This painting was fun and I used a non-typical approach to color choices. My thinking was based on the fact that "most" people who buy art are thinking about where they will put it in their home or office. Wall color, size, lighting, location, they all come to mind for the art admirer. In fact, I was recently at an art festival in Tampa and overheard a potential customer telling the artist they had just finished remodeling their home and the painting they liked matched the interior design and colors.
So off to Lowe's I went and snatched up about 50 little paint chips and combo booklets. You'll see what I did with some of those in this video.
Just passing through this last winter in Wisconsin. It's off to Florida for the rest of my life with palm trees, alligators and lots of oceans to paint. But why not bang out a few quickies outside in the elements of winter.
I was invited back this year to paint at the corporate Bostik Christmas Party. Held at the Calatrava/Milwaukee Art Museum, it was a great event. This painting was a raffle item, won by a woman who frequents this coffee shop, Colectivo, in the Fourth Ward of Milwaukee. Completed in acrylic on 40x30 gallery wrap canvas over 4 hour period. I was able to snap a couple of progress photos (bottom up).
As the year comes to a close I was wondering how many pieces of art I created this year. I don't keep very good records by month/year but I do have a pretty good idea. Sure, I can go through the dozens....185 to be exact...paintings that pile up in my studio and I'll remember what I did this year.
I had goals for my art, many were hit, some not. Art is not my sole source of income. Thank God, because I would epitomize the starving artist label. Again, I don't create art solely for making money. It's nice, believe me, when someone purchases one of my pieces. Two galleries I exhibited in closed, so I lost local exposure. I've done nothing to get new gallery representation. But, that's okay.
So what about the art? Let's start with a piece, two to be exact, that just sold to a buyer in New Jersey. He happens to be an artist too, and saw my bit on YouTube. First the plein air video. I did it during Christmas break 2012, about a year ago.
I liked the scene enough that I decided to make a bigger version back in the studio. That video is here.
24x36" Oil "December Chill" sits framed on my dining room wall. The cool thing about this one is the scene is literally less than a mile from my house. Sometimes I drive around for hours looking for a place to paint plein air. This was the painting that started out my 2013.
I was lucky enough to go on a two week European vacation this September with my wife. It was one of the best trips I've ever been on. Paris; Cinque Terre, Venice, Florence, and Rome. So many sights. So much art. And so many photos. I think I took about 1500 pix. Here's a small sample.
Europe is so much different than the US in that they save buildings. No tear-downs and build a new subdivision or some high rise office building or another strip mall. Just real cool, superbly built, architecturally stimulating, and in many cases, dramatic buildings. Oh, they're really old.
So here we go again. Last year turned out to be a good year for me and my artwork. I was the highest gross sales exhibiting artist at the gallery I'm in. That was for original work off the wall sold. Another guy who sells portraits exclusively by commission, I know did better.
That's one of my goals this year: do more commissioned portraits. Kids and pets have to be the ticket. So I'm starting a big piece of my daughter and will be hitting some vet clinics to see if I can hang examples. Another friend of mine sells organic pet foods at the big chains and said he'd hand out flyers. So I've got to get some marketing going or it's going to be another pipe dream.
Have to finish my eBook on teaching kids via after-school program I've been running. That could really be a good revenue stream...but again, I'll never know unless I get it done and put in online for sale.
Sold more artwork last year than any other year in my life. Would like to increase that amount by 500%....which would put me in the 10k range. Surely not enough to live on, but helps supplement my other habits; like fishing and boating.
Got to put down a lot of paint today on a portrait that I should have done weeks ago. Never did a horse before so it was a bit daunting. Sketched it all up and put in the background in one session. A friend of mine commissioned this to give to a friend of hers, who owns this horse and is the rider.
