Posts Tagged ‘landscape paintings’
Coping with Burnout
Burnout is defined in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.” But, as one author noted, “In order to burn out, a person needs to have been on fire at one time.”
I’m guessing that many of you who are reading this blog must do landscape paintings, or are artists in some venue. (However, one doesn’t have to be an artist in order to get burned out!) Are you tired of exhibiting work when sales are dismal? Tired of painting when it seems that no one cares? Here are some suggestions that may help.
First, play more. Take time off from work and do something you would really enjoy doing – take a swim or hike, dig in the garden, go on a picnic. Diversion can make a big difference and laughter is always good medicine. Secondly, read – for learning or amusement. Reading is actually a time for growth and/or refreshment. Thirdly, review your accomplishments. Review your past shows, sales, or note the amount of work done. All these can give you a much needed mental and emotional boost.
Goin’ Home
On Friday, I left Dayton, OH, bound for Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The land in western Ohio is very flat with trees here and there. After all, this is the corn belt, wonderful farming land, but east of Columbus it becomes gently rolling with more dense, fluffy deciduous trees. By the time I reached the eastern border of Ohio, I was in the foothills of the Appalachians.
My journey takes me through West Virginia, Pennsylvania, WV, again, then to MD. In WV, there is always an extra lane going up the mountain for slow traffic, and it ends at the top. Then there is a warning sign, a 5% – 7% grade for 5 or 7 miles. The longest one I found was a 6% grade for 13 miles! Going down, frequently there is a runaway truck ramp off to the right, paved with gravel, hopefully not needed, but available just in case.
It is exciting to travel through the mountains and the scenery is beautiful. For one who does landscape paintings, it is a feast for the eyes.
Keeping in Touch with Your Roots
With the rapid urbanization taking place around the globe it can be difficult to preserve our vision of nature. Few of us have the opportunity to live in areas that have rich wildlife and scenic landscapes. One of the easiest ways to satisfy your desire to experience the wilderness or countryside is through artwork.
As citizens from rural communities continue to migrate to cities, it can be therapeutic to maintain a connection with the country. A landscape oil painting is an easy way to quench your nostalgic thirst for home, but don’t think you need to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on a professional piece. When I find myself longing for the pastoral pleasures of home, I pull out my art supplies and create my own landscape. Not only does this help squelch my homesickness, I also get a sense of accomplishment and ownership through the piece.
Illinois
The land along I 74 in Illinois,where I am traveling, is very flat. Years ago, the glacier smoothed it and left it in wonderful condition for growing corn, wheat, beans and anything else one would care to plant – and trees here and there. Only along he rivers can one find thickly wooded areas. As one who does abstract landscape painting, I am thoroughly enjoying the fluffy deciduous trees, scatterred with abandon across the land.
Also, along my travels are some wonderful names like Galesburg (why not Tornadoville or Stormburg?), home of poet Carl Sandburg, Spoon River, Knoxville, Peoria, Normal, Bloomington, Le Roy, Mahomet, Lake of the Woods, Champaign, Ogden, Fithian, and Danville. I wonder who named those places.
Trees
I love trees! Could you have guessed? And the more odd and gnarly, the better! These are the old soldiers with personalities! In my neighborhood on the Eastern shore of Maryland, there are very many “Christmas tree” pines as well as the tall loblolly and slash pines and deciduous trees, and I love them all! Unfortunately, my neighbor has lost 5 pines due to the pine borer. I’ve lost 2.
On my trip west, along I 70, the highway is often lined with dense forests of tall beautiful green pine trees, giving me a luxurious feeling. Further west along I 68, are mountains, ski resorts and a variety of deciduous trees.
Ohio and Indiana have mostly farm land with trees here and there, but north of Chicago there are many lakes and the trees are often pine, but many others as well. I drove past one stretch, about ¼ mile in length with one beautiful large weeping willow after another!
As one who does abstract expressionist art and loves trees, all these trees are truly a feast for the eyes!
Getting Back to My Roots
Much of my childhood was spent on a rural ranch in the middle of the great state of Wyoming. You could drive for miles in any direction without seeing a soul, which was somewhat frustrating as an adolescent. As you can imagine, as soon as I was old enough I packed up my belongings and headed west in search of a more fast-paced lifestyle.
Now that I’ve lived in a metropolis for over a decade, I find myself pining for the pastoral pleasures of my homeland. When I was younger, I never imagined that I would be homesick for the amber waves of grain, but lo and behold, I am. I expressed my yearning for the Wyoming scenery to my parents, and they recently mailed a painting of landscape to satiate my desires.
The Art Walk at Val’s
My friend, Val, has an art-and-antiques gallery called “My Studio” in a nearby town. She, herself, is an artist and sells her own artwork as well as that of her friends, including me. On Friday night her gallery was open, along with all the other galleries in town for the Second Friday Art Walk.
Betty was the featured artist and had previously given Val 15 paintings to be hung. We had a good crowd, partly because Betty is a local gal and has many friends. Also, a new shop has opened next door, rented to an architect whose wife is interested in art. They drew a large crowd because they featured a well known, big name local artist who was doing a demonstration.
By the end of the evening, Val had sold a few antiques, but Betty had sold 2 oil paintings!
The Art Walk
The Art Walk was a nice invention. Some towns set aside one day a month, usually the first or second Friday or Saturday when all the galleries are open and folks can visit and see the latest art work from the local artists.
Sometimes a town, like Chincoteague, VA, for a certain month, will have a Paint Out, invite local artists to paint the area for a few days, and display their landscape paintings the night of the Art Walk. Of course, this is heavily publicized and locals and tourists alike know and are encouraged to buy. And sometimes the local art organization, as well as the artist, are well rewarded.
Painting at Pemberton Park
For a while, I have been thinking of going to Pemberton Park and doing a large landscape painting of Turtle Island. I have already painted it 3 times. First, I did a realistic painting, and with the help of a wonderful teacher, it looks great and hangs above my mantle. The second and third times, I outlined the important parts and painted them in a solid color, so those paintings look rather like stained glass windows.
Today I started by outlining (lightly) the main parts of the painting, but adding texture with lights and darks and a variety of colors. And this time, I had lots of company as a group of first graders and their teachers and helpers were having a field trip and all stopped by to chat with me. What a fun time I had talking with those delightful children and their chaperones!
Getting Organized
Just as Monet’s style was different from that of Rembrandt or Botticelli, so my style is different from Monet’s – and not so well accepted by the local populous. So I began this journey to having a web site because I was collecting a lot of paintings. My closet was full! I also know there are people out there somewhere who really like color and whimsey, and I hoped that some of those folks just might purchase some of my landscape paintings.
One of the helpful tasks in organizing the paintings is to give each one an item number or SKU#. I have been carefully cataloging each painting with an SKU#, name, size and date of creation. On the back of most paintings I already had a name and my signature, but still had to put the size and SKU#. Even so, it has taken me a while.
But tomorrow, my group will meet and paint the marshes! Then I will have another to catalog!