One Artist's Journey

Venice #1 - 14" x 18" - Acrylic and graphite on Masonite - $500

PAINTINGS COMPLETED TODAY: 1
PAINTINGS COMPLETED TO DATE: 50

I painted my 50th painting today! I am halfway to my goal, but it has taken 9 weeks to get here and I only have seven and a half weeks to go. I need to work hard to make up time.

I didn’t count on these larger paintings taking more time. I have knocked out 3 in a day before, but it is getting more difficult. That is probably a good part of this regimen. As I get a little more comfortable, I am having to work harder just to maintain.

Once I have disciplined myself to paint regularly, maybe I will go on a diet. Imagine that!

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.

Pricing is HARD.

On the one hand you want to make as much money as you can, right? So you want to price your artwork high. I also want to brand myself as a serious artist and serious artists charge high prices for their art. You see a $300 price tag and think, “Oh, it is a hobbiest painter.” You see a $5,000 pricetag and you take that artist seriously, whether they are any good or not. If they aren’t good, you wonder what you are missing, right?

On the other hand, if you don’t price your work so your audience can buy it, then you won’t sell anything… and 0% of 0 is still 0.

I am new, my work is still fairly small and I want to sell what I am making. All signs point to lower price. So I brought myself to mark it at $297. I guess I could go to $247. But much lower than that, and it is kind of like, “What’s the point?” Except that I love to paint. hmmm….

Here is my art. "Autumn Valley" and "Sailboats" - the two on the left. They are hanging in the "East Wing" which is a fancy way to say "the big studio room off the main gallery."

Today I sat in the Redlands Art Gallery. It was the first of my two days to sit.

Lynn, a real sweetheart who makes great jewelry, was my trainer. We had a crazy, busy morning, but I learned how to use the system. We have a new POS system and everyone is learning how to use it.

We had a lot of interesting visitors come to the gallery and we sold a few things. It was a good day. I lowered my price for the two paintings I entered. I started at $600, then thought better of it and on Saturday I dropped by and brought it down to $400 and then today, I was still thinking about it and dropped the price to $297. Let’s get this thing sold and make some Christmas money!

This is the Redlands Art Association's Art Gallery on State Street in Redlands, California.

I joined the Redlands Art Association last week. They have a member show every 5 or 6 weeks. Today we submitted art to hang. It isn’t a juried show, so it doesn’t really go on the list, but my art is going to hang in public. Woohoo.

This is how it works at our gallery: We can submit two hanging pieces. They should both hang. We pay $5 for that and sign up to sit in the gallery for two 3 1/2 hour shifts. I will need to come earlier next time because most of the morning shifts were already taken.

I need to get some “table pieces” done for the next show. Those are glass and ceramic pieces, glazed tiles, gourd art, etc. You can submit 10 of those for the same price.

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!

Great Wall #2 - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and colored pencil on Masonite - $300

I redid the Great Wall piece and am happy with it. but I really like the one I did in the meantime, “Fields.”

Fields turned out well. It was difficult because I wanted to add more detail than I should have. There were some large round hay bales in the foreground that I just couldn’t get right. I tried to make them “just shapes” but they looked too real. I will have to figure out how to abstract small things. All in all I think it went really well. And the Great Wall turned out well too.

So, this week turned out really well. I am happy with what got completed. and I like the new direction I am headed in.

Great Wall #1 - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and colored pencil on Masonite - $300

I have started using photographs as references for my abstract landscapes. The problem with that is sometimes I get too caught up in making a good representation of the photo. In this picture of the great Wall of China, I got too caught up and I don’t think it turned out great.

Now watch, no one will buy it from me if the artist doesn’t think it is any good!

Anyway I am going to try it again tomorrow and make it more abstract. “They are only shapes!”

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.

Lake Arrowhead with Sailboats - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and graphite on Masonite - $300

My first painting at the 18 x 14 size went OK. I like how it turned out, but it took a little finagling. It is a picture of a sailboat race up here on Lake Arrowhead. There is a high horizon, so I placed it on the top third of the board. That left two thirds of the painting to be filled with lake water. It took about 4 tries to get the water right. I had to keep reminding myself as I painted, “it is just shapes, it is just shapes…”

Finally, I got it to where I am happy with it. It isn’t perfect, but then most things never are. I am convinced we artists are continually seeking a standard that we can’t reach, so we need to relax a little and enjoy the journey. I know that when I can enjoy the journey, my inner artist will blossom and I will be happy with my paintings. That kind of negates what I just said, huh? Oh never mind…