Trail Guy had a great idea for me this summer. We are now beginning to develop it. Here are the photos we used in our designing phase.
“Phase” makes it sound huge and extensive, don’t you think?
More will be revealed. . .
Accepted
The Madera County Art Council notified me that the following pieces have been accepted into their Ag Art Show.
This will be in the category of Row Crops. It ought to give people pause as they look at pictures of alfalfa and broccoli.
Pomegranates have their own category. I think Madera produces quite a few and has a festival of pomegranates. This might be the 40th painting I’ve done of pomegranates, but it got a real title instead of a numbered series name.
This will be in the category of Vines, which is usually dominated by grapes, vineyards, and wine pictures. Guess it will stand out – sure hope so!
P.S. I’m not talking about the pieces that weren’t accepted. It will taint them, they will get a complex, and you will not want to buy them.
Interview with a California Artist, Part 2
Tell us, California Artist, what would you be doing if you weren’t an artist?
If I knew then what I know now, perhaps I would have been a business or marketing major and an art minor.
This is a no-spin zone – I asked what you’d be doing, not what you would have studied!
Soooorrrrrrr-EEE. I love what I do. But, with what I know about myself now, I think I could have been an editor and proofreader. Or a professional organizer. Or maybe a landscaper. Or maybe just a gardener. Farming had and still has some appeal, although the regulations and paperwork definitely steal much of the joy of producing food.
Do you ever wish you were doing one of those things?
Only when I am wishing for a larger paycheck. Or a paycheck. Or when I am washing brushes or doing bookkeeping or wondering if I will get a bid or where new students will come from or when I want to rid the world of typos or wish I could be outside more or when sales are low and I wonder if this is just a glorified hobby instead of a business.
You sound a little insecure!
I said you sound a little insecure.
I heard you. I was waiting for a question.
Are you insecure?
Nope. Are you finished?
Nope. I’d like to know if the blog readers have any questions about choosing a career path as a self-employed artist.
Me too. I will answer any question that will help someone find his way. (or hers, but you knew that, right?)
Interview with the California Artist
Why did you decide to become a self-employed artist?
Because most jobs are repetitive, boring, and full of sanctioned incompetence. Because I had to pretend as if I was busy when there was nothing to do, because too many bosses were dumb, petty, moody and inconsistent in their instructions. Because making and selling art and teaching drawing makes me HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! And self-employed was the only way I could design a job that made me HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY. I like to be happy. 😎 See?
Hmmm, sounds like you might have been a difficult employee.
Nope. I was a dang good worker.
What were some of the good jobs or helpful jobs you had?
1. Working for an architect, a terrific guy (who was also my architectural drafting teacher) in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego. Just being there was an education!
2. Working in a picture frame shop – helping customers choose, learning the basics of framing. The work was great; the manager was a drug addict. He fired me. He used a flimsy excuse. It was humiliating.
3. Working in print shops – type-setting, graphic design, learning about papers, helping customers make decisions, bookkeeping, learning about standard sizes, understanding the printing process, meeting people with whom I am still in contact.
4. Working in a gift shop – this is where I learned some marketing, display and selling techniques. For example, did you know that Presentation Really Is Everything? It is! Truly! (Thanks, Shirley Goodness!)
What were some of the non-helpful jobs you had?
All jobs were helpful in some fashion, even if it showed me how to NEVER run a business or treat an employee or a customer. Generally I met great people, both the co-workers and the public. If you put your mind to it, you can learn from almost any situation. . . isn’t that why people refer to “The School of Hard Knocks”? (My very wise Dad used to say that. I thought it was dumb. It was smart; I was dumb.)
Tell me, Gentle Blog Reader, what is the best job you’ve ever had?
Mineral King, Late Summer
It was remarkably clear in Mineral King in late August. The place is a continual source of inspiration and painting ideas for this central California artist.
Redwoods, Redwoods, Everywhere
I still have a very large commissioned oil painting of redwoods to complete. Redwoods are sequoia gigantea, not to be confused with California redwoods. We grew up calling them “the big trees”, and I had no clue what a privilege it was to live so close. (I might have been a bit of a twit.) I choose to call them Redwoods now because I went to Redwood High School, and although I will skip the upcoming reunion, I have retained enough loyalty to hang onto the name. But, I digress.
The customer liked a similar painting that I made for someone else, which was based on the pencil drawing called “Redwood & Dogwood”.
You can see the drawing, plus a photo of a sequoia on my laptop. The reason the palette is on the floor is because I was kneeling there to work on the lower portion of the tree. You can see the primary colors running across the top of the palette and the redwood colors running down the side.
But wait! There’s more!
Sheesh. This California artist has a thing about redwood trees. On the left is half of the pair of doors to the painting studio. I had to open them because it is sort of dark in there. Then, the swamp cooler had to be on high, so the doors were blowing around.
It’s rough being a California artist in the heat of summer.
Wah.
This is how it looked at the end of the noisy, dark, overheated day of painting. It should dry enough overnight to begin adding the dogwood flowers on top of the redwood tree. I mean layered in front of the tree, not up at the top of the painting. You knew that, right?
Why I Sometimes Don’t Answer the Phone While Painting
If you call my studio during work hours on a work day, often you will get the answering machine. You might be thinking, “That flaky artist doesn’t work much!”
Au contraire!
Sometimes I just can’t get to the phone.
The phone is on the far left of the photo, atop the filing cabinet, and requires that I put down my paintbrush from my left hand, take the one out of my mouth, put down the one I am using, and climb over the cords to the speakers and to the laptop. Ain’t happenin’. Sorry.
When it is hot, I can’t even hear the phone over the swamp cooler on high and the music coming from the laptop. Sorry.
This is what it looks like while I am painting a large commission. I’ll show you more about it tomorrow.
September Eleventh
Remember.
What I Listen To While Painting
Being an artist at a private home studio can be a silent and solitary profession. Sometimes I embrace the solitude. (Ever notice how the word “embrace” gets overused these days??) Sometimes I trap the UPS driver into seeing my work and hearing about it, because I haven’t talked to a soul all day long. I’ve tried making phone calls using the speaker-phone so I can paint while talking. The recipient of the call says “What?” so much that I’ve decided that is just not a viable way to multi-task.
Lots of times I use the painting time to listen to good stuff using my laptop and Bose speakers. (What a wonderful addition to a laptop for $100 – GREAT sound!!)
Here are a few of my favorite listening sites:
Artists Helping Artists is very very interesting, especially if you are an artist. (Thank you, Captain Obvious!) Leslie Saeta from Pasadena, California, is a working artist who used to be in marketing. She has a weekly podcast on Blogtalk Radio in which she interviews working artists and shares marketing tips. She is very upbeat, high energy, giggly and encouraging.
my pastor, Alex Garcia from the Three Rivers First Baptist Church. I listen because I miss a lot of Sundays in the summer, and I listen because I learn so much from Alex.
Michael Hyatt is one of my favorite bloggers. He is an “a-may-zing” guy, and I have learned so much from him about business, writing, getting published, blogging, leadership (as if anyone is actually following me!), marketing, and personal development. He has a great podcast once a week.
Chris LoCurto is another of my favorite bloggers. (I’ve guest posted for him 3 times.) He does a podcast about every 2 weeks, interviewing some very great business people like the head of Zappo’s, Tony Dungy, the head of Tractor Supply Co. and a number of business authors.
I Heart Radio is a new website that my sister. Melinda, told me about. (She has always been ahead of me when it comes to cool stuff.) You type in a favorite song or singer or group, and it creates a personal radio station for you based on your choice. First I put in Toto (remember them from the late ’70s or early ’80s?) and now I can listen to “Toto Radio” – it really surprised me how many groups from that time sang with very tight harmonies (like Little River Band, or even the Eagles.) Then I put in Casting Crowns, and got to hear new songs by old favorites and old songs by new singers. Then I had them make Steve Wariner Radio for me – he is my Absolute Favorite Male Voice of All Time. (Yes, he is Country – so what??)
There are other things I listen to, but this post is just getting too long. Besides, I probably disgusted half of you by admitting that I listen to Country music, and annoyed the other half by saying I like to listen to my pastor’s sermons!
If you are still here after all that annoyance, will you tell me what you like to listen to?
Trail Guy Climbs White Chief Peak
While I was working in Wilsonia, Trail Guy was climbing White Chief Peak. Off trail stuff doesn’t suit me with my lack of depth perception, so I am always a little relieved when I don’t have to go with Trail Guy on these more adventuresome excursions.
See the peak on the left? with the flat top? That’s White Chief. I still sort of want to climb it. Maybe next year?
This was Trail Guy’s view from the top. I didn’t ask which direction he was looking and am too embarrassed to ask because I should recognize stuff.
Trail Guy said this old foxtail was petrified. I wonder. . .
He saw a pika, which is correctly pronounced “PEE-kuh”, rather than “PIE-kuh”, which is how pica is correctly pronounced. Can you even spot it in the photo above?
During the week of his ascent up White Chief, he saw a doe with triplets! This is a very very rare occurrence. (a peculiar sight!) Most of the fawns now are losing their spots, but these three are still small and dotty.
Careful on the road, you wee ones!