One Artist's Journey

Fields #2 - 20" x 16" - Acrylic and graphite on Masonite - $450

PAINTINGS COMPLETED TODAY: 3
PAINTINGS COMPLETED TO DATE: 46

I was busy all morning, but forced myself to get downstairs to the studio after lunch. Why is it so hard to get started? Painting is fun, but it really takes effort to get into the studio. It is kind if like exercising. I live by a lake and love to walk or jog around it, but it is super hard to get out of the house and go do it. Insane.

Anyway, I did three paintings today. An acrylic landscape, an abstract painting and a painting of teacups, an old favorite. The landscape is large (16 x 20) and the other two are small (for time’s sake).

Maori Abstract - 12" x 12" - Acrylic and graphite on Masonite - $250

I have rigged up several lights so I have enough light in the studio. I have one overhead, and then two lamps on either side of where I paint. That gives me enough light to see clearly and the lights on the sides cancel out the shadows. It is nice.

I have 43 paintings done and 60 days left in the challenge. I really need to make an effort to paint at least one painting a day until New Years Eve. Gotta, gotta, gotta.

Submitted five paintings to the Riverside Art Alliances fund raiser, “Off The Wall.” they say they make 50,000 for the museum each year. That is impressive. So I submitted five of my earlier works, By earlier, I mean last month. I put in 3 “Dwellings” pieces and 2 “Abstracts.”

the are cheap too. If you liked those, you should probably go down and check them out. They are framed and going for $200. Half of that goes to the museum. One of the dwellings is going for $100. That is the deal. If you submit more than three paintings, one of them has to be for $100.

The “Artists Reception” is next week. That will be fun to go to.

Heartland - 20" x 16" - Acrylic and graphite on Masonite - $400

PAINTINGS COMPLETED TODAY: 2
PAINTINGS COMPLETED TO DATE: 42

Today I painted two pictures. I hurried through everything I had to do this morning and had a few hours in the studio. One I am really happy with. I designed it from my memories of going with my father to fix peoples’ horses on ranches in Southern California. My father was a horse vet and I used to go with him during the summer and hold the horses for him.

The other painting is an abstract, kind of based on satellite imagery. I love doing satellite searches on Google Earth an Google Maps. Streets and houses and crops. They all form a really cool pattern.

Abstract #14 (Satellite) - 20" x 16" - Acrylic and graphite on Masonite - $400

These were both 20 x 16 paintings. I have moved up a size because there are more frames at Michael’s for that size. The trouble with painting larger pictures is they take more materials, but more than that – they take more time. Even if I hurry and speed right through a painting, it takes a couple hours per painting. I am really thinking that if I don’t hurry and get at least one painting done a day, I may not complete 100 paintings in 100 days.

The days when I could kick back and do four paintings in a day are over I think. No makeups now. I have to work daily to make my quota.

Dwellings Series #6 - 20" x 16" - Acrylic and graphite on Masonite - $350

PAINTINGS COMPLETED TODAY: 2
PAINTINGS COMPLETED TO DATE: 40

I got to paint Original Acrylic Paintings today. This week has been soooo busy! For a guy that is unemployed, that is really saying something. I haven’t had a second to  paint.I am starting to get worried about the 100 paintings in 100days. Smaller canvasses were a snap, now I am up to 20″ x 16″ and that takes more time and paint to do Original Acrylic Paintings.

Anyway, today I cleared more space out of the studio because my panels are getting bigger. I need space to store, gesso, paint and store again, so I moved some boxes out. They are in the middle of the landing now and have to go somewhere else, but I can do that later.

Abstract #13 (Ginger) - 20" x 16" - Acrylic and graphite on Masonite - $350

I am returning to some of the earlier paintings I did. I re-did a “Dwellings” piece today in a larger size. It went pretty well. Original Acrylic Paintings are easy to store. I don’t know what oil artists do. Doesn’t it take days for them to dry out?

I also did an abstract that my wife says is one of her absolute favorites. That is saying something because she is very supportive of everything I do.  Thanks Babe!

Kanji #4 - 12” x 12” Acrylic on Masonite - This is the painting that sold.

I am so excited!!!

Today I reached a milestone. I sold my first painting on ebay. I told you I posted 5 paintings online about a week ago. There was a free deal where I could post 5 things for free. So I did.

I posted 5 of the kanji series. This morning, I was reading my email and got the news from eBay that the auction was over. And I didn’t sell the painting – do I want to relist? I got 4 of those, but then the 5th one said “Your eBay item sold! Contemporary Abstract Asian Kanji Acrylic Painting” How cool is that!?

So what did I do? I went out and spent 3 times what I made in supplies! Go figure!

The Mission Inn in Riverside. Photo courtesy www.simplycreate.files.wordpress.com

PAINTINGS COMPLETED TODAY: 0
PAINTINGS COMPLETED TO DATE: 38

After a week off, I am back to work. I am excited to paint. But of course, I spent the morning online paying bills and looking for local art organizations.

I am on to step 2 of my master plan. I have built a small body of work over the past several weeks and now it is time to tell people about what I am doing. I plan to write press releases and join organizations for artists.

We have a local artists group, the “Mountain Artists Network” that I will probably join, mainly to support the local art scene. There are several artists that are listed on their site that I think it would be beneficial to get to know. Like minded artists anywhere are an asset.
http://www.mountainartsnetwork.org/

Then there is an art association in Redlands, a nice city down the hill from here. It is a classy city and is doing a good job to support the local artists. I visited the web site and they have a “hanging-day” for members every six weeks. You bring your art and can hang two pieces and then you work for 8 hours in exchange. Sounds like a fair deal. I will probably drop by tomorrow and sign up for that group and start exhibiting.
http://www.redlandsartassociation.org

Then I found the web site for the Riverside Art Alliance. http://www.riversideartalliance.org/index.htm

Riverside is the biggest town around here with any kind of art scene. They are working hard to develop the arts in this area and I would love to support that. I read something on the web site that I can’t find now, that said  major cities are judged by their support of the arts. I think they are doing good things, so I am excited about joining them too.

They are having an “Off the Wall” fundraiser. Artists can submit up to 5 pieces of art. Everything is priced below $300 and it is a 50/50 split with the association. They are raising money for the Riverside Museum. They have done it for 6 years, so I guess it is successful. The entries are at the end of this month and you don’t even need to be a member to participate!

Talk about good timing. I usually hear about great opportunities right after they happen and then I have to wait for a year for it to come around again. Not this time. I will let you know how it goes, but right now it looks like I may join 3 art associations. Talk about busy!!

Fields - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and colored pencil on Masonite - $300

I just realized that it has been one month since I started this experiment and I have 38 paintings finished. I think I have improved a lot in one month. A LOT. I am still not where I want to be, but I look at the earlier paintings and realize that I now know better what I am doing.

That is a fun feeling. I have been so bad about posting photos of my paintings. By the time you read this, I should have caught up and you will see the images I am talking about.

I just looked at the countdown clock at ShaunEllsworth.com and I see that I have 82 days left. I will definitely make the 100 paintings mark and I hope to make the 200 paintings mark.

Tetons - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and graphite on Masonite - $300

Today I had time to do two paintings. It takes longer, the larger the board I am painting on. I wasn’t ready for that when I started the 100 in 100 challenge. I need to hustle and I am a little worried about moving on to larger canvasses (boards).

The two I worked on today turned out well. I am fighting the urge to get too detailed. When I get detailed or try and make it look like a photo, I get really messed up. I have to keep reminding myself “It is just a bunch of shapes” and “This is an abstract painting.”

Mesa Arch - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and colored pencil on Masonite - $300

If I can keep those two things in mind, I think I will do OK. I am happy with the two I finished today. I am also using a lot more paint than I was with the smaller paintings. I found a container to put my pain into so it doesn’t dry up between paintings. I just use a disposable plastic square container and slap the lid on when I am done painting for the day. I also have a tiny spray bottle that I use to moisten the paints every once in a while.

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…

"Abstract #1" - 11" x 14" Acrylic and sumi ink on canvas board - $100

It is Saturday and as such, it is time to report on how things went this week. Today was crazy busy, with 2 boys in soccer and a meeting and THEN date night tonight, I didn’t get a painting done. Soccer season has just started and I hadn’t counted on that. This was probably the busiest Saturday I will have for a while (I hope) but I should be able to get a painting done on Saturdays from here on out.

So I finished five paintings this week on my way to 100. Three in my dwellings series and two abstract pieces that I was able to “fix” last night. Contrary to what most people think, abstract art is difficult. Most people (including myself at one time) thought it is merely a matter of throwing a bunch of paint at a canvas and calling it art. It is much more involved than that. I can’t quite put a finger on it, but it is hard to know how to start and when to finish. I did two abstracts and wasn’t happy with them, but last night I reworked them a bit and now I can say they are finished and I am posting them.

"Abstract #2" - 11" x 14" Acrylic and sumi ink on canvas board - $100

My son and I cut up the Masonite I bought. I gessoed (is that a word?) the boards we cut so I will have them to work with next week. I am getting a lot of ideas of what to paint now that I am thinking artistically again and am excited to get back to work next week.

An interesting note. I listen to Internet radio while I work. I love the blues and and Absolute Radio out of London. Yesterday I listened to a “Classic and Jazz” station from France. It would be interesting to see how different music can change your art. Have any of you found that you need a certain type of music to work by? Or have you found that your work is more aggressive or softer depending on what type of music you are listening to? Please let us know by commenting below. Thanks!