Artists spend a lot of time in their studios, often alone. For social people this is definitely unpleasant. But, even for relatively reclusive people, this is not really healthy.
Human beings are social creatures, like it or not. Even if you think you don't like being around people, the fact is, you really need to be sometimes. It's just human nature.
I am not an outgoing person. I am not particularly social. I don't like big crowds or parties. But, even being relatively reclusive, being completely alone is not always fun. I don't necessarily want to socialize, but I like knowing someone's there ... somewhere.
I have a husband, and a dog. My dog keeps me company while my husband is at work all day. She's a wonderful, sweet dog. She'll lie by my side all day while I paint. That's great. But she's not a human.
Sometimes I just need to be around people. Sometimes I want to interact with them, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I just want to have them around somewhere, even if I don't necessarily want to interact with them.
So, after hours and hours of work in the lonely studio, what do you do when you need to get out and be around people?
Artist associations are a good start. In many areas, there are lots of local art associations to become members of that have monthly meetings, as well as occasional shows and outings.
Unfortunately, in some areas there are not a lot of active associations, so what then? For me, it seems, there are a lot fewer active artist associations in the Seattle area, where I now live, than there were in the Los Angeles area, where I used to live. So what now?
Well, what other things are you interested in? Think about other things you like which may be art related in some way. I am a wildlife artist so I can look for groups in my area that are interested in wildlife. For example the Eastside Audubon group in my area has weekly bird watching outings.
There's also the local Sierra Club for nature lovers.
If you're not a wildlife artist, what is related to your art? Do you do landscapes? Join a plein-air group. Do you do portraits? Many local art supply stores, schools, or art associations have weekly life drawing sessions. Do you do florals? Join a garden club or your local botanical society.
If you can't find something related to your art, consider other things you like. I know many artists feel if it's not art related, they shouldn't be doing it. They need to be living and breathing art 24/7. But you can't, and shouldn't, live in an art bubble. You need to be around people occasionally, whether it's art related or not. So consider groups that have things you're interested in, even if they aren't art related. If you're not sure where to find groups in your area that have similar interests, there's always Meetup.com. You can find groups of just about any interest there, from book lovers to tornado chasers.
And remember, sometimes being around non-artists is a better way of networking. If you're a landscape artist and only spend your free time around other landscape artists, you're not likely to meet new buyers there. The other landscape artists already have their walls full of their own art. You need to connect with people who love landscapes but aren't artists. Groups like the Sierra Club, or your local botanical society, are more likely to connect you to people who love landscape art and might actually want to buy yours.
If none of this works for you, remember you can always just go sit and draw or paint in a park by yourself. Sometimes just watching other people walking, talking, laughing, and playing can be uplifting.
Jul 28, 2012
Jul 27, 2012
Online Art Sales Only for Small Paintings?
I've heard a lot of people say Etsy is a good place to sell artwork online. But looking around there it seems those doing the most sales are selling crafty stuff such as knitted yarn toys, jewelry, pottery, or vintage items, mostly under $50. I don't see many painters selling much there. And if they are selling paintings, it's mostly small inexpensive work.
I've also heard people say DailyPaintworks is a good place to sell paintings. But even those artists who sell frequently there only seem to be selling tiny works for $100 or less.
Same with ebay. Those who sell any at all seem to sell mainly very small paintings for a couple hundred dollars or less....usually on the "less" side.
Is that pretty much what you have to stick with to sell online, paintings 8"x10" or smaller so you can sell them dirt cheap? I haven't seen sales for larger pieces priced at $500+ on any of these sites.
Many artists supposedly use the strategy of selling lots of small, inexpensive works in order to build a following, some of whom eventually move on to buy larger works. But I don't see the sales of these larger works there.
I'd wonder if artists aren't selling larger works by other means. But it appears even those who do paint small and large are still using DPW and ebay, etc, as their shopping carts for their larger works, and those sites just don't show large works in the sales history. So even if they paint small ones to build a following it doesn't seem to result in sales of larger pieces, only more frequent sales of small ones.
Am I right?
No, not necessarily.
Why? Because I've also heard from artists who say buyers don't like to purchase larger works through these third-party check-outs. They usually contact the artist directly and make purchases behind the scenes. They like direct contact with the artist. They want a more personal interaction and communication about an expensive piece in order to feel comfortable with spending more money.
That makes sense to me.
I was wondering if I would spend much money through some third-party checkout myself and decided I would probably want to contact the artist first, too. In fact, being an artist myself, I would probably deal with them directly to save them the fees and commission associated with these third party sites. :)
Maybe even non-artist buyers sometimes think this way too.
What's your experience been with online sales? Do you only sell small works? Or have you had successful sales of larger works online?
I've also heard people say DailyPaintworks is a good place to sell paintings. But even those artists who sell frequently there only seem to be selling tiny works for $100 or less.
Same with ebay. Those who sell any at all seem to sell mainly very small paintings for a couple hundred dollars or less....usually on the "less" side.
Is that pretty much what you have to stick with to sell online, paintings 8"x10" or smaller so you can sell them dirt cheap? I haven't seen sales for larger pieces priced at $500+ on any of these sites.
Many artists supposedly use the strategy of selling lots of small, inexpensive works in order to build a following, some of whom eventually move on to buy larger works. But I don't see the sales of these larger works there.
I'd wonder if artists aren't selling larger works by other means. But it appears even those who do paint small and large are still using DPW and ebay, etc, as their shopping carts for their larger works, and those sites just don't show large works in the sales history. So even if they paint small ones to build a following it doesn't seem to result in sales of larger pieces, only more frequent sales of small ones.
Am I right?
No, not necessarily.
Why? Because I've also heard from artists who say buyers don't like to purchase larger works through these third-party check-outs. They usually contact the artist directly and make purchases behind the scenes. They like direct contact with the artist. They want a more personal interaction and communication about an expensive piece in order to feel comfortable with spending more money.
That makes sense to me.
I was wondering if I would spend much money through some third-party checkout myself and decided I would probably want to contact the artist first, too. In fact, being an artist myself, I would probably deal with them directly to save them the fees and commission associated with these third party sites. :)
Maybe even non-artist buyers sometimes think this way too.
What's your experience been with online sales? Do you only sell small works? Or have you had successful sales of larger works online?
Jul 26, 2012
Two Hour Paint Sketch - Elephant
As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm trying to force myself to do mini paintings within 1 hour as an exercise to loosen up my tight style a bit. So far I've not been able to complete a painting within 1 hour. My previous post took 1.5 hours. This one took a good 2 hours. But, even so, it's been a good exercise. It's still forced me to let go of the nit-picky details and focus more on color and form.
I must also point out that I have only painted an elephant once in my life before this one, and that was like 20 years ago, so I figured 2 hours for a subject I never paint isn't too bad.
Available for purchase here.
I must also point out that I have only painted an elephant once in my life before this one, and that was like 20 years ago, so I figured 2 hours for a subject I never paint isn't too bad.
"Cruisin"
6"x8" oil on canvas
Jul 25, 2012
One Hour Paint Sketch - Elk
There was a debate on a FaceBook page recently about hyper-realism vs "painterly" in wildlife art. Tight artists sometimes can't see the forest for the trees, so to speak, and need to step back sometimes. That's a whole topic in itself, so I won't go there. But somewhere in the responses someone suggested trying to finish a mini painting within one hour to force yourself "loosen up" a bit.
So I thought I'd give it a go. I didn't quite make it. This one took me about an hour and a half. But it is definitely more loose than my normal painting so it was a good exercise. Here's what I did:
Here I was focusing more on gesture and complimentary colors instead of detail. Movement and contrasting orange against blue.
Have you tried the "One hour" exercise?
This painting available here.
So I thought I'd give it a go. I didn't quite make it. This one took me about an hour and a half. But it is definitely more loose than my normal painting so it was a good exercise. Here's what I did:
"Fire in the Mist"
5"x7" oil on canvas.
Here I was focusing more on gesture and complimentary colors instead of detail. Movement and contrasting orange against blue.
Have you tried the "One hour" exercise?
Jul 23, 2012
Colorful Daisy Fawn Painting
Finished up my little colorful fawn mini painting. This painting is not as realistic or detailed as I usually paint. It's not very detailed because, not only is it a very small painting, but I was trying to focus more on getting vibrant colors instead of detail in this one.
This painting is available for purchase here.
5"x7"
Oil on Gessobord
This painting is available for purchase here.
Jul 22, 2012
Coloring Book Page - Red Fox Pup
Another coloring book page for the kids!
As with the previous coloring pages, have your kids download it, print it out, and color it or paint it any way they want, realistic or wild and crazy! (Click on the image to see a larger version. Then right-click on the larger image and select "save image as..." to save it to your hard drive.) If they want to color it realistically they can use the image below of my original painting as a reference and try to match the colors.
As with the previous coloring pages, have your kids download it, print it out, and color it or paint it any way they want, realistic or wild and crazy! (Click on the image to see a larger version. Then right-click on the larger image and select "save image as..." to save it to your hard drive.) If they want to color it realistically they can use the image below of my original painting as a reference and try to match the colors.
Jul 21, 2012
Photographing Artwork
I was going to write a blog post about photographing artwork properly ... if and when I ever figure it out! lol
But I don't need to. This article by Mark Pemberton says it as well as anything I've read. I suggest you read it if you are struggling to get good photos of your paintings.
But I don't need to. This article by Mark Pemberton says it as well as anything I've read. I suggest you read it if you are struggling to get good photos of your paintings.
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