great deal by doing this one.  It's the painting that helped me turn a corner and was the beginning of my maturing process (if you can call it that) as an artist.  Following that painting, I began to take graduate level classes and began to explore color.  Not intentionally, but that is where I was headed.  


So, Leslie became enamored with this painting and asked quite a few times if I'd paint their dogs.  After some thought, I decided Sure.  Why not?  Soon after, they delivered photo albums.  Complete albums, just of the dogs.  It was awesome.  I delved into all the photos and pulled out the ones I thought would work.  The only request was that the two had to be together.  It was also my first venture doing a composite painting - taking elements from several photos and combining them into one.  

 "Cujo and Church," a 24 x 30 inch painting, was done in 1999.   My career as a pet painter was born. 


The colors I used became bolder as I learned more about pigment.  It wasn't until 2004 or 2005 that I learned other artists were painting in wild, unheard of colors as well.  I had never heard of Ron Burns or Jody Wright.  I wasn't mimicking anyone:  I loved animals, I loved color and the marriage of the two made sense to me.   I find it interesting that there are other artists out there who must have been catching the same energy waves as I was at that time, because when I read their bios or backgrounds, their stories are nearly identical to mine.  Now numerous artists are painting in similar ways to those of us who began this over a decade ago.  But one thing is certain...we all have our own style and if one looks closely enough, past the colors, none of us is the same as the other.  


So, Why do I paint with the colors I do?  Short answer: Because that's where I am.  

A New Direction

I've been wanting for a long time to move on to new ways of painting.  I've taken tentative steps in the past, through classes and experimenting, but it felt like I had pieces to a puzzle and they didn't all fit.  Now it's like I'm collecting pieces and eventually they'll all make a whole. 

Here is a piece I began painting at my Plant Zero studio last week.   I try to keep a painting going for students and visitors to see.  A client / fan / collector posted on her Facebook page a photo of her dogs' legs intertwined, which I fell in love with.  So I asked permission to paint using her image. 


I love this for the composition mostly.  And because it's a great way to move into more abstract paintings while doing what I know.  I plan to keep this looser than my usual work and hope it becomes a little more painterly.  Let's see how it goes.  

Spring Cleaning

I usually take a week off after my spring shows.  The only difference this year was that I did only one show.  Then one week off became two.

My husband and I spent the last two weeks catching up on all the projects we've put off the past year or so.  Ok, not true.  We didn't catch up on all of them....but we put a good dent into them.

My favorite has been the yard.  I love gardening, but due to an accident nearly 5 years ago, I was unable to do much for quite a long while.  I hurt my lower back and tailbone in a skimboarding mishap. Can you imagine a banana peel under my feet?  yep, that's the image...straight up, then slam! down on my butt on hard, wet sand.  I was hurt, but laughing so hard, my friends didn't know quite what to do when I couldn't get up right away....ah, sweet memories.  I spent the rest of that vacation sitting on an inflatable tube float my favorite child Alex thought would be funny to give me.  It was perfect actually, because I was NOT giving up my beach week.  But, I digress.  After 3 years of yoga and finally getting back to the gym with the best personal trainer in existence (yes, Keith, that's you) I am now as close to normal as I'll get.
Want another visual?  Four years ago, I was doing yard work and at that time, if I bent down for more than about 10 minutes, I would "freeze."  Nope, no warning, I'd just try getting up and I'd be stuck.  Now picture me planting flowers IN MY FRONT YARD, no less, and finding out for the first time I couldn't get up. First I panicked. Then I figured I couldn't just sit there all day,  so I rolled.   Laid down on my side, rolled around to get to a place with leverage, then hoisted myself up onto stiff feet and hips that didn't wish to move.  I only prayed no neighbor was watching or would drive by - I had to look like a crazy woman, rolling in the grass and mulch. I'd get to the porch, lie on my back until everything relaxed, and duh, do it again.   ahhh, MORE sweet memories.

Back to the point - now that I can move again, I decided to remake the front flower beds.  Keith, aforementioned personal trainer, helped me dig up and compost the bed last fall.  Oh, you thought this was going to be all words, blah, blah, blah.  Nope...here come the pics.  Befores and afters.

This is the front bed after everything but a few trees and shrubs were taken out.  I used to have my own version of an English garden - a mass of crazy plantings, basically.  This has been tilled with organic compost/topsoil and fertilizer.









Same view, with the new plantings mixed in with plants saved and replanted.  Plus new stepping stones.



While I'm thinking of it..this blog likes to move my words and pics around....I tell it where I want it, but once posted, it takes on a life of its own.  My apologies for the vast amount of space between some lines and photos.

Ready for work. 

.  

and today...after a week of mulching and adding in zinnias and million bells and sweet potato vine to take over once the pansies die back. 

What will I do today?  After posting this, I'm headed back to the studio.   I set up my palette this morning.  It's time to paint.  

After the Festival

An art festival from an artist's point of view. 


The Gosport Arts Festival is a show I have done for years and enjoy doing because the promoter, Millie Johnson, is wonderful and treats the artists with respect and dignity.   She has to be the kindest show promoter ever.  Some promoters seem to forget that the money they collect is already paid when we apply for the show, but nonetheless can make an artist's life miserable in various ways.  Millie does everything possible to make her artists happy, which in turn helps us have a good weekend and positive attitude to do what we are there to do: show and sell our art.  
Millie, Thank You, for promoting a quality show and taking care of us.  Thank you to all the Gosport volunteers who put in amazingly long hours to make the artists' lives easier.  


I also do this show because it's "home," or near where I lived most of my life, so I'm able to see a number of long time friends who may stop by.  

As for the show this weekend, well, the weather wasn't the best.  We had horrific winds which took their toll on us on Saturday.  Rain is tough, cold is not fun, but winds are an outdoor artist's nightmare.  ughh.   Watching your tent "walk" when it's blustery can be heart-stopping.  For artists not prepared the wind can destroy a tent or the contents.  In addition, Saturday was hot, muggy and attendance was minimal.  Sunday was a much better day.  The winds shifted, it was cooler and gorgeous.  Mother's Day typically is quite busy and sure enough, we had plenty of visitors.  Not as many as in some years past, and not everyone purchased, but considering the economy now, it was a decent day.  


Once back home, the next day is a full workday, returning art to gallery and studio spaces, doing paperwork, taking inventory, getting everything put away, and so on.  As every exhibitor knows, the exhibition weekend is fairly easy compared to the prep beforehand and the followup after.   That's ok.  It's all usually worth it.  

Getting Ready for Exhibit

It has been a whirlwind week.  I've spent as much time in the "office" as I have in the studio.  I've completed 5 paintings on canvas. (pics below)  I had begun all but one of them awhile back, some as long as two years ago.  It seemed a good time to finish them since I had a show coming up and not much new to take.  It's imperative to take new pieces to an art show, and I've always been up front with my clients that I paint for shows in April/May and August, but since I'd been concentrating on commission work, I hadn't really finished but a few pieces in the past year.  Last year I only exhibited in one juried show, plus a few benefit exhibits. A typical year may include up to 6 juried outdoor events. 


I do art shows for many reasons.  Since I don't take commission work any longer, I know my clients probably wonder why I bother to exhibit.  I do art shows to sell what I have and to see what resonates with the public as well as my peers and the show judges.  For me, it's never been about making a fortune, though wouldn't that be nice?  It's been about painting because I can't help it and wanting to support that calling by selling some of what I create - a self-sustaining habit, if you will.  Those who've followed me for a long time know I began with  seascapes, genre paintings, florals and pastel work.  The animals have been quite recent. 


OK, it's nearly midnight and I think I'm rambling. 
This past week I've been up until 2 a.m. - painting much of the day, breaking periodically for my pups to go out and to eat.  Late at night I get on the computer and print notecards, business cards, title tags, check emails, then pop back into the studio to finish up paintings, etc.  While folding and bagging notecards (so far, total of 4 hours doing cards and more to go)  I've watched a couple of shows (don't laugh: I like Celebrity Apprentice and American Idol as my version of easy listening.)  


Here are some pics of completed work, and I'm going to get some sleep. Tomorrow I have a visit to the vet with two furkids, have to round up paintings from galleries and get the house tidy.  And finish getting ready to show.  

      

New work - Productive week

It's been a very productive week.  Having a show on the calendar certainly provides incentive to get things done.  Susan B. has been here working nearly as feverishly on my notecard inventory and other non-painting tasks to help me ready for Gosport Arts Festival.  She's experienced nearly everything now, except for painting for me. !   Printing, folding, bagging and pricing notecards is another full day of work (actually they aren't completely bagged, but at least they are printed and folded); hours that I was able to spend (mostly) in the studio.  


So, since a blog about art should be more than words, here are some images of paintings that will be seen for the first time at the Gosport show.  

This is still untitled and not quite complete.  I began this over two years ago while at the beach one fall.  It's been hiding in my studio for awhile and after visiting the Georgia O'Keefe exhibit at the Phillips Collection recently,  I knew exactly where to take this painting.  

This one is now finished, but not yet titled.  
Check out the image on my April 19th post.  What a difference a week can make. 




Hopefully I'll have time to post more as they are completed.  

A good day is a great thing

So far, a weekend going well.  Thank goodness. 


I finally picked out my new smart phone after researching them since last September.  
I've recovered some photos, but alas not all. 
4th Fridays was steadily busy with new faces as well as friends and fellow artists dropping in for a visit.  
My large format printer is now cooperating with all new ink installed.  (what to do with the old ink which still exists? I hate to throw away ink!)  
A painting is completed.  yahoo!  

Knock on wood?  

For Crying Out LOUD!

For those who wonder sometimes why I don't get more painting done.  Or what my ratio of "other stuff" to painting time is some days.  Settle in before reading...grab a coffee, or something stronger. 


So, on Tuesday Susan B is here working steadily most of the day while I'm trying to get some painting done.  Two days prior, I wanted to get some prints done.   My large printer decides it won't play nice with the ink, so I have to order new ink before I can try to do some reproductions.  There goes my window for framing, but maybe the ink will arrive and I can get Susan to print for me.  Ink arrives...no time to load and print yet. I have a show in 3 weeks.  I get some painting done, but also need to check in with Susan to see what she needs from me for her task.  She spends much of the day getting all my contacts loaded into that the data program I bought for record keeping.  


OK, so I need to print postcards.  My small printer doesn't want to play nice with the heavy paper, so we have to feed one sheet at a time.   I begin to show Susan how to do that and aforementioned printer decides not to take any paper at all.  Great.  
 At least I can get Susan to finish up and print out mailing labels after that, for postcards that don't yet exist....but that means there is always hope and we're prepared if we do get postcards.  yay.  Printer takes the label paper.  double yay. 


After Susan leaves, I load photos of the two commissions I made progress on to show clients via e-mail.  Now if you keep up with this blog, you may recall last May my PC died and I now use a MAC.  um-hum.  I keep my images in iPhoto - a MAC program.  I like that I can drag and drop images into various other applications and into an online gallery for my clients.  So that's what I did....I dragged and dropped two photos into their respective online gallery folders, which are supposed to automatically send them into cyberspace with their sister photos.  


Thank goodness, I emailed copies before this, because what happened next was a huge cluster farce of craziness.  My folders would not accept the images, the gallery would not recognize my passwords, I had to reset passwords via email ( "NO, thank you I did NOT forget my password - YOU won't recognize my password,"  I mumble to the computer. It's actually more complicated, but I'll keep this short.  LOL. hahaha)  I go retrieve my new password page and follow directions, come back to my photo album to drag and drop and gasp!  the albums are gone.  AND those photos are gone.  no.  nonono.  oh no.  Eight months of photos are gone, to be exact.    


I spend the next hour trying to find said photos.  And come back and MORE galleries are gone.  Oh this is really not good.  I have to stop before I destroy all my images or worse.  These are family photos, client photos, art work photos.  My entire album of artwork images that took Susan about 2 days to create for me - gone. 


I spend 2 hours the next day at the MAC genius bar.  (Include travel time - that's 3 hours of painting gone.)  No luck.  I "won" the "You've stumped a genius" award from my nice genius guy who could not figure out what the good grief happened.  Really.  I'm not loving my MAC at the moment, but we think we had a corrupt file or program cause all the grief. 


This story continues, but I shall not.  To end this rant, I'll close with uplifting news.  My MAC is now attached to an external hard drive with 1 Tb of storage space for backup every day.  yup.  
My photos are gone, except what I had not erased from my memory sticks and what I could find on my online web gallery once that was recovered ( which thankfully included my art work album. yay - I had enough sense to back that up)  I lost most of my painting time today,  recovering what I could.    My humor is still intact, although my emotions are sorely in need of a rest.  


And I'll paint tomorrow.  At least that's the plan. 

Artwork Updates

Here are a few pics of recent images I've been working on for the upcoming Gosport Arts Festival.  None are complete. 

This is the most recent incarnation of this piece. I decided to keep the ear, as my dear friend Sarah pleaded with me to please, please keep it in. You can't exactly tell it's an inverted ear, but I like the way it brings the body back around to the left corner to enhance the S-curve of this composition.

This piece is of a pup I painted awhile ago for a commission client.  I loved this incarnation best, with the human's hand holding her timid companion.  

These two chow paintings are on 6 x 6 wood panels.  I have a larger chow painting in progress.  Something about the chow is calling to me lately. 

April 16 2010

Recently, my art friend Susan asked me ...”Just curious... how many hours do you typically spend painting/week? And how many doing business for art?” I couldn’t answer that accurately and thought I’d take a few weeks to keep my hours and compare. Well, I still can’t answer that accurately.  It seems there is always something unexpected going on. 

I’m getting ready for a spring show, so I’m spending more time on the computer and prepping - things I don’t do year round.  I’m also spending more time painting, so even that isn’t quite as normal.  My current guess would be for every 3 hours painting I spend maybe 1 hour doing business chores.  At one time I would have said 2 to 1, but since I’ve changed how I deal with commissions, and hired Susan B. to assist,  that has freed up my time. And where do I include teaching hours?  hmmm.  Of course, none of this takes into consideration the time I spend taking care of home, husband and my critter family.  Do I include that as well?  

What am I doing right now?  Well, I’ve been painting for about an hour.  Took a break to check on the dogs outside, sat here to get off my feet 

(I paint standing) and post to the blog.  I’ll be back to painting when I finish this.  So this would fit into a 4 to 1 ratio - 1 hour painting, about 15 minutes for a break and blogging, which I consider business, since I blog for my clients and students mostly. 

After show season, I’m going to try and make an effort to record my hours. I think I’ll divide it into quarters - home life, business attention, teaching and studio time.  I’m curious to see what the outcome is. 

Art for Showtime

I've had an interesting few days.  I received a phone call from a gentleman who I met a few years ago. He is promoting a local event which includes a small number of artists and he felt like my work would be a good fit.  I was tickled and honored to be asked to exhibit at this high-end event and was considering it.  After some thought, I decided the timing and expenses were just not right.  Then I received an e-mail about another high end show in another state, and again, the timing and expense of doing such a show just won't work.   But I'm beginning to think that maybe the Universe is telling me something and I need to pay attention.  I usually do and in the past, I've found it beneficial to listen.  One door closes, another one opens. 


 I AM going to be doing my usual show, the Gosport Arts Festival in Portsmouth in May, so I've begun working on a few new pieces while finishing some pieces I began one and even two years ago.  In addition, as seen in recent blogs, I'm still painting on commissions and getting those completed.  


So here are pics of the most recent new piece.  "Party Girl," which was posted not too long ago, was such an easy painting - flowed like melted butter- I expected that to happen again... but no.  I realize I should be thankful when those paintings do come along.  Anyway, what I love about this is the challenge of dealing with folds and muscles, depth and a sense of place, and personality. 

Here is an early photo of the current piece, not yet titled.  
I've drawn loosely, freehand and am working on laying in color here.  I discovered a new mixture of cobalt green and cobalt teal with titanium and just love the blue tones.  

                                                          Here is the next phase: detail in the folds of the sofa cover, tightening up the drawing a bit and finding the lights and darks.  










Here is where I left off today : the color is building up to create the depth I like in my work and I began to play with the darks and lights nearest the body.  I like the red as a place to focus and have the dog lie flat while the folds curl around her as she wiggles on the sofa.  I'm toying with darkening the background to enhance the light focused on the chest and legs.  My color challenge now is to make sure the palette remains in harmony.  I love the green, but think it's going to need to change.  Or take the red back out.  And maybe that floppy ear needs to go. We'll see.    

What's Going On

I haven't posted photos in awhile, so tonight I'm doing a brief post of pics.  

First, this is a photo of Bounty paper towels.  


After a trip through the washing machine.  


(they should pay me for this!)


Yep, my husband cleaned up a doggie accident and left paper towels stuffed inside the dog bed cover that he threw in the laundry room.  Days later, I put it in the wash not thinking to look inside and after the trip through on Heavy Duty mode - hot water, double rinse, high speed spin- I found a long, wrinkly mass at the bottom of the tub (we have a front loader, so it was just inside the door.)  I pulled it out and found this - 4 paper towels, still attached to one another and intact.   I've always favored this brand in the studio due to it's absorbency.  I'm sold for life.  

This pic on the right (or it's supposed to be on the right) is a painting I'm currently working on for an upcoming show.  
I began this one as I often do - a demo for an evening class.  It's slow going, as I'm still working on two commissions and doing this one half in studio, half in class. 

And this is Mikki - you may remember from prior posts. After settling on green for a background color, I'm now laying in the setting and finding tones that don't compete with the dog.  I've resolved a few other issues - a quirky front let, some odd shadows and once that background comes together will put final layers in her hair.  This painting went from frustration to fun after my aha moments.  (which I talked about in a prior post.)  

Nothing Quite as Planned

Some weeks things just go all awonky.  It's been one of those weeks and I can honestly say that my life is never boring.  It may not be exciting....but that's another thing altogether.  (chuckle)

I had planned to complete another painting this week during my studio time, but plans do change.  My husband's work schedule forced me to rearrange a future date to happen NOW, so yesterday I had Susan B. and Will Turner join me in making notecards.  Will is a local artist who has envisioned a project called The 1000 Strong Project.  The intent is to sell the artwork of 1000 artists to raise (oh, shoot me Will - I can't remember! ) 10,000 dollars (I think) for the benefit of Comfort Zone Camp.  In exchange for helping me to print and prep my notecards for sale, I showed him the program I use and how to create the cards.  Susan was here of course to learn and help, as I hope she will take over that task in the future. 

I work mostly from home, so we convened in my small and cluttered office filled with everything from golf clubs to a paper shredder (my cat loves to sleep in the shreds) and computers and printers and more; oh my.  First the program acted up while showing Susan how to find and recreate a card.  Then Will arrived and we got things running fairly smoothly.  Then the ink misbehaved.  I had to discard cartridges with ink, as none of the remedies were working.  In the meantime, I switched to printer B and that was worse - it has never liked chatting with my Mac and refused to feed paper properly in protest.  About 30 minutes, 3 ink cartridges, about 10 or so damaged notecards and 6 sheets of test paper later, we began rolling again.  Missions somewhat accomplished.  Thankfully both Will and Susan are good-natured souls who go with the flow. And I'm just happy that at least there is that much less I have to do later. 

Today's to-dos include changing out art at a gallery, delivering sketches to be matted and shrinkwrapped, and spending time with aforementioned husband at some point.  Previously I would have stressed over NOT getting into the studio and how much further behind that would put me.  But, things come along and I can be only in one place at one time, mind and body.  If I do get into the studio, great.  If not, there will be another moment when I shall.  

The Effect of the Creative

Last night I attended Talk 20, an event sponsored by C3 (The Creative Change Center) and 1708 Gallery in Richmond, Va.   Talk 20 

It was affirming, enlightening, inspirational and at times moving, to listen to each one share their creative journey. I felt in awe to be part of the gestalt that is art in Richmond and at the same time felt like an outsider, because these creatives are sooo in touch with their destiny and purpose.  The event was standing room full and was packed with artists/creatives, many of whom I recognized or knew.  What struck me as missing were people who are NOT creatives to experience an event such as this.  If we could but reach more of our community with the many positive things artists are offering not only to Richmond, but in some cases the world. 

A few examples:

Brian Korte - founder of Brickworkz.         Brickworkz 

Brian began creating mosaics out of legos which grew into a fascinating business.  His real aim?  To change the world, using his legos to facilitate fundraising for charity.  He has traveled the globe doing so. His personal volunteer passion is with Comfort Zone Camp.       Comfort Zone

My friend Susan Singer's goal is to paint Naked Women - with the purpose of changing how the world views women in often negative, idealized versions that do not exist, and bringing to light how those views affect our collective psyche.  Her blog has an international following.   Susan's blog

Tiffany Glass Ferreira is a powerhouse of energy in a very tiny package.  Her Real Small Art League is bigger than I can describe.  Real Small Art

Sheila Gray is another artist I've been fond of for years.  Her ethic of living her art and making the world a place of joy is impassioned and uplifting.   Sheila Gray

More of the creatives can be found via the Talk 20 link above.

Why am I using my blog to share this with you?  Because after, I was thinking about my own very recent journey from cluttered space to painting again to choosing to leave pet portraiture behind me.  And how all that fit in with my teaching and where I'm headed.  My friend Sarah (who attended with me) helped me realize my original intent when I began painting animals:  To show the relationship between animals and humans and somehow use that connection to change how many in the world treat animals in such brutal ways.  

I'll continue with that train of thought another time.  For now, I'm going to continue to enjoy the "afterglow" of energy and inspiration from last night's event. 

A new Week

I had the best week in a long while working in the studio last week.  Even though I took off most of last Tuesday, I couldn't help myself and did wind up painting a bit in the evening.  And I painted every day after until Sunday.  I never really believed in having a "painter's block" until after sharing with fellow artists what I was going through.  Another is having a similar bout of wanting to work, but getting into the studio and just having nothing there.  She's doing the same thing....a little of this and that, and not much else.  She even has these huge panels ready to goa and I know she's just processing how to tackle them. Even so, it is when she just plays and throws paint or gets into something different that her creative juices begin to flow again.  I suppose there can be a painter's block, for whatever reason.....overload, stuck in a rut, no inspiration, not knowing how to express inspiration.  At any rate, I'm glad to be past that phase and hope it continues.  


I belong to a group called the Collaborative Artists Group - a small division of a larger umbrella in Richmond known as C3, the Creative Change Center.  Members include artists of all genres, but the meetings mostly consist of visual artists lately.  I love attending these meetings, small or large, for the opportunity to get to know other artists and what they are doing, how they work, what they think about.  Our latest meet was this past Thursday evening and I have yet to walk away from one without feeling invigoration and confirmation.  


 That is enough random thought for one posting.  

A Day Off

I did something today I didn't intend to do, but the weather was so nice.  I took the day off.  The only thing I did was to grocery shop.  I haven't done that in quite awhile, take the day off totally that is,  and I haven't done it in several years without the guilt of knowing I had clients waiting for a painting.  You can tell it's still on my mind, but the weight has been lifted. Maybe posting to the blog counts for work?  ummmm - a stretch?   


Ironically, since my decision to inform my clients about the changes I'm making, I have been more productive in the studio. It baffles me and I'm thrilled.  

Here is Ditto, about ready to go home after a little tweaking and tuning.  His parents are delighted and so am I.  This was a pleasure to work on.  Even though it's not my preference to do a head shot, I love this one. It captures him.  It helped that I met Ditto quite some time ago and remembered his gentle manner along with his impressive stature. 
Ditto has been gone awhile now and I was honored to have had the opportunity to do this painting for the couple that loved him. 

I also met with Mikki's Mom this weekend and we chatted about the painting which I'm ready to get finished now. Something really clicked with this one recently and I suppose sometimes that's what happens with a piece...it takes time to pull it together. She sees her Mikki and that's what I struggled with for quite awhile. Still some things to work out, but we're in agreement as to what, so that will happen.


After these two, I have Plum the kitty hanging out in that limbo stage - where I think I'm done, but set it aside for awhile to make sure it's all ok. I've done work on her tail, the background colors and added in a number of layers to make her more solid.  I don't have a recent image of that one to post here, but she is on another post from awhile back.  Once Ditto goes home, Plum gets back on easel # 2. 


On another note, I was contacted by a number of wait list clients who were generous and understanding about my letter and blog.  A few asked to be removed from the list and I'm hoping to help them find the right artist, if they choose.  I appreciate their honesty in wanting to move on, too.  One wrote to me telling me she had found another artist some time ago, and was obviously angry that I was not more often in touch.  I am tickled for her that she went ahead and did what was right for her and now has a painting she loves.  I wished she had let me know so I could have kept my records more up to date, but she felt she was not obligated to do so (and she is right.)  I listen to my critics as well as my fans, as they have insight which helps me know what I should do.  Her response confirmed that I had done the right thing, but perhaps I should have done so sooner. At any rate, most who contacted me asked to remain on the list regardless; and I am so thankful for their kind words of encouragement.    


I keep wondering if this productivity will last, but for now I'm enjoying what's happening.  

Two Days Later

About my decision to quit pet painting as a business (see prior blog post):


If it sounds like I am blaming my clients, I am not.  Not at all.  Any artist who has taken commissions will tell you the same things I have said.  It is a fine balancing act between answering to your call as an artist and meeting the expectations of a client.  It's the nature of the business.  If anything, what I am doing, is admitting this: I am not suited to be a commission painter as a full-time endeavor. I don't like the business aspect of it.  I don't want to spend my time contacting people with frequent updates (and I haven't.) I can't afford full time help.  Clients don't want to wait so long for their painting and they shouldn't have to.  I maintain stress over not painting more quickly. It's even more stressful knowing I have people waiting for a painting, and I can't get there yet.  I don't mass-produce and I don't have a formula, so paintings, when I'm working, usually take a while to do.  Again, not the client's fault, it's part of the business.   I do enjoy meeting clients and pets, taking photos, arranging the sketches and doing the art.  A lot of artists hate commission work and won't do it at all.  I actually like it, but I never expected the stress level to be so high. 


Some paintings weren't quite what I would have chosen, but I am proud of the accomplishments of each piece thus far.  Each client and their animals have been unique.  I get to meet some of the nicest people on earth - how could they not be?  They love their pets!  Nearly everyone has been excellent about letting me do what I do.  Even so, it's very stressful to try and meet someone else's expectations.  They have a certain image in their heads and I have to try and match that.  I struggle with what they want and what I think should be.  


This may not make sense to some, after reading the above and the prior post.  My artist friends will get it for sure:
Although I do not love the business, I love what I do.  I love painting; capturing an animal's personality or a moment in time.  I love the feel of paint on the canvas, the time it takes to mix a color and apply it next to another color.  I love when the painting begins to brighten and come to life in an explosion of color.  I love when I have an aha moment in the studio and silently, or sometimes aloud, yell " THAT's IT!"  I love getting the expressions on an animal that really speaks that animal's soul. I love the smile on a client's face when they see their pet and go "wow."  I cry when my clients' pets leave this earth, because I've connected with them through my paintings.  THAT is why I paint.  


One of my clients wrote back to me "It's hard to be creative when you feel internal or external chaos."  This is so true.  Another wrote, "...after what appeared, much heartfelt contemplation...it made me realize that you had rediscovered the artist I fell in love with so many years ago."  


I certainly hope so.  That is the message I am trying to send.  

Change

Several months ago I realized I no longer wished to take on commission portrait work as the main emphasis of my art.  I was becoming unhappy with the particular demands of trying to make my clients happy while painting to my own muse.  The two often do not mesh.  Painting for someone who has hired me means that I need to meet their expectations.  From both our points of view; the client is paying me to do something they want.  They love my work so they want me to do my magic, but with their pet.  What has happened more often than I expected was that once their pet is in the picture, they tend to want a more traditional painting.  Hmmmm.  I'm thinking '...did you SEE what I do?'   I find it baffling because there are so many wonderful, traditional pet portrait artists out there.  Anyway, that is when our points of view begin to diverge...they see it as they are paying me to do what they want and I see it as they are paying me to do what I do. Then I struggle. Luckily so far I've been able to complete pieces I am proud of and I think, or at least I've been told, that my clients are happy with the results.  I'd hate to think they weren't or felt obligated to take something they didn't love. 

So, after making the decision, I mulled it over for several months before even making it known. I wrote and rewrote a letter to my clients.  I hired Susan to help me get back on my feet in the office and the studio.  Things began falling into place and I wondered if maybe I shouldn't rethink my decision.  But then the stress returned.  So I knew it was the right thing for me.  I would have to tell my clients before making it known that I was going to stop taking on commission work.

My students were the first to hear.  I wanted their reaction and their feedback was interesting.  

Then I was able to finally write the letter. Last night I sent it.  I have not yet checked my e-mail.  That'll be next.  

This is my plan.  I will continue to paint and complete portraits for anyone on my current wait list.  I will create a painting that I would do with or without that client.  I will continue to listen to their input and collaborate with them at the beginning stages of the piece.  Once the image goes to canvas, it's all from my heart.  One of the things I've never done was to take a down payment or require a contract.  So if my client does not like the painting, they do not have to purchase the painting.  I know, some artists gasp at this, "your time! you should be paid for your time!" and I should.  But I want happy clients as much as I want to be proud of what I do.  It makes no sense to me to sign my name to a painting that isn't reflective of my work, and makes no sense to send a painting out there that someone doesn't want.  


In addition to honoring my wait list clients who wish to hang in there, I am going to work on some of the projects I've been setting aside for the last few years.  I've wanted to explore the various acrylic mediums, take workshops, continue teaching, and delve into a few other things.  As an artist, I feel the need to grow and learn.  I need the time to do that and will make that time. 


I think it may be a long day.  I don't know what to expect from my clients.  I'll read their responses and go from there.  I think many will understand, some will not, some I'll not hear from at all and others will want to find another artist.  It will be all right. 

March means Spring

And Spring means new beginnings.  I cannot tell the world enough how elated I feel at having whatever fog was hovering lift away.   I completed the painting, "Party Girl" in less than two weeks.  I know - yes, it DID take time away from commissions, but I needed that.  I NEEDED to get back in.  As I posted previously, it inspired me to get back into the work I was committed to. 


Here she is.   Katie "Party Girl" Richardson

This painting is making its debut at the Riverview Gallery in Portsmouth VA this Friday night.  The show is Celebrations, in honor of the gallery's 12 Year Anniversary in that location. 
Doesn't Katie look festive and dressed for the occasion? 






I just spent the last 2 hours refining a letter to my commission clients, explaining the changes that I'm making in my studio habits and how it may affect them.  I've been working on that since last December, but just didn't know quite what to say or how.  Hiring Susan and getting back into painting put me in the right place to be able to go there.   Once I've had it proofread and sent,  I'll address some of that process and the results here.  




In the meantime, spring is coming and with it new energy.  Renewal.  Yahoo.