Seashell Lights and Christmas Festivities

This Christmas has be chaotic, to say the list.  Decorating for the holidays necessitates being in the holiday mood and it took me awhile to get into the spirit.  But when I did - well, I hung garlands on anything that would stand still long enough and baked 7 kinds of cookies, frosted chocolate and sugar cookies and shopped and wrapped my little heart out.

Here is a photograph of the a few of the frosted cookies - definitely not a professional job but my friend and fellow artist, Melissa Harris and I had fun frosting them.  Did I mention we also shared some champagne while doing this???

But the decoration I most love is my strand of seashell lights that I arrange on some evergreen garland every year.  It adds an organic element (like the buzz words usage) to my decorating.  All my garlands, tree and wreaths are artificial because we are hear for such a short time at Christmas.  Below is a picture of them and i will tell you how I made them - it is very easy!

First of all, the shells are scallop shells, carefully and painstakingly collected every summer on Nantucket Sound in Cape Cod.  This would probably work with other shells but the scallop shells have a wonderful translucent quality.  In Hilton Head the shell that is the most common is the Oyster shell and it is very opaque - perhaps with the new LED lights (that are basically Christmas lights on steroids) it might work - I may see what I can do with those in the near future.

To continue, I used a small strand of little (old style) white lights and hot glued a shell on each side of the light.  That would be two shells per light.  I don't think you could hang them on your tree - there are quite heavy but they really look beautiful nestled among evergreen boughs.  I know I said I use the artificial greens but often I try to buy fresh ones and use them in this display with fresh fruit (kinda Williamsburgish).

The painting behind is one of my still lifes and I just love the orange/read background with the pinks of the peonies and blue vase.

Selling Artwork and Prints - Marketing Thoughts

I am jumping around a little in my posts.  I was going to make my next post about my palette but since I just sold two prints via Fine Art America I switched gears.

Of course, there are a number of avenues for selling your artwork.

1.  Outside art fairs - I have done these and still do one but it requires a lot of work and you have to be comfortable selling, chatting and meeting possible art purchasers.  You need to purchase a tent, some method of display, get a transient vendor license, chair, some method of letting customers use a charge card and of course some vehicle to transport all of this to the show.  I purchased my tent and a small trailer on Craigslist.  But it was a considerable investment.  The other problem for me is that I need help setting up my tent.  I can do all but the heavy lifting by myself.  I know you can buy relatively inexpensive easy-up tents but if the weather turns bad you best have a very sturdy tent.  I will talk more about this in future posts.

2.  Galleries - I have been very lucky with the few I am in.  I haven't approached any others but have been thinking about expanding my marketing efforts in that direction.  Just be prepared, you have to have product - and it needs to be freshened on a regular basis.  I have only had pieces on consignment, and I always prepare a contract for them to sign.  You should also keep an inventory of what paintings are where and keep it up to date.

3.  Prints - I used to have someone photograph my work and then make prints.  At the art fairs I would sell one or two prints per time but this is something I no longer do.  First of all, I am down to just one fair and secondly I have been selling work on Fine Art America.  The only trick to this is to have a great photograph of your work.  You need a Tripod!!!  And you need to photograph it before varnish and in natural light.  The last thing you want is to hear that your print maker cannot make prints from that photograph because of shake or pixel problems.

4.  Fine Art America.  You can belong to this site for a fairly small amount of money per year - I think it is $35.00.  You artwork is displayed, you price it out, it is an easy upload and customers view it.  If someone is interested in purchasing a print of your painting they just order it.  It is that simple.  I have easily covered my cost.  The one suggestion I have for this site or any site like this - do not upload all your work at the same time!  Upload no more than one per day - this is because when it is uploaded it is displayed that day as new work - if you upload all of it you have exposure like that on day one.  If you upload a piece every day you have exposure for a number of days.  The other site that is popular is Imagekind.  I am planning to start using that site as well.  Double my exposure and hopefully increase my earning potential.

5.  Daily Paintworks - This is a site used by many artists and is for selling original paintings.  I am using this venue for small work.  Since I just joined a month ago I have no read on how successful it will be but one of my friends sells work regularly.  She says it is very important to integrate a blog and other venues for exposure to make this work.

6.  Of course you need a web site - and please, please, please, if you get a domain name use your name.  As creative as some names can be just use your own name - you are building a brand.  I use the site Fine Art America On Line for my web service.  The site was hugely easy to build (and I am not the most technically proficient) and their tech support is GREAT!  They have a daily display of work and draw from new work you display on your opening page.  I change my opening page often to take advantage of this marketing tool.

7.  Have rack cards made - I always keep them handy - at shows, attached to the back of my paintings at the galleries, in my car and with my painting gear when I go out to paint "en plein air".  And I am not shy about handing them out!  I have my name, mobile phone number, web site and in the future will include the other places where I market my work, such as Daily Paintworks or Fine Art America.

Some things I have also considered but not done - yet.

1.  Having an open studio and inviting all my neighbors and those that have attended any show I have done in the area.  This can be a little tricky, since, in both Cleveland and Hilton Head I live in gated communities.

2.  Advertising in one of the magazines - such as Hilton Head Monthly, CH2 (both in Hilton Head) or Currents in Cleveland.  This is very expensive though and I don't know how fruitful it would be.

2.  Call your local libraries and see if you could have a show there or a local hospital etc.  Get exposure.

I will try to think of other things and hopefully this will spur you and me to get creative about other methods of marketing our work!

Oil Painting Brushes and Cleaning Oil Painting Brushes

Ok, I have a confession to make - I am lazy.  I have friends who buy very expensive brushes for painting and have had them 20 years and they still look like new.  Not me.  I buy inexpensive brushes and throw them out when they are totally splayed or keep them to scrub in background color 

I usually buy the Dick Blick store brand of brushes but I have been known to purchase brushes on ebay too.  I have to say that the ebay ones I have purchased (keep in mind they are not the expensive variety) have been pretty bad - experience is a dear teacher.   Once in awhile I look with envy at a friends Rosemary brush but I know, in my heart of hearts, it would be money wasted on me.  

My preference is for synthetic bristles because for some reason the boars head bristles (or whatever the natural hair is) always shed in my painting.  I have a collection of all shapes but seem to use flats more than anything else.  This is a matter of preference - I have friends who only use filberts - whatever floats your boat.

Now to my nemesis - brush cleaning.  I have a tendency to forget to clean my brushes for a day or two (or three or four).  This is problem because I use a quick dry medium and the brushes are occasionally beyond the point of cleaning.  But, more often than not I can revive them.  I have experimented with all sorts of cleaning methods.    

1.  Tried using Murphy's Oil Soap - after first letting them sit in turpentine.   Then grinding them into the palm of my hand.   Letting them sit in the turp was very damaging to the brush and given the carcinogenic nature of paint the grinding into my hand was not the best idea either.  I don't think the Murphy's Oil Soap added any years to their foreshortened life either.  

2.  Next I stopped leaving them in the turp but gave then a few swishes in the turpentine and wiped them off with a paper towel.  Then I took them home and washed them with Murphy's Oil Soap but used a rubbermaid glove to protect my hand as I scrubbed them out.  

3.  The next step in my brush cleaning evolution was to us 1/2 of an old tennis ball to rub the brushes in.  I didn't change my cleaning product.

4.  My current cleaning method is to use the tennis ball with a store bought brush cleaner -  The Master Brush Cleaner and Preserver.  I love this - you can leave it in the brush and reform the brush to its original shape.  I still use the tennis ball.  You can also work up a real lather with hot water and leave it in to try to get some of the deeply embedded paint out.  When I leave a small residue of paint in i never bother to remove it.  When I am trying to clean the deeply embedded paint out I just leave them for a few hours then reclean.  Of course, we are talking cheap brushes to begin with so even my best efforts are sometimes in vain.

I have a friend who uses baby oil - and she loves that.  I think it would be a very slow process but I shouldn't knock it until I have tried it.

I know you can use mineral spirits - it does a good job but it is so messy. 

So there you have it - brush cleaning from someone who hates to clean brushes.  If anyone has any more tips or ideas I would welcome them.
Masters Brush Cleaner

Art History and Other Stuff

First of all I want to share with you this link that was posted to Facebook this morning.  It reduces Janson's History of Art to some very simple illustrations.  I particularly love Van Eyck, Monet, Renoir and Manet.

http://www.boredpanda.com/how-to-recognize-painters-by-their-work/

Now that I have done that and you have a smile on your face - I would like to talk about getting back into the swing of things (painting wise, that is).

Transitions are hard - When you take on a project than have to switch gears to an entirely different project it is difficult.  It is for me, at least.  For me, an absence from painting for a week or two, makes it that much harder to start again.  The longer the absence the harder it is to get motivated.  The seasonal change which starts to limit the ability to head outside to paint is one of those obstacles.  

I am back up North and the weather has vacillated between freezing #$% cold and quite mild.  For a number of reasons I haven't been able to head outside to paint - Thanksgiving, travel to Chicago, rain, then there is the inertia factor.  Now I am looking at an arctic chill that will drop our temperatures by 50 degrees.

So, yesterday I tried working from a photo reference.  It just didn't turn out they way I had hoped - I would show you  a picture but I would be embarrassed.  So, today I will scrape most of it down and try again.  My evil twin is telling me that it is "unfixable" and keep playing on the computer or start working on Christmas Cards or vacuum, dust, shop - anything to avoid the inevitable coming face to face with my failure to bring yesterday's painting to completion.  A sort of crazy subconscious fear sets in, "What if I can't fix it?".  Or rationalizations occur 1.  the picture wasn't a good one  2.  I wasn't in the mood, 3. I didn't move in close enough  4.  I was painting on too small of a surface.  You get the picture............no pun intended.

So, hopefully today I can overcome this mental dawdle and try to push some paint around, scrape some paint off and fix the darn thing.  If I do, I promise you I will show you a picture of the "bad" painting and the "fixed" painting in my next blog.  

Enough for now - I think I will get the vacuum out.

Post-Thanksgiving Day Wrap Up

This was one of my favorite Thanksgivings!!! If you are reading this chances are you don't know me but have seen my art or been interested enough to read my blog for a multitude of reasons. But, I am going to take this opportunity to talk a little more about myself. 

As a native Chicagoan my husband, daughter and (this time) her boyfriend head to Chicago every other year for Thanksgiving.  We are delighted to be able to stay with my brother and Susan near the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue) and usually head out to his daughters for the day.  This year there were 22 people there - a sort of yours, mine and ours plus some.  Which gets me to why this was one of my favorites.  

This is a picture of my family:

1.  I am always so thankful to be able to spend time with my family, something that living in Cleveland prevents.

2.  My nephew surprised us all by coming home from New Mexico where he is stationed in the Air Force.

3.  Another family member has been able to overcome some health issues and was able to join us - YAY!!!

4.  Staying with my brother and Susan is the ultimate experience in gastronomy and hospitality.

From Susan I have learned just how to make guests feel comfortable - lovely toiletries in the bathroom, his and her robes available for our use, bottles of water by the bed - no need is left unattended.  

From my brother Bob, I am treated to culinary delights.  This guy should have been a chef.  Susan reads through cooking magazines and dog ears the dishes she finds interesting and Bob prepares them.  Every time I dine there I come away with a huge feeling of inadequacy in the "feeding the family" department.  I have cooked for 40 years and only occasionally get into the "gourmet" mood.  My poor husband suffers from the "slab of broiled meat, veggie and potato" menu almost daily.  (I am a kinda vegan - pescatarian).  BUT ---- when we come home from my brothers I COOK!!!  I chop, peel, mash, season, research and prepare some amazing food.  He eats like a king.  Fortunately, this only lasts a week or two then I revert to my old self.  

The other luxury I am treated to at my brothers are IRONED SHEETS - yes, you read me right.  IRONED SHEETS.  I thought the last one to uphold this tradition (aside from my mother) was Jacqueline Kennedy.  My brother irons the sheets and I love it.  So much so, that when I get back to Cleveland I have, upon occasion, ironed the sheets.  Crazy!  This phase only lasts through one sheet ironing session, fortunately.  I do iron pillow cases and often the top third of the top sheet to give the illusion of ironed sheets, but, that is where I usually draw the line.

So, I only took one picture at my brothers (should have taken one of each meal but...) and it is of an array of brussel sprouts waiting to be prepared for roasting.

So, now we are back in Cleveland - I am starting to check through epicurious for a hearty vegetarian recipe for dinner tonight and trying to figure out if I have time to stop by Sur La Table to pick up some wonderful culinary accessories. 

Hope your Thanksgiving was great too!