The art market bubble, about to burst or merely change?
What goes up must come down. It is a law of physics, and of economy. While many are looking at the recent succeeds at Christies and Sotheby’s as the best art sales we’ve seen, others are seeing it as the beginning of the end for the arts market.
Personally, I see it as possibly the beginning of the end for some of the secondary arts market. Some art is like blue chip stock and will forever be a sound investment. But I also see it as the beginning of the rise of the primary market. More and more middle class people and baby boomers are becoming interested in collecting art, and they are on the look out for emerging artists and established living artists. They are looking for the blue chips to be, the next Picasso, the next Van Gogh. They are the new patrons and I predict that we will see further growth in the primary art market as Internet sales of art rise and the mystique surrounding art collecting fades away.
Art is no longer only for the rich, As artists work to represent themselves, connect with clients online around the world and make wonderful art, this new group of patrons will be here to build the next generation of blue chip art.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
6 years on – why I started Blogging
Redhead, 2005 (my first full ochre piece)
What made you decide to start a blog? If you’ve blogged about this before, go back and read it. Is that still the reason? What’s changed?
[From Topic: Why did you start? | The Daily Post at WordPress.com]
I started a blog because I was bored and in pain and everyone was doing it. no seriously! before I had heard about blogging as a marketing tool, before I rediscovered my art, I was in a bizarre limbo state as part of my dealing with my pain and the loss of my job and ability to work a full time desk job ever again. I oscillated between different varieties of denial and came up with a million random entrepreneurial ideas (I suffer from chronic entrepreneuritis – symptoms include glassy expression, a constant flow of business ideas, inventions, books, applications.. anything you can create a business around. I get it from my dad) and decided to write a book. my blog was a way for me to get those book ideas down, and to be emo and stuff. but I didn’t like being all emo and whingey and I really didn’t like writing a book! so I started painting again to while away the hours, and blogged about that instead. you can see the blog click over from random nothings to art and how excited I was about it all! it turns out, the more I experimented with painting and enjoyed myself, the less pain I felt. and sharing with the world enabled me to create the career I have today.
sometimes I wonder about taking down those old posts, they’re a long way from where I’ve come today, and I worry that they aren’t in keeping with my “brand” but I look back fondly on them, they’re part of my journey. this blog is the history of my career from the beginning, an online visual diary and a fun diversion. I lost some aspects of that along the way, but I’m hoping to recapture some of the best aspects again.
I’ve come a long way!
Over to you- why did you start a blog?
Friday nude quotes
A whore may be naked, but a mistress is nude.We are talking class.
-James Kilpatrick
Fine Print: Reflections on the Writing Art.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
ditch the nagging b**** and reclaim the most important thing
bewitched – 36×24 Oils on Canvas
I’ve had a hard time getting started this year, the weight of so many things to do has left me running around in circles wondering what to start first. in my usual style I start things in dribs and drabs then get caught up in something else, then something else, then I get lost and end up adding more to my list than I took away!
which is why, when I saw this post topic from wordpress’ post a day and post a week challenges I decided I needed to write about it.
What’s the most important thing you’re putting off? And why haven’t you done it yet? What do you need to make it happen?
[From Topic: What’s the most important thing? | The Daily Post at WordPress.com]
The most important thing I’m putting off has to be painting. I always put it off. I don’t know why, painting is one of my greatest joys. I haven’t done any real painting since moving as my studio is still very much under construction. it will soon be in a useable state and then a huge pressure will be relieved. because I’ll tell you a little truth about being an artist- the less you paint the less you want to paint- the reverse of my statement in my post 8 reasons why making art is like making love
but that leads me back to my goals for 2011 and what I want to do about #5 on my list: I want to paint. I want to be disciplined and work effectively to create the paintings that are inside me. I don’t have a shortage of inspiration, I have a shortage of oomph. And that is something I want to correct!
it’s easy to say that I will paint when I have a perfect studio, but we all know there is no such thing, and I won’t even know what will make it a perfect studio until I get in there and paint in it! ah-ha! a catch 22!
but here is another truth about being an artist: suck it up princess, you just have to get in there and create! inspiration will come from creating, getting better will come from creating, feeling that wonderful sense of achievement and drive will come from creating
everything I want in my career can only be had if I paint. that’s the most important thing.
I will achieve my goals and paint more than ever by ditching that nagging bitching in my mind that tells me I can’t be perfect so why start.
how about you? what’s your most important thing?
achieving my goals for 2011 bit by bit – the studio
The “before” picture
the key in project management is to start with a mission statement then break down your goals into bite sized tasks. you allocate time for them, assess the risks and concerns involved, address them, set a due date and a timeline, milestones to help you track achievements and then – you do it! (well, your team does it, but as artists, lets face it – we are our team)
so, I mentioned that I had a number of goals for this year, getting back on track after taking a bit of maternity leave (I didn’t take much time off, but I always feel behind)
so I’m going to break down my plan for each of my goals in turn in a project management new years series. this is so that I can
a) get it all down in an accountable way, and
b) show a little on how classic project management techniques can be used for artists.
Goal #1 on my list: My New Studio
Mission Statement: I want to get my new studio up and running, have it functional as well as beautiful and spend time in it! It’s a garage workshop so it will take a lot of work but the beauty is that when it’s done it will be all mine.
In Project Management, often the risk assessment is used to determine critical risks to the timeline or to achieving the mission statement and requirements from the shareholders. I don’t have a hard deadline, but the sooner it is done the happier I will be. the right setting is crucial to the right feeling while painting. this risk assessment is more about risks to the goal itself and getting it done in a timely way. a number of these risks are reoccurring for a lot of my goals.
The funny thing about risk assessment is that you have to try to think of everything. no matter how small – because sometimes it’s the little things that will trip you up the most. if you spend time brainstorming anything and everything that can happen and plan for the worst – it’s amazing how well it all works out.
Risk: I have a baby! while her nap times are more predictable, and I can do work then, she’s still a handful!
mitigation: Liam can take care of her while I’m painting and getting things ready, she can come with us to buy stuff and when dad and Liam are doing the manual labor I can take care of her. we will pass her around.
risk: I have an unpredictable chronic pain disability: this changes day by day and determines how much I can or cannot do.
mitigation: pushing it is good for me! also, see #1 if I can play handball with some of the tasks we can get it all done.
Risk: crumbling mortar on the unsealed brick
Mitigation: I’ve tried painting on it already and it soaked it up. I need to talk to a specialist about sealing the brick properly so that I can get a really nice glossy finish. this is a budgetary risk as well as a sanity one.
Risk: Light Levels
Mitigation: get a new fluro tube for the empty array. consider reflectors. use a glossy paint on the bricks to bounce the light, get more halogens. Cost – $50-100
Risk: It’s a garage workshop
Mitigation: not when I’m through! it has a window, it has great light fittings and power. lots of space. it’s a great space- it just needs work! and a wall.
Risk: Spiders (don’t laugh! if one drops on me I won’t be able to work in there for weeks!)
Mitigation: Bomb the place and keep bombing. seal up any holes – (will need to anyway)
Risk: going crazy through lack of painting
Mitigation: well you better get moving then woman!
yes, my risk assessments get silly after a while. silly is good. 9 times out of 10 it will be the silly that trips you up. I have more but I won’t bore you with all of them.
Deadline: I’m going to give it a month. The wall is dependant on others so I can’t necessarily control that, but I need to have my parts done and it workable in a month.
Now, artists are visual people so I know this makes sense – why just say it in task form when you can say it in…Chart form!! This is the timeline, task list and chart for my studio.
I will probably go into the joys of Gantt Charts at another stage…
Of course there also needs to be a celebration at the end of a successful project. something to celebrate and prepare for the next big thing. so, when I am done with my studio, and it looks smashing I will have a huge open studio event!
Su Zizi – artistic purity through nudity
Nude modeling is a controversial career in China. Some think it is shameful, while others think it is brave. But for Su Zizi, a 19-year-old student from Beijing-based Renmin University of China, nude modeling offers her the chance to pursue pure art.
“In my eyes, nude modeling is a career that needs to be respected, and it is a kind of art I will explore in my whole life,”Su told the Global Times.
“Being a nude model doesn’t just mean wearing nothing for me, it also helps me to know my body better and express my attitude toward the world.”
Su has worked as a part-time nude model for nearly nine months. As a student from a poor family, Su decided to be a nude model to earn money. However, she gradually fell in love with the career and took it as a path to deeply examine herself and society.
there has been some heated debate online about the career and recent exhibition of Su Zizi. the original article on the Beijing News sparked a great deal of backlash online and off throughout China. Sadly, I cannot find the original article, it appears to have been pulled from the site due to the sheer volume of vitriol. this excerpt describes the original article, it’s the closest I could get.
A female college student is at the center of a heated debate over whether it is morally right for her to pose nude for artists or art classes to earn money for her tuition.
A recent commentary in “The Beijing News” suggests that people respect the fact that the student is trying to support herself through a legal job, which is more responsible than relying on money from her parents.
The commentary points out that there are still those who believe nude modeling is an unacceptable business and tend to criticize everything related to it.
But the commentary argues that because nude modeling for artists is just one particular type of modeling, there is no reason to single it out by questioning the morality of those who do it to earn to help themselves.
Moreover, the commentary says if people could change their way of thinking and view the issue from a “healthier” prospective, they would appreciate the student’s courage to be self-reliant through hard work.
The commentary concludes by pointing out that people should be more open-minded and tolerant, because the student did not do anything wrong by trying to be a responsible adult. If the public viewed the situation in this way, it would send a positive message to other young people and encourage everyone to learn more about nude modeling without making any snap judgments about it.
You all know my views on the nude, and on posing nude. what I think is interesting about this story is the way that Su is handling everything. her exhibition was quite successful and she has appeared live in an interview to discuss her views. she’s not shrinking away from the controversy, or the hype. I recommend her interview in the GlobalTimes above, it’s refreshing to hear such a love and appreciation for the nude and it’s power. Su Zizi appears to be a gal after my own heart!
Beijing is gathering steam as an art capital recently and Interestingly, nude photography is quite a hot topic at the moment in China with a trend towards nude photographs to celebrate weddings also making headlines and controversies. I wonder if the growing cultural center is bringing these things to the fore more, if it is the pressure valve for the community.
Friday Nude Quotes
I know, you thought because I was a landscape painter, I knew nothing of the figure didn’t you? I can paint a better landscape because I spent a great deal of time in front of the figure. If you want to paint anything well, you should too.
My goals for 2011
I have been thinking about my goals for this year.
Emerging - A3 Watercolors and Pencil on Paper by Jennie Rosenbaum
They are broken down into personal, marketing, online, offline, exhibiting, creating art, learning and other revenue streams. At least so far…
Last year was a wonderful year for me, I finally achieved one of my long term goals and gained gallery representation. I’ve been building my abilities and my connections and I think things will go very well this year if I can maintain momentum.
This year, in a nutshell, I wish to achieve these things (in no particular order):
I want to get my new studio up and running, have it functional as well as beautiful and spend time in it! It’s a garage workshop so it will take a lot of work but the beauty is that when it’s done it will be all mine.
I want to write a business plan and actually stick to it this time.
I want to build up my blogging, and my affiliate earnings, I want to add on some extra revenue streams as a fun funds funnel (yes that is what I’m calling it!).
I want to build up my online presence even more. Build on what I have created and refine my practices. I also want to add some YouTube into the mix. I hate YouTube, but I cannot deny it’s power. I also want to finally make a landing page for my facebook fan page!
I want to paint. I want to be disciplined and work effectively to create the paintings that are inside me. I don’t have a shortage of inspiration, I have a shortage of oomph. And that is something I want to correct!
This year may finally be the year of the website redesign. It might be time.
I want to work on my online galleries to make my listings as good they can be, I also want to increase my sales.
I want to continue to learn, to grow and to add to my knowledge of 3D, of anatomy and of painting techniques.
I want to give more back to the arts community! I want to continue the fight for the rights of nude art and to help out other artists.
How will I do all these things? stay tuned…
Edit: 2011! how could I get that wrong?
2010 – my year in review
2010 has been a huge year for me in just so many ways! I decided to take much of the year off from chasing galleries, focusing on exhibiting and the hard slog of being an artist, and instead made my focus studio work, improving my art, and, of course, getting used to being a mommy! In some ways this plan worked out brilliantly and in others it didn’t. I’m not very good at slowing down it seems!
It’s been a hard year in many ways, but also one of the best years I can remember! Here’s a look back on everything I achieved this year:
1: I had a beautiful baby girl! being a mom is better than I could have imagined and she thrills me daily with each new accomplishment.
2: i’m still Breastfeeding! From someone who said she could never do it, and having so many problems to start with it’s now almost 10 months in. And one of the best things i’ve ever done. I look at Erica and how healthy and happy she is and I feel a great sense of accomplishment.
3: I gained representation! So much for not looking at galleries, I gained two in the one year!
4: I was juried into commercial exhibitions! Based on a render no less, first time a work has been accepted based on the concept alone.
5: I exhibited smarter, not more. I only went for exhibitions I truly wanted to be a part of. Ones that would look great on my CV.
6: I learned to say no to opportunities that wouldn’t benefit me. One exhibition I was lined up for went from bad to worse, it wasn’t being well organized and I felt it would end up reflecting badly on me, so I pulled out. I am not being elitist, i’m sure it was fine for some of the exhibitors, but it wasn’t set up for my kind of work.
7: my work improved! The key goal for this year was to get plenty of time for my art even with a baby, I really wanted to focus on working well in the studio and I think I have set up some excellent practices.
8: I was asked to donate a painting to a very good cause, I was treated very nicely and thrilled to be a part of it. The piece sold well!
9: I started to get a bit of name recognition going on. People mentioned they had heard of me a few times – how cool is that? my marketing and online viral stuff is paying off
10: my facebook page has gone gangbusters, and i’ve met some wonderful people, quite a few connections have come about through it and it’s fun to work with!
11: I’ve made some really great connections this year, in Australia and overseas, it’s wonderful to meet so many brilliant people!
12: I have a permanent home! I love the feel, we have space, and light and lots of wall space too! I will have a custom studio that is all mine, not a room I have to be careful in, but my own space to truly let go in. Next year I will be painting it and getting it all set up.
13: I have an iPad. i’m writing this post on it. I loves it so!
14: I became a ninja! Part of the daz beta squad testing all the latest tools, I also spent way too much, so it’s lucky that I am learning to…
15: become an affiliate maven! I am beginning to earn real money as an affiliate which is pretty cool.
16: I improved my 3d skills out of sight, I can’t even recognize the work I used to do! I’ve started working with bigger and better tools and really thinking about he way light works, it’s very cool.
17: I dropped 3 dress sizes. a very hard time with hyperemesis gravidarum plus breastfeeding and finally resetting my hormones after taking depo provera, has brought my weight back where it is supposed to be. now I need a new wardrobe!
18: I connected with my mother and father in a way I never knew I could, my relationship with them both is now better than ever!
19: I learned to lose myself in the sheer fun of playing, a good story, a song or a silly dance. it’s amazing how babies can help you reconnect with your inner child!
20: I learned to be happy where I am, I love the way things are unfolding, and the way my life is shaping up. I have so much to be thankful for, a brilliant husband, a wonderful baby, a lovely home, a career I adore, a name in the making and two brilliant cats. and an ipad. I have everything I could want.
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays to you all! thankyou for your support
Whatever your pleasure this holiday season I hope you will enjoy it to your fullest! I know I will! it’s been insanity for us- between moving, celebrating and shopping it’s all crazy. but as I lie here, our tree next to me in our lovely new house, wrapping paper and presents everywhere, christmas music playing and a beautiful baby girl, I just know I have everything I want in the world. I’m rushed, exhausted and brimming with happiness!
I hope your Hoidays are wonderful, joyous times, that you look back over the year and think about all the times you laughed out loud for no reason. Celebrate and be merry!
being and artist and a mother need not be impossible
This is a followup from my post last week. This is what I commented on the original post, tidied up a bit and expanded for this.
Being the obsessive sort that I am I started considering these issues when I decided that I wanted a family. Liam and I discussed them from the beginning and we planned out how to ensure that I had enough time in the studio and how to make it a safe environment.
The thing to bear in mind is that this is your career and if you are serious about it, then it needs to be treated with all the seriousness of any other career. I work from my home studio and fit my work, both studio time and the business side, around her naps and feeds- I actually use them to structure my day! I find that since having a baby my career has become more structured and disciplined. I have to set aside time to achieve my tasks, so I don’t waste it as much as I used to. my goals have coalesced more as well, I’m more inspired to create and more inspired to succeed because I want the best for my little girl!
a few notes.
- I don’t know what paint you are using, but I find that the water miscible oils are wonderful and fume free, I took to using them before I started trying to get pregnant and find them a great way to keep a safe environment at home- they work just as well. they also clean up very fast- great when time is an issue! I don’t use heavy metal pigments either, I don’t want to risk transferring anything through my breastmilk.
- pick techniques that you can fit around his schedule – small, bite sized chunks of work you can easily digest. that goes for your to-do list too! if you keep tasks to 15 minute blocks you can get so much done in very little time! (this works for cleaning too
- have a list of goals for your art, your marketing and keep them in mind. make sure they are achievable and excite you. set particular goals for each year. this year I am focussing on creating works and marketing online, I have stepped back on exhibiting, but I am getting my gallery list together and starting to plan my calendar for next year.
- keep a sketchbook with you for quick ideas and sketches. no matter what you are doing there is always time for thinking about art!
- I find it’s sometimes hard to get myself into the studio, I talk myself out of it, there is so much more I feel I should be doing. the 15 minute rule works well here too.
- getting up one hour earlier can work wonders.
- expressed breastmilk can help for long studio jags or when you are out at openings. knowing you don’t *have* to stop painting to go feed really helps.
- My husband is very supportive of my career, he knows it is my passion and makes sure I have time. enlist help to ensure you get the time you need!
Art, motherhood and religion – oh my!
Expecting
Again, Robert Genn has given me much to think about in one of his twice-weekly letters. this one strikes very close to home for me as well and I followed the links with interest. The letter is in response to an artist asking for advice on how to balance her art career and motherhood. Imagine how saddened I was to read so many of the comments. so many women saying that it was just impossible to be bth a mother and an artist, that it can’t be done, that it’s selfish to try and that it’s wrong to deprive your child. all the things, in fact, that Robert seemed to be concerned about in his letter.
Also, I want to mention the extreme expectations that current parents have for their children. Children have taken on a god-like role and have become the focus for everything from prepping for stellar futures to daily parental companionship. Parents sacrifice their own lives for the potential brilliance of kids. For better or for worse, raising kids well is the new religion.
Further, I wanted to say that letters like Cedar’s come in here like leaves from a shaken maple. I’m conscious that many artists, both male and female, use the advent of parenthood as a scapegoat for failing careers. Artists in this predicament need to examine their true motivation for this popular complaint.
It’s been my experience that dedicated artists will always find a way. I’m also happy to report that selfishness need not prevail, nor need the baby lie unchanged in its crib. The creative mind is always working, even during the application of nappies. Household workstations can be set up and work can continue between feedings and other downtimes. The intermittent business may actually benefit the art–for many of us, contemplation is a much needed ingredient to our progress.
[From Art and motherhood]
I worked throughout my pregnancy (despite many complications) and continue to work with my 5 month old baby. Part of it is luck, I have a wonderful baby and husband that helps me out enormously, but part of it is also sheer determination.
I am also worried about this new religion, it seems to be leading to a sense of entitlement and selfishness amongst children. I worry about women who lose their identities to their children and submerge themselves trying to be the perfect parent. Post Natal Depression is also up, I just can’t help but believe these numbers are linked. There is no such thing as the perfect parent and what works for one family may not work for yours. the best advice I’ve received is to do whatever works for you.
all of these subjects make me think about relative roles in the home and workplace. there is still an expectation that women will stay at home to raise their children, that their careers are temporary (as evidenced by the very large gap still in pay rates) and that we have a duty to surrender to our children. a few artist dads spoke out in the comments of this post, they find it just as challenging to balance their careers with their children. all working parents have this dilemma. the problem is that because so many artists are passionate about their jobs (and enjoy them!) it doesn’t always feel like work. this leads to a sense of guilt – I’m having fun so it can’t be real work! I’m not saying that women should all run back to the workplace, or that there is anything wrong with staying at home to be a full time parent. I’m not saying that any one option is the right way to go, I’m saying that it shouldn’t be assumed that the women are the ones to stay home and we certainly should not be penalized for it
Edit: in a rather amusing twist, this was supposed to be scheduled for later. as I was scheduling it Erica hit post.. apparently part of being a mother and businessperson is submitting a blog post even when you aren’t ready! I tried to stop it, but once it’s in the feeds there’s really nothing that can be done so oh well!
Rubbing Botero the wrong way
Adam by Botero – Photo by Dan Brinzac“I had a customer here who was laughing, saying, ‘You can see his peepee is a different color because people are always touching it,’ ” recalled a store manager who requested not to be identified.
A building worker, who also asked that his name not be used, said, “Legend would have it that when they put him in here, he wasn’t smiling.”
Justin Kugel, 28, a student who was shopping last night, said, “I’ve seen people rubbing it and having their picture taken. That’s kind of gross.”
There’s a Botero statue of Eve nearby — and some people pat her bountiful booty, another shop owner said.
David Benrimon, who owns a Manhattan art gallery with “one of the largest collections of Botero in the world,” said the artist was not aware of the personal attention “Adam” was getting.
“I was with him. I didn’t mention it,” Benrimon said. “It’s interaction in art. People like to touch.”
[From Shoppers at the Time Warner Center rub Botero statue's genitalia - NYPOST.com]
The sculptures of Adam and Eve by Botero are receiving some close attention at the Time Warner center, so much so that the repeated rubbing has changed the color of the bronze patina on Adam’s penis to a gold that helps it really stand out.
I can’t decide if I’m thrilled or horrified by all this.. on one hand people are interacting with art, they’re enjoying it and it’s making an impact in a positive way – so that’s all good. but on the other, they’re all seeing everything in the most puerile light! I guess it’s to be expected that the lowest common denominator will prevail, but must it always be so low? or should we be glad that nudes are being celebrated, that nobody seems to care that they’re nudes and in the public eye (and hands)?
What do you think? is this ultimately a victory or a setback? what would Botero think?
Kaisa Two censored by city council
Kaisa Two by Malcolm Edwards
One entry — a photograph of a woman’s nude back and buttocks — raised the eyebrows of an unidentified city councilman, and Mayor Chuck Hunter removed the piece from the show.
The photograph, entitled “Kaisa Two,” is by Seattle artist Malcolm Edwards.
According to Anne Knapp, PAL president, art league members “are very concerned that the city, which does not have a written art policy in place, has made a decision to ban the piece from the show.”
[From City of Gig Harbor Removes Photograph from Art Show » Kitsap Sun]
Another example of the government intervening in the arts to the detriment of all. this is yet another ridiculous censorship with no basis other than the perennial ‘won’t somebody please think of the children?’
“This is a public building, and we get young kids coming through here and we don’t want to have anything that could be offensive,” Hunter said.
The issue is that the exhibition is in City Hall. oh big deal. the fact is that there is no policy addressing the arts, what may be shown or may not. the city apparently uses the Washington State regulations, but there is nothing addressing “obscenity standards” in art in those guidelines. a policy will be made up, but I am betting that it will err on the prudish side as usual.
As usual, I say if they were concerned they should have said something during the jurying process as the works were chosen. rather than letting the artist go to all the additional expense and excitement of exhibiting only to have their artwork pulled by a council member. there is nothing disturbing or sexual in this piece, it’s rather lovely (I enjoy chiaroscuro so I love the lighting in this one!). But there is good news, the work is now on display at For Art Sake Gallery in the Finholm District.
Nude Jerry Hall by Freud sells for 600,000
Jerry Hall met Lucian Freud at a dinner in 1997 when she was eight months pregnant with her fourth child. He asked if he could paint her portrait, and she started posing the next day, three times/week, until she went into labor.
[From Eight Months Gone, Jerry Hall By Lucian Freud - Daddy Types]
I found myself wondering why this was such a big deal – £600,000 isn’t actually that much for a Lucian Freud, let alone one of a celebrity – but then I found out the size, 4x6in – a postcard size oil painting sketch. considering the size of Benefits Supervisor Sleeping and the price it set, this is consistent, even quite high.
I haven’t been following the sale of Jerry Hall’s art collection, but I wonder, along with the quoted author above, what else may have come out of all those sessions. this looks like a wet on wet sketch and probably quite fast. I wonder if there are any others lurking around. this sketch, even with it’s looseness show’s Freud’s wonderful treatment of skintones, gravity and luminosity.
15 cost cutting tips for artists – and where to draw the line
Extend - 5x7 Oils on Canvas
- many places provide cheap canvasses. these are a mixed bag. take a look at the thickness, the composition and the stretchers. whatever you do, get 100% cotton, if the canvasses are a cotton/poly blend they will warp and age badly. if they don’t state their composition you can bet they aren’t cotton!
- there are some companies that create excellent inexpensive canvasses, it pays to shop around and the key for these is the stretchers – often the thin stretchers on less expensive canvasses will warp, but the double wide ones not only look better but are more stable as well! plus you can save on framing.
- if the gesso is a little thin, or toothy you can fix that yourself by adding more or sanding it down – companies will save money by providing less ground or by not refining the surface as much.
- use natural earth pigments wherever possible. pigments such as sepia and umber are very common and cheap so they are inexpensive to produce in paints (no this isn’t why I use those colors.. well, not the entire reason!)
- buy a limited palette and blend your own colors. not only will you get better results but you can save on the more expensive real pigments by buying them in bulk
- use hues instead. if you have a family or you are just lazy about hazmat safety (me on both counts!) while painting you can get reasonable substitutes for the pure pigments. I have both types and while the pure pigment is often brighter I’m not sure it is worth paying double the price and having to constantly worry about heavy metals. it is pretty hard to distinguish the two in a painting in the end
- buy the best for the colors you use the most, you can substitute student quality or a lesser brand for tiny touches- no need to go out and buy a whole new tube of the best quality for one painting or a small accent.
- invest in some generic tube squeezers. my grocery store has them near the toothpaste – you will be amazed at how much you can get from that seemingly empty tube!
- duct tape fixes tube leaks.
- save your old student quality paints for playing, experimenting and random events. you never know when someone will want to borrow them. in fact, save everything – you just never know.
- wrap your palette in recycled plastic bags or use lunch wrap to save that unused paint for another day.
- buy really good brushes and take good care of them or buy cheap brushes and don’t worry as much. personally, I take the middle road and buy medium quality brushes because sometimes I take good care of them and other times I forget. this way I don’t mind so much.
- online companies like moo create wonderful supplies like business cards and exhibition postcards with different images for each card. Vistaprint often has free offers on their newsletter.
- check online art supply stores like dick blick and jerry’s artarama and sign up for their newsletters. keep an eye out for their sales and get a bargain!
- the most important tip I can give is to assess your 6 monthly expenditure on supplies, your output of art during that time and use those numbers to factor into your art pricing. ideally you want to make back your art supply expenses on one sale. keep track of those numbers and it will help you keep your pricing current and appropriate.
breastfeeding inspires emotive sculpture
Big Mother - Further images at Patricia Piccinini's website
The Sierra Leone-born, Melbourne-based artist decided to give up in her failed attempts to breastfeed when her sister suggested she practise with her own six-month-old son.
“I thought, `I can’t do that. I’m not just an animal, and I am not a lactating animal for some other baby’,” she said. “But then this six-month-old taught me how to breastfeed, and how to breastfeed my own child.”
The work is confronting on many levels – from the stark, hairless nudity of the animal, its gorilla-sized arms and legs and baboon’s bottom and genitals, to the idea humans could engineer humanoid beasts as slaves.
A friend recently wrote about this work on his blog and I was intrigued by the concept. this piece is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful, saddest and disturbing sculptures I’ve ever seen. on Patricia Piccinini’s website are further detail images showing the depth of detail and emotion in this piece.
The story rings on a very personal note. as a breastfeeding mother myself I can relate to her struggles at the beginning, breastfeeding a newborn is a tricky thing and during such an emotional time it is very easy to give up. I remember how many times I would have killed for a wet nurse! I think her friend was a genius to suggest she try an older child, perhaps it’s something more new mothers should consider. I wonder how I would have felt at that suggestion, you do feel like an animal- we joke about being a cow but it is a very animalistic action, based in nature and going back to our most primal roots. how wonderful that this suggestion has spawned such an interesting work.
There is no Such Thing as a State of Readiness
One thing I learned recently is that all the planning and preparation in the world is completely useless unless you actually take the plunge and get going.
Release - 12x12 Oils on Canvas
it’s so important to just do it. nothing is ever going to be perfect enough, nothing is ever going to be ready – everything is a process. putting things off until they are ready or perfect or just how you want them is anathema to getting anything actually achieved. and that is fine if you actually want to coast through and not achieve anything, but usually perfectionist types have very clear goals. I know I do.
If I had waited until I was “ready” to have a baby it would have never happened. and I find that now I have one, I am ready. nothing can prepare you, so there is a limit to how much planning you can do. I was a project manager so you can imagine how that strikes me! (must..plan..everything..) but I realized that all the planning in the world couldn’t prepare me. I just had to take the plunge. and I was right! I prepared for the things I could control (very little) and am in constant amazement by all the wonderful things I could never prepare for.
today I contacted some galleries. as I sent off the emails, I worried. my artist statement and bio aren’t perfect! I don’t have enough lines on my CV, I’m not ready, what if they turn me down, what if I get shunned by the entire arts community because of my problems with capitalization?
but I sent them off anyway. and already received one callback. so there perfectionism. sometimes you just have to jump in, hold your breath and hope. there is no such thing as ready. you won’t get anywhere dipping a toe in – you won’t know the temperature of the water until you actually get in.
Bill Henson: my impressions
millennial slippage is the term coined by Bill Henson to describe the current state of affairs worldwide. He emphasized that “The truth of art” should be exposed to our children, that we should never forget our artistic and cultural history. it’s on the basis of this that we can move forward rather than submitting to this millennial slippage.
The speech last night was excellent. Listening to Bill Henson discuss various cultural references, I looked around at a variety of young, blank, faces and I felt how true some of his statements were. we do need to expose our children to art, to history, to culture. art is the expression of history and the cumulation of our civilization. I was struck by Henson’s self effacing nature. watching him you would never know that someone so apparently shy was embroiled in such a shocking controversy that rocked the art world two years ago. It was interesting how little he cited his own work, preferring to discuss literature, composers and classic painters.
The political nature of the lecture was fascinating as he skirted any specific examples and avoided namecalling, calling instead for a return to statesmanship and common sense with more respect for the arts- both historical and current. I believe he feels truly wounded by Kevin Rudd’s insensitive and ill informed comments about his works, but rose above it to be the bigger person (as opposed to the way it was described in The Age).
I was particularly interested in the discussion about consent and censorship. His defense of the censorship board came as a surprise to some. giving credit where credit was due, he made it clear that the board were very supportive through the entire ordeal. The media have leapt on his comments about consent, afterall, Henson attacked a sacred covenant, contact sport for minors. this was a much more controversial statement than his research that life modeling for artists has no documented history of causing trauma to minors. The reverse appears to be true as so many previous models came to his defense during the scandal and remain solid friends.
I rose above my fear of public speaking to ask a question about the attitudes towards the nude in australia. his answer, in essence, was that he believes this is a wave and that most people are smart enough to realize the ridiculousness of the current attitudes, that the nude is a constant through these waves of attitude and censorship and will remain. I wish I agree that commonsense will prevail!
I wrote copious notes and will write about this further, I want to digest my thoughts more before I do. Needless to say, it was a pleasure to listen to such an articulate, genteel soul speak with passion and conviction. for further comments and observations please read Peter Ryan’s commentary at his blog.
Bill Henson responds live in Melbourne
The light and the dark and the shades of grey
‘We should be wary of governments and interest groups who try to impose restrictions on the free exercise of the artistic imagination. Our zeal to protect innocence should not come at the cost of violating artistic experience.
If we believe that art is a high form of education, that its basis is moral and its goal truth, then we should resist the impulse that would deny the artist the right to deal with what may sometimes be ambiguous, complex and disturbing.
Artists can seem like holy fools, they can seem like devils. They may exhibit the cunning of the insane or the illumination of the saint. But genuine art is the great bridge between the inner world in each of us and the ordinary world in which we live.
Art shows us the truth and it should never be the quarry of the witch-hunter or the social engineer. Any attempt to make the world better by destroying or shackling art represents a repudiation of the truth.’Bill Henson July 2010
[From Federation Square - Melbourne's Meeting Place - Coming Soon]
I have the extremely good luck to go to this lecture tonight with my good photographer friends Peter Ryan and Lillian Johnson. I am so excited to hear his responses to this live, his discussion of the issues and basically any wisdom Bill Henson may have to impart. I feel like I am going to a rock concert, I have that same high of anticipation, breathing the same air as one of my idols. it’s the same way I felt when I got the opportunity to meet Hazel Dooney.
There will be blog posts. oh yes. you have been warned.
For a change my disability will be working for me, we have excellent reserved seats with the media.
Artfire, Discovered Artists and Etsy.. oh my!
I’ve been working hard on updating my new pro account at artfire. adding new artworks, updating a blog there with tips, feeding the new stuff to twitter and then wash, rinsing and repeating. some of my descriptions have become a little stale so I am revamping some of them and trying to make these pieces pop. I’m also adding some works to a store on etsy, as artfire and etsy are linked together. we shall see which of the two performs better. so far I am getting decent traffic and I’m hoping to convert it soon.
Discovered artists is still my premier online art gallery, I refer the majority of buyers there, I like the upscale look and the fact that they curate the works and jury the artists. artfire is just a way to try to find more buyers in a different demographic, trying to make up for the hole that boundlessgallery has left.
What I Like Most About My Job – Artistic Freedom!
Silf - Acrylic and Gesso on Canvas by Jennie Rosenbaum
Being an artist is like being a kid in a candy store. the world is full of colorful possibilities- ideas overflowing, shiny packages and tasty treats waiting to be explored. there is always something new around the corner!
at other times it’s like being the owner. you get the same surroundings, but you get to make money from it and work hard for your passion.
I love having a job where I am paid to let my mind wander. where I can live on my imagination. I also get free reign to be a complete disorganized mess (read: artistic), to be grouchy randomly and to wear what I like.
I also have Pink hair. or purple, or teal or whatever I want. it’s ultimate freedom to be myself.
what I had for breakfast…not!
Interlaced – 12×12 Oils on Canvas
It’s been becoming apparent to me that I don’t actually write about myself very much in my own blog. this has come about for a number of reasons. Mainly, it’s because I have a mostly loathe/hate relationship with myself and the thought of writing about myself is a worry. I don’t want to bore people by discussing what I had for breakfast or mentioning my day to day trials with pain management, being a new parent or breastfeeding and all the millions of things that go into making me who I am. I worry about minutiae and obsess and never end up writing.
I like to keep a professional blog, with relevant and interesting information, but it is increasingly missing that personal element. and I think that is a bad idea. I started this to be a journal of my progress as an artist, and as my art is intimately tied up with who I am it makes sense that I should write about that too! I realize I don’t share good news when it happens, or, increasingly, no news at all and that just isn’t right. being an artist is more than just your genre or your finished works, it’s about the person behind it all. I promise I will try to keep it relevant, and hopefully interesting! and no, I won’t talk about my choice of breakfast!
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