Archive for the ‘Oil Paintings’ Category
Tips for Getting a Grant by the Landscape Painter – Part 2
Yesterday’s article about getting a grant for the landscape painter continues: Like the project you’re proposing. Only apply to a fellowship or propose a project that you’re actually interested in doing. Most programs have specific requirements for applications, so make certain you understand them. For example, if you’re not a sculptor, applying for a fellowship to support sculptors is not for you. Follow the proposal submission directions meticulously, with attention to page limitations, font size, spacing, number of copies, etc.
Be professional. Proofread your application for typos, misspellings and grammatical errors. If images of your work are required, provide high-quality photographs or digital files. Program themes and qualifications can and often do vary from year to year so always be certain you have a current grant prospectus. Don’t procrastinate in requesting letters of recommendation: Asking colleagues can be intimidating, but don’t put it off! Writing good letters will take your colleagues some time, so give them ample notice.
A Must-Have Magazine for the Landscape Painter
One of my favorite magazines is Professional Artist, formerly Art Calendar. In the December issue, on the cover are listed four articles, all very important to the landscape painter: Refine Your Artwork, Master the Art of Critique, Learn to Teach Workshops and Be More Productive.
Also within the magazine are three monthly columns: Coaching the Artist Within, The Photo Guy and Heart to Heart (Are you a 20% artist?) as well as three other interesting articles including Planning Your Art Business (Part 3: Tracking Cash Flow). In the back of the magazine are a bushel of contests, exhibition opportunities, calls to artists by galleries, grants and fellowships, juried shows, publishing opportunities and residencies, some with fees and some without. I find all these articles relevant to me, interesting and thought provoking and the contests interesting to contemplate. Professional Artist comes out ten times per year, costs $37/year and the web site is http://www.professionalartist.com. I wouldn’t be without it! Happy New Year, Everyone!
Nirvana for the Landscape Painter
A well known anthropologist, Robert Ardrey, wrote in the 1860s that living beings are driven by four factors that govern their performance: Security, Recognition, Reward and Stimulation. As a civil servant tends to be more driven to achieve security (stability), the creative soul of the landscape painter is more driven by stimulation rather than any of the others.
It is stimulation that makes us cut through the skin and get to the meat, simply to work harder, to surround oneself with like-minded people, to experiment, to push boundaries, to look at everything sideways, to levitate onto a more spiritual dimension and see life from an objectively focused vantage point. Our Nirvana is a far cry from the TV set or a pat on the back.
Robert Genn, Landscape Painter
Today I received the book Robert Genn’s Twice Weekly Letters from July 10, 1999 to September 25, 2009. It is a good 2” thick volume and was my gift for joining the Premium Artists on his website, The Painter’s Keys. I shall enjoy reading that for a long time to come.
I love receiving his twice weekly newsletters. They are witty, thoughtful and informational. Genn is a landscape painter who paints mostly in acrylics, sometimes in oils, as I understand it. He lives near Vancouver, BC, Canada. He doesn’t teach, but conducts occasional workshops with his daughter. Examples of his current work, galleries and art dealers can be found at www.robertgenn.com.
The Claus Factor for Landscape Painters
Robert Genn, Canadian landscape painter, in his twice weekly newsletter reminds us that Santa urges his followers to go forth and be generous. “An artist gives,” said Veronica Roth. “He gives visually, through courses, with free advice, through generosity of spirit and through a need to share.”
It’s not surprising that most charity fund raisers are near the Santa Season. We love to donate – a fine way to help a children’s hospital, a dance center, a small village in Africa, or further research toward a cure for cancer.
Of course, there are little gifts we give on our own. A gift that is personally crafted by the giver is most likely to be a treasure by the receiver. It seems that Santa’s up-north workshop, once hands-on and all abuzz with creative elves has now been transmogrified into a Chinese factory – all the more reason to get out your brushes. “It is when you give of yourself,” said Kahlil Gibran, “that you truly give.”
Facebook Fan Pages for the Landscape Painter
Every landscape painter should have a fan page to drive traffic to his/her website and blog. The books I ordered last week regarding how to do this have not had time to arrive, but sometime this week I’m looking forward to getting my fan page up and running. At any rate, in the article by Lori McNee in the January issue of The Artist’s Magazine, she lists more fan page tips.
First, choose a page name that reflects your brand. Note that once you have 100 connections you won’t be able to change your fan page name so make the initial decision a good one. Secondly, to gain more fans and followers, add a Facebook widget to your blog. By adding a fan box or “like” button to your blog, you’ll encourage visitors to join your page. Third, you should always post your blog links to your fan page wall. You can choose to use a blogging network such as NetworkedBlogs or Blogged to automatically integrate a feed to your latest posts. Fourth, post Facebook profile updates at least 4 times a week but no more than 5 times a day with the postings preferably spaced apart. You might start to get complaints if you flood your followers’ feeds with too many updates.
Tracking Cash Flow for the Oil Painter
In the December 2011 issue of the Professional Artist, Robert Reed, PH.D., wrote an article entitled, Planning Your Art Business Part 3: Tracking Cash Flow. Oil painters as well as others could use it. Two versions are built on Microsoft Excel (an earlier and a later version) and a third version for the Mac is built on Numbers. All are downloadable and free from www.yourartisyourbusiness.com.
In the magazine article, Dr. Reed discussed three of the worksheets available: The Income Worksheet, The Expenses Worksheet, and the Depreciation Worksheet. After I downloaded my copy, I found other worksheets are also available. The discussion seemed pretty straight forward so I’m looking forward to keeping better track of my income and expenses – and it’s just in time for the new year!
Art Walk Night
The third Thursday of the month is Art Walk night in Bonita Springs, FL. Tonight was the night and I decided to attend. Besides, my Abstract Art teacher has a studio there and I wanted to see where she works.
The Promenade in Bonita Springs is an uptown area that is part of a mall. Part of the mall is still open but many shops have been closed, mostly because of the economy of the times, and are being used by artists to display their works and use as a studio. What a wonderful use for those unused spaces.
During my walk, I saw beautiful paintings, some in acrylic, some in oils. There was also stunning fabric art like no other I had ever seen, by a lady whose mother and grandmother were also fabric artists. A lady who formerly did fashion design had absolutely beautiful jewelry. She also made the most delightful wall art from found objects like dresser handles and other antiques. Someone else had created large mobiles out of plastic of some kind – very colorful and amazing. I finally found my teacher’s studio and the art she had to display and had a wonderful time walking through the Promenade for December Art Walk.
That Pile of Unfinished Plein Air Paintings
Last week Robert Genn, Canadian plein air painter, talked about the pile of unfinished paintings that sometimes accumulate for various reasons. His suggestion was to divide them into three groups – possible, borderline and impossible. Relegate the last group out of sight, possibly later to be reprimed canvases. Then do what is important first.
His readers made some interesting suggestions. One suggested working on them in order of preference. An art teacher had a bunch of drawings and paintings on paper that she used as collage in later works. Another mentioned that Titian would turn his unfinished paintings to the wall and re-evaluate them at a later time. Sometimes you need a little time away from the painting to truly know what it needs.
The Impatient Plein Air Painter (2)
The traveling plein air painter will find that alkyds dry quickly enough to be easily managed. With a full alkyd palette, the paintings will be wet when you come from the field, but after a day or so, they can be stacked without damage – just use wax paper to separate and protect them.
For the painter who likes to work wet-in-wet, alkyds dry just enough during a painting session to become tacky. The surface then becomes receptive to taking on additional paint. Also, if you play with texture, you’ll be able to layer paint more quickly.
For the studio artist who builds up layers or glazes, each of which is allowed to dry, alkyds are great for establishing an under painting. With alkyds which dry in 18-24 hours, a new layer can be applied the next day. For painters looking to add many layers of glazes, the painting can be completed many weeks sooner than if done in oils. In addition, varnishing can be done much sooner, sometimes in as few as 3 months.
To my readers: look for blogs pots to come out about twice a week in the future.