Down to the Nitty Gritty

I'm getting to the point where I have no choice but to frame my work before my upcoming shows. I make light of this of course. Framing all the work is a chore but is also a signal of several other things. It means I'm wrapping up a new body of work and perhaps have not finished all the pieces I've envisioned for the shows. It's a sign that I may have things to give up. This is both in terms of work that was not yet accomplished as well as work that I will have to let go of; work that will sell and work that will go to places unknown to me. Framing comes with taking work off my walls that I've become accustomed to, fond of and familiar with. So there is a sadness there.

There is also a great sense of excitement and intrigue in seeing the work in it's finished and intended state. It's all spit and polished. It all comes together and sits tidy in my studio for a bit. I can admire my handy-work and I'm sure I will feel a great sense of accomplishment for all my efforts. I'll see how the threads that connect each piece weave through the whole body of work. It's lovely.

So, I'll mostly look forward to having the task done.

Here's one of the babies that will get a frame tomorrow. This one is titled "Far and Away" 25"x25", pastel on art spectrum paper. Email me for pricing.

Procrastination Techniques

I'm considering a day of procrastinating tomorrow because tomorrow I definitely have to start framing. Just considering it makes it not really procrastination as it's kinda premeditated, but I'd like to think I'll work tomorrow, but know I'm not very serious about it. So here's a working list of how I might manage to procrastinate all day!!

I need to go to the gym.
I need to have a snack.
I need to have a cup of coffee. Oh, I need to grind some beans and make a new pot of coffee.
I need to get the mail.
I need to call my mom.
I need to organize my pastels. (organizing stuff doesn't count as working)
I'm too tired to work, so I need to take a nap.
I need to do the laundry.
I need to dust the living room(ha, ha!!)
I need to check my email,(compulsively since I do this too many times a day already).

This could actually get me to about 1:00pm if I work on it hard enough.

I can't frame 'cause my ipod isn't charged.
I can't frame because I'm cold.
I can't frame because I should go to the store and pick up something for dinner,(I should but this doesn't mean I will).
I can't frame because now it's almost 2:30 and I'll need to pick up my son at school in 45 minutes and I don't want to start anything.
I can't frame 'cause it's getting late and I'll really have to figure out dinner pretty soon.
I can't frame 'cause I really don't want to.

Now that I've decided all of this, perhaps I can just take the day off and do some fun or productive other than framing!! By the way, this list works if you substitute the word "frame" for "paint"!!

I'm going to start posting current work at the end of my blog posts, so if you're interested, just email for pricing. Thanks for looking. This one is "One Long Last Look" pastel on art spectrum paper, 12x12 image. It's available framed or unframed.

Framing Hell

Alright! I have to frame a bunch of work. This is not my favorite thing about being an artist. I don't do the whole job, but I do the nasty part, which is fitting the pastels into the mattes and closing up the back of the pieces. Needless to say, with pastels and white mattes, this is a major pain. I haven't chosen to make my life easy either, as I'm very fond of wide white mattes and a clean, gallery style look. I won't go to the matte-less framing method that some pastelists have gone for, simply because I think this framing method tries to make a pastel look like an oil and I just don't want to do that. It's a work on paper and for me, that's just one of the charms of a pastel, not a detriment. I'm a little bit of a purest on this.

So, that being said, I have a whole stack of pastels to fit into frames and a whole stack of frames. This will take about 10 hours of work, I estimate. So do I break that up into two or three days or do I power out and get the whole ugly job over in a day? Haven't decided yet.

Once I decide to actually start, I have to make sure I have all the tools gathered. This is key!  I also clean the working space very thoroughly. Even more key! When I figured out that I can't possibly procrastinate any longer, I'll start.

Gotta make check to make sure every piece is photographed, inventoried, (given a number and title), and signed.

After all the pieces are framed, I'll pack them into cases to load into the Sprinter for Belleville!

Painting Stamina

I had a wonderful day of painting! I came home from the gym with the intention of putting the same kind of energy into painting that I'd put into my workout. I really wanted to sustain the energy and pace of work throughout the whole day. I did that and now the question is, can I do it for several days in a row? Maybe even a week?? That would be terrific. I have shows coming up!! This painting is 4'x6' and is based on a smaller study of Oregon vineyards. I like the warmth and texture and earthiness.

We are headed to Belleville, IL in just two weeks, then Chicago, and Door County, WI for my workshop. Family will be holding down the fort at home. Crazy and fun.

Being a Professional Artist and the Blank Canvas

I think the best thing about being a professional artist is that every day you and you alone decide what to do and how to do it. I think the worst thing is that every day you and you alone have to decide what to do and how to do it. Aside from all the hats that you have to wear as a small business person,(which you are if you are a professional artist), is the simple idea that you have to make stuff from nothing every day. You have to take all the stuff, the studio gunk; paint, pastels, whatever and make something. It's both burdensome and wonderful. To concern yourself with color, line, paint, brushes for your job is sublime. I can imagine other work that is fulfilling and exciting, but I  know that if I didn't get to smell and touch and see paint, pastel, canvas, paper every day I would miss it sorely.

It's hard to take all the ideas you have swirling in your head and distill them into a body of work. It's hard to go in a direction a stay there for a while. This is the hardest. I have too many ideas for this, too many things to paint. But heading in a particular direction for a bit is good to do, for a lot of reasons both creative and commercial. My husband always tells me to just paint and not get too caught up in the "how" or "where" of it. This is good advice too, because good things always come to the surface if you just paint.

To be a professional artist you have to have a lot of trust in yourself; a lot of faith. You don't have to think you are the best, just that the work has merit. What does that really mean anyway? And aren't we all worthy and good enough for exactly where we are at at any given moment? I think so. So I just paint and all good things will follow. It's like going to the gym, you never regret going, but you regret not going.

A lot of doubt creeps in when you don't get that gallery show you were hoping for or get accepted into a show. You can't take these things personally. You have to take them like a professional, not a condemnation of the work. This is hard stuff when making art is such an intimate and personal experience and process. Thinking about making the work and selling it as two very separate entities has helped me.

Having faith in yourself also means that you have to invest in yourself. If you are a professional, you really have to look at yourself as a small business that you have to capitalize. Buy the things you need to make your  work and spend enough for a website, marketing etc. Don't live in a scarcity mentality about the work.

Being a professional artist means being kinda brave. Stepping up to the empty canvas each day and starting new, having unwavering faith,(well almost unwavering) in yourself and the work. Taking some risks both creatively and financially in support of the work. Working hard, really hard and finding a certain joy in that. You have to stay with the joy, because it's much easier to work for someone else!

Shipping Pastels!

Yeah, shipping pastels is a tricky thing. I've had pretty good luck though. First I put a skin on the glass. This protects the piece should the glass crack. You can buy this through the Airfloat people. Then I use their shipping boxes. I have a couple of the ones they make that have a metal insert in the lid. See the pictures.These are more expensive, but I think worth the extra. Make sure the boxes are large enough. There should be a good amount of cushion all around the piece. I really don't have quite enough margin for the still life! These boxes are great since you just subtract the foam insert where your piece is going to be and put it in, close it up. You don't need to wrap it in bubble or anything. This makes it easier on the show end as they don't have to fuss with packing materials. They really like this! It's so much less hassle for the shipping agent. Tape the edges closed where they've marked it.

Label the box "fragile" and "this end up" and hope for the best! I spray all pieces that I'm going to ship. I put an Fedex airbill in with the piece for return shipping. I have it shipped back the slowest option, like 3rd day. It could be around 75.00 to get it back. Sending it can be cheaper because you can send it UPS if you allow enough time; probably around 40.00.

Airfloat shipping boxes.

Pastel Society of Maine

I'm excited that I all three of the pieces I entered into the Pastel Society of Maine International Show were accepted. Now I have to get them ready to ship there. Two still need their frames. I have shipping boxes all set to go, luckily. I'll be sending them in Airfloat boxes. One of the pieces is a still life which is a departure for me. It was fun to do and makes me want to try some others. Here are the pieces. Wish me luck in the show. I hope they get some attention and or sell!

Rearranging the Studio

I spent much of my day rearranging my somewhat limited studio space so I can tackle some bigger pieces and try out some new ideas. I usually like to pin new works on paper on the walls so I can see how each piece relates to the next, but this takes up a lot of space that could be used for making art. I decided that I would put large works on pieces of foam core and stack them up as I do them, thus giving me the opportunity to look at them as I need to before framing, yet still freeing up the walls for work space and to be able to push both easels up against the walls.

I also moved a photo collage to a different spot even though I really loved where it was. I'm going to put a shelving unit of some kind there instead. This will accommodate the new media that I want to experiment with.

I actually moved my easel and painting cart out into a shared space in the studio and painted there for two days last week. It just wasn't "right" for me, so that's when I decided to reorder my smaller space. 

I'm really happy with the results and think it's going to be a great fresh start. It seems like I have to do this every few years to get both my head and the workspace clear. I feel like I have room now for the new work, both mentally and physically.

Best of all, my lovely hydrangea is already blooming!

Coloring Outside the Lines

I just returned from teaching a workshop for LaConner Workshops in LaConner, Washington. My friend Wendy came along and helped me get to where I needed to go. Thank you, Wendy! Getting there was complicated because I had some business in Los Angeles that made the schedule extremely tight. After we got squared away in our lovely B&B, The Queen of the Valley, in LaConner, we had a chance to tool around and see the beginnings of the tulip festival come to life. The fields were just about to come into their full glory. It was fantastic!

The workshop got going on Saturday. Nineteen terrific students! What a great enthusiastic group. The workshop was based on some of the ideas that grew out of my variation series and Pastel Journal article,(Oct. 2009). We were concentrating on play, experimentation and repeating a theme. But mostly, play!

Three mornings of incredible breaksfasts prepared by the innkeeper at The Queen. What a treat to start each day with a superb breakfast. Turns out I needed those calories after all. Teaching is hungry work.Thanks, Shelly for the awesome waffle recipe!!

After three days of helping my students stretch their boundaries, I came home questioning just what my own boundaries are. How can I find my edge? That edge is different for each of us. What is it for me? What am I trying to say, what am I trying to paint and why? Just because you can paint a thing, is that reason enough to do it? I'm always pressing myself for new answers to these questions. The answers are constantly changing, like the work. This is good.

I learned a thing or two from my students; quiet persistence and raw tenacity. A room full of women is amazing in that the knowledge and experience in such a room is all we ever really need. I was reminded of this once again. So, lovely!

I learned a couple things from Robyn. She gave us samples of Rives BFK which I tried out when I got home and could get hooked on. Also gave Pan Pastels another try with some interesting results.Thanks Robyn.

I learned a bunch of stuff from Wendy. I always do. How to be gracious, how to be calm and how to have fun. Love ya, Wendy!!

I returned to Oregon and happily have settled back into the studio for a month or so before my next show. Mostly, I'm happy to be able to watch the Trailblazer games!