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Your precious art is not doing you any good in your basement. It's just stacking up and up. I'm writing this to encourage every artist out there to escape the packrat mentality and share some of your art. I'm not saying to give away everything or give away your bad art; I've kept some early works that are special to me. It's always good to clean out and create new and better work.
The other plus side to this is more exposure for your art and more possible commissions. I like having a website, but seeing a work of art in the flesh is something completely different and way more powerful. This is why museums are still around and why people still buy paintings. The painting has a special aura which a photograph can't capture. Another good idea is to make art for birthdays or as any gift. This week, I made a watercolor card for our neighbor's birthday. We could have bought a card for $5, but there's no magic in that. I'm not especially good with watercolor, but I consider it good drawing practice to make a watercolor card. Lastly, give away your nice sketches with a commission. I always give my patrons preliminary sketches that go along with the commission..what am I going to do with it anyway?
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I'm very proud to say that I have signed this portrait I use a very academic signature in the style of Bouguereau and P + A + Cot, which is an homage to them, but I gotta be honest, it's the hardest part of the painting process. I enjoy the obsessiveness. I haven't varnished it yet, but I usually photograph it before I varnish it because of the glare. I may photograph it again after I varnish it in a few days. Another painting done and I'll be delivering it to my patrons very soon. Going to put a few more finishing details in soon and then sign this one. I know there'll be more to add once I let this dry for a night. Always gotta be careful at this stage to not overwork it, which can sometimes be worse than leaving it under-worked. I'm pleased with it and I can't wait to hand it over to my wonderful patrons. I was recently sent some photos of myself from this past Summer when I was assisting Mr. Basil Baylin with his class at the Ridgewood Art Institute. That was my first experience teaching an art class and I loved it. A lot has changed since then, but I wanted to share my story of how I got the opportunity to teach. That Summer, I was struggling to find a job. I had quit the gallery where I worked and gave myself until the end of Summer 2015 to find a new job. My mom had read an article about Basil Baylin in our local newspaper and encouraged me to reach out to him to ask about teaching. I had never done any teaching and I was reluctant to reach out to Basil. I sent him an email, not expecting an answer. Two day later, Basil emailed me back and said to stop by the Ridgewood Art Institute (RAI) to talk with him. I stopped by and immediately was greeted with a warm hello. I asked him if he could use an assistant for his class and he said yes. After that, I spent Monday nights with Basil and his class. Basil later told me that he hardly ever checks his email and just happened to check it the day that he replied to my email. So, that being said, there's always an element of luck involved when taking advantage of situations. He could of not checked his email and not responded, but the point is that you don't even have a shot if you don't send the email in the first place. I assisted Basil with his class until the end of the Summer, at which time Basil's class ended. I added his class to my resume and then got a connection to Bergen Community College and The Art School at Old Church for Fall 2015. The Art School at Old Church didn't work out, but was a good experience. I'm now in my second semester at Bergen Community and couldn't be happier. I owe a lot to Basil and so many people who have given me a shot. Basil is now teaching at the Fairlawn Community Center in Fairlawn, NJ on Tuesday evenings (6:15PM to 8:30PM) |
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