An idea came to me about painting again. Start slow, and do three paintings for an upcoming situation. (If it is interesting enough, I’ll tell you about it next week.)
I started these paintings using the method taught by Laurel Daniel last year in her three day plein air painting workshop in Georgia. I will follow her method until the real me takes over and I put in details, drawing with my paintbrush.
One year ago, I decided to complete a series of large paintings with the hope (faint distant wish) that a boutique hotel would open in Three Rivers and the owner would want my art on the walls. This brings to mind something my dad used to say: “If you put a wish in one hand and spit in the other, which hand actually contains something?”
The hotel builder got criticized, ridiculed and chased away. I painted large anyway, and then the Thing came along and really wreaked havoc on my motivation to add to an inventory that is collecting dust.
This painting was on the easel last fall. Along came a good long run of commissions, including murals and oil paintings, and many oil paintings to be sold at the Silver City Store. Now it is still on the easel. I am stuck.
Why don’t I want to paint this?
A deadline, an interested customer, a gallery show, a boutique hotel – one of these might get me off my duff. (“Duff” is another word from my dad).
Life is full of unanswered questions.
Thank you for reading and commenting today. If you tried to comment and got an error message, just know it isn’t you. It is the blog’s fault. Remember the recent post “Wonky & Weird”? That’s what I’m talking about!
If you tried to comment and nothing happened or you got an error message, maybe your comment will eventually appear in one of my “back office” files of Pending, Spam, or Trash. When I see it, I will approve it (unless it is redundant because another one of your comments finally made it through.)
My elephant and I aren’t that happy with the blog’s performance, but we realize it is temporary.
When I began blogging 12 years ago, I had no idea what it was about but boy oh boy, it was fun.
Maybe blogging was new then, or maybe I was behind the times (a common occurrence in my life). I began looking for other blogs to read, and hoped that one day mine would have as many followers and commenters as The Yarn Harlot, The Pioneer Woman, lively discussions like Stuff Christians Like or maybe a community of regular commenters like the Entreleadership blog when Chris LoCurto was the writer plus the host of the Entreleadership podcast.
Instead, I have a small (microscopic in the blogging world) readership. Whenever it seemed to be growing, something broke and then I lost my subscribers.
My subscribers don’t seem to understand that they can go to my website and click on the Blog button to find the blog if the subscription stops working.
Many of my real life friends don’t read my blog; many of my customers don’t know I have one, if they even know what a blog is.
When I read blogs and articles about blogging, marketing, and promotion, I feel like a loser.
When I learn that people I know are reading my blog and realize that I know or have met most of my readers, I feel quite happy. This isn’t some impersonal marketing gig; this is the real me, connecting with the real yous. (Don’t you think we need a plural for “you”? “Y’all” feels phoney, because I am not Southern, and “all y’all” sounds particularly phoney, but it does work.)
Here are a few more thoughts about comments:
And here are some thoughts about blogging:
You may have noticed that my blog is looking a little different, a bit wonky and weird. The headline looked broken for awhile, and I am no longer able to put in the tagline of “In which the Central California artists [bloviates endlessly about her art and life]”.
The Thing, the big ShutDown, showed me that my website is inadequate. When drawing lessons were forbidden and my commissioned work was completed, I learned about web design. (Actual design, not coding – no need to be impressed here.) I spent a great deal of time figuring it out on paper, typing it on the computer, and sending it off to my web designer.
Last week he started working on it. So far, the results are wonky and weird. This is due to the nature of the work, not to any ineptness on the part of my web designer.
Eventually, the site will focus on custom work, AKA “commissions”, which is Artspeak for a piece of work done to the customer’s specifications and tastes and desires.
The blog will remain the blog; it might look wonky and weird for awhile, and then either we will adjust to the new look or it will return to normal in appearance.
Meanwhile, thanks for hanging out with me and my elephant.
P.S. “I before E except after C. Weird.”
Sequoia National Park and Mineral King opened last week. It was a very pleasant weekend down the hill, which meant it was very cold in Mineral King. 28 degrees on Sunday morning, and only 42 degrees in the afternoon!
We didn’t hike, only went on a couple of short walks because it was overcast one day, rained the next, and we had numerous projects around the place in addition to spending time with friends and neighbors.
Mineral King Wildflowers: Common Names contains the Forget-Me-Nots but neither of the tiny white flowers.
Life is too short for things like drying dishes that will dry themselves. Why do I want to save all that time? So I can do things that don’t make sense to other people but bring me pleasure and satisfaction, things like:
What’s on your list?
Perhaps this post should be titled “What’s wrong with store-bought”? And maybe the real question is “What’s wrong with me?”
As an adult, I made some decisions about things that I no longer had to do because I was now the boss of my life, not traditions or shoulds. It evolved into an ever changing list, one that I thought you might enjoy.
What’s on your list?
“Just curious–do you get annoyed, or do you appreciate it when someone makes a change/suggestion to an already completed painting?”
A friend and my most regular commenter asked me the question above.
Here is my reply:
“I am happy to do whatever the customer requests, as long as I have the ability and it doesn’t mess with the scene’s believability.”
She responded:
“That’s very kind (and flexible) of you. I can only speak for the audio arts, but I have seen situations where we took an arrangement and made a few cuts and lyric changes, and the arranger became incensed that we DARE change his precious arrangement.
I like your policy better!”
And I replied:
“I am very practical about the need for flexibility if I want to stay in business. I am here to serve the customer, not to serve my own art. If I was a hobbyist instead of a professional, I would probably have a different view. And I do put my foot down when it comes to logo design, because Design-By-Committee is how we got a camel when we needed a horse.”
Here’s my guess about the difference between my approach and what my friend/commenter experienced: I, the original artist, get to make the changes; my friend’s experience was that her music department was making changes on someone else’s piece.
I recently heard an interview with an artist who said she likes commissions because she can charge more for them. Really? Should I be doing that?
Better commission me soon before I decide to raise my prices.
Pride goes before a fall. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. So why am I proud? and why is it okay??
I am proud of one of my drawing students!! (I don’t think this is a sin.)
Mae began taking lessons from me over 15 years ago because she was a watercolorist who wanted her work to be more realistic. She quickly graduated from pencil to colored pencil and tried 3 different brands before settling on Faber Castell Polychromos. She meticulously plans out each piece, experimenting with color combinations and working very methodically and slowly.
Meanwhile, Mae continued painting at home and with some friends at the Arts Visalia gallery. (This is the place where I have held drawing workshops, a very well-run non-profit gallery.)
During the ShutDown, Mae and another artist friend answered a Call for Artists from Arts Visalia. They have one big fund raiser each year, an orchid sale. This year, due to The Thing, the orchid sale isn’t happening. Instead, they asked their regular artists to do some orchid paintings. Mae and Donna quickly responded.
The very day that Mae told me about her paintings, I came home to this flyer in my email inbox.
Mae’s painting on the left is “Three Scoops”. The one on the right is “Out of the Box”. Donna’s paintings are the center ones, equally beautiful, but I don’t know the titles.
OF COURSE I bought a package of these cards.
Will you? Click or tap the link below to Arts Visalia’s orchid sale.