It may have something to do with springtime having arrived in the southern hemisphere. Extra light does seem to energise me! Painting outdoors is simply a joyful experience. Even when the results are not always as desired I get to learn from those mistakes. A lesson learned on the spot is a lesson remembered!
To be honest I am not a fan of painting in very windy conditions. We are spoilt for good weather, but even then it is possible to paint from a sheltered position. Painting from a window overlooking a scene is perfectly fine. Many great impressionists like Monet and Pissaro painted from their windows. The real difference to the painting is the immediacy of the response to the scene. There is not time to faff about - as they say. You have to get on with painting. The second major plus is that you get to see so much more than with a photo. It is amazing how much a camera leaves out especially with shadow areas and the sky. The camera has to even out the scene so as not to over or underexpose parts of the scene. Your eye can however adapt to parts of the scene and therefore your ability to respond to these subtle colour and value changes is enhanced. This makes for a more interesting painting and exciting experience for the artist. Many beginners struggle with painting colors like green and getting the true shape of trees correct is a nightmare. These aspects will improve greatly with outdoor observation and painting. When you truly see what is there with a discerning eye not only your art, but your appreciation for nature will grow too. There are a lifetime's worth of lessons to be learnt with outdoor painting. Add this aspect to your painting from time to time and see if it works for you. Persist for a while since it is an adaption and the rewards will come. To encourage you, if you have not tried this before, I am including my Plein Air Painting notes for download here. The videos may be viewed on My Studio page. I hope that all artists have a great outdoor experience - let me know how it goes! For collectors there is the added pleasure in knowing that your painting is a true artistic response to a scene - unique and filled with energy! Enjoy All fear based and limiting thoughts must be challenged or they will master you. Simple as that. What is a comfort zone anyway? Roughly speaking you are in a comfort zone when you no longer have any desire to try something different. Your boundaries are self-created and you are safe within them. Everything else seems risky. Just a moment! Is comfort not what we all want? What we toil for all our lives? Well I have no problem with comfort. If my bed was not comfortable I would be grumpy the next day. You would not want to wear a hair-shirt just because it is uncomfortable I hope. No the real issue here is safety and fear. The eternal struggle within us all.
Why does a comfort zone do us more harm than good? Look if all humans were happy with comfort zones then what would have motivated prehistoric humans to get out of their caves. Once fire was discovered I imagine the cave was rather snug. Nasty animals could be scared away, people were warm and the steaks tasted better cooked. I like to imagine that at some point a trouble maker thought how nice it would be to sit in the cave and watch a box in the corner that had pictures of other people doing things. Maybe extreme bison hunting? So the television was invented. Someone pushed through a comfort zone and amazing things followed. Seriously though the safety of a comfort zone is often an illusion. A mental sate. Some people get shaken out of this inertia when their safe job gets downsized. Others need a tragedy to get them thinking about new directions. Now I am suggesting that materialism should motivate us to get out of the safety cage of life. What is true though is that without breaking these self-imposed limits now and then we start to die slowly but surely. First in motivation then we laugh less and the spirit begins to wither. One day we notice that more than half our lives have passed and there is still much to do, but is it too late? In short – no it is never too late! The time for action is today. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is a mystery, but we have today. By God I am not going to waste another precious day! Who cares what people think? Will this offend someone? What will my family think if I decide to write a book, paint professionally or get rid of my grey clothes and start a new look? Whatever it may be life demands that we take risks. It demands that we feel alive and do something the defies inertia. Do no harm to others of course and be kind to yourself, but get moving. This is not a call to retail therapy. This is to feed the soul. The child within that knows no limits. The struggle with comfort zones is a constant one for artists. The writer who cannot follow a bestseller with another big hit may be facing an invisible wall of self-doubt. The painter who knows that his work is tight, but is fearful of making a fool of himself if he loosens up. All fear based and limiting thoughts must be challenged or they will master you. Simple as that. So despite all out modern conveniences let us not strive to be limited by comfort. Let us strive to be excited by life. Who knows what is possible if we challenge ourselves. Starting now! What is standing in the way of your art? Money? Materials? Fear or even physical issues? Take a look at this TED talk to see how artist Phil Hansen flipped his physical limitation into a liberating experience. The typical issues faced by artists is fear of failure and fear of financial disaster if they rely on art for a living. Does this story give you a different view on these fears?
Once upon a time there were artists who were highly regarded in their community, cities and villages. Very often these artist were leading citizens. They were members of the apothecary guild since they had to mix their own paints. They were learned and knowledgeable people. The better known artists were sought after by the lords and gentry of the time. Portraits of the well-to-do commanded a pretty penny. So where did it all go wrong?
Time took care of this however and when the industrial age descended on the world the part played by artists diminished. The rise of democracy tends to cut both ways. Freedom brings competition and life can get tough when capitalism steps in. Ask the Russians after the Berlin wall came down. Perhaps the idea of the starving artist as a romantic notion developed with the impressionist period from the late 1880’s. These artists rejected the traditional art of the time and they were denounced by the salons that controlled the artist’s exhibitions. So the impressionists started their own exhibitions, but support was slim and money was tight. Many artists suffered for their art. Artists like Van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Gauguin and Sisley among others all went through hard times. Many pulled through and had decent incomes late in life. Others like Sisley remained poor to the bitter end. The idea of the starving artist had taken root. It seems that artists were pegged as unconventional at best and anarchists at worst. Traditional professions and trades ensured a decent living, but if an artist ignored these options then the poor house beckoned. Yes society can shun an outrageous artist, but this applies to any person in any profession too. Conformity is not an easy fit for artists either. It often comes down to choices made by the artist. A New Deal for Artists In the new millenium the progress made in technology and freedom of information has given artists abundant opportunity to market and produce more work. Strange thing is that there still seems to be the starving artist idea out there. Are some artists choosing to be poor? Is struggle necessary to look like an authentic artist? Or perhaps some are too preoccupied to learn about the business side of art. Just about any business struggles to succeed for at least five years. Artists have many more options than traditional painting and sculpture, but persistence is critical. There are many resources and people ready to make artists rich. This often entails buying someones book or e-course on how to sell and save. I am all for self-education so make your choices and learn. Choices! It comes back to the fundamentals and there are no short cuts. But this does not mean closing ones eyes to new things. Improve your art and learn all you can about marketing and good business practice. Sounds boring, but selling a painting from your business efforts is fulfilling too. Personally I know there is much more to learn, but creating art comes first. Perhaps devoting 60% of your time to creating and the rest to business seems reasonable. What works for you? We hear about art being a right brain journey. What if we choose to live in the right brain experience? What if we accept the energy of the universe? Take a moment to hear from brain researcher Dr Jill Bolte Taylor. It may change your life. What do you think? Do we have a choice in how we live our lives?
What if we looked at today with the wonder of the first day of our lives and used it like it was our last? Artists often place too much pressure on themselves. The pressure to create the next great work, to sell art and make a living without losing spontaneous joy. It is not necessary to do this. I speak often about having a goal and having a strong work ethic. These are not bad things in themselves. But not at the expense of joy and the sense of wonder that we are born with. Not at the expense of those who need our attention and certainly not for money. Take a moment to reconnect to the energy that inspires. There is more to the world than material things. We are connected, not digitally, but spiritually. This moving TED Talk video is a beautiful reminder for us all. The only limit is the one you set yourself. In Part one of this topic I had a look at breaking an attachment to art sales. In Part two I want to look at getting into a professional mindset. Yes quality, subject matter and output of work is all relevant to producing professional quality art. There should be an upward trend in every artist's career. This covers many areas from the actual paintings, studio practice, business knowledge, marketing and study. Art is an ever developing subject and passionate artists will be happy to grow in knowledge. The good news is that passionate artists can do all of these things well.
So how does an artist make sense of the many demands on creative time and ensure that all bases are covered. Here are a few thoughts: Get less busy: Being busy is not the same as being effective. Forget multitasking. Get some focus! The only way to do this effectively is to cut out time wasting activities like excessive computer usage, cell phone and e-mail fixations, retail therapy and so on. I know all too well how tempting it is to browse the net about anything art related. It is procrastination - pure and simple. Estimate the time you spend on other media sources and aim to cut it down by fifty percent. Check e-mail at a couple of set times a day. Need an online timer? Try E.gg timer .com. Put the cell phone on the other side of the room. If you can remove the computer from your studio altogether I know that work time will benefit - guaranteed. Practical? you decide on this step because it is a tough one for many. As buzzwords go I think the one about "getting intentional" is actually useful. What is your intention with your art career? Once you have this verbalised and written down you can get a clear vision and work towards it. You can focus on the important things. To produce more paintings of better quality you will need to:
Now to put this into practice you need to do the work. Identify what you love to paint. "I paint everything" is not helpful. "I want to be an superb landscape painter" - this is more helpful. Now what will it take for you to paint awesome landscapes? Aside from canvas time you will need to study master artists, take lessons, read more, attend a workshop and connect to other artists for sharing of ideas or experience. Repeat for the rest of your career. This is actually the fun part. Each day holds the prospect for something new. New learning, new experience in art. Some days will be BIG and others will seem dull. That is the way it goes, but with passion and belief the dull days will be few. Remember not to be attached to outcomes. This is a negative mindset. Rather be attached to doing something great with your art each day. Why not! Art really is a great thing to do so celebrate this by jumping into the experience whole heartedly. Make a time plan for your days but do not be enslaved by them. You are an artist after all so be free to change the pattern, but make it worthwhile. Start work at a respectable time of day. Waking up at 9am on a weekday is sad. Getting up at 4am is over the top. The idea is to use daylight for creating so try not to waste this precious time. Reject fear and anxiety. At least if you have real fear then identify the cause and get it solved. Anxiety is our imagination destroying our peace of mind. It has no place in your life so find ways to identify this and get it out of your way. I like to get paperwork done before 8am. Then an hour assessing the previous day's work before getting to painting related activity from 9am. Painting an early session outdoors is fine because the light is usually great. If in the studio I prefer to paint from midday onwards. So until then I will spend time on other studio preparations like priming and toning panels, framing or perhaps writing for my website or workshop program. Know when to stop. I will seldom paint in the studio beyond 16h00. There must be time to breath and enjoy time with others. Evenings are for family, entertainment and reading. Painting takes concentration and after a time my attention begins to wander. It is then time to stop and regroup for the next day. Paintings also need to rest overnight before completion. I am much better equipped mentally in the morning to assess the previous day's work. A problem resolves itself after a night's sleep. It can be sorted out quickly when you are fresh. A matter of minutes is sometimes all it takes. If rushed at the end of the day however it can ruin a painting just a quickly. Paint for quality and impact not perfection. Canvas time and focus will result in steady improvement in painting quality. Study and action will improve business skills. The two will ensure that your career moves upwards. You never know too much unless you do nothing with that knowledge. Knowledge with action is powerful. Persist. I am a returning artist struggling to make a sale, I am not sure if it is my paintings, price, subject or my selling techniques. Any help greatly appreciated. Albert A recent comment from a visitor to this blog, quoted above, struck me as a universal statement for any artist trying to make a go of an art career. When artists get down on themselves it is often verbalised along the lines of "I am not making sales, because my art is not good enough" or "If I can sell ___x___ paintings this weekend I am OK" When the target is not met then there is a convenient exit ready and waiting.
The truth must be faced before we can get into career strategy. In truth an artist needs recognition at a fundamental level. This gets confused with sales as a yardstick, but this is a mistake. Sales alone will not fill the need for recognition. A better way of saying this is that the artist needs to know that his art has meaning. The trap with sales as a yardstick is that the artist becomes attached to numbers and when they do not add up to a certain sum the artist takes this as a rejection. If its numbers you are after then there will never be enough. I know a few artists (I use the word loosely) who knowingly churn out paint-by-numbers style works for the quick sale. They freely admit to this and laugh it off. The problem is that they are not selling art. There is no true communication. It is a lie and they are caught up in a numbers game that is now their life. If they do not get back to the truth of art they will fade away disillusioned. Art is firstly a form of communication. The meaning of communicating through art is achieved when the artist's efforts are recognised. Painting sales alone will never fill the artist's soul. So when we are not attached to sales as a yardstick we can accept the ups and downs of business a lot better. It is not the artist's talent that is at fault. If no sales take place then artists must make business decisions to rectify the situation. Not throw their hands up in despair and curse their imagined lack of talent. Let me add that improving skills and quality of art is a business decision too. These are learned qualities through effort not a marker for abundance or lack of talent. Artists have the talent, but must add the sweat. Attachment to an outcome leads to frustration. Reality and our imagined outcome seldom meet halfway. Instead if we focus our efforts on doing the work as best as we can with a lightness of spirit we will not fall into the trap. Artists will benefit from calmer minds and they will be kinder to themselves. Their work will improve consistently. This idea of non-attachment is not easy especially over the long haul. Our commercial world has seen to that. Being aware helps to foresee trouble so that we can head it off. If the artist stumbles over a bad habit like feeling sorry for himself then it will also be easier to pull himself out of it and get back to work. There is no communication if there is no art. Once the art is produced it must be shared and once shared a connection is made, which in turn brings meaning to the artist's efforts. So the goal is to improve the artist's communication through art to a wider audience on a regular basis. This must be the intention. It is not accidental. Collectors seek communication with an artist too so step one is to get the conversation going. (In Part 2 we will look at strategies for getting ready for the market) Starting a quick study Saturday morning very often means one thing in suburbia - shopping day. Of course there are a few people who will argue that they do more than shop, but the throngs of cars heading to the malls suggests shopping is big. This activity is a necessary evil yet I am not alone in trying to minimise the impact shopping has on my precious free time. I am blessed in having a wife who shares these sentiments. We will be the ones waiting outside the shop's doors as they are opened by bleary eyed shop assistants. The aim being for us to get in and out as fast as possible before the crowds arrive. This past Saturday was an exception. Neither my wife nor I could face this weekly expedition. The weather was cool and the wind was absent for a change. Only one thing for it - grab the paint kit and head off to the beach for a an hour or three of painting. This was not entirely selfish since my children came with too and they could get some fresh air while I did my thing with the paints. My choice was well rewarded. Several other people had come down to the beach too and there was a good deal of surfers taking advantage of the magnificent waves. If this sounds idyllic then let me confirm it - it really was fantastic. A moment where time flies by as you become lost in doing something you love. Soon into my second painting I noticed a gent emerging from the surf who had been boogie boarding. Turns out he was on retirement and had started painting. He joined me to chat about art and we shared a few stories about our favorite topic. Thanks for the chat Brian and I hope to paint outdoors with you sometime. Mixing and placing colour notes A few things learnt on that morning:
Or you could try shopping at the mall instead. Nah! The business of art today challenges artists to be innovative while new opportunities open up for collectors who break through old comfort zones. Let us agree that professional artists need to find collectors to purchase their work and collectors are looking for art they love at a good price. In the old days (lets say the early 2000's) these artists needed galleries to stand a chance of finding a collector. Now with the internet taking off there is almost limitless opportunity for artists to market their work. Even galleries are going online and doing very well this way. But online marketing is one option to be added to traditional marketing.
In a recent mini-survey I asked my newsletter readers about their online art purchasing concerns. The majority view was that the risks seemed to outweigh the benefits. This was indeed a surprising outcome and a bit worrying for me too. Aside from a tight economy the concerns mentioned can be summarised as follows: - hacking of bank information - the online photo has been manipulated (or other misrepresentation) - the art will not arrive or at least it will be damaged All of these concerns are of course possible issues, but then again these issues apply to any commodity sold online. Banking is also probably one of the most popular online services used. We know that internet sales of consumer goods has exploded in popularity. Indeed many internet users, for example, try to do all their Christmas shopping online. Makes sense when you consider the vast choice, convenience, no commute and time saving involved. Let us look at these concerns more closely. Hacking is possible, but unlikely in the scheme of things. It is more likely that we will lose our credit card than have it hacked. The biggest threat is faced by the gullible in phishing scams. With a bit of common sense this threat can be avoided. Also artists usually will accept EFT transfers as it is safer and more cost effective. So collectors need not use credit cards at all. Getting closer to the big issue - the manipulated photo or other misrepresentation. The best way to avoid this is to get to know the artist as best as possible. E-mail and even phone the artist if this is practical. Check up on the artist's track record. Any legitimate artist trying to build a career will be desperate to prove his or her credibility. Why mess this up with photo fraud? If the artist seems like a scammer then click your way out of there! Also make sure there is a money-back guarantee. Will the art arrive safely? A track record of sales and satisfied collectors should dispel this concern. Find out how delivery will take place. A reputable courier service is a must these days. I have bought artworks online and confess that I have always been blown away by how much better the artwork looks in reality than online. This stands to reason, but also poses a challenge to artists. How to give collectors a better feel for the painting's appearance than with a small photo. One option is to offer a high resolution photo that can be e-mailed on request to the collector. Artists should not worry about image theft. That is unlikely to occur and if so then so what? Nothing compares to the original. Many photos can be sent showing size comparisons and frames. It is worth the artist's time to do this and the collector need not be shy to ask. The benefits for both parties are clear. The artist gets a sale with low overhead and the collector gets ample choice and at a good price too. So the challenge is for both artist and collector to do their homework, prepare the basics and have a worry free experience. It should be the start of a beautiful relationship! |
AuthorMalcolm Dewey: Artist. Country: South Africa Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
FREE
|