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When It Is Too Real

November 24th, 2010

When It Is Too Real

One of the pieces I am currently working on is a fall scene of a small nearby community church. I am finding myself questioning just how much detail I should be depicting on the church. I am back to straddling the line on that question I often ask myself when painting from a reference photo (which is mostly what I do). What details on the church are important and when would including those details be more than necessary? Were this a commissioned piece of that particular church, I think the detail would matter quite a bit. But the architectural detail on the church is not what this piece is all about. Rather it is about the feeling I got when looking at that scene (photographed in the fall of 2009) - a beautiful, peaceful feeling when viewing that little church surrounded by so much natural fall beauty. The leaves were at peak and it was a crisp, sunny fall day. Since THAT is what I wish to portray with this piece, I have made the decision not to be slavish in my depiction of the actual building. I am a painter of realism, BUT I have been known to leave out when painting from a photo something that, for me, "ruins" the picturesque scene I am painting. Even though one may argue from time to time that the telephone pole creates a nice vertical line in that area of the painting, out comes the telephone pole (or orange construction cone or some other unnatural element) that to me is distracting. I guess the world around us cannot always be blemish-free or "perfect", but I view this as my artistic license to make it darn near perfect in my canvas world. So, after much thought, most of the architectural beauty of the church will be there, but probably not every tiny structural line (the siding for instance). Since it is a work in progress, I may change my mind on that before I put a signature to this piece. But at this point, I am back to thinking that if I must slavishly copy the photo, then why paint at all? Just take the photo and you are done. And for me, while I enjoy capturing something by camera, it is much more satisfying to "interpret" that scene with paint on canvas.

Personal Connection of Your Art to the Buyer

November 19th, 2010

Personal Connection of Your Art to the Buyer

I was reminded more than once recently that people often buy art because of a personal connection with the piece. Within a week of selling my first original, I sold a second original canvas. The recently completed canvas entitled "Close Up' was painted from a reference photo given to me by a friend. This is a close up of a horse's head with the eye being a very prominent feature. The photo was black and white, but it was apparent the horse was "a gray". This work gave me a good opportunity to concentrate on equine facial anatomy.
I told my friend I had completed the painting. He told me he wanted to buy it - sight unseen. I insisted he view the piece in person before committing to buy, which he did. But he told me that after seeing online the quality of my work, he had no qualms about buying the piece unseen - a nice vote of confidence to be sure! Turns out the photo was taken of one of his own horses, a fact I did not realize when I first began the painting. He purchased the painting in part because of its personal connection to him and because he wished to own some "original art".
At a recent art and craft festival booth, I sold note cards of this same piece. The woman buying the cards got teary-eyed and explained the image reminded her so much of her special horse she had recently lost - again, that personal connection. A neighbor purchased a print of my painting of our farm, because she lives in the house featured in the painting - once again, a personal connection. At the same festival, a woman bought my booth mate's framed print of a lighthouse scene in Maine - because her father's ashes had been spread at sea near that very location - a very strong personal connection for her.
So many people buy art because they have visited the location pictured or "it reminds me of....". And a well done piece of art is a lovely reminder of something that brought us pleasure or has special meaning. This was all driven home to me very strongly this past week with four purchases all being made because of that strong "personal connection".

First Original Sold

November 10th, 2010

First Original Sold

I entered two works in the Frederick County Arts Council member show (Frederick, MD) running now through Nov 21. One was the original of "Wading Heron" which was a recently completed piece painted from a friend's lovely photo. I attended the opening reception this past Saturday night,and while I was there, "Wading Heron" sold to a nice woman from DC; so I was able to meet her. I have been selling prints and note cards at the two art festivals my friend and I hosted a booth at this fall, but this is my first original to sell, so it was an exciting event for me! Any time someone purchases an image of a canvas I have created, it is a wonderful feeling - to know that someone else sees the beauty or uniqueness that I saw in that scene. And interest from others inspires me to continue to create. I am hard at work on two landscapes at present, and over the next couple weeks, I will be posting more completed works to my website.

Christmas in the Country

November 4th, 2010

Christmas in the Country

My booth mate (Gloria Condon) and I had figured we would not be attending any more art festivals until spring of next year. The weather is changing to that time of year when you prefer to be inside. Since I live on a farm and tend to a decent number of horses. being outside is a necessity for at least part of each day; but there are fewer outside chores, and hence more inside time to "create". At last I can dedicate some time to all those canvases I have been planning and long to start. We had packed away our booth materials for winter. I had inventoried my prints and note cards so I'd be ready to roll in the spring. And I started work on three canvases.
My local church is holding their annual Christmas festival this month, and on the spur of the moment, I decided to donate two of my earlier (2007) works for their silent auction. When I dropped off the works two days ago, the office staff loved them.
Fast forward to two days later -- suddenly Gloria and I are signed up to participate in the festival with our booth after one of their scheduled artisans just canceled! So out from winter hibernation come some of the booth materials. This will be our first indoor booth and this time we won't need the tent. And we can leave at home the sun glasses, hat with a wide brim, coat or sweater. I have just finished those three pieces I started a couple weeks ago, so they will be out in public for the first time and hopefully available by then in print and note card form too.
Instead of the oompah band that played at the Oktoberfest we were at in October, holiday music will be in the air. A quilt and theme baskets will be raffled, baked goods and handmade items will be up for sale. More details on my website schedule.
Moral of the story; You never know when an opportunity may arise to display your art work in public. It appears we will need to prepare after each festival as if the next one is next around the corner - because it just may be!

Online At Last

October 28th, 2010

Online At Last

In today's world, it's almost impossible to get your work out there to a large audience unless you have a website. So I have at long last started up my website (drum roll). I am looking forward to more contact with people who view my art. This fall, one of my fellow art classmates and I began selling our art (originals, prints, note cards) at local art festivals. I found it extremely gratifying to have both friends and strangers come by our booth to view our art and discuss it. We were used to working in a class environment with an instructor who has a wonderful eye and great skills in knowing how far to push you at each step of your work. Many of us have been in this class off and on for some time, so we are comfortable with having each other view our work. But when you step out of that cocoon of creative comfort, you never know how it will go. This I do know - there will always be someone whose art is better than yours; there will always be someone whose work is not as far along in the learning process. What appeals to one person may leave another completely uninterested. That is what makes our world go around, or as my husband is fond of saying, "if we were all attracted to the same things, we'd all be fighting over the same (fill in the blank)". I paint scenes and items from my everyday life that make me realize how amazing this world is. Hopefully some of you who view my art will enjoy and see the same beauty I see.

Frederick Exhibit in November

October 28th, 2010

Frederick Exhibit in November

I will be exhibiting at the Frederick County Arts Council member exhibit opening November 4, 2010. The opening reception for this exhibit is being held Saturday, November 6, from 5-9 pm, and I plan to attend. The two pieces I will have on display are Wading Heron and Cubbing. The gallery is located at 15 W. Patrick St., Frederick, MD. If you can't attend the opening reception, stop by some other time before the exhibit closes on November 22. If you're unfamiliar with the Frederick area, there are plenty of restaurants within very short walking distance of the gallery where you can grab lunch or dinner while in town to make a nice outing of it.

Note Cards

October 23rd, 2010

As I mentioned in my opening blog, I sell my artwork locally at art festivals. One of the items I offer for sale in my booth is note cards of nearly all of my work (available in single image packs of 8 cards and envelopes per pack). Due to repeated demand, I also offer some variety packs which have 2 of my works per pack (4 of each image).
For example, I have a Beach Series which offers Beacon on the Beach and Dune Grasses (4 cards of each image). I also have a Shoreline Series which includes Normandy Reflections and First Beach in the pack. So in addition to packs containing one image only, there are presently 6 "series" packs available: Beach Series, Shoreline Series, Farm Animal Series, Equine Series, Water Fowl Series, Winter Series. I will be adding more variety packs and series as I complete more artwork -- something for everyone as they say!
I generally have many note card packs on hand because of the art festivals; so please contact me by email (d3butts@aol.com) if you are interested in purchasing note cards directly from me. The cards are $8 for any pack of 8 cards w/envelopes, plus shipping. (If you reside in Maryland, sales tax must be added.) In this day and age, people communicate mostly through emails and mobile phone texts, so eventually note cards may be a thing of the past. But for the present, they remain a lovely, but inexpensive, gift/stocking stuffer.