Fur In The Paint

Shh . . . do you hear it? It sounds like a kind of a frantic pitter-patting. No, it’s not Budda trying to catch me unawares. That my friends is the sound of panic . . . (in a hushed voice) and I think it’s gaining on me.

So I am down to the wire on the Colton painting. I have 2 weeks left (and that includes time for scanning and print making AND shipping. Plus depending on time and just how generous I am feeling, framing as well. YIKES!!!)

I haven’t done a single thing on the Colton painting since the last time I posted a WIP. And so now that art shows are done (for a little while) and I have met most (there was quite a few) my deadlines with the exception of this one. It is time to chain myself to the drafting table and get after it. I had seriously thought of keeping my gallery doors locked yesterday for a full day of uninterrupted working, but in the end I kept the gallery open. I mean really, that is what I am supposed to do. And yes I had customers. And yes it blew my afternoon with no work getting done on the painting.

So what’s a girl to do? Come in, in the evenings of course. When I can keep my doors locked completely guilt free. I was at the gallery until 9:30 last night and in by then the following morning. I plan to work non-stop on Colton today, until some framing comes in via SpeeDee delivery, and then I’ll work on framing for awhile. But I’ll be back tonight.

And to add to the pressure I really want to run wild this weekend. There is a horse event that I really want to see, that I missed last year as it was same weekend as the Octagon. But this year we got separate weekends. Whoo Hoo!

The best laid plans . . .
So since I am short on time I had decided to start a new painting using oil pastels. As they are so much quicker. (Let’s call that Plan B as Plan A was my first WCP painting of Colton.) But then as the hours rolled by while I was looking at my reference photos trying to come up with a new composition. I realized that I was wasting time and since the hard part of my watercolor pencil painting of Colton was done (and Karla Siebert of IERAL had already approved it) I’d be farther ahead to just finish it. Besides, I can’t work oil pastels at night because of the whole metamerism thingy that happens.

But then, late last night as I lay in bed glassy eyed, with images of Colton rolling through my mind, I had an Aha! moment. A composition came to me, that would be simple yet artsy. I thought “Thats it! That’s what I’ll paint. I’ll go in first thing in the morning and (with doors locked mind you) get the new drawing started and with any luck I’ll be able to knock that painting out in 3-5 days.”

So what do I do? I get up early, run into the gallery and look at the Colton piece I have so far, glance at my stack of reference photos and return to plan A. Finish what I’ve got. It’s a good start and has the potential to be a good painting.

So thats how I know it is panic gaining on me. Because I am switching my mind back and forth, when what I really need to do is stick with Plan A. And that’s exactly what I’m gonna do . . . I think.

Happy Dance
My last outdoor event, the Octagon Art Festival in Ames, Iowa, is over for the year. This year has been a gauntlet of bad weather, but at least it ended well. The day started off rather misty and foggy (as you can tell by these photos taken before noon.) But by mid-afternoon the sun came out and it was just lovely.

The crowds were phenomenal (especially after 1pm, again photos were taken early so shows a light crowd) but the buyers were cautious. We made more than I expected but far less than I would usually demand from an event even a couple of years ago. I have been doing the Octagon for around 10 years now. (They actually recognize me by sight and I didn’t even have to say who I was when I checked in yesterday. Thats how long I’ve been doing it.) I keep coming back because it is cheap to do ($85 booth fee) one day, and close to home.

Perks
I like this show. It is well run and organized and yet kinda laid back and easy going. (Sorta like me, really.)

Ames is located within 20 minutes of Des Moines and does pull a shopping crowd from surrounding areas.

• Coffee, water, muffins and donuts for breakfast.
• Good Sized Event with over 115 artists.
  

  As a side note artfairs can be too small (to few artists means the event doesn’t draw enough of a crowd) or too big. (too many artists mean too much competition and the sales can get spread thin.) I like my events to run between 75-150 vendors.

• Usually brings out huge crowds which can be a buying crowd.
• Drive up loading and unloading
• Spacious booth size of 12×12 with plenty of storage in the back of each space.
• Free admission
• Friendly volunteers for check in and booth sitting.

Downside
I have no complaints about this event. While they don’t pamper you like some shows, you pay a tiny booth fee and frankly that holds more appeal. They do request a donation (of artwork) for a silent auction but again I would rather hand over a print than more money.

• One day event. While I like that it’s one day, it can mean that if the weather is bad you have no show at all, while 2 day events you get a second chance to still sell.
• Late in the year. Early and late shows run a considerably higher risk of bad weather. I’ve done this event wearing a winter coat (and wrapped in a blanket) on more than one occasion.

Ewekie, the wonder sheep.

Ewekie - Oil Pastel 7.5″ x 9.5″

Just so you know Flamin’ Sheep was not my first when it comes to painting odd colored sheep. Ewekie here, was my first purple sheep. (This image is quite a bit off color wise. She is it almost as bold as my Flamin’ Sheep painting.) And let me tell you she caused quite a stir among the locals in my dusty little rural town. People actually came into the gallery because they had heard about her and I guess they had to see for themselves the insanity of such a thing.

As we have her available in small prints (click on the image to get more details) I still occasionally get asked if there is actually a type of purple sheep that roams the earth. I smile, feeling slightly guilty and say “No, I just painted her that way.”

Apparently she made quite an impression. Because, though she had been sold years ago, someone local had mentioned her again, just the other day. I told him she had been sold and I could almost hear what he was thinking. Crazy artists, paintin’ purple sheep. Who in their right mind would want something like that. Fortunately for me, quite a few people. As a somewhat realistic animal painter, it’s nice to do something fun once in awhile and still have it find an appreciative home in which to live.

Hitting the road.
Once again we leave for an artfair this weekend. Supposedly the weather is going to be beautiful so it should be enjoyable to do. This is my last outdoor event so it would be nice to end it with pleasant weather.

See you all on Monday. (I mean it this time.) (Urm . . . probably)

Flamin’ Sheep
Oil Pastel on Handmade Paper
10 1/2″ x 13″

I finally got around to posting this. As you may have noticed, I got over my fear of calling it Flamin’ Sheep. I’m not sure how, but that title has appeared to have stuck.

So here it is finished. I wasn’t able to take it along last weekend, which is too bad since I actually have several sheep painting patrons at that event. So it goes. I’ll just have to email them a pic.

Riverssance Festival of Fine Art is held in Lathom Park in Davenport, Iowa. Davenport is also where I did my first event this year, Beaux Arts. (remember that? I think it was just a warning of what was to come.)

This event is put on by their local artist group Midcoast Fine Arts. As a result it is a well run, and an easy show to do. Theirs is the only application that I’ve read that actually got more than one chuckle out of me.

As I mentioned, we had a good weekend and the weather was just lovely. Look at all the blue sky in those photos. Riverssance is one of the best event I do. Both in terms of sales and how well they treat the artist.

The Perks

• Drive-up loading and unloading
• Spacious booth 14 x 14
• Breakfasts Provided: muffins, juice, coffee, bagels and fruits
• Generous Awards
• Awards Dinner Catered by different folks every year. In addition they usually have live music or stand-up comedy for entertainment during dinner. Cool!
• Art Angels: plenty of volunteers and booth sitters
• Good quality work. This year there were 98 artists. Among these were plenty of 2D artists which is a good sign for any other 2D artist. It means the crowd will support them and is not just a jewelry and pottery buying group.
• Located in a park. This is nice because staking a tent is far more secure than using weights. Also, if the event is during HOT weather, the trees and grass are dramatically cooler than pavement.
• Live music all day. Music adds dramatically to the festival like atmosphere.

The Downside

• On a bluff overlooking a major river, which is very scenic but can also be very windy.
• Gate Fee which is only three dollars. I have mixed feeling about admission fees. They are good because they help cut down on booth fees and also because they tend to weed out the less than serious buyer. But having a gate fee definately keeps the crowd smaller and at the moment we need as much crowd as possible. Still this event has enough buyers that as far as I can tell it hasn’t been a bad thing.

I know I said “see you all Monday!” And okay, so it’s clearly not Monday. I took an extra day returning from the artfair to go bumming around Des Moines and hit the Blank Park Zoo. It is a small zoo and being off season they had even less going on. But I enjoyed myself and frankly could have sat and watched the baby giraffe all day, (instead of like the 3 hours that I actually did. Alas hubby gets a littly fidgety after like 2 1/2 hours on baby giraffe watch.) I’ve been wanting to do a new giraffe piece but the well was empty, so I really needed some new photos.

The artfair was good and the weather gorgeous. Sales were down from last year. But last year was better than usual. I’ll blog more on the event tomorrow.

I just can’t seem to catch up. The gallery is crazy busy which always bugs me after an artshow. Since I take so much work with me the place looks like it’s been robbed. We leave for one more event this weekend so I am not feeling like putting it all back together to tear it apart and pack it in two days. After this one I get a break again. Good thing too, because I need to get Colton’s potrait done. Whew!

Well I did actually finish my Flamin’ Sheep painting but I am just too sore and tired to get it scanned and posted tonight. I’ll get them posted when I get back.

As you may have garnered from the title I am once again heading out for an art event this weekend. Weather outlook is good. See you all on Monday.

Here is my progress for today on my Flamin’ Sheep painting. (Located Below: it’s a little dark) If all goes according to plan I will finish them tomorrow.

I really like this little flock of sheep and photograph them often. The models for this painting are located just outside of town and I drive by nearly every morning on my way to the gallery. In fact the photo here is from just this morning. It is a small enough group that they form ever-changing, infinitely interesting groupings.

Flamin’ Sheep
This was almost the title of my post but I was concerned over the type of person who might be attracted to that kind of wordage. Anywho Primary Colors seemed safer.

I was needing a little something fun to do, so I broke out all my glaringly bright colors. My plans include 3 more sheep (which you can barely see penciled in) and some neon green and emerald green grasses.

I should be able to finish this little (11×13) oil pastel painting in one long afternoon. Unfortunately I won’t have one of those for a couple more weeks. My hope was to have it done by this weekend’s event. While I may get it completed I certainly won’t get it framed and ready to go in time. Ah well.

Well it’s official. I signed my name to the bottom line. I now have my own licensing agent, Lowell from America Art Licensing As the ink is not yet dry on the contract (and in fact my cd with images goes into the mail on Monday) I am not yet on their website.

My agent . . . that has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?.

This is a whole new arena for me. But as someone who makes the bulk of my income from artfairs I am constantly looking for ways to pay the bills while staying at home. The older I get the less I like all the hefting and toting that goes along with doing artfairs.

So now when I get approached by someone who say . . . wants to put my artwork on T-shirts, greeting cards, blankets, coffee mugs, tiles, metal or wood products or for their business logo, (yup, I’ve been approached at one time or another for all of those things.) I can say “Absolutely! just give me your information and I will pass it along to my agent.”

Ah, My agent. . . that has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Saying my agent gives me almost as much of a warm fuzzy feeling as saying . . . my editor. (Big hug to you Carol Eilers! editor of Apples ‘N Oats magazine)