Details of the Commission Piece
01 Thursday Jan 2015
Posted Art
in01 Thursday Jan 2015
Posted Art
in15 Monday Dec 2014
I mentioned in my prior post that a client asked for a painting based upon drawing #6 of my Manhattan Bridge Series. But she wanted a painting with “flecks of red,” which posed technical challenges for me. So I incorporated an impasto technique to solve the problem. Sometimes pictures tell the story of a works’ evolution than words do:
17 Sunday Aug 2014
Posted Art
inFinally, after signing up for a critique group in May, we met this past week. There were 5 of us who arrived, which was a nice number. We were to bring some artwork to discuss, and if needed, assist the artist with solving a problem. Ground rules were set: everyone got a change to present their work and receive respectful and helpful feedback.
My concern surrounds translating my drawing into a painting. I have plenty of studies of my piece but I am struggling with technical problems due to an unfamiliar medium. Basically, my problem is that I can’t paint – or at least that’s what I tell myself. My logical self knows that painting is simply drawing with a wet medium. I’m simply having difficulty controlling my medium so that I can get the effect that I want. The result is that I tighten up and can’t get to loose flowing effect that I want.
The critique group was helpful. Despite all of us having different skill levels and styles, it was nice to have other people’s input. I wish I had brought my preliminary painting that am using to problem solve so that they could see where I’m struggling. Luckily, they had suggestions for technique, and when they didn’t have answers, pointed me to resources for solutions.
I’ve already followed some of their advice and can’t wait to get back to work. Hopefully we will meet again soon so that we can track each others progress. It would be nice to get help should I get stuck again.
10 Sunday Aug 2014
Posted Art
inA funny thing happened on my way toward drawing #50. I got stuck. Many factors are involved in that sticking point, but I’ve had to examine why I stopped just short of my goal before shifting gears into Phase 3.
I’ve mentioned before that the painting commission that I’m working on interrupted my momentum for achieving completion of Phase 2. I’m still working out technical problems in paint that I may not want to explore on a piece that I’m being paid for. And I’m still working through issues regarding the inclusion of color, a challenge that my professor said should keep me occupied for 2 or 3 years!
At the left are the canvases with the composition and base coat of color laid in place. This stage constitutes about 3 hours of work. The medium is acrylic and house paint. The brown and the peach are my clients existing color scheme. I added the blue in contrast to the orange tones and because many of the features of the Manhattan Bridge are battle ship blue.
Have I allowed this commission to distract me from my larger vision of completing 100 pieces? I had planned to finish the foundation pieces of the project before expanding to larger formats in other media. But interest in my work has generated this commission and I don’t want to let anybody down.
Left is the work with additional base coats of paint in blue, along with background shading in place. This will act as the undercoating to the softer urban landscape that will be worked in toward the end of the painting process. The most difficult part, the detail work (or at least I am imagining that will be the difficult part), lays ahead. It is the brush control that I am concerned about. Will I be able to get the effect that I want in acrylic paint that I find so pleasing when working in charcoal? The accidental acquisition of an easel and couple of student canvases will afford me an opportunity to work out the brush control issues in black and white using existing compositions.
One more thought. I still have yet to place a contact portal on this website in the event that anyone wants to contact me or inquire about buying a piece of artwork. Today, I remedy that (see left sidebar). I am facing my fears one step at a time.
22 Sunday Jun 2014
Posted Art
inI’ve set deadlines for myself. I mentioned this before, that Phase 1 of the Manhattan Bridge series would be finished by April 1st. I met that deadline. I had hoped to have Phase 2 done by the end of June, but then, realistically, I had to push that goal back to the middle of June.
My work patterns are like the weather in spring: in like a Lion, out like a Lamb. With a new project, a lot of excitement and energy allows me to produce a lot of work quickly. Sometime 2 or 3 pieces a day. But as time moves on, I begin to slow down. The real trick to working is to try to do something every day. As the series matures, some aspects of it get bet, some become less fresh. I find that once I’m “done” with a piece, I back away for a day and let it sit in plain sight. I tweak as necessary before I spray it with fixative.
Along with slow down on my productivity, distractions get in the way. I had scheduled a couple of days off, but then I got sick. When I’m sick, I don’t even feel like reading, much less standing and creating artwork. Memorial Day Weekend was an opportunity to get a piece a day produced, but I came home from work Friday night and David had season one of The Wire cued up on Hulu – I couldn’t say no. And, finally, my house has gotten so gross and furry, and my cupboards bare, that I had to take a precious weekend to correct the situation or I couldn’t concentrate.
So, as of June 15, 2014 I had 42 out of 50 pieces done. I’m trying to start early in the morning to stoke myself up to finish a piece in the evening when I get home from work. The morning gig is working, so I would be smart to finish this blog post and go get another one started before I hop in the shower.
18 Wednesday Jun 2014
Posted Art
inI’m still learning how to use WordPress and figuring out to display things that I want my viewers to see. Widgets where a great, albeit, intimidating discovery. But I want to show my work in such a way that people could see a thumb nail and click on it to view it in a larger format. And “Galleries” has allowed me to do just that: check them out in the sidebar at the left.
This allows me another way to catalog my work, but also have all the work out there for people to access in a quick snapshot. I’ve numbered each work, so that if somebody from Figi, for example, wants to buy a piece of work, they can contact me and say “#36 please.” Of course, that has not happened yet, because I have not provided a way for people to contact me directly except through the comment field. I’m not sure what is holding me back: maybe fear of distraction, as I have mentioned before. I also don’t want to appear mercenary – I’m a horrible salesman: “Don’t buy my work unless you’re absolutely sure that you love it.”
Another issue I have is a lack of a critical art community. It’s great to glow in the feedback of friends who are part of a mutual admiration society. Honestly, in this day of virtual and electronic friendships, I’m a Luddite, out of touch with the way people communicate. So, with the advice of my husband, I looked on “Meet Up” for a critique group in my area. There are a lot of art groups in New York City but after careful consideration, I chose a small group that happens to be in my neighborhood that appear to want the same thing I want. I’m excited and can’t wait to attend my first critique.
07 Saturday Jun 2014
Posted Art
inOnce I had sold a couple of pieces, and figured out how to sign them properly, I found I also needed to catalog my work. This took a lot longer than I thought it would. The more pieces I have, the harder it is to keep track of them. I am already taking photos, which I post on this blog, so that has been helpful. But I didn’t have a way to keep track of which piece is what number; I just have the date it was created.
The catalog also helps me keep track of which pieces are gone from the collection, or allows me to tag others for people who’ve expressed an interest in buying a piece. Referring back to Art Business.com by Alan Bamberger, I’m signing the back of my work, so as not to interfere with the art/composition. As a result, my actual signature will be covered up once the piece is framed. So, I’m letting the catalog serve double duty. I include a tag of authenticity with each piece, which can be affixed to the back of the framed work. I include the date, the medium, the size, and my name printed legibly underneath my signature. Printed on fine paper, it lends professionalism and a thumbprint on the tag along with my signature adds a nice touch.
31 Saturday May 2014
Tags
Who knew that the style with which you sign your work goes in and out of vogue? Throughout this series, I have dated my artwork, but I have not signed it. I have a relatively long name and my signature is awkward. So when I actually sold a couple of pieces of work, I have a dilemma.
So, I turned to the internet, once again, for advice. I found a site called Art Business.com by Alan Bamberger. One of the most common problems with art today is that artists don’t sign their work, or their signature is illegible. The reasons for this are many and varied, the most of which is likely ego (“my work is great so everyone will recognize it,” or “I suck and I’m unknown so what does it matter anyway?”)
Without a signature, your art runs the risk of losing its identity over time. So, what did I do? I decided to sign the back of the piece. And for framed works, I also included a card affixed to the back of the piece when framed. On this card, I included an image of the art (technology makes it easy), listed the name of the piece, the sized and the medium, my name, my signature and thumbprint for authenticity. Every time I sell a piece, I will include one of these cards with the original artwork.
26 Monday May 2014
Posted Art
inBy the time I started this blog, I was already half way done with Phase 1 of my Manhattan Bridge series. Showing the progression of a piece wasn’t something I thought to do until I began I read Austin Kleon’s books and began to blog. Early in the process, I became so absorbed in drawing that pausing to document the evolution of the work just didn’t occur to me.
However, with the Phase 2, I consciously decided to pause (a messy process) and document a piece as I went along.
Interestingly, this process makes me second guess myself. There are things that I like about #4 in this series better than the final rendition. For example, in the lower right hand region of the bridge, more detail can be seen, where in the final, I may have overworked the area and lost some of the nice detail. Also, when viewing the final piece, I regret having shaded the primary crossbeam (which shows up in image #3) that sweeps through the middle of the piece. Shading it reduces the contrast and makes it retreat into the picture rather than being the anchoring gesture that it should have been.
Of course, creating art is a learning process. There is nothing that says I can’t go back and redo this piece. Or I can live with it, embrace what works and move on. In medicine, the business is called a “Practice” for a reason; in art, the business is practice and no piece is perfect.
21 Wednesday May 2014
Posted Art
inTags
Ever since the first time I showed photos of my drawings to other people, the topic of sales was broached. Maybe it’s superstition, but at the time I could not even entertain the idea of selling any of my work because it felt like counting chickens before they were hatched.
But the inquiring party got me thinking. How does one go about presenting and selling their work in the digital age? She suggested setting up an Etsy store which would allow me to attain on-line orders. Handling money would be done through PayPal – I’d need to set up an account. And then, how would I present the work to prospective buyers? It would be nice if the work was already matted. Which then brought up the idea of framing and how could I keep that economical for my buyers.
In my previous post, I mentioned that I sold two pieces, and the buyer wanted them matted, framed and ready to hang. So I began to look up resources and here’s what I found. If you’re buying in bulk, it saves on shipping costs:
Frames: Westfall Framing company – framing wholesaler with simple metal and wood frames for artwork, along with other supplies for hanging and finishing art. Frames are sold by the inch. The design of their framing kits is simple and genius – anybody can put them together and they look great. Caution: they are “old school” and their on-line interface is less than ideal. No rush orders, no way to check your order status on-line.Mats: Golden State Art – matting supplies. Holy Cow! Buy in bulk or you’ll be reamed by shipping costs. I found 100 acid free/pH neutral mats comes with free shipping. Also, backing board in 50 pieces. And they have “chrystal clear” protective bags which are great if you’re selling at a show or street fair.
Glass: I found a decent price on framing glass from Dick Blick, which I can get locally. These come with a beveled edge, which is good because it reduces injury, and it is sold as part a clip frame. In fact, for contemporary art, it is reasonable to present the work this way. Just be aware, it’s like dressing a piece of work in a suit without the coat and tie. If you want something more formal or professional, go for the frame.
Dick Blick also carries Neilsen Bainbridge frames and frame kits with mat included. If you’re framing 1 or 2 pieces, this is the way to go. It may cost a little more than all the parts bought separately, but the savings in time and headache may be worth the cost. If I sell another piece, I may direct the buyer here and save myself the trouble of framing things myself. Framing is not my area of expertise, and if I were smart, I would charge for my time. Learn from my headache – this is a way for your buyers to offset a couple hundred dollars per piece in framing costs.