While the travelling Queensland Arts Council exhibition "Art Shoes" is in town, local artists and potters were invited to produce works on the Art Shoes theme to be displayed locally alongside it.
This is my contribution, entitled "Shoe Divas":
I painted this miniature painting over two days, for our local art group's Christmas break up dinner's lucky dip type swap:
Last year names were drawn by chance & each recipient got to choose from the wrapped gifts, one by one, which is a system I prefer.
This year our most famous local artist's husband chose a wrapped gift to hand to each recipient, & recipients just took their turns according to where they happened to be sitting.
Each attendee brought either a piece of their own art (or craft) or art supplies, for the Christmas gift table.
I hope the recipient of "One Magical Day" enjoys having it in her home?
Here is a detail:
Can you tell me what type of bird this is? Yes, it is a real bird, which exists in our real world.
The other bird, on the jersey cow's head, is a Gouldian finch.
The tree is a bottle tree, in case you're wondering why it's a peculiar shape. Here in central Queensland, Australia, we have bottle trees. I hadn't seen any until I moved here (from south east Queensland). I think bottle trees are cute, do you? Here's a photo of a young small one, from my own garden:
I came across this hands tutorial today, at WetCanvas:
It's a three page "Demonstration on Painting Hands" by Leslie Pease.
I just wish I had found it several weeks ago, when Maria was painting her dancer.
Our annual local visual arts festival, the Brigalow Arts Festival, finished on Friday. The Opening Night was last Monday.
These are the two paintings I exhibited:
"A Twilight Flight of Fancy", mixed media on canvas.
"Self Portrait 2007", acrylic on canvas.
Winsor & Newton offer an article by Derek Massey, on Acrylic Painting on Paper:
Getting your art fix is easy at Artabus!
Hold your mouse cursor over any of the 1,064 artists' names to see a preview of one of their artworks. Click a name to see that artist's biography with the option to see his/her gallery, etc.
"Find a sanctuary where you can comfortably work.
Dedicate at least two hours a day to your art.
Have more than enough equipment and supplies.
Set short- and long-term goals and keep track of progress.
Think of your work as exercise, not championship play.
Explore series development and exhaust personal themes.
Work alone with the benefit of books and perhaps tapes.
Replace passive consumption with creative production.
Use your own intuition and master your technology.
Feel the joy of personal, self-generated sweat.
Fall in love with your own working processes.
Be forever on the lookout for the advent of style.
Try to be your own person and claim your rights.
Don't bother setting yourself up for rejection.
Don't swing too wildly and damage the well-being of others.
Don't jump into the ring until you're feeling fit.
If you can stick with this regimen for a couple of months, I
can pretty well guarantee your progress. If not, then at least
the exercise will let you know the job's not for you."
Source: Robert Genn Twice Weekly Letter
SuperLiving Magazine has an interesting article entitled "Paint by Numbers" by Lynelle Johnson, about collecting art.
She says: "...Art is a funny thing. It gains significance and beauty because influential people say it is significant..."
&:
"Today, according to Anne, if you are looking at collecting an artist you would be looking for significance in these ways:
They are represented by a major dealer
They have had solo shows
They are represented in public collections – state and national art galleries
They win major prizes and get grants
They get lots of media attention
And even better they had a life cut short!
Then you would look at the significance of the work within the artist's career..."
Top artists to collect now, according to Bonhams & Goodman's List of Living Artists Under $10,000 are:
Stephen Benwell
Lorraine Connelly-Northey
Peter Cooley
Emily Floyd
David Jolly
Amanda Marburg
Noel McKenna
David Noonan
Gwyn Hanssen Pigott
Lena Yarinkura
Click on each of the above to read about each artist/see examples of their work.
Which is your favourite?
Today I've serendipitously found lots of Helpful Posts from "Artist, Emerging" (Deanna's art blog):
Deanna's generous articles include:
Writing an Artist's Statement
Writing an Artist's Resume
Pricing Your Artwork
Creating an Art Brochure
Creating an Exhibition Proposal
Calls for Proposals
Hanging Artwork
Rejection
Juried Shows
Types of Galleries
Alternative Exhibition Spaces
Tax Advice (US)
Postcards
Packing and Shipping Artwork
Writing About Art
Rejection Letters
Putting Images on CD
How Galleries Choose Artists
Let's benefit from Deanna's experiences!
Yes I know, I've been missing in action. I'll let you believe that I was so submerged in Etsy that I have only just come up for air. ;-)
I was just reading one of my favourite art blogs, Painting My World, by Lindsay Brackeen:
In her September 1, 2007 post, Lindsay writes:
"...By acknowledging my work, this woman gave me confidence & the shove I needed to pursue something I love. So almost 400 sold paintings later, I'm thinking of my beginnings, where I started, where I've come thus far, and where I plan to go...Where did your artful journey start?"
I'd like to ask you, dear reader, a similar question: regarding the first painting (or other visual artwork) you sold: who bought it, & under what circumstances?
Also, which artists do you support (by purchasing their artworks)?
The first painting I sold was to our music teacher of over a dozen years, Joan, a lady who is like a grandmother to our daughter. It was a commissioned pastel portrait of her late daughter. I am grateful to Joan for having such faith in me.
On my walls I have (original) paintings by: Sarah Larsen, Judy Vander-Have, Auda McLean, and Cathy McLean (Auda's daughter).
Your turn!
"I think that buying handmade is a way of expression and communication. You express yourself through the objects that you choose to live with and with the objects that you give to other people. Handmade objects have a different meaning compared to industrial objects because they carry a human energy. The thing that most impacts people is other people. That’s why we experience something nice when we get anything handmade. When you buy handmade you are not only buying an object but you’re also buying a concept, an idea that has to do with the appreciation of what’s human. By buying handmade you are saying in a subtle way that you care about other people and that you are open for them to bring something into your life, it is an exchange, it is human connection."
- elsita, on Etsy. (Elsita mainly sells prints and jewellery.)
Etsy is a marvellous website of all things handmade, by artists and craftspeople from all over the world!
Please don't think that Etsy is limited to craft alone: I searched for "original painting" only to receive over 2,000 results! These results include prints from the seller's original paintings as well as original paintings.
Items for sale on Etsy include: accessories, art, bags & purses, bath & beauty, books & zines, candles, ceramics & potter, (things for) children, clothing, crochet, furniture, geekery (!), glass, holidays (themed), housewares, jewellery, knitting, music, needlecraft, paper goods, patterns, pets, plants & edibles, quilts, supplies, toys, vintage, weddings, woodworking!
There are so many ways to explore Etsy! One of my favourites is the Geolocator, allowing you to see items for sale from almost anywhere in the world. You can also choose any colour, & Etsy will find items for sale to match! The "Recently Listed Items" updates every fifteen seconds! The whole design of the website is just brilliant.
It appears to be simple, quick, & inexpensive to become a seller on Etsy too, & buyers are encouraged to arrange payment via PayPal.
Take a look at Etsy, you'll be hooked!
PS: I found a fellow Queensland artist/craftsperson on Etsy: Nic Hohn!
"Stoney Creek"
34.5cm x 22cm (13.6" x 8.7")
Acrylic on 300gsm watercolour paper
"Stoney Creek" is one of a series of paintings inspired by prints for sale at the Etsy shop "smallstump".
A creek winds through my parents' property. When we were children, we were allowed to 'swim' in the waterhole only when the creek was flowing with clear water.
How do you price your art?
Paul Dorrell, gallery owner, in his article "Establishing Prices for your Work" says:
"...I’m often asked by novice browsers why paintings and sculptures are always so “expensive.”...I typically answer by explaining that my artists have been working in their disciplines for anywhere from twenty to forty years. They’ve established, through decades of struggle, techniques that are unique to them–meaning that their work is uncommon. They have now reached the point where they’re due proper compensation for all the privation they’ve been through, and, in most cases, that their families have been through as well. To charge any less would be a disservice to the artist. I carefully explain all this, then finish by asking the questioner that if they’d been down such a long, exhausting, risk-imperiled road, what would they charge for the work? Invariably the answer is, “More.”
I say, “Very good,” then proceed to close a deal."
There are 18 interesting artists' comments to follow that article.
Sonya Paz, a professional artist, has a commonsense guide to pricing your work here in the EBSQ Archives - such as:
"...Add up the materials and give yourself a humble fee, then times it all by three. For instance your canvas 15.00, usage of paints 6.00, your humble fee based on a four hour project 40.00. Sub totaling 61.00, times three 183.00. This is just an example, you can make your humble fee whatever you feel is fair for you..."
The pros and cons of pricing your art by the square inch, on WetCanvas includes two long pages of artists' opinions, including:
"...I had to put together a quickie price chart. What I came up with is Level 1 ($1 per square inch); Level 2 ($1.25 per square inch); Level 3 ($1.50 per square inch) and Level 4 ($1.75 per square inch). I decide the "Level" based on the complexity of the subject. As we all know, some paintings are very quick and some with a lot of detail will take much longer..."
and:
"...A flat $ / sq inch doesn't work for me because either my small paintings would cost too little, or the large ones would cost too much. So I have a sliding scale of different rates for different size ranges. For example, if
sq.in. <= 80, then $4.50 / sq.in.
sq.in. <= 200, then $4.00 / sq.in
sq.in. <= 300, then $3.00 / sq.in
...
sq.in > 500, then $2.00 / sq.in
That works for my own style and method of work. I came up with that by first trying to think of a realistic price for the different sizes that I typically work in. Then I made a spreadsheet of square inches vs. $/sq.in. When I saw that the prices I had in mind fit a nice curve on the spreadsheet, I came up with that sliding scale..."
Alyson B. Stanfield, on her Art Biz Blog, has Pricing Your Art: 10 Rules, including artist feedback, and:
"...if you can't produce enough work to keep up with the demand, it's time to raise your prices..." (!)
This is the follow up painting to "Inspired But Grounded", which I posted on the 12th of June - it's the second of this series. This one is entitled "Blokes":
Which of the two is your favourite, and why?
What would you suggest for the third painting in this series?
