the business of art | Cabin Art

Backyard Boutique Report

I found the location of the Backyard when Trail Guy and I took my stuff down on Friday to set up. Then we covered it all with drop cloths against the morning dew.

The next morning I left home in the dark, parked far from the Backyard and hiked in through the dawn’s early light. Like that phrase? Sometimes these shows feel as if I am preparing to do battle. Such is the business of art. (And it was a hike – I had food and water with me.)

HEY! There was a sign proclaiming Pop-Up Market in the driveway! I’m still liking the name Backyard Boutique. It was damp and coldish on the grass at 7 a.m. and I was amazed at the organization of all the pop-up tent tops in the Backyard. There must have been 30!

The sun was a welcome sight. The doors opened at 8 and the steady stream of people began.

This is the booth of my friend Brenda who invited me to join the show. She makes felted purses and iPad cases, and they are beautiful. BEAUTIFUL. She sells them for $60 (I think that’s the price), and having made a couple myself, I know this only barely covers the cost of the yarn.

Speaking of iPads, I took one to the show so I could accept plastic from people using the Square. I tested it on Friday and it worked! I tried it on Saturday and it wouldn’t. That’s 2 for 2. . . instead of buying a device to further my sales, I seem to have bought Trail Guy an expensive radio, weather and Mineral King webcam checker.

My booth was in the back under the trees on the dirt. I chose this location because the trees provided shade, since I don’t have a pop-up. I usually don’t do outdoor shows, so haven’t needed one.

Sales were steady all day, I met many nice people and reconnected with old friends. Then I came home and reconnected with this friend. Please excuse the blur and enjoy the cuteness of Samson when he isn’t biting.

What Should I Draw Next?

What Should I Draw Next could be the call letters of a radio station east of the Mississippi – WSIDN. Okay, there are one too many letters, but tell me how KMJ gets away with only three?? I stole this from Anne Bogel, Modern Mrs. Darcy, with her podcast WSIRN – What Should I Read Next – a wonderful resource for readers.

I digress.

I will be participating in an art show of pencil in May and June. Right now I am in between jobs – murals, coloring books, and fall shows coming, but all are waiting for decisions. That makes this a good time to draw ahead for the upcoming show.

A crystal ball would be helpful. There are too many ways to make this decision:

Draw what I like. My opinion doesn’t always coincide with the opinion of the art buyers and appreciators.
Ask for other people’s opinions. Which people?
Draw what I think might sell. Based on what?
Finish pieces already in progress. Why didn’t I finish them earlier? Lack of interest on my part, some instinct telling me the subject matter didn’t hold any appeal to my audience (who are they??), or an interruption such as a mural or a coloring book or an art festival/boutique/bazaar.
Something local, or something from my travels, but which travels? – China, Israel, the Central Coast, Lake Tahoe, Washington DC, Washington state, Oregon, North Carolina, Alaska, where??

Life is full of decisions, or as my Wise Friend often says, “Choices and Consequences – life is full of choices and consequences.” Oh yes, a crystal ball would help.

How do other artists make these decisions? Probably by sticking to a theme.
What is my theme? Tulare County.
Why Tulare County when it is so poor? Because I live here.
Why do I draw? I draw because I LOVE to draw!
Why don’t I just draw what I love? Because it has to sell.

Now, what should I draw next?

Photos from Israel that have promise for pencil drawings.

pencil drawing in progress — A drawing of the Central Coast that is languishing (or mulling) in my flat files.

drawing pencil drawing

Fruits, Nuts and Flakes

The current state of my fruits (no nuts or flakes) in progress

A friend said he disagrees with the idea that California is land of fruits and nuts. He said it is more like a bowl of granola: fruits, nuts and flakes.

I wonder why there is a correlation between flakes and artists. Artists have often been called flaky, and I work very diligently to blast that stereotype from my profession.

In my experience, it is contractors who are flaky. When I find a builder or a repairman who returns calls, shows up on time and actually calls when he cannot make it, I rejoice and spread the word. They are rare birds.

And here is a not so rare bird.

Hey, Rabbi Google (as we were taught to call it while in Israel), these are oil paintings – an orange, pomegranates, and a California quail.

oil paintings

Gathering Visual Information

Visual information is necessary to an artist. In the olden days, artist did sketches. Cameras came along and made things easier. Digital cameras showed up, and now the visual information is quick, easy and abundant.

I am working on a coloring book for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, to be titled Heart of the Park. Those of us with ready access to these places call them “The Park”. It is 2 parks that overlap in several areas and are administered by the largest employer in Three Rivers. (That would be SEKI, AKA The Park, AKA National Park Service.)

My friend and I took a field trip so I could get the final photos needed. These were all in Kings Canyon, so we went through Sequoia to get there. I’ve spent quite a bit of time there, but most of it was in Wilsonia, working on The Cabins of Wilsonia. My photos were inadequate for the task at hand.

Or Version B? (that is Hume Lake, not in the Park, but in the line of sight to the canyons and peaks beyond).

The Gamlin Cabin is behind the General Grant Tree.

I may have learned about these types of corners in one of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books.

The view from the back wins because of the Giant Sequoia behind it (not the General) and because of the stone chimney.

I didn’t know there was a Big Stump Trail. It was recommended as a possible source of coloring book pictures.

The trail was fun for this group of visitors from France.

I need to see the stump without all the people, and since it is no longer wasting film to take many photos, I take as many as I want.24,000 may be a bit of a load on my laptop, but I keep reminding myself that I don’t download movies or games, so it will be fine.

This vertical version of the view would work in the coloring book, but I don’t like it. It could be a nice meadow with deer and wildflowers, but I don’t like it. It’s sort of like a graveyard, and I don’t like it.

kingsCynPanoramicJana2004s — Documentation of documentation. (Thanks, GEP!)

coloring book Sequoia Sequoia National park Wilsonia

Thoughts on Success in Art

I have 3 nephews. 2 of them are “creatives”, one an accomplished graphic artist supporting a wife and 2 children, and the other about to start his junior year in college as a music major. Might be performing arts, might be music theory. . . can’t remember exactly and embarrassed by asking him too often.

Music Nephew and I have been having an email conversation about “the arts”, and he mentioned how a musician friend of his gets in the way of his own success. I responded with something that I think you might enjoy, Oh Blog Readers (all 4 of you or so. . . maybe 6 or 7, but I still don’t know how to access or read the blog stats).

Most of us trying to make it in the arts are usually in the way of our own success. I’m gradually learning to redefine success. I know I don’t want to spend hours and hours on social media trying to build up a following, so I’m not – that’s success. I’d rather have real people that I know just happily following my blog and thinking of me when they have an art need – they do, so that’s success. I also don’t want to do the crazy hard work of building up a body of work that might appeal to galleries, which I’m not, so that’s success.

My life’s work is to discover and display the good things of Tulare County, a place I love to hate and hate to love. Sigh. Thus, the mixed ideas about success – I am portraying this place, but sometimes I want to live somewhere with a less hostile climate, cleaner air, and richer more educated populace.

If you made it to the end of this bloviation, you deserve a reward. Here, have a look at a successful pencil drawing of a bridge.

Marblefork Bridge, pencil on paper, 11x14 framed, currently hanging at the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter. — Marblefork Bridge, pencil on paper, 11×14 framed, currently hanging at the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter.

pencil drawing Tulare county Tulare County art Tulare County artist

Perilously Emotional See-Saw

For the past several summers, I have sold oil paintings of Mineral King scenes at the Silver City Store.

1563 FG XX

This summer I took up 3 6×6″ and 3 8×10″. Each time I go to Mineral King, I stop by the store (we think of it as “The Store”) to see how the paintings are selling. I missed a weekend, and then stopped by again.

Oak Grove Bridge XVIII

THEY WERE ALL SOLD!

1542 Kaw Hdwtrs

The reason I stopped by was that I met some great folks who wanted to talk about Israel. Then the woman asked my last name (weird, I know, but someone introduced us by first name and mentioned I had been to Israel) and was all excited to meet me.

Hunh?

1527 Saw XV

Turns out she buys a painting by me each year when she comes to her Mineral King cabin.

1528 Saw XIV

It is quite a thrill to meet a stranger who buys my art, because often I wonder if it is just my friends and relatives who feel sorry for me that buy my work.

1529 FG XVIII

The business of art is a perilously emotional see-saw.

Please excuse me while I go find a chill-pill and then start painting again.

Mineral King Mineral King oil paintings oil paintings

Framing on Short Notice

I have many unframed pencil drawings. It costs a lot of money to frame a picture. I have a lot of frames, and a big box of mats. Matching drawings with mats and frames is a process.

“Process” is a nice businessy word that actually means ‘BIG FAT HASSLE”.

This is how I frame on short notice.

Here is a frame that might work.
Here is another one.
Just grab them all.
Where are the mats? Get the whole box!
Hold a picture up to a frame with another picture in it to see if it is vaguely the same size. Don’t worry too much about the best color, because time and supplies are limited. Besides, they are all grays because they are pencil.
Yep, that might work. Unframe the drawing.
Oops, this one is a little short on the top and bottom. Better extend the drawing.
Okay, that’ll work. Get it in the mat.
Looks fine, get it in the frame.
Dang, is that a hair under the glass? Better unframe it.
Put it back.
Dang, it’s crooked. Better unframe it again.
Straighten it and put it back.
I FORGOT TO SCAN IT! Better unframe it.
Scanned, put it back.
WHAT’S UNDER THE GLASS THIS TIME? Better unframe it.
Put it back. Yeppers, that’ll do.
NEXT!!!?

Generals Highway — Ahem. The bottom of this is a little crooked. “Unfinished” is a better word. It’s not wrong, it just isn’t done yet. So there.

Show on Short Notice

Told you it was a busy week! So busy that I forgot to post.

I received a “Call to Artists”. This is ArtSpeak for “Hey, wanna put your art in a show?”

The point of the show is to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service.

The duration of the show is August 1 – September 30.

The location is the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter.

The deadline for entry is JULY 14!! Tomorrow!

The entry process was a little vague and somewhat complex, and with the short notice, I was scrambling. I have plenty of art of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, probably enough to fill the entire Courthouse Gallery all by my lonesome, but it has to be framed, the size determined, a price set, titles assigned, and photos or scans taken. This is part of the business of art.

Suddenly instead of working on the Exeter coloring book, I was pulling drawings from drawers, taking frames from storage and off the walls, digging through a box of mats, retouching drawings and occasionally reshaping them so they will fit in available mats and frames.

Bridge at Lodgepole2 Roaring River Falls2

Tomorrow I will describe my framing process. Prepare to either laugh or start snatching yourself bald in frustration.

Sequoia Sequoia art Sequoia National park

Busy Week Ahead

Today I want you to see the list of things I hope to take care of this week. It will relieve you of any illusions of an artist just happily creating under amazing peaceful inspiration. (That’ll teach me to run off to Israel for 2 weeks when there is work to be done!)

Illusions of peaceful inspiration from Israel

Finish preparing the manuscript of Trail of Promises (final edits) and email to the printer. (Remember that I am now also an editor and dabbling in book shepherding due to my “vast experience” with The Cabins of Wilsonia.)
Wait for the paper proof of the cover and hustle it to the author for approval.
Package up an order of notecards and hustle them to the post office.
Prepare a deposit and hustle it to the bank.
Scramble around to find mats and frames for pencil drawings that pertain to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks for a last minute exhibit.
Spend time writing a few sentences to accompany every piece.
Email the images and the prices, sizes and “paragraphs of inspiration” (WHAT?? I thought it would make a nice card or print to sell in the parks!! Is that “inspiration”??)
Finish the Exeter coloring book designs – title page, front cover, inside front cover, inside back cover, and back cover, color the covers, scan everything, email it to the printer (hence the reason for the hustle to the bank – gotta pay for these things in advance)

No painting or pencil drawing this week. Just lots of hustling around. Anyone want to order a coloring book? Some notecards? I’ll be going to the post office.

mineral king coloring book

Odd Job

As an artist in business since 1987 in Tulare County (full time since 1993), I occasionally get asked to do odd jobs. It is challenging and usually fun. If an artist is established and available, it is one of the many parts of the business of art.

A giclee is a reproduction on canvas done with some sort of special printer, often coated with something so it looks like a painting.

Some friends have a giclee of a blue jay, and they had a painting accident while changing the color of their living room.

See those drips? Here, look a little more closely.

First I tried a bit of turpentine. Nope. The drips are dry.

Next, I’ll see if oil paint will stick to the surface. This will involve mixing a bunch of different shades of gray. (Too bad I can’t use pencil.)

Woohoo! That was easy and fun. I really like this painting, which is odd, because my own style is much tighter.

Hmmm, look how good it looks on a blue background. I’m tempted to copy this painting for myself, but must maintain professional business ethics. Phooey.

odd job odd jobs

Category: the business of art