Because oil painting can be messy, I paint in a workshop building with a swamp cooler instead of inside my real studio with its more effective air conditioner. We had some of those 100+ degree days, and the swamp cooler was not up to the task of keeping me comfortable. Heaven forbid that a Central […]
Sketchy Decisions
So many pencil drawing commissions are awaiting decisions. I’ve sent sketches and more sketches. Can’t start drawing until I know what the customer/commissioner wants! Sketches, called “thumbnails” or “thumbnail sketches” were required in most of the assignments in art classes, both in high school and college (I went to 4 different colleges – a full-fledged […]
Selling Makes Me Happy
Selling makes me happy because it validates my worth as a business person. As brash as it sounds to say in words, I am a business person and my product is art and art related services (painting murals, teaching people to draw and occasionally to oil paint, putting together books, cards and reproduction prints of my […]
A Little Bit Too Hard
Sometimes I paint things that are a little bit too hard for me. They are not commissions, nor are they subjects that I think will sell. Instead, they are things that I just want to paint, in spite of my lack of skill or experience. After I have completed paintings that need to be done […]
Kaweah River Trading Company
This post is about the business of art, especially the business called Kaweah River Trading Company. There’s a new kid on the block. That’s a weird old cliche. I wonder where it came from. . . Kaweah River Trading Company is a brand new store in Three Rivers with a cool name and logo. (Hudson River […]
Lost
Sometimes I refer to myself as a “loser” in the true sense of the word. My mom used to tell me that I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached. As usual, Mom was right. The Mural Gallery and Gift Shop in Exeter sells my oil paintings. We’ve had a good run lately, so I […]
Drawing Lessons
For about 21 years I have been teaching drawing lessons. This sounds formal. The more accurate description to my way of thinking is simply that I show people how I draw and thus guide them to do their own pencil drawing. It is one of the most satisfying and rewarding (more than just financial) parts […]
About Selling Oil Paintings
This post is about the business of art, selling oil paintings, but I only go on about it for a paragraph and then it is all pictures. In the past month and a half, twelve oil paintings have sold. TWELVE! I would say, “I’ve sold twelve paintings”, but it wouldn’t be very true. I am not that good […]
Tulare County Beauty
As a Central California artist in Tulare County, it is my mission, goal and duty to portray the beauty of this place I live. Yesterday I showed you oil paintings as examples of the various subjects I paint that fall into a category I call “Because People Like It”. However, I didn’t show you my latest […]
Painting Subjects That Sell in Tulare County
If you want to earn your living as an artist, it is important to paint things that people want to buy. I think of these subjects as Because People Like It. In Tulare County, there are some stand-outs, and I try to keep them on hand in various sizes. Sequoia – the Big Trees, park […]