One Artist's Journey

Abstract #9 - 12” x 12” Acrylic on Masonite - $200

I have been trying to so some fine art photography of my images so I can post them online. Posting them on the blog is not a big deal because the fine art images don’t have to be that big. However, I found a site called Imagekind, where they will do fine art prints from my photographs. As we say in the graphic design industry, “Garbage in, garbage out.” If I send them trashy images, people will get trashy prints.

So, today I went outside on the back deck, set up a sheet as a reflector so I could get more light and took high resolution photographs of my paintings and drawings.

Sorrow - 9” x 9” Acrylic on the rough side of Masonite - $200

Later, when I tried to color correct the images in Photoshop, I got close, but it still wasn’t perfect. Then I learned that my camera has a custom white balance feature. What that means is I can tell my camera what “white” is. I take a sheet of white paper out where I am shooting the images. I tell the camera that the paper is white and it resets itself so the colors should be more true to real life, based on the lighting conditions at that time.

It shouldn’t matter if it is morning, afternoon, or there is a yellow tinge because there is smoke in the air, whatever. I am going to res shoot everything tomorrow and see if I can get closer so i don’t have to do a bunch of corrective work in the computer.

Red Head - 12” x 12” Acrylic and pencil on Masonite - $200

I just wrote my aunt who left a comment on this blog. I thought I came up with some pretty good stuff, so I would like to share it here:

Contemporary art is all about what the artist is trying to say. Not what the piece looks like.

I believe that the viewer completes the artwork. I do my best to create something either with a message or something that is thought provoking. Then, when the viewer comes, they bring their background and baggage and they get a certain meaning out of the art. Now it is complete. And each person that looks and understands something or feels something, creates a new piece of art.

Right now,  I am trying to whittle down 13 years of neglect to find the artist I was at school 13 years ago.

Kanji #5 - 12” x 12” Acrylic and Ink on Masonite - $200

I really really like how this one turned out. First I wet the board with a spray bottle, then I used a big sumi ink stick to draw the kanji. Then I went ape and painted the color around it. I didn’t like all of it, so I stood up the board and used the spray bottle to remove some of the paint. I think it turned out really nice. I like the dry and wet ink look.

Dwellings #5 - 12” x 16” Acrylic on Masonite - $200

PAINTINGS COMPLETED TODAY: 5
PAINTINGS COMPLETED TO DATE: 23

Worked on the Fine Art Pics today and did a few I really liked. I completed another “dwelling” piece. This one I zoomed in a little more on my source photograph and the buildings ended up a little bigger. I like that. I need enough space to freely move my brush in, so the bigger buildings helps. A bigger canvas would probably help too.

I am going to write my thoughts for the day and then give a little explanation about each piece in a separate post, so I can have an image with it. Multiple images per post gets a little awkward. This will give readers a little more insight into my mind (a scary thought) but on the other hand, it might help – and be entertaining for you!

Abstract #7 - 12” x 16” Acrylic on Masonite - $200

PAINTINGS COMPLETED TODAY: 2
PAINTINGS COMPLETED TO DATE: 18

First let me say that my art paintings for sale include everything you see on this site. If you see something you like, you can email me at shaun[at]oneartistsjourney [dot]com. I would be very happy to hear from you.

I worked on two abstract paintings today. I had absolutely no time but with my new-found determination to get into the studio every single day, I made some time and painted two paintings.

Abstract #8 - 16” x 12” Acrylic on Masonite - $200

I have been thinking about getting a star rating system for the site, then you can vote on pictures you like. That is good so I know what people like. It is also good because artists need validation. What do you think? PLease comment below and let me know if you would like to vote on my pictures. Thanks!

The two abstract paintings I did today were fun to do. I am trying to make up 10 years of lost time and get back the style I used in college. I understand things have changed; I have more experience, etc. But I really liked the art I created in College so that is my first goal. To get lose and instinctual like I was then. My wife said the two I did today reminded her of my work back then. Maybe I am on the right track.

I found a blog of a draftsperson. I really like her stuff, especially her koi and garden drawings. She uses really bright colors in her (pastel?) drawings. http://alethakuschan.wordpress.com

Kanji #1 - 12” x 12” Acrylic on Masonite - $200

PAINTINGS COMPLETED TODAY: 4
PAINTINGS COMPLETED TO DATE: 16

I have decided to keep track of how many paintings I complete so I don’t have to go back and count them again and again.

After looking at the two of the abstract images I did last week, my wife mentioned they looked like Kanji, or Japanese or Chinese characters. So, I Googled some beginning Kanji (up, down, man, woman, etc.) and decided to paint those today. I used them as a starting point in some abstract paintings. I think they turned out OK.

Kanji #2 - 12” x 12” Acrylic on Masonite - $200

Last week, I did 5 paintings on Monday and hardly made it down to the studio after that. That isn’t the point of this experiment to paint 100 paintings. The point is to get into the studio for the next 100 days and create art.

So, I made an effort to get down there today I ended up completing four paintings. I need to get down to the studio (I say “down” because it is downstairs) and paint every single day till New Years.

While painting, I get frustrated because what I am doing looks silly or contrived. But then I have to remind myself that this is supposed to be fun and natural. “Art is Fun and Natural.” I should engrave that and put it up on the wall.

Here’s to Fun and Natural…

Kanji #3 - 12” x 12” Acrylic on Masonite - $200

I am not interested in buying art online, but I AM interested in selling art online. However, I want to attract online art buyers. See the subtle difference? When I make a post, I need to think, “How are people who want to buy art online looking for art… online? They will probably Google, “buy art online,” so that is what I need to have in my post.

Anyway, there are a couple of sites where buyers can buy art online and sellers can set up a gallery. One that I found is zatista.com. This is a really cool site because it is easy to use (thought time consuming) and it is FREE to post and set up a gallery! A lot of the sites charge a monthly fee to set up a gallery, but not Zatista. I will post the link to my gallery once I set it up.

Kanji #4 - 12” x 12” Acrylic on Masonite - $200

Another site that is free is fine-art.com. You can post a small gallery for free and then they have paid services that allow you to post more images.

And finally, this is a twist on the “post your art online” idea. Imagekind.com is a cafepress company. They allow you to post your art online and they will create prints for your customers. So you can get your art into the hands of the masses for less. You make money when people buy your art online and can also get a commission for any frames they sell.

p.s. This post was kind of dry without any art, so I came back and put a couple of the kanji series in. Hope you don’t mind if they are out of order…

Didn’t get into the studio today, but I spent the day learning how to sell my art online. I found a great resource at emptyeasel.com

They have several great articles about selling art online that you can check out if you are interested:

9 Reasons Why Every Artist Should Have Their Own Art Blog (It turns out I am doing the right thing!)

7 Tools and 3 Essential Skills Every Artist Needs to be Successful Online

I thought I would share a little link love and let you know about this great resource.

I joined the Internet Art Database today in an effort to get a little more exposure. They gave me a button to put up on my site, so here it is:

Cool, huh?

My new web site. Check it out!

Today I put together a long-term web site where I can post my galleries. A blog is a blog and a web site is a web site. Blogs have increasingly been used as web sites. I think they will do in a pinch, but I like having a web site.

Anyway, I used iWeb, Macintosh’s (Go Mac!) web site builder. I can build a site from scratch, but using Mac’s templates is so brain dead simple, I couldn’t help myself.

I think it turned out well. You can see it at www.ShaunEllsworth.com. I know, who gets their name as a domain name, right? Well, I figured as a professional artist, I am my brand, so why not.