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Cedar October 29th, 2008

I recently attended a lecture for professional artists in my city.  It was about how to improve your general marketing habits.  I found that I already knew all the information covered, which gave me a warm fuzzy feeling because it means I’m already doing a lot of things right.

But there was one topic in the lecture that I needed to be reminded of—that it is important to anticipate the client’s questions and answer them before they are asked.

This is good advice no matter what business you’re in, but it’s of particular importance in the business of selling art, because we live in a culture that does not value art enough.  Because buying original artwork is not perceived as a mainstream activity, it is not seen as a safe thing to do.  Many people believe that if you don’t know exactly what you are doing when buying art, you may make a mistake and end up wasting your money.  This is a valid concern, but it is based on a lack of information.

As a creator of art, I have an insider perspective, so it’s easy to forget that everyone else does not.  But part of my job is to de-mystify the whole process and make people more comfortable about becoming art collectors.  So I’m going to attempt to answer some of the most common questions that may be running through your head when you’re considering the purchase of a piece of art.  (And it should be interesting information, even if you’re not considering any such thing.)

Common questions from clients include:

• Why is this so expensive?
• Is price negotiable?
• What does it mean?
• Will it be valuable someday?
• Who else owns one of these?
• How do I get this home?
• Do I have the wall space?
• How do I hang this?
• How do I frame/display it?

If you’ve got any questions that aren’t on the above list, please send them my way so I can add them.  In my next post, I will attempt to answer the first question–why art is expensive.

I’ll be finishing some new paintings in the next week as well!

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Cedar October 27th, 2008

It has been too long since my last posting–I’ve been so busy.  For one thing, because of the large number of Jewish holidays in October, the little girl I baby-sit on occasion had a lot of days off from school in the past couple of weeks, and my services were needed more than usual.

My other part-time job, installing gallery shows at an arts center, is also giving me a lot of work.  I’m trying (with partial success) to maintain some semblance of a workout routine, I have started meditating more regularly, I’ve been taking weekly voice lessons, and I’ve been working hard on puppy training every day with little Blake.

On top of all that, I just returned home from 4 days out of town to attend the wedding of a friend.  It was a beautiful wedding, sweet and full of humor, and I’m glad I went.

But now I find myself at the end of the month already, and I wish time would slow down.

I’ve got 7 paintings in progress right now–almost all are still in the planning stages.  I’ve got to get a move on, especially since a few of them have deadlines.  I have some bulbs that urgently need to be planted before it gets too cold, and I still need to do some research on local judges and referendums before Election Day.

And Halloween is only 4 days from now–when I was little, I used to wonder why more grown-ups didn’t dress up for Halloween.  Now I know it’s not because grown-ups are no fun.  It’s because some years, they don’t have time to even think about Halloween until it sneaks up on them.  My 11-year-old cousin is dressing as the ocean goddess Yemaya this year, and I think her costume is awesome.

Despite my hectic schedule, I have managed to find the time to do some walking outdoors and appreciate the leaves on the trees turning golden, copper, bronze, and scarlet against the backdrop of a cloudy fall sky.  Seeing these beautiful things now will give me creative fuel as the nights get longer and colder.

Much of my time has been going towards the administrative side of my business–staying organized, paying bills, marketing, corresponding, etc.  I’ve got a lot of things to juggle at the moment, but never fear, fresh paintings are on the way.  Stay tuned!

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Cedar October 9th, 2008

You may remember my recent painting, Cosmic Dance:

This is Cosmic Dance II.

As you can see, the sun, the moon and the swirls of color are all in the same positions in the sky, but the color scheme is quite different–in place of reds and oranges are soft purples and peach tones.  Overall, I think the resulting effect is quite feminine.

The bands of color in the sky were painted with detail and precision.  I think it’s interesting to paint light–one of the most intangible substances I can think of, in such a solid way.

As I painted these wispy ribbons of light reaching their way across the sky, some of them told me where they wanted to go.  Some of them began to twist, curl, and reach in delightfully unexpected ways.

In the inky blue-black parts of the sky untouched by the dance of the sun and the moon, you can see a thick sprinkling of stars.  (Which I literally splattered onto the canvas!)

This painting includes the constellation Pisces, which I intended to stand out prominently from the rest of the stars.  I like how the wisps of color to its right resemble two delicate little hands, showcasing the constellation Vanna White-style, or perhaps cradling it in a motherly manner.

Unlike the rest of the paintings I’ve made recently, this one is a seascape.  The colors of the sky are reflected off the gentle waves of the ocean.

The closer you get to the painting, the more you can see how the individual brush strokes come together to create the larger image.  I wish I could convey how much better a painting is in person than in photographs.

This is how it looks on a wall:

I’ve made a video of the painting process for this one, at the request of the collector who commissioned it.  If you’re interested in these videos, then this is for you–but it’s not for everyone.  I think it’s cool to watch it all come together in super-fast motion, when in reality it took many hours of work–but then, I’m a painter.  So, please watch according to your level of interest:

The YouTube link, should you wish to pass it on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmnhtppPvoU

(If you like my videos, do a search for “speed painting” on YouTube.  As well as videos like mine posted by other painters, you can find a lot of cool videos of digital painting, in which the artist uses Photoshop to “paint” an image.)

Change is on the horizon.  With election day less than a month away and the economy looking dire, there seems to be a lot of freaked-out energy floating around.  I’ve turned introspective.  Re-assessing my life, making plans, and counting my blessings seems more productive than getting caught up in all the negativity that’s out there right now.  Of course I’m not immune to it–but I figure consciously resisting it is better than nothing.

My new puppy Blake, at 12 weeks old, now eats more than my full-grown dog, and appears to be growing exponentially.  Life is good.

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