A California Artist Interviews Herself

It’s been awhile since the California artist has had a conversation with herself. I’m sure you have some of the same questions that she does. How about if the interviewer is in black, and the California artist replies in her favorite color, which is teal.

Hey California Artist, what are you doing now that your drawings for The Cabins of Wilsonia  are completed?

Great question! (Remember, all big shot interviewees say that when being interviewed. I’m not a big shot, but I might be some day so I have to practice). I’m working on the written parts of the book. If you read my other blog, www.thecabinsofwilsonia.com, you’d know this.

Sorry. I’m busy.

Everyone is busy. Welcome to America. What else do you want to know?

Doing anything else interesting?

I’m glad you asked! (All big shot interviewees say this too.) Trail Guy and I are painting our outbuildings.

Oh? What color?

I love that question because I am a color junkie. You know the color of dark chocolate dipped in black coffee, all shiny and beautifully brown?

Who does that??

Me. I do that. Doesn’t everyone?

Hmmm, no, never met anyone else who dipped dark chocolate in black coffee.

You should try it some time. It is magically delicious.

California artist, you are weird. This interview is over.

HEY! I have more to say!!

Tell the blog readers some other time. Besides, you said teal is your favorite color, and then sometimes you say blue is your favorite color. You are too confusing to talk to.

But aren’t I lots of fun and that makes up for the confusion?

Nope, not talking to you anymore.

Okay, I’ll just tell the blog readers without your help:

The biennial Three Rivers Studio Tour will be this year in March, and my buildings will be looking so good that you might think you are at the wrong address. I might not have anything to sell because I am spending my time scraping and painting, (and writing! I’m working on The Cabins of Wilsonia, really, I am!)  but by golly, the murals sure show up brilliantly now! More on the studio tour tomorrow.

Commissioned Oil Paintings With Far Away Customers

Commissions are an important component of earning a living with art. Some artists love them, some do them while figuratively holding their noses, and some artists flat out refuse. I fall somewhere between the first 2 types of artists, because it depends on both the idea and the customer.

While I worked with Lisa on her commissioned oil painting of the Lake House last fall, I did some thinking about commissions. It is so tricky to work long distance, using photos, email and an occasional phone call. Words mean things, and relying on words to explain an unseen thing is tricky.

Three Rivers commissioned oil painting

There are several elements at work in this type of art-making endeavor:

The Ideas: Those who know what they want, and those who are not sure, and those who keep editing.

The Customers: Those who can communicate and those who cannot.

Hmmm, that makes 3 x 2 = 6 possible commission customers

1. Knows what she wants and can explain it – The easiest!

2. Not sure what she wants but can explain as she figures it out. . . keep talking, because eventually we will arrive. (Hi Lisa! We did it!!)

3. Keeps editing and can explain each new idea – keep talking, but my prices are really too low for this type of continual editing and changing. Construction companies call these “Change Orders” which means they charge each time a customer orders a change.

4. Knows and cannot communicate – yikes.

5. Isn’t sure and cannot communicate – Sorry, Toots, I am unable to be of any assistance here.

6. Doesn’t have an idea and cannot communicate – Fuhgeddaboutit.

It all comes down to communication.

The painting above was painted for a customer in the #1 category, except that she isn’t far away. She wants another just like it. That will be fun, and I will add the personal challenge of just like it only better.

P.S. I see it is time to update my commissioned oil painting page because I have put commissioned paintings on the sold page instead of where they belong! Where are My People? I need People for this stuff!

Sierra Wonders, a Book For You

Sierra Wonders is a beautiful book of art, photos, essays and poetry about the southern Sierra Nevada. It was compiled and published by the Arts Alliance of Three Rivers, and edited by my friend Karen Kimball. It is full of work by people I know, and it is truly beautiful!

Nadi Spencer’s art is on the cover, which was designed by Kasey Fansett, both friends of mine here in Three Rivers.

 

Have a look at the table of contents:

 

HEY!! That’s MY pencil drawing at the top! (I also have 2 oil paintings inside).

The proceeds from the sale of this book go to the Arts Alliance scholarship fund to help aspiring artists get through college. (Hopefully they will find their way through college in a less meandering manner than I did. . . sigh.)

It is $25, unless you are a member of the Arts Alliance, in which case it is $20.

Here is the link to buy the book, Sierra Wonders. Karen mails them out almost immediately upon receiving the orders (and confessed to me that she checks Amazon at least twice a day).

GREAT LOCAL LAST MINUTE GIFT! Just sayin. . . 😎

Sawtooth on a Notecard

Anyone out there still hand write cards? Send thank you cards? Send a card just because you ran into an old friend and wanted to tell her on paper in a lasting way how happy you were to see her?

This is one of the best paintings I’ve done in my shortish painting career.  (That’s just my opinion; feel free to disagree!) Now it is available as a little package of note cards. They are 4-1/4 x 5-1/2, so you don’t have to write very much. 😎 The package comes with 4 cards and 4 blank envelopes for $8 + tax.  You can find them by clicking this word:  Sawtooth.

Sawtooth is a prominent landmark mountain in Mineral King, visible from Visalia. I have an up-close and personal history with the peak. It happened on July 22, 1976 and it involved a helicopter. Who knew that one day I’d be painting the place??

My very wise dad used to say (until we were rolling our eyes) “Life’s full of surprises.”

He was right.

Shopping – Ick.

If I have to shop, I go into the store to find what I need and get out as quickly as possible.

The problem is that sometimes the selected store does not have the item. Then, I have to decide: choose something else or find another store?

The answer is usually GO HOME NOW! Then I look on the internet.

It doesn’t feel like shopping on the internet. Instead, it feels like learning, investigating, treasure hunting, taking care of business in a very efficient manner.

I shopped by catalog when I was in college. My roomie thought it was a little odd – “You just look in that catalog, fill out a form, mail a check and then it arrives at your apartment?” Yeppers, that’s exactly how it worked.

So, if you are like me, allow me to assist you. My website has items for sale that don’t cost very much, and often, I pay the shipping for you. I just take it to the Post Office and let the professionals handle the delivery. You don’t have to leave your house, and since I was going to the P.O. to get my mail anyway, it was easy.

There are Mineral King tee shirts, note cards, little oil paintings, prints of pencil drawings, original pencil drawings, and big oil paintings.

A Tulare County calendar for 2014 might just be the ticket. It isn’t on my official website – only on my blog.

 

There are only 3 remaining. When they are gone, they are gone.

 

 

CALENDARS SOLD OUT!

2014 Tulare County calendar

 


New Notecards for the Thank You Revolution

Have you heard of the Thank You Revolution? This is something begun (or perhaps continued?) by my friend Matt McWilliams on his blog, “Life. Leadership. Love. Learned the Hard Way.” He writes thank you notes every Thursday and encourages his readers to do the same. He is a prolific writer of a great business blog, a wise man who shares information freely with his audience and interacts honestly with his commenters.

Thank you acorn cards, 4 cards and envelopes, $7 plus tax

 

I’m a big advocate of writing cards and thank you notes any day of the week. My mama taught me this at an early age, and I’ve never stopped.

Matt got me thinking that it is time to update the notecard page of my website. I’ve got many cards that haven’t been visible to the World Wide Web but only to people who visit my studio or see me at the small handful of shows I do.

So, click here to go to the page of cards and see what is new!

Okay, here is another peek for you:

Old Mineral King Store, 4 cards and envelopes, $7 plus tax




Donation Bloviation Postscript

I received a few emails about my “Donation Bloviations” post. Some people like to interact privately with me instead of in the comments, and I am grateful for their feedback and input.

As a result of those private conversations, I’ve made a list of thoughts as a postscript to that blog entry.

1. Some of those “beg-athon” events are really fun for the community and anticipated with happiness.

2. I’m not the only artist who is worn out from being asked to give away my work.

3. Artists can request that bidding begin at a minimum price, which will help them maintain some dignity and their work retain value.

4. Should other donors be paid for their contributions, such as hair salons, motels, restaurants, retail stores?

5. Does donating help their businesses?

6. Are they able to write off anything on their taxes?

7. Are they tired of being asked too?

8. Is there another way to raise money for good causes instead of through donations and auctions?

9. Is it possible for the non-profit to say “We’ll pass on that donation because it doesn’t represent you well and it won’t bring in money for us”?

10. Some members of the public sincerely anticipate a piece of art from their favorite artists, and it causes them to want to participate in the auctions.

I welcome your thoughts about this subject, either privately (you can use the contact the artist tab above) or in the comments on this blog.

Donations Bloviations

When non-profits want to raise funds, they hold dinners or tastings and have silent and live auctions to go with these events (called “Annual Beg-athons” by author Matt Gleason in the Huffington Post on 6/8/11). The first people they contact to donate items to their causes are artists.

Why artists? Why not dentists, lawyers, gas stations, pharmacists??

There was a year that I donated more than I sold. (Hmmm, someone might possibly benefit from a business manager here. . .) That year I decided to stop the insanity. I began reading what other artists had to say about the matter.

Sequoia oil painting, 8×8″, sold? Nope, donated. 

There are many reasons for artists to not donate and a few for them to continue donating.

REASONS TO NOT DONATE:

1. An artist is only allowed to write off the cost of the materials.

2. Donating depletes hard-won inventory.

3. Art work at these events usually sells for less than its full value.

4. If an artist develops a reputation for giving away work, those who paid full price will feel ripped off.

5. If an artist develops a reputation for giving away work, the buying public may begin waiting for the events instead of spending money with the artist.

6. If an artist gets tired of donating, she may begin donating second-rate work and damage her reputation. An artist friend once told me, “Just give them your bad stuff that won’t sell anyway.” Yikes, is that what is happening?? That’s not good for the organization, the artist’s reputation or the recipient!

REASONS TO DONATE (and some are pretty poor reasons):

1. An artist loves the cause and want to help.

2. An artist wants to reduce inventory.

3. An artist wants exposure (which is a myth in terms of building a business.)

4. An artist feels guilty and wants to “give back”. (What did he take in the first place??)

If you are part of a non-profit, you might rethink this common idea that artists are the best ones to approach for donations.

Here is an idea for non-profits: Ask to buy the work. The artist can sell it to you at a discount, you can write off what your organization spends, and you can begin the bidding at that price. Anything you receive above that will be profit for you, and none of the Reasons To Not Donate will happen.

A few weeks ago I got caught up in the spirit of an event and spent a very long day helping to create labels for the silent auction. It was a fun day, and I ended up donating a painting. A good friend bought it, and I’m very happy for all the parties involved. I donated the painting because of Reason To Donate #1, which I think is the only good one on the list.

Meanwhile, here is a letter I’ve borrowed from New York Times writer Tim Kreider on the subject:

“Thanks very much for your compliments on my art. I’m flattered by your invitation to donate a painting or drawing or print or package of cards or to paint a mural. But art is work, it takes time, it’s how I make my living, and  I can’t afford to do it for free. I’m sorry to decline, but thanks again, sincerely, for your kind words about my work.”

 

 

Your Opinion Sought

Greetings, oh Gentle and Faithful Blog Readers.

Last year I printed a calendar of paintings.

This year I have only been working on The Cabins of Wilsonia drawings and a few commissioned paintings. I don’t have any new paintings for a calendar.

On my computer there are 21,500 photographs. With the help of my husband’s honest and strong opinions, I have chosen 12 of those photos.

Now, I seek your opinion.

Shall I turn these into a calendar? Or are there enough calendars out there in the world? You all know me as a pencil artist, a painter, and a portrayer of the beauty of Tulare County. But, will anyone care enough to buy a calendar from me of photos of Tulare County?

It includes Sequoia, Mineral King (duh), and Three Rivers. Yes, I occasionally go to Visalia or Exeter, but please forgive me for not including either of those locations.

Thank you for reading, for considering this question and for responding!

LATE BREAKING NEWS – Great positive response from you all! The calendars will probably be between $20-25 and that will include shipping. They will have staples for the center instead of the spiral thing. The paper might be stronger than last year. They will have squares for writing. The folded size will be 8-1/2 x 11 (like copier paper). And Mary Jo, I will look through my photos and see if there is something that fits your very good suggestion. Katie, I’m with you – would love to do a year of nothing but fall photos. . . might be a bit too odd for normal people. (We’re special, don’t you know?)

Responding to the Voices in My Head

That’s a scary title, is it not?

“Sisters” took a long time to paint. The customer hired me because she liked my precision, and she gave me all the time necessary to complete this to both of our satisfaction.

When I paint, I listen to lots of things. There is music, podcasts, talk radio, books on tape, and voices in my head, including my own.

An aside: Someone said we should talk to ourselves the way we talk to our best friends. You know how sometimes you say things to yourself like, “How could you be so dumb?” (Maybe you don’t – please just play along for a moment. . .) If your best friend did something dumb, you’d be more likely to say, “That’s okay – stuff happens and we can learn from it.” Or, “Don’t worry about it – it is a small thing that can be fixed.”

This is what I have chosen to believe and follow:

  1. I am a studio painter who works from photos.
  2. Good paintings take a long time to finish.
  3. Precision and accuracy are attractive.
  4. I love detail.

Here are what the voices in my head have been saying, and here are my new responses in light of my recent decision (see the September 12 post):

VOICE #1 – “You are drawing with your paintbrush”.

Me – “So what?”

VOICE #2 – “If you paint standing up, you’ll paint with more energy.”

Me – “If my foot hurts, I will paint with more pain.”

VOICE #3 – “You need to listen to cool music while you paint, jazz or classical”.

Me – “This is a great time to listen to talk radio, podcasts about the business of art, interviews with artists and authors and inspirational speakers, sermons I’ve missed from my pastor, and audible books.”

VOICE#4 – “Real artists don’t paint from photos.”

Me – “Okay, I’ll be a fake artist.”

VOICE #5 – “You need to step back from your painting to see how it reads from a distance.”

My – “Thanks for the reminder. I am so into the detail that I forgot!”

Loves Cotton, Loves To Knit, oil on wrapped canvas, 8×8″, $100