If there's something I can help with or answer, I'll do it. Please leave your question in the comments and take a minute to read my FAQ's - you may find the answer there.
and another thing..... a fellow artist, Taryn Day, runs a most-excellent blog called The Art Room - where you'll find artists' interviews and discussions. Taryn invited me to contribute to today's post - asking me to choose two of my personal favorites from last year followed by her two favorites. Take time to read past posts, it's so very interesting. Thanks to Taryn for her time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
20 comments:
What changes do you see in selling your art? It seems like art galleries are going the way of record stores and book stores and more people are buying online. What advice would you give artists who are trying to sell their art?
I lurk mostly but really love the blog and dig how prolific you are... I have two questions. 1) How do you stay motivated? 2) Do you ever work en plein air and not from photos? Like Roos and Haidee-Jo Summers.
about Katherine's questions - dozens of galleries have closed and it seems the one's still standing are either long-standing, good reputation/loyal client based and/or have plenty of cash flow to keep their doors open. Maybe there's another generation that will take their place in time.
From an artist's position, galleries better be working hard to sell and expose your work or online self-representation will have to do.
There was a time when galleries invested in advertising, but that has waned or disappeared in the last 4 years - and that was a big advantage for artists. Time is to invest in yourself and get your work out there - good website,magazine ads, etc.
Best advice I have is to really spend time maintaining a good website and blog. Update constantly and keep the work flowing. It's bound to attract attention and loyalty.
and Steven's questions - I stay motivated mostly because it's my job and I need to make a living. If you lose your motivation, try something new - different subjects, different styles, different mediums. I need to travel and get new images or I'll suffer extreme boredom.
I don't paint plein air - mainly because of where I live (Atlanta). If I were on the west coast, I'd probably be out painting most of the time. Plus, I like to sit and paint with a roof over my head.
Hello Karin,
How do you manage all of your images? Do you use a certain site or system?
When you publish your art what size image do you find works well?
Thanks so much.
Sharon - I have separate folders on my desktop for each occasion, I label the folder (example: NYC2011) but I don't label the photo files until I edit them and save as something specific. Those edited files go into another folder I call 'Alist', which are ready-to-paint. I keep all the raw images, who knows if I'll see something different in them in the future. I use iPhoto for all web-ready images of finished work.
If you're referring to published work as in books - the size is based on the page size and a high-rez like 300 dpi.
I suggest when you photograph a finished painting - save it in a high-rez format about 10" (ish) and 300 dpi. Make a folder for all hi-rez files. Web-friendly files I save at about 2" and 300 dpi and put those all in a separate folder. Then I always have both sizes if needed.
Will you ever do an ArtByte or a DVD?
It's in the new year plan Linda :)
For your small paintings what size brushes do you use for people?
Do you ever have any paintings that you cannot get right and you deem as a failure, perhaps because of composition or just not happy with the result?
Regards Joe
Terry's question - I use a flat 'washer' brush about 1/2" wide for most all size paintings.
With respect to Joe's questions - I spend an enormous amount of time with a photo before I start painting. By the time it's ready, all the decisions are made on composition and size. So usually, if I'm not happy with the painting in the end, it's not because of composition. It's usually because it's boring. My best advice, when painting from photos, is to paint from the photo and when you're close to finishing, put it away and let your imagination take over. Add colors you wouldn't normally think to add, play with edges. Most of the time it works out much better.
Hooray!!! Looking forward to it!
I discovered Taryn's work and her two blogs fairly recently and she has become one of my favorites. I knew I would eventually see you in her Art Room!
Hi Karin, do you like a particular type of brush for applying varnish to finished paintings?
Cindy - I learned early on the cheap trim brushes at Home Depot, the black hairs and straw colored hairs both, will shed hairs into the varnish. Not good. I use a nicer trim brush about 1" wide, a softer nylon about $5. I do a batch of paintings at one time and toss the brush. It's just too important to stay clean and smooth.
Karen, how do you come up with interesting titles for your paintings? I truly believe a title has helped sell a few of my paintings!
Michelle - Most of the titles come to me during painting. I don't stress over it. After painting 100's (maybe 1,000's, I stopped counting) I'm almost running out of titles.
Thanks for the great questions and I'll resume Q&A next weekend.
Paint On, my friends ~
Are you still using iWeb? My web designer/husband was considering using it but says that Apple is no longer supporting it. Are you happy with iWeb as of the last release and will just continue with it? Have you updated your operating system since Apple stopped their support and does iWeb still work for you?
Thanks
Doris
Look at the next Q & A for Doris's question and answer.
Post a Comment