Bluebird I

Every once in a while, things fall into place. I recently heard from a woman in Texas who was interested in the above painting. She found my website through my friend Bonnie Taylor Talbot’s website, I Paint Pictures. To make a long story short, I made a sale from my website! It is always gratifying to know that your work touches someone enough to buy it. Also, today I made my first sale of a fine art print on Etsy.com! I am thinking of Katy and hoping she will enjoy her purchase very much! If you like, you can check out my shop from the link on my sidebar.

Of course, that spurred me to spend some time on the Etsy site… finding lots of beautiful things to drool over. I need to get up to the studio. Lots to do! I got some good suggestions for a painting in progress last night at my critique group, and I’m looking forward to finishing it today! Also, I need to make the final decision about what to enter for the AWS exhibition coming up. The above image was a contender before it sold. Now I’m vacillating between “Mother & Daughter” and “Fish Market”. Do you have a preference?

Mother & Daughter

Hong Kong Fish Market

Farmer's Daughter 2008 15x22"

"Song" Original Watercolor & Gouache

Ahhhhhh Summer! Time to get yourself to Salem to take in the Art Fair!

Why?

1. To see all the new art I’ve created in the past 2 years (Booth 10- say hi!)

2. Art from other artists from across the region 

3.It’s the largest and oldest art festival in Oregon

4. To enjoy the beauty of Bush’s Pasture Park: shady oaks, green spacious lawns, historic Bush House

5. Great Music & Entertainment

6. Fair Food and the beer & wine garden

7. Fun activities for the kids

8. Mail art show at Project Space II on State Street while you’re in Salem!

9. Participate in the 5K Walk & Run for the Arts

10. Add to your art collection at great prices…. everyone needs original art! 

Shuttle Service is available:

The HUT Shuttle departs approximately every 20 minutes from South Salem High School, the Pringle Parkade and the Marion Parkade on Saturday from 10 am to 10 pm and Sunday 10 am to 6 pm.

Schedule

Before the ‘kids’ came home, I finished the painting I’d been going back & forth with:

This is what it looked like before

This is the final version "Knowing" 22"x15" Original Watercolor

 I like the revised painting much better… the hair fits with the rest of the image now. Thanks to my friend Ted for the ‘virtual’ critique. I actually think I like the virtual critiques better than our meetings in person when I hear about half of what is said. To see the comments in written form helps me put aside my insecurities and objections and consider each suggestion thoughtfully.

The rest of my weekend was spent trying to restore my blog posts from April and May and setting up a new Etsy Shop! After chatting with my friend Linda Rothchild Ollis about her new shop and seeing friend’s shops like Blenda’s I decided it was time to take the plunge into the online market. For now I have a few small prints available, but I plan to add some smaller originals after the Salem Art Fair this summer. I want to have as many originals available as possible for my loyal collectors who attend that show. Looking forward to seeing you and your friends there!

I hope you’ll visit my Etsy store and share it with your friends. I really appreciate your referrals. If you refer a friend and they buy an original, I will give you your choice of 8×10″ prints! Word of mouth is my most powerful marketing tool, I find. People who live with my art & love it, generally know others who have the same inclinations!

After my server debacle, I thought maybe I would wait until I (hopefully) restored the missing posts from the backup… but that is taking way too long. I will just have to deal with that mess when it comes back (if it ever does). So here are my thoughts for now:

In one of my favorite blogs: The Colorist, by Casey Klahn, he has been talking about editing work that doesn’t make the cut. His criteria for making cuts is very interesting, I hope you will check out the full post above.

It’s so interesting what happens to a painting that has been sitting in the studio overnight. You return in the morning to find that the head is way too big for the body, when it looked just fine yesterday, or the contrast is way too stark, etc. It always amazes me to find that my perceptions can change so radically between the time I make the painting and the next day’s viewing. I think many times, collectors don’t realize that the work they see at an exhibit is generally just a fraction of the work that had to be produced to be able to cull the pearls.

Even more interesting is how emotional content changes during the painting process. Today I started a small painting that was going to be similar to a large painting I did previously called “Flower Market”. Amazingly, this girl did not want to be alone… the pencil felt compelled to add a male companion who bought her flowers! How sweet! 

I’ve been focusing on trying to keep the emotional content of my current work focused around the theme of  “nurture’”.  I am interested in how we nuture others, our environment and ourselves.  So this painting would be a great example of how others nurture us. What I am struggling with a bit is in trying to get a little more abstract or mysterious with it. I don’t want the work to be a simple illustration. I’m hoping the emphasis on color will help with that.

Since my internet has been malfunctioning, I’ve taken more time to be in the studio, with mixed results. I hate to post the images right away, as they often look better or worse to me after a few days.

Here is one from last week:

Listen, Original Watercolor 15"x11"

Although Michele Joseph is not my most prolific collector (she owns three of my paintings), I wanted to profile her in order to break the stereotype that only attorneys and doctors and those with lots of disposable income have the ability to collect art.

I met Michele through my sister, Jeanie, and she has become a close friend. After I finished painting today, I visited her at her home in Lake Oswego to photograph some of her beautiful decor and interview her. Michele does Floral, Interior and Garden Design, supplementing these with a house-cleaning business and painting (walls).  When I had my back surgery this fall, it was lucky for me that Michele had found a recent painting that she needed for her collection. She was able to finish up a lot of the painting upstairs, and I hate to admit how much of my holiday decorating resulted from her handiwork and ideas.

'Forest Edge' framed without glass and floated

When Michele first viewed my art, I noticed the passionate, determined way that she admired it, and set about looking for a way that she could acquire it. Her enthusiasm and desire were contagious, and she found a way that worked for both of us. Our first transaction involved both cash and trade. In exchange for a downpayment plus several weeks of house-cleaning (which was desperately needed here) plus some furniture refinishing, Michele acquired “Two Together”.

Michele with "Two Together" in her Living Room

Today, I asked Michele: “When did you first become interested in art?”

Michele: I’ve always been interested in art, since I was a teen. I’ve always had friends that have been creative people and artists. I had a friend when I lived at the coast who did scrimshaw and painted. His mother was a big influence on me and taught me about different types of art; she was a collector.  After High School I traded with quite a few different artists, doing macrame. In that era I think people had more time and were more willing to help each other. In my early 20′s I worked at Thelma Pearson’s art gallery at the coast. I’ve also worked at a frame shop and I’ve volunteered at the Portland Art Museum Rental Sales Gallery more recently.

Question: As a Designer, what do you think original art does for a home?

Michele: Art is the best way to express someone’s personal style. Because art appreciation is such an individual thing… those who purchase it really love it, so it is a way to express yourself in your home. For instance, I like to travel. I’ve collected art in Italy, Warsaw, Mexico…. small paintings, weavings, carvings, things that were easy to bring home. I’m discriminating. I don’t just love or buy everything. But when I really love something, I try to find a way to have it. But I believe in the law of attraction, too. Visualization is a powerful tool. I’m a networker. I will find a way to get it or find someone to help me get it if I really want it. I’ve bartered for hair services, gym membership, acupuncture, massage, furniture, housing… you name it.

To illustrate what a special person Michele is, let’s just say she is one of the handful of people that Lola (studio dog) just adores! Lola was so excited to visit Michele today

Lola & Michele, One of my earlier still life paintings in the background

If you’re one of my collectors who would like to be profiled on this blog, just leave me a comment! I think it could be a fun series of posts. And if you are looking for some help with floral design, decor or just household cleaning or maintenance, drop Michele a line: mlj (underscore) designconsultant (@) yahoo.com (remove spaces & parenthesis for email) Most of all, if you see a piece of art you love, feel free to talk to the artist or gallery about ways that you might acquire it. Most artists are happy to work with collectors to arrange payment plans, barter or find other ways to help you get their work in your hands. After all, connecting with the viewer is what it’s all about.