Out Of The Office

So to speak. . . the blogging office, that is. Today I have a guest post over at Chris LoCurto’s blog. He works for Dave Ramsey, and his blog is a great source of information on leadership, business, stuff like that. The commenting community is full of business leaders, sharp folks who have so much to say in the comments.

I don’t really fit in because I am a regional artist from Quaintsville, not a business leader. I like hanging out with smart people from other parts of the country who are learning, sharing their wisdom and  involved in growing their businesses. Besides, they are nice to me. 😎

We have a ton of fun on Chris’s blog, and it is a great honor to be able to post there. Head on over and see what I have to say. Mostly, see what the commenters have to say – they are the brilliant ones!

oil painting of marmot

I sort of feel like a marmot –  making noise, slightly irritating, but maybe kind of cute in a dorky way. However, rest assured that I do not chew on radiator hoses or brake lines.

One More Place You Can See and Buy My Art

That is a shamelessly self-promotional title! However, it is also promoting the Silver City Resort, so perhaps “self-promotional” is a bit of an exaggeration.

(happy birthday, Deanne!)

Silver City Store

A few weeks ago I posted a list of places that carry my work. Immediately afterward, I took paintings to the Silver City Resort for the summer. (6 years ago right after printing 1000 business cards, I launched my website, so this is normal behavior for me.)

The Silver City Store is located 4 miles below Mineral King. It has a little restaurant and rental cabins. It also has been a good place to meet a future spouse for a great number of its employees. (worked for me)

Currently, they are carrying a number of little regional oil paintings that aren’t very expensive and will fit into travelers’ suitcases. Here are 4 new ones, all oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, available at the Silver City Resort. They are animals commonly seen in Mineral King. I’ve photographed these animals zillions of times and only came up with a small handful of paintable photos. Here are some of the best:

oil painting of buck

Mule Deer Buck

oil painting of black bear

Black Bear – sold

(They are all called this, whether they are brown, blonde, black or cinnamon colored.)

oil painting of marmot

Yellow Bellied Marmot – sold

(These are the dudes that chew on radiator hoses, belts, brake lines, etc.)

oil painting of squirrel

Golden Mantle Squirrel – sold

These little guys have a stripe (barely visible on his back) but are distinguishable from a chipmunk because the stripe isn’t on their heads.

If you would like to buy one of these the buck, he is $30, and maybe I can retrieve him before he sells. Alternatively, I can paint you another one, even of a different size.  

Now THAT was shameless self-promotion!

Which is your favorite?

Definitely a Summer of Animals

This is definitely shaping up to be a summer of animals in Three Rivers and in Mineral King.

I’ve been asked more than once why I don’t paint animals. The answer is that I don’t have good photos from which to paint. It is unethical and illegal to paint from other people’s photos without their permission, so I don’t use National Geographic or calendars or even google images.  My own photos of animals rarely turn out well, and not in enough abundance to produce more than an occasional painting. And my understanding of animals (other than my cats) is limited.

Just as authors are exhorted to write what they know, artists should also paint what they know. Why? Because if you don’t know your subject, someone else will, and they will know that you don’t know it. The business of art means knowing things like this.

Authenticity is a driving force for me, and painting unfamiliar subjects make me twitch with stress about being exposed as a poser.

Back to the animals. The next door neighbors called on Sunday to ask Trail Guy (AKA Retired Road Guy) to dispatch a Snake. It was their first Snake in 9 years. Most of the Snakes come to our address. (Snake spelled with a capital S is explained here.) I’ll spare you the gory details. Suffice it to say that Trail Guy is a neighborhood hero.

And, on Monday I witnessed this in my front yard.

This is the patriarch of a flock with 12 little turkeys. Yes, I counted!

Sometimes I gobble at them. I think the last time I did that was on a walk, and I didn’t see the AT&T guy up ahead. He might have asked for a transfer to another area shortly afterward. Lost that walking partner too.

What wild animals do you have in your daily life? This rural California artist likes to hear how normal, non-gobbling folks live. 

How Many Hours a Day Do You Paint?

An old friend asked me this last week. We only see each other once a year or so, so we aren’t close. I think he thinks that art is my hobby that I sort of fit in around my life. When I told him what all I do, he was very surprised. This means a couple of things: we really don’t know each other very well, and I’m not getting the word out very effectively that I am a full time professional artist.

Marketing, you say? Nope. I’m too busy working right now.

Check out this list from the other day:

  1. I posted to my blog. While in the house on the puter, the phone rang. My neighbor/friend works at a local motel. She was calling to say some people from New York were stopping by the studio in 10 minutes.
  2. Raced to the studio (after brushing my hair – sort of forgot to do that or figured it didn’t matter). The New Yorkers were a no-show.
  3. While in the studio I put together a bank deposit and read the mail.
  4. The mail included a Call For Entries form for an Ag Art Show. It has been 4 years since I last entered, and the rules have changed. It seems worth considering again.
  5. Went through my photos and compared them to the categories of the Ag Art Show. Calculated the cost. (entry fees, mailing or driving 200 miles round trip to deliver the pieces, returning to Madera to see the show, returning again to retrieve any unsold pieces) Got some good ideas, decided to do the show.
  6. Painted three 4×4″ oil paintings.
  7. Remembered I was supposed to go to the Sierra Lodge to get another bear to paint. This one had to be delivered to my studio and I was supposed to show them the way, so I walked/jogged over.
  8. Upon returning with the bear delivery guy, I painted a fourth 4×4″ oil painting.
  9. Chose the sizes for each of the paintings to enter into Madera, added them to my inventory list, put the wires on the back.
  10. Remembered the bank deposit, trotted to the house for my keys, remembered the keys were hanging in the studio door, trotted back to the studio to lock up and then back to the house to lock it, and then drove to the bank. Figured I might as well hit the Post Office and the grocery store while I was out. Tried not to run in the aisles. Tried not to make eye contact with anyone who might want to have a lengthy conversation.
  11. Returned home to photograph some completed work and some works in progress.
  12. Began working on the (in)famous Paint-My-Parents oil painting commission.
  13. Wrote 3 more blog posts in my head while painting.
  14. Suddenly it was almost dark, so I had to photograph Paint-My-Parents, close up the workshop, and go home.
  15. Wrote those blog posts on the computer before I forgot them while something that could sort of pass for dinner was burning on the stove.

Apparently, I’m too busy to paint or do marketing. (the kind that gets the word out about business, not the kind that puts groceries in the frig so I can burn them for dinner while I work on the puter.)

Preparing canvases for 5 paintings for the Ag Art Show

Accepting the Challenge

Mr. Put-My-Parents-In-This-Picture also wanted to discuss price and size of his commissioned oil painting. Since I am tuned in to the business of art, I have a price list based on size. It doesn’t include added surcharges for rush jobs or requests to put one’s parents in the picture. Instead of negotiating for a price, the decisions are in the hands of the customer. How big? Then it is this much. Easy!

Mr. Put-My-Parents-In-This-Picture (PMPITP) pointed to a painting in my studio and said, “That’s what, $200? You can do it that size, right?”

Umm, no, it is $500.

Mr. PMPITP: “Well, could you do it for $300 if I paid you cash up front?”

Am I selling used cars here?? Umm, no. And I’d only like half down, thanks.

Mr. PMPITP: “What size can you do for $300?”

First, how about if we settle the issue of putting your parents in the picture? I’ve never painted a face, and when I accept portrait commissions, I charge a TON of money because it is REALLY REALLY hard to capture a likeness. And, I NEVER draw a face smaller than an egg.

Much discussion ensued. Here is the result so far:

Oil painting commission in progress

This is after 2 days of fretting and sweating. Things always look terrible the first several passes over the canvas. More will be revealed in the fullness of time.

Have you ever regretted accepting a challenge? (I’m not saying I regret this. I think.) Want to share here?

 

Only From The Back

Commissions are a challenge. They are a main component of the business of art, so unless you like a good challenge, you may want to rethink a career as an artist in a rural place like Three Rivers.

Back about 6 years ago, a man asked me to draw his parents house in pencil. No problem. That’s what I did (and still do). Then he asked me to paint it in oil.

Since I’d been painting about 10 minutes when he asked, I thought it prudent to refuse. But, being helpful and knowing lots of people, I referred him to a well-established artist.

He was happy with the drawing. I never heard from him about the painting until the Redbud Festival in Three Rivers in May. He said he “hated it”. I asked if he discussed it with the artist, and he said he hadn’t because he figured it was a done deal.

Being an opportunistic artist, I told him I could paint the house for him now. He liked the idea.

A week later, he came to my studio and laid out 6 photos. He wanted to know which I wanted to paint.

I said, “umm, well, I need to look and absorb and think a bit”.

He wanted an immediate answer. I felt pressured. I picked one, and he said, “That’s the view you drew, remember?”

Actually, no, I don’t. It was 6 years ago and a few drawings and paintings have passed through my hands since then. “A few?” More like several hundred!

Then, he pulled out a photo of his parents and said, “Will you put them in the painting?”

I almost fell over. Or, as they say in the South, “I like to died!”

I explained that my experience in painting people is limited to the back views.

To be continued. . .

Sisters, an oil painting commission
Walk This Way, oil on board, private collection
One With the Stream

One With the Stream, oil on wrapped canvas, 36×24″, $800

Would you allow yourself to be painted or photographed from the backside?? Tell me the truth here!

Random Comments About the Business of Art

This list of comments was started just after Mother’s Day weekend, when I was recovering from the Redbud Festival. Now that I read them after a snowy Memorial Day weekend, I’m slightly climatically confused. Just sayin’ (which is the popular vernacular that means “I talk to hear the sound of my own opinions”)

  • It is hard to do weekend festivals and really hard to do shows when it is hot and REALLY hard to do shows with low attendance. But I’m merely commenting, not complaining.
  •  Kodak’s online gallery is going away and I have to learn how to use Shutterfly. I’m trying to keep this in perspective, but am really in a state of semi-despair. All the of books, cards, calendars, and other cool photographic projects I’ve made will be gone. GONE! I can recreate cards in Shutterfly, but they don’t put any info on the back. Shall I order anyway and use a rubber stamp?? That is kind of tacky. I might have to do it that way. Perhaps that is fitting for a Regionalist from Quaintsville.
  • When an artist does a show, there are more benefits than the immediate sales. Here is a list: new friends, new customers, potential commissions, potential new drawing students, seeing old friends, meeting other artists, sales that happen after people go home, new blog readers.
  • A long time ago, I did a variety of shows. Had to do them all to learn which ones worked. Redbud Festival has been here the longest and is now the most enjoyable and best organized. They have generous booth sizes, good food, good music, and are kind to their exhibitors.  (Even when it is hot.)
  • Doing shows in the heat and then painting 30×40″ commissions with an unaccustomed style of Loosiosity is most exhausting. But I’m merely commenting, not complaining.

Little Brown Church© 2012, oil on board, 4×6″, private collection

Any comments (not complaints) you’d like to add?

6 Answers to Where Do You Sell Your Work?

In addition to my studio, website, and at various shows, I sell my work in 6 places in Tulare County. Each one has its own hours, style and personality. (The area code is 559 for all these places.)

  1. The Mural Gallery is a little Exeter gallery showing and selling the work of the mural artists. (I am very proud to say I am one of the mural artists, and hope this is not the kind of pride “that goeth before a fall”!) I just took 12 paintings to them. The Mural Gallery is open 7 days a week from 11-4 and is chock full of mural mementos and original art at Tulare County prices. (read “VERY REASONABLE” or “SHOCKINGLY LOW FOR ORIGINAL ART”) It is next door to the Wildflower Cafe on E Street, but the address is 204 Pine Street. Phone is 592-3160. There is new work by several artists now!
  2. Colors Art Gallery in Three Rivers is under new ownership. The hours are Thursday – Sunday, 11-5, and the address remains 41763 Sierra Drive, phone 561-4993. This store is chock-full of art by Three Rivers folks, and it is a delightful explosion of color. Sounds redundant. (What is a synonym for color??) Jeremy has years of experience at Pier One Imports, and it shows! He sells my 6×6 fruit paintings and my cards.
  3. Red Barn Gifts in Three Rivers has prints of my pencil drawings and paintings of Sequoia trees. This is another great little place for local art in Three Rivers. It is a big red barn (duh) behind Creekside Yarns, just upstream from Quality Comfort Inn and Suites. 40838 Sierra Drive, 561-1031.
  4. Arts Visalia at 214 E. Oak is open Wednesday through Saturday, 12-5:30, phone 739-0905. They feature regular rotating exhibits by fine artists. In addition, they have a store which sells my pencil reproductions and cards.
  5. Tulare Historical Museum carries my cards. Their summer hours are Thursday through Saturday, 10-4. They also feature regular rotating art exhibits along with a superb historical museum. Great folks at 444 W. Tulare Street in Tulare. 686-2074
  6. Reimer’s Candies and Gifts has carried my cards longer than any other current location. They also have some of my very earliest oil paintings in their ice cream shop. If you buy a box of candy to ship as a gift, it comes with a gift card that has my drawing on the front. They have seasonally changing hours, and currently they are open 7 days a week from 10-6. Their phone is 561-4576.

 

Up The Middle Fork ©2012, 8×8″, oil on wrapped canvas, $75, available here

Private Studio Tour

For nine years my studio was also a gallery, open to the public in downtown Exeter. When I closed that space and built a studio at home, people weren’t sure when or how to see my work. The answer – – –

By appointment!

Just call or email and we can set a time. You can ask any question, see whatever suits your fancy, learn about whatever piques your interest. You can have a private Three Rivers Studio Tour when you are in Tulare County.

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Sophia and Max who are home schooled by their Mom, the jewelry maker of Plumage.

[Time out – I went to her site to link it to this blog post and I got sidetracked and bought a pair of earrings! I NEEDED them. They are navy abalone teardrop shaped, and you just can’t believe how exactly they fit my idea of a perfect pair of earrings. I love navy blue. I love teardrop shaped earrings. I love abalone. L O V E  these. If you are lucky, maybe Liza (pronounced “Lee-za”) will make a pair for you. Then we can be twins. But remember, I got mine first, so there.]

Where were we?

In my studio!

We were supposed to be learning about art, but there was a scorpion on the floor. After squishing it, I put it in this bag and gave it to Max. He looked at it under the giant magnifying light, which is normally used for drawing fine detail in pencil. Max thought all the grossness that is a scorpion was cool.

Sophia tried out my pencils after we talked about the different hardnesses and blacknesses and the different erasers.

You can see Max’s blue head here as he looks over Sophia’s shoulder.

I’ve never met a home schooled kid that wasn’t terrific. These two were no exception to that rule.

Thank you Liza for bringing Sophia and Max to my studio!

Man oh man, you are gonna love those earrings! Let me know when yours arrive so we can wear them on the same day!

2012 Redbud Festival

The Redbud Festival will be Saturday and Sunday, May 12-13 at the Lions Roping Arena in Three Rivers. Saturday is 10-5, Sunday is 10-4.

Redbud Festival is named after this flowering tree which grows wild in Three Rivers. It blooms in March, so the name of the Festival doesn’t correspond with nature. However, it does coincide with Mother’s Day, so here is something to do with your Mom this year.

My space looked like this 2 years ago. (I didn’t participate last year because all my work was in the Tulare Historical Museum for a solo show.) It will look different this year.

As I continue to read art marketing sites and blogs and to interact with other artists, I continue to make changes to the way I display my work.

The changes won’t be huge, but the hope is that my work will look better.

If my work looks better, you will stay in my booth longer. If you stay in my booth longer, you will study the work more. If you study the work more, you will get attached to something. If you get attached to something, you will want to buy it. If you want to buy it, I will sell it to you.

Oh great. Now you will be afraid to come see my booth at the Redbud Festival because you will get sold! No, I won’t sell to you unless you want me to. I don’t know how to “hard-sell” stuff, much less my own art. If I did, I’d, ummm. . .  no, I love my life. It would be the same as it is now!

There will be a new painting of the Kaweah Post Office, 2 of fields of California poppies, a Sequoia painting in a new shape, and maybe, just maybe a new painting of the Kaweah River. And there will be oranges, of course. And some small paintings of California poppies that sit on easels on a table top.

 See you at the Redbud Festival?