Miniature Show is Over

It seems like I was planning forever. But the 11th Annual National Miniature Show ends Monday. After that it is time to take down, make sure those paintings that sold, and there were a lot of them this year, get to their rightful owners, and the rest returned to the artists.

For the last 6 weeks I have done little but teach my classes and take people through the show.

But all the work was worth it. Now I can relax, at least for a month!

then come January, the planning starts on next years shows!

But until then I have time to work on my own art. And decide what direction it will take.

I want to take the time to do a few of the painting project on about.com/painting, especially this month’s mixed media project.

I had not been very interested in mixed media in the past, but now that I have gained experience and insight into more media, the thought of combining them is more welcoming.

I also want to explore supports more, like film, velum and parchment.  

Now is the right time to stop and reflect on where I have been to see where I have to go.

Fogged In- Workshop 2011

Painting Workshop +1 Day

I am taking a workshop in Oil Painting at Cheap Joe's in Boone, NC. This is an anniversary present from my hubby. We had a rough year this year, and he thought I deserved it as well as needed it. I have been working hard and feel simply wore to the bone artistically. So I did not argue with him! Now Boone is a really pretty place. It is high in the mountain of western North Carolina. I have been here before and am looking forward to the workshop tomorrow. I was also looking forward to the drive through the mountains.

Sunday dawned bright and clear? Well, Sunday dawned, sort of. There was a definite ting of pink in the early sky, which should have warned me. I got up real early, intending to take my time heading south and enjoy the scenery. Stopped to top up the tank and get a coffee and hit the highway.

First 2 hours were mostly pleasant and mostly clear. Although the sky was overcast it was clear driving.





By the time I stopped for breakfast, it was getting misty. I planned to take the Blue Ridge Parkway instead of the express highway, but started to wonder if that it was going to be clear enough. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs north and south along the top ridge of the Allegany Mountains. It is one of the most unique National Parks, being a highway with some of the best views in the eastern US.



When I got to the turnoff for it, it seemed to brighten so I entered. Then I hit the fog. It seemed each time I came out of the woods and came up to a scenic overlook I drove into increasingly dense fog.  So much for beautiful views and great photography! There were times I drove well below the speed limit for the Parkway, which is 45 mph. I had my lights on and flashers going. Coming up upon bikers was actually a little scary. Fortunately most of the bikers had lights and flashers on their bikes. I really did miss the spectacular views to be seen there. Hopefully, by Friday the sky will have cleared and I can take advantage of the views on the way home.

I stopped at the country store, got some hot coffee, (it had also gotten very cold) and drove straight but slowly to the turn off for Boone and the hotel.

Well, I checked in early. The people at the Best Western, Blue Ridge were very welcoming. I have a lovely room. As the afternoon progress, the weather got worse. Made me glad I had gotten in early. By 3:00 we were completely fogged in. the grocery tore  across the street has a great deli, and I got a salad for dinner. I think I will go and use the pool and get an early night.



I will be keeping in touch. the hotel has a great work space and good internet connections, so I will be able to log on after each day.

Sketchbook Project 2012

It’s Arrived!



My sketchbook for the “2012 Sketchbook World Tour Project”.

For me, its just in time. Monday I am taking off with my Mom and older sister to Northern Illinois for a visit with my other three siblings. We have not gotten together for years. Last time we were all together was when my Father became seriously ill, just before his death. That meeting was so overpowering sad, that it almost does not count. This get together is long overdue! We need to get together in a happy sense.



Long Trips and Short Phone Calls



Each person who signed up for the project got to choose a theme for his or her sketchbook. I chose “Long Trips and Short Phone Calls. Seemed like a theme I could relate to, since I am the worst person for phone calls!



It’s a 2 day trip to my younger sister’s house. I guess that does qualify for a long trip. And I seldom make phone calls of more than 15 minutes. I am like my dad in this, as I really don’t like to talk on the phone. I can never think of anything to say until after I hang up.



The Price Of Gas



The price of gas will certainly affect this trip and any future trips I might contemplate. Today it hit $4.29, soon to be $4.50. At these prices the car that once took $20 to fill up now takes $50 or more. How far can you afford to travel when your money is eaten up like this? Like artists are so over paid as it is!



I find I have second or even third thoughts about running up to the store, much less taking an actual trip. I think if my younger brother didn’t already have his tickets, we all might re-consider this!



But I am glad we are not. Yes, it is going to cost more than we thought when we set this up months ago, but we need to see each other. Phone calls and web cam visits just don’t satisfy my growing need to actually see people I am related to. But I need to get what I can from this trip, as it is likely the only one I can afford to make this year.



Plans on Hold



I had planned on attending an oil painting workshop next month at Cheap Joes. I went to one last year, and found it really both fun and educational. Yes, I learned a lot from the teacher, but I got as much from other attendees. Simply being with 20 other people who shared my passion for oil paintings was stimulating artistically. But I don’t know if I can swing it this year.



Another trip in jeopardy is our autumn sojourn to New England. I have been over much of this country, but never to New England. We (hubby and I) had planned on taking two weeks this fall and driving to straight to Maine, then taking our time to drive back. But now, two weeks of driving? That is going to cost a small fortune. A fortune I just don’t have.



My Sketchbook

Trips and Phone Calls



So it looks like my trips will transform into phone calls, and how do you draw a phone call?

*~*

For those interested in joining me in this project, here is the link to Art House and the project page:Art House & the Sketchbook Project

How to Say Thank You

Might sound like a strange title for an art blog. But bear with me. As many of you know, I am host for an on-line painting site, about.com/painting.

One thing that I hear over and over again is how can I value my own work? One of the most recent messages posted to me on About.com was this lament:

"Starr, what's the cure for hating everything I paint? :-) I wish I could stop...sigh..j

Thanks,"

Boy, this is more common than you think. So often I hear this, and to be honest, have felt this myself. What is it about our artwork that makes us feel to guilty to liking it? While it is good to be able to look at our work and honestly see what is wrong, what needs improvement, where we went wrong, for a lot of us, it is total. Everything we do is junk! Why do we waste our time with it?

Wasting Time

This might be a clue, right there, Art work is a time waster. Something for children and something serious adults outgrow. Real men and responsible woman do not waste their time painting little pictures. It is  or should be a hobby at best, and unless we can see "profit" from it, a drain on ourselves and our families. We could be spending our time more profitably.  Like cooking and cleaning for them!







Roots in childhood

Art is for children. Over and over we are taught this. We have art in school, more as play time than serious learning. Something to occupy time and keep kids out of adult hair, in other words, a big time waster.

And what art kids get in school today only reinforces this view. For most it is simply make-work. Do a craft to give mom or dad a home-made gift, that under other circumstances no one would want. There is no training, no building appreciation for craftsmanship, quality or creativity. And so often art is shoehorned into an already bursting schedule. “We have 15 minutes, you can take out your pencils and draw,” For those few students that still have art in school, it is often reduced to 45 minutes once a week for 6 weeks. Not to criticize those beleaguered art teachers, but how can they do anything but baby-sit with that schedule? With schools and communities giving only lip-service to the importance of the arts if that, is it any wonder we ourselves tend to undervalue what we do?



Well, then, how do we learn to give up the guilt and learn to love our work?

My advice? Walk away from the canvas, have a cup of tea (good stuff, not cheap) then come back and pretend you did not paint it. Pretend that you are encountering it for the first time. It is not your work, but the work of someone you admire.

Look At It Through Different Eyes.

Notice what is good about the painting. Does it draw the eye? Are the colors vivid and inviting? Does it tell a story? Look at it as if you were in a gallery or museum. See, its not so bad, is it? Still having trouble? Just can’t choke the words out?

A lot of us have this problem because we are conditioned from childhood not to blow our own horn, to not praise ourselves. We must be modest. “Ah Shucks, Mama am, It t’wernt nuthin” We hang our heads down and don’t know where to look. I, like most of you simply do not know how to take praise. When I do get a compliment, I tend to look for some “error” or “mistake” to point out. Another comment that hit a resounding chord with me was this:

      "When I look at my work, I can only see the flaws. I have to bite my tongue to keep from pointing them out to everyone. I'm learning to just say, thank you, when someone compliments my artwork. But it's hard.

~Susan"

Sound familiar?

And when it comes to art, most of us have been conditioned to be to be super critical of ourselves. This is not something we are supposed to take pride in, because it is not important.

It is really; really hard to say "I am good."

Someplace along the line we all learned that we are garbage, what we create cannot possibly have value. That we cannot simply say we did a good job. Something about making art makes us crazy!

You don't hear carpenters telling people they hate the houses they build do you? Or plumbers saying, "boy I am a dunce when it comes to putting pipes together" They are proud of what they do, and rightly so, but we cannot be proud of what we do.

I am not saying we should not be aware of our faults as artists; just give yourself permission to say:



" I am good".

And when you are complimented, say “Thank You”

Art and the Head

Or Something is up up There!

The thought processes behind creating and living with your art.

Art happens in the head, not the hands. Anyone with enough manual dexterity to sign their own name has enough muscle control to draw, if sufficiently motivated.

Painting can be even easier. The basic skills of handling a pencil or paint brush, learning about color and color families, composition, etc. can be taught, even to a certain extent, creativity can be taught, or rather techniques for unlocking your own creativity can be discovered. These “keys” to creativity can and will be different for everyone.

But the main one is the same for all. The more you create, the more experience you get with the basic act of creating, the more in tune you will be with your own, unique creative process. And that happens inside your own head, not on a piece of paper or canvas.


Skill, don’t knock it.


Skill is required to successfully create any work of art. It just doesn’t “just happen”. Yes, there is serendipity in art. What other artists have called, “happy accidents” but you are more likely to have these happy accidents if you have mastered basic skills in whatever medium you have chosen.

This leads to:

Practice makes perfect in art as in everything else. The more you paint, draw, crave, mold, staple and manipulate any media, the more mastery you will have over it, and the more inventive you can get with it.

Guilt by Association

Another strange thing about creativity, the more you are around creative people, the more creative you become. This is the reality behind things like artist’s colonies. Creative people have found that by associating with other creative people the more creative they become.

Such is the reality of many of our art movements. The impressionists had their own little impressionistic “club” same with the Fauvists. Picasso did not create in a vacuum, he surrounded himself with an invisible and sometimes visible support to his creativity.


Which brings up to the art league, art association, artists group, etc. Many of us feel the need to join such groups. They can be a large influence on us or a drag, depending on how good they are at inspiring creativity. Some are great, other can drag you down. So you have to investigate and decide just how stimulating they will be to you, the artist.

Find a Mentor

Ask yourself how will this group help you further your own artist ambitions? Do they encourage the work? Supply you with information or access to learning experiences? Do they sponsor the kind of shows that accept creativity or do they simply sponsor the same clickish work?

Select carefully when it comes to learning experiences. Many “classes” are more social clubs. You do a selected, pre-thought out complete painting in an afternoon. These are fine for what they are, but they will not stimulate your own creative direction. Find a mentor.

The First Time

The first time I sold a piece of art; I could not believe it. I was prepared to have a quiet little show, have the pieces on the walls of the local coffee shop and then fade away

Field of Daisys
S. Tschantz

When the owner called me after I had hung the works, but before the meet & greet that one of the pieces had sold already I was flabbergasted.



Someone forked over money for something I put together? What is this? Ordinary everyday people buying art?



But it happens.

I don’t sell art to big time collectors. Don’t know any. They would not be interested in my work anyways. I am not avante guarte. I don’t understand reactionary art. I take photos of things that interest me. I paint happy little realistic paintings of things that interest me.

But from time to time I do sell things.



And that is and will always be special to me. It means I have connected, even for a little while with someone else.

Still Life with Blue
S. Tschantz

One painting that sold was a little painting of gumballs. (Still life with blue) the person who bought it loves it. He hung it in his modest home in the entry so that when he comes in that bright painting is the first thing he sees.



Another person, a doctor bought a scene of a frozen creek, Icy with green slushy snow. That now hangs in his den. When life gets hectic and the pressures mount, that scene is there to as he put it “get lost in”.



These people are special to me.

We are Visual People

Our powers of observation are great.


People see in a unique way in the animal kingdom.

While other animals may have greater visual acuity, it is not linked to our flexible brains. We see better than our dogs. More important, we perceive better than most animals. Many animals and insects have greater range but they do not always understand what they see. We are geared to question our sight and to act on it.



When an animal is still, it is virtually invisible to many animals, indeed, sometimes to us, but if we move our heads, or look at it out of the sides of our eyes, it may well pop into view.

S. Tschantz

The visual arts, ea painting, sculpture and drawing were for a long time considered more common than the higher arts such as poetry and writing. Visual art is non-verbal, so the verbal arts were free to call it names. One reason it was denigrated was because drawing was a demonstratively teachable skill, which is ridiculous, as music and dancing are also teachable skills and no one would argue that they are not true arts. But visual art is non-verbal and vulnerable to name-calling by the more verbal arts. Also, the visual arts have long history of high visibility and usefulness, and that very usefulness was argued against them. Their art was considered lowly, a mere craft.



So there is a separation in the arts between the visual and the verbal.

A Work of Art

We all have works of art we don’t want to part with. Maybe it was that first piece where it came together. Or that represents some past connection. Whatever it is, there is a strong emotional attachment or it can be simple shock and awe.

I DID THAT?!?!



Approaching art







Boat At Kanawha Falls
S. Tschantz



When we create that first piece that says we are finally accomplishing something—that everything is not a waste of time. These pieces mark significant changes within ourselves as artists. It is hard to relinquish these. And I am not sure we should. Keeping a connection to where we were helps us see where we are going.





These are the special pieces with that indefinable something that transforms it from a painting to a work of art.




Pony
S. Tschantz



 







Working at art, or trying to anyways

It will come as no surprise that many artists, myself included, are struggling right now. Along with everyone else in this economic downturn artists are experiencing a, well shall we say, a bit of financial slowdown?

All right, lets just say that for all intents and purposes, a dead stop!

So what is any self-respecting artist who enjoys eating to do? Get a job. As a working, practicing artist, this is daunting, but necessary. But even in bad economic times, Temp work is usually there.

So for the next 6 weeks, I will be rising early (Ugh!) and heading out to bring home some bacon! Not being a morning person, this is painful for me.

But it does have it compensations. I get to enjoy the early morning light, something I usually only do if I have been up all night painting. (not an entirely unheard of.) I also get to enjoy the daily warming of the earth and the sparkle of morning dew. I am not sure that is not overrated.

I am enjoying that brisk cup of hot coffee, though, with the morning chill. And getting up early is good for me, or so other assure me.

It does, however, limit the time to be creative. I am still teaching my classes and mentoring my students, and working with the co-op. but there is little time for my own art. So for a while I am back to where I was when I had an active career. Stealing a hour here and there for drawing, or writing, but more than anything fighting the desire to simply crawl into bed.

Working can leach the creativity out of you. It leaves me feeling dull and less than human. Creative works make me feel alive and real, even after hours in the studio. While I immerge tired and drained, I find real satisfaction in what I am doing and who I am.

I will endure the job. Using my abilities to earn income frees me to be creative most of the time. I can paint what I want, draw what I want, and be creative to my satisfaction, not just to a patron. I feel less pressure to be commercial in my art. That is compensation for spending time in the “real world” earning that paycheck.

Major embarrassing moment, the publicity photo.

A few years ago, I needed a publicity photo. Now, I had never needed on before, and never thought I would need one. But my beloved just did not seem to be able to take one that did not make me gag. Yes, he loves me, but that does not give him talent he does not have.

So I took my little camera along to some friend’s house and asked their daughter to take a few photos. I did not ask the friends, because I have seen their photos. Now for the explanation, why did I need such a thing?

I was rather embarrassed to explain it was to go along with an interview. Yes, an interview, for an article to appear in a regional magazine that features stories on successful or simply interesting people. I had never considered myself either, and neither had any of my friends. Oh, I am nice enough, and kind and helpful and cheerful, but successful? Interesting? Talented? Not to their knowledge. But I need the photo for the story. You never know what life will throw at you.

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