The Painting Spectrum - When Is Enough... Enough?

   If you look back through my blog archives, you'll notice that this is my first post since January 2016, and only one of a hand-full in the past six months. I'm still painting, but more of my energy lately has been involved in selling works for the Christmas season, marketing myself, writing my second book, reevaluating where I'm going with my art work, and recently celebrating half a century on the planet. Yes - it's been a busy couple of months.

   It seems I'm at a crossroads with my painting - not whether to continue and/or keep selling, but whether or not I should paint over some "older" canvases. After 30 years of painting, and not having the luxury of selling every single work I've ever created, canvases have been mounting up to the point where I'm running out of room. Not just in my studio, but also in my living space as well as a storage closet at my youngest daughters house 10 miles away. I've done it before - last time was about 10 years ago - painted over "older" canvases or works that I felt weren't up to my standard of potential at the time... if that makes any sense.

   But here's the rub - after all these years and even doing the "painting over" process once before, I'm still scared to actually do it. My husband has diligently photographed and cataloged every single piece of artwork I've ever done; including pen and inks, process drawings, works that have been sold or long since painted over. But my mind runs through the arguments; "It can still be used for inspiration for another painting." or "What if someone wants to buy the original 10 years from now?"

   The other side of the coin is that my process has improved over the years. Aspects like perspective, dimension, and balance have resulted in better paintings. For example, I gave a hard look at some floral works I did upwards of 15-20 years ago, and I must admit they seemed more flawed than more recent paintings. The perspective seems off, the flowers are too "flat", and to make matters worse, ultra-violet rays from indirect sunlight have faded and/or altered the pigment colors. Because of that, part of me is more than likely to paint over it - the work has had its time. Time to move on. The other part of me thinks I'm painting over history - my history - and I would be destroying it.

   Apparently, many artists struggle with this conflict and challenge. I read an article recently that even famous artists throughout history have been known to paint over and at times destroy or burn original works. They, like a lot of us, simply run out of space.

   However, the most frustrating aspect of this challenge is that I've had more people than I can count tell me I'm a great artist, or that I'm very talented, and that they love my work. I've even had a few people try talking me out of my idea of painting over an older work. "How can you even think that? You just can't paint over that - it's gorgeous!" Point taken, I think. Then I ask them since they love the work so much, how about they buy the painting... at a greatly reduced price... or, hold on a minute, I'll give it to you. It will go to a good home. After all, you just told me you love it. Awkward look and dead silence. And they don't take the painting either...

   Granted, not every scenario plays out this way. I've had numerous people accept my works as either gifts or purchases with enthusiasm and open arms. I'm trying to come up with some different ideas so I can "thin the herd" and alleviate my storage problem. One concept I came up with is a penny auction, perhaps on my Etsy website. I would list numerous older works at prices ranging from one dollar down to a penny. The only other expense the customer would have to pay for would be shipping and insurance. What do you think? Do you have any other ideas? Send a reply or comment below and let me know what you think. Serious ideas only, please.

Until next time,
The Happy Over-Stocked Painter,
Jill

The Painting Spectrum - Expanding Your Horizons Part Two

   Mine was a week marked with some anxiety, mixed doubt, a little fear, a turn-around surprise, and terrific success. With my perceptions at times, if I don't have a problem - I can create one in my mind. I began last week thinking I would only get one day and maybe an additional hour somewhere to work on the ocean sunrise mural I've been commissioned to do, as my client's schedule and mine did not coincide. I imagined all sorts of chaos and fiasco's that could happen (but didn't) like spilling large jars of paint all over the floor and not having enough cleaning supplies to take care of the mess.

   As the days passed, I visualized the colors I was going to paint and had a decent, clear idea of what I wanted as an end result. By Thursday, the day before I was due at my clients house again, my frustrations were mounting. I usually allow myself at least a 4-5 hour block to paint; whether it be a large canvas or a large wall. I also imagined (there's that word again) only getting a fraction done of what I wanted to accomplish. By Thursday evening however, things started turning around. My Friday morning appointment with another client postponed a week, and my husband Dave carpooled with a co-worker so I could have the car all day. That made things much easier. I finally broached the time block subject with my client and we resolved that issue that was spinning around in my head.

   Friday came, I gathered my supplies and headed over to my clients house. I can be so OCD at times and this was one of them; I had packed my painting supplies days before, so I could just grab and go. As I was heading out the door, I was still double checking that I had everything I needed.

   After I set up my work area and laid down my drop cloth to catch any of those spills my mind was determined I would make, I began at the top of the wall lettering in the words: "EACH DAY IS A NEW BEGINNING". So far so good. I then mixed up a batch of color that consisted of brown, white and yellow, painted in a bunch of dunes and rolled it across the bottom. I effectively covered up the last of the Caribbean Blue color.

   Next I was going to paint on a pale Cobalt Blue for the sky, but I couldn't find in either of my painting bags. I was positive that I packed it - but it wasn't here! I was frantic. Now what do I do? I paused, prayed and reflected. The idea to use a different shade of purple came to me. I mixed another batch of purple and white that resulted in a rich lavender and rolled it on the sides of what hadn't painted over yet. Afterwards, I was pleased with this improvisation. I then speckled it throughout the top of the mural going over my guidelines for the lettering. Moving forward, I went back to the yellow, mixed in white, and went over the sun. I wasn't happy with the yellow - I could still see the Caribbean Blue through it. I also painted on the sparkles of the glistening water.

   I stood back, pulled out a chair, and sat down - looking over my mural contemplating my next move. My next idea that came to me actually crossed my mind two weeks ago; to paint in the pink clouds with crumpled paper towels. I felt a small wave of fear course through me, but then it passed. I boldly stood up, mixed red and white paint into a pretty pink, dunked the paper towel in it and smeared the wall with it. When I relaxed, the fun began. That's one thing my husband always tells me to do when I paint - above all, have fun! I danced the paint on the wall as well as covered myself with it. I had a blast! I redid the lettering with a glaze of yellow and then redid the sun yet again. Lastly, I paper toweled in some orange in the clouds.

   Realizing I was entering the home stretch, I painted in the walkway and the details with the dunes. For a moment, I exited my painter zone and realized there had been noises outside, but I never registered what was going on. My plan was now that the dunes were done, I was going to sit down and appreciate how the mural finally came together, but I ended up going to a window instead. That's when I saw some large front-loader tractors clearing the streets of snow. Once again, my brain kicked into gear and I thought that they might have my car towed. I hurried to my painting area, took a picture of the mural, hustled the clean up process, and ended up leaving an hour before I had planned. And no, my car did not get towed...

   I felt so alive and exuberant. Satisfied at a job well done! It feels good that I can still produce a type of art work that I hadn't done in a long time. I am ready for my next wall. Please feel free to contact me for a free consultation.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Painting Spectrum - Expand Your Horizons Part One

   As I write this latest entry, I occasionally glance out the window and watch the falling snow. It has been a mild winter so far here in coastal Maine and this storm is no exception; the snow has been mixing with sleet as well as rain. I'm reminded of the quote; "In the depths of winter, I learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." - Albert Camus.

   My husband Dave and I performed all our usual Saturday errands earlier and a little more hurried this morning in order to be back home before the roads became too slick. I purchased a few magazines with the intention of spending a dreamy afternoon making collages. At this juncture, I have already flipped through the somewhat similar pages - for some reason, they all depict winter getaways to Caribbean locales. The pictures are indeed warm and inviting on a bleak January day. After I finish posting today's blog, I will embark on making said collages.

   The colors of the Caribbean and summer in general reminded me of one of my other winter projects; I am currently painting a mural of a sunrise over the ocean. This project began as a conversation around Thanksgiving after I began working on a series ocean sunrises and sunsets all done in oil. My then future client gravitated towards one work that was already sold. My first thought was, "Great! When can I start?" But the more I thought about it, the more nervous I became.

   First off, this would be an indoor mural painted in the dead of winter. That means an acrylic paint would have to be used (no smell) as there would not be proper ventilation for oil paint. Remember - this is in a persons house... not my studio. I love the smell of paint! They, on the other hand, may not be a huge fan of the odor regardless of how beautiful the mural looks! Using acrylic paint also requires a different process than working in oils and the colors are limited. Mixing these colors in order to get the exact shade one wants can be a time consuming endeavor.

   Nothing more was mentioned about the mural until early January. I was then shown the wall where my client wanted the finished work. Challenge number two reared its ugly head - most of the wall is slanted. Nervousness turned into a pang of fear. How am I going to pull this off? I discussed my concern afterwards with another experienced artist and he told me to paint the sun (and horizon line) below eye level where the wall was vertical.

   Okay, I thought. That sounds right. However, I was unsure if there would be enough room for the beach, dunes, and small boardwalk / walkway leading out to the water that the client was hoping to add to the mural. I must admit, this project has taught me some valuable lessons:
 - When in business as a professional artist, one must have a written contract. Since my client was also my friend, we only had a verbal agreement. While that was fine with this particular arrangement, I would not be able to do this with a total stranger.
 - While I did this second aspect after I started, I should have included a printout of a picture that would be a close rendering of the finished work from the get-go. By having both of these articles, it allows both partners to have input on what is expected. While the expression, "...just use your best judgement.", can be a huge ego boost, I cannot utilize it as a plan.
 - Make sure we both know and remember when I plan to come over and paint. Even though we have calendars on our walls as well as in our phones (complete with reminder tones), people still forget or mistake days and/or times. One thing I found is I need to make my intent more clear and it is my responsibility to confirm all my appointments.
 - One of my favorite colors is not necessarily one of your favorite colors! One example was an acrylic paint bottle I used that showed a pale Caribbean blue - perfect for the sky. However, when I finished that portion of the mural, the color looked darker than I anticipated. I thought it might be because the room was getting dark and it would look great in the morning when the sun lit up the room. Nope! The color remained too dark and too powerful. I still liked it, but my client didn't.
 - I have to remember that not everyone is going to like what I like. I'm not the one who has to live with it - they are! If I use colors my client likes, I will have a satisfied customer (as well as a treasured friend).

   After we talked about what direction she wanted to go in, it was on to operation redo: painting over almost all of that too powerful blue. In a project of this size, I'm also finding that a small paint roller can be a huge blessing. It is a massive time saver especially on a wall this size. Other blessings include the use of drop cloths (I can thank my husband for that... um... suggestion). Again, I have to remember I am in someones private home, not my studio. It is not artistic license to trash the place in the name of fine art.

   After a good portion of the re-painting was done and some solid design was put down, I was chatting with another good friend of mine who mentioned "... I was expanding my horizons." I laughed out loud although she did not get her unintended pun at first. Nothing like a good friend to keep you grounded and out of your head. And nothing like a winter project to make summer dreams come true. While I have yet to complete this work, I will be available in a few weeks during the month of February to paint a mural on your wall, be it home or work place. Please visit my website http://artscapedesignstudio.wix.com/jadl or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Artscape-Studio-119342494755215/. You can contact me through either one of those sites.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill 

The Painting Spectrum - Why Art Is Important

   This is an unusual blog post - usually I'll focus on a painting, or a creative process, or another aspect of my art that I'm currently working on. However, this post is sort of a stop-gap. I am working on a new series of paintings - ocean sunrises and sunsets. I have painted over 20 works over the past two weeks. The creative muse hit hard and I responded to it. The result has been oil paintings ranging in size from 11" x 14" all the way to a 26" x  28" canvas. At this juncture, I'm waiting for the paintings to dry, so my husband can photograph them.

   Numerous people have seen some of the finished works in my studio. They seem to strike a chord, a memory, or something inside themselves. Some have gravitated towards one particular painting, others appreciate the entire series. The question remains - will they sell?

   In our western world culture, art in general, on the surface it appears, is "supported" by the public and the communities we live in, mine included. However, when reality sets in, art as well as artists are often considered to be pretty far down on the totem-pole of importance when it comes to what we add for value to society. Art, Music, and Drama are some of the first things cut from school budgets. Business loans are few and far between for artists and studios. Why? Because we don't sell just a product - we mostly sell emotion. Adding insult to injury is the that we live in a total monetizing, fear and lack-based society. When all this is added up, it's no wonder most people feel that art is self-indulgent and a luxury for those who have the time and can afford it.

   Nothing could be farther from the truth. I believe that by understanding and honoring our natural need for the arts, we would see less suffering, unhappiness, and violence in the world - and an increase in happiness, health, fulfillment, and well-being. History has shown that people and societies have risked their lives to save art works during times of war and upheaval. They answer, again and again, the age-long question, "What are we fighting for if we lose the beauty and history of humanity in the process?"

Art is important - it's as natural as you and me. We have an emotional need for it. We have to ask ourselves - how much beauty have we allowed to come into my life today?

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Painting Spectrum - Circling Seagulls

     Some days are just more profound than others. Today is one of them - I put the finishing touches on a one-shot seascape / bird painting (which means I won't be painting this genre on a regular basis). This is also the first time in two months I've been able to blog. Between painting, doing a commissioned mural, a painting class, and a local display of my works, the last six weeks have been hectic. Good - but hectic.

     Another profound day was last week while out on my daily walk with a friend. She noticed seagulls circling over a large fishing vessel. She mentioned, "I love when they do that... as long as I'm not directly underneath them!" We continued walking along the local boardwalk and rested on a bench near the South End beach. After about ten minutes or so, the flock of seagulls flew over to near where we were and once again began their circling dance. We counted approximately 25 birds flying in synchronicity - diving, swooping, swirling back up, then circling again.

     I pondered as we watched - it always amazes me these birds never hit each other. It's so beautiful; like a rehearsed ballet. Another five minutes passed, the seagulls moved on to another locale. "Wow! That was spectacular!" I finally said. "Are you going to paint it?" my friend asked. "I've seen a painting with the harbor below the birds. However you paint it, I'd like to see it when it's done."

     It was about four days later when I began the process of recreating what I saw onto canvas. I thought about what my friend had said about a setting for this painting. I finally decided that sky and birds would be enough. I mixed Ultramarine Blue and White until I achieved the shade I wanted for the sky. I had to wait until that paint dried before attempting the birds. That way they would "stay" without smudging. When that time finally came, I tried patting in a shade of grey, but found that my brushes were too big. The strokes just made big blobs of paint hanging in the air, so I had to wipe them off and begin again.

     I waited a few more days. In the meantime, I dug through my art supply closet and found some smaller brushes that I haven't used in a quite a while. At first I was disappointed - while the brushes were in good shape, they still had a little brightly colored paint on them. I had read in a trade magazine that using Murphy's Oil Soap was just the trick to remove old paint & bring the brushes back to life. Going for broke (like I usually do), I poured a bunch of M.O.S. into a large Mason jar and put 20 some odd brushes in it to soak overnight. Low and behold, the next day I rinsed them all off, and they were clean & looked like new!

     With small brush in hand, I went at the canvas again with the medium grey paint to resemble birds in flight. This time I was satisfied with the results and called it good. So did my friend - she now has a mated print hanging on her wall.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Painting Spectrum - Thinking Pink

    I wonder if insects think this, especially bees; think pink. As the title of this post implies, the featured work is a group of flowers that are a bright, hot shade of pink, with a shade of red towards the middle and bright yellow pistons sticking out. This process of attracting bees must work in nature's grand scheme - as I was attempting to photograph this group, insects were flying all around them. I actually had to shoot my subject from a distance and use the zoom lens, so as not to disturb the balance of daily work for the bees and me getting stung!

   I used a fan brush to glaze on some white paint in order to highlight the fine ridges of each petal. I added a touch of violet for shadow on some of the petals. I was a little nervous taking some of these artistic liberties, but in the end, I liked the effect.

   This particular work has now been framed and will be featured in my latest art showing coming up in October. I'm using a gold frame purchased at a yard sale. Numerous readers ask me frequently what frames (or type) should they use. In my humble opinion - it's your art work. Frame it as you like it best! Experiment - see what you like! Because in the end, if you don't like it, that thought process will be conveyed to others - verbally or not.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Painting Spectrum - New Paintings, New Directions

     It's hard to believe it's been almost a month since my last blog post. As we near mid-September, I can look back with fondness at this past summer. Weather wise as a whole, it has been stellar since last May. I've painted more in the past four months than I have in quite a while. I've painted everything from barns, to flowers, to seascapes, to abstracts, with sizes ranging from 8x10 to 24x30. I spent an astronomical amount of time outdoors, painting, and reading.

     I've shared this before - I'm not a technological person. As a result, I realize that my Internet and social media presence has been somewhat minimal at best. Perhaps when the winter weather settles in again by December, that I'll be posting more blogs. As a result of my unpredictability, I've changed the name of my blog yet again. I feel the title of "The Painting Spectrum" is more accurate than ever now that I've thrown the time-frame portion out the window.

     The work I'm highlighting today was influenced by a book I read about Shakespeare's gardens. The geranium flowers that are in the gardens are exquisitely beautiful. It took several layers for not only the flower, but also the background to get things just right.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill