A necessary element of the business of art is showing and selling. Art fairs, craft festivals, backyard boutiques, speaking engagements, demonstrations (not carrying signs of clever rudeness while hoping for teevee cameras – I mean showing people how I paint or draw)–these are all ways of reminding people of my products and services.
Today I am setting up for tomorrow’s Backyard Boutique. (Not officially called that, but I like the name and remember, I am 58 and this is my blog.)
P.S. I think it should read “29 crafters and 1 artist”.
P.S.#2 It might rain. If it does, I’ll have to cut and run.
The mural on my studio door was only partially repainted, and each time I would think about finishing, the thought would come into my head, “But I don’t feel like it. . .” Summer was too hot to paint; fall came, and I looked at the door and wondered why I just never felt like finishing the mural.
When you don’t feel like doing something, there are 2 choices: 1. Do it anyway or 2. Don’t do it.
But wait! There is a third choice: 3. Do something else.
So, I painted a different scene. It isn’t quite finished yet, but this is how far it got in one short day of actually feeling like painting the door.
This just didn’t ring my bell enough to return to it for final detailing and tightening up.Starting from the top, which is also the farthest part of the scene, here comes Sawtooth!Added green, using some of the existing color; now let’s have a trail.No more tree, lots of green.On a break for lunch, I gave this young ‘un a talking to about how he (she?) is welcome to the mulberry leaves on the ground but needs to leave the geraniums, hydrangea and other flowering plants ALONE!!Getting some leaves, hints of trees and grasses. . . I like painting with greens more than painting with browns.Coming alive! I did 4 oil paintings of this scene, and all sold this summer. It’s a good one! I love wildflowers. Did you know that about me?
There is a reason for this strange coloring. I photographed it at the end of the daylight and then messed with the color on the computer trying to make it show up. There are about four more little things to do.
There is a reason for choosing this scene. More will be revealed in the fullness of time.
And a few of these things may be hold-overs from September or perhaps even August (slow learner?)
Propane: a. If a tank is full when it is hot out, the propane expands and blows off the pressure relief valve; b. Propane’s bad smell attracts flies
The sharper your knife, the less you cry (when slicing onions). This is the title of a book (minus the part about onions) that I read, a memoir by Kathleen Flinn, about her time a Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. I don’t cook much, don’t like onions and don’t use them very often, but I will be sure to sharpen my knife next time.
The Pencil Lady was interviewed on my favorite podcast What Should I Read Next. She runs a store in New York City that sells everything pencil related. WOW! It is called CW Pencil Enterprise.
When defrosting the frig at the cabin, it goes fast if I put a warm burner plate off the woodstove inside the freezer (on a piece of foil). Amazing idea – why did it take 31 years to figure this out??
VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) charges a whole mess of fees; the next time I rent a place to stay, I will skip this giant greedy conglomerate and find a local rental agency. Ha ha to VRBO.
Drawing lesson for me: drawing a portrait of someone I can’t see and don’t know is just as difficult as drawing a portrait of someone I don’t know from a photo that is blurry. The difference is that when the unknown subject looks similar enough, I get to quit messing with it.
And a few of these things may be hold-overs from September or perhaps even August (slow learner?)