Fall Shows Coming Right Up!

I am working very hard to get ready for fall art shows.
There's not only the painting - first of all they have to be scanned or photographed for my files, framed so they will look their best, inventoried so that I have a record of the pieces for tax time and for future reference, and packaged for transport - even if they're only going to a local gallery.
After all of the investment of supplies, time and expenses, they need to be protected.
For this fall I have, for the first time, done a series of farm paintings.
I have several paintings of bales and stacks of bales, a swather in the field swathing grain, and cattle in the field.
My inspiration for these paintings came right from my own home since I live on a dairy farm. The men in the family do the farming (three brothers), but I view the amazing backdrop of grain and hay fields every day.
It was great fun and a terrific challenge to paint these farm scenes in a way that does them justice. Warm, glowing fields as the sun sets; a single bale serving as a sentinel on the field; cattle lazily grazing on pasture - I can only hope that I have done them some justice.

The paintings in this posting are part of a 'Knee High' feature in a show at Johnson Gallery Thursday, Oct. 4 from 5 - 9 p.m. The Knee High features a veariety of subjects that one would see at or below knee height. It was great painting them, but it was at least as much fun coming up with the concepts for these special little paintings that are all 8 x 10."
I will soon be starting a new painting and I intend to post pictures as it progresses. My challenge will be remembering to photograph the painting since I get very wrapped up in the process and lose track of things like taking pictures.

GO RE-APPLY FOR YOUR 'JOBS'... EVERY DAY!

Can you imagine if you had to re-apply for your job every day that you went to work? Would you still want to do it?
Well, obviously we artists are a crazy bunch, because that's exactly what we have to do. What happens when we want to sell our work in a gallery or to a client? First, we pull out our portfolio, our bio and our artist's statement. As they casually glance through our material, we wait like a young child looking for his parents' approval. Then, if they approve and accept our work, we breathe a sigh of relief and/or satisfaction, and we are in their good books in the future, right?
No, even if we've sold hundreds of paintings, we are still only as good as our latest works, and they have to be as good as or better than our previous works. If we don't continue to improve and create works that are infused with our tyle and usual standard of excellence, we can quickly fall from grace. If we do that, the second climb up the artistic ladder will be extremely difficult, if it's ever attainable again.
So, you take workshops, or give workshops - you learn and grow either way! Read every art book you can get your hands on, join art societies, and have many artist friends. With all these inspirational tools under your belt, you can't lose.
What's the recipe for any artist's success? First of all, we all need to check our egos at the door before we even leave home every day. This means listening, REALLY LISTENING to what the galleries and clients, and ourpeers, have to say about our work. Instead of being on the defensive, which is easy to do when our work is so personal, we must learn to first evaluate the merit of the suggestions or comments. Even if we later decide against changes due to the comments or suggestions, at least we have appeared to be taking them very seriously, and this is often enough to make others feel an important part of our career. Welcome even the unsolicited critiques. Another artist may see your work and suggest that a portion of a building has the wrong perspective, or the color temperature in one area is not quite right. This is sometimes a little hard to swallow and it's easy to get defensive - after all, look at the time you've invested in the piece. But if it's someone you respect as an artist, give it some serious thought to see if they are right. They may not be, and you may leave the piece as is, but at least you'll be doing that with an enlightened outlook.
A gallery may suggest that your bio and statement need to be more exciting and include more details, or that you need to be more particular with your framing. Their job is to sell paintings, and if you want to be part of the group of artists they promote, it's important to understand their needs as well as your own.
And, be very aware that you will never sell paintings if you are not considerate of your collectors. Utilize every opportunity, within reason, to speak with them about your paintings, and thank them for supporting you as an artist. They will feel that every hard earned dollar spent on your work is more than worth it. They are your bread and butter and they deserve to be part of your banquet.
Yes, we have to essentially re-apply for our jobs every day, and yes, we have to consider others as partners in our artistic success. But we have important, great and satisfying 'jobs' that we love with a passion, so... get out the portfolios, bios, statements and PR skills - go re-apply!