Art of the TRADE - Part 1

What's a trade?
The exchange of goods, and or services, where everybody is happy in the end and no money is exchanged. Sometimes the term "Bartering" is used.
My on- line dictionary defines it this way:

barter
verb
The exchange (goods or services) for other goods or services without using money.

Artists have been doing it for years and so many stories are circulated about the impressionists paying for food or rent with paintings -
Makes sense to me.
In my days as a graphic Designer I wasn't too keen on the trade idea and wanted hard cash. None the less - I own custom designed furniture, leaded glass and some real treasures from those days when I traded design services for what ever the client offered.
I have even traded for the more mundane things- like food.
In the best of all worlds, both parties have something the other wants.

So, how does it work?
Many of my artist friends like to trade artwork for artwork. To my mind, a trade of art work is a compliment of the highest order. I don't take it lightly - and am careful and respectful about who I will approach.
My prize trade was with Stephen Quiller and the idea was brought forward by his wife. How great is that? I now own a painting of his that I LOVE and he considered my work worthy of a trade - WOW!
but I digress. . .
Trading art for art is pretty common, among artists. Where you really see the worth of your work is in the broader market place.

There are 2 basic ways a trade comes about.
We paint the masterpiece, someone sees it, has no cash, so proposes trading something they have - for the art.
A variation on this theme: We paint the masterpiece, see something WE want or need and try to use the piece as a form of currency.
There is a 3rd twist that looks like a commission - and the hardest to negotiate. This is trading work, not yet created - for whatever.
I am in the middle of something like this right now; but more about that later.

I write about this to encourage you - not to run out and try to pay bills with paintings that are laying around -
but to think about your work in a new way.
Have you ever SOLD a piece of your art? Are you currently being represented by a gallery? If you can answer "yes" to either of those questions, you know that your work has value.
Making it work for you in a new way may take courage, but is worth the consideration.
In the next post about THE TRADE, I will explain my current trade negotiations, and make some suggestions about how to approach the TRADE.

Summer Plein Air

The PAAC Show was a happy success for me with 2 of my 3 paintings sold- YAY!- and all the craziness of May and June has passed. July is a bit of quite in the middle of the summer; instead of framing, packing, shipping - there is a little more time for actual painting.
These pieces were all done
here around Alamosa:
a water fall at Rock Creek- 9x12,
beaver ponds above Rock Creek- 16x12,
Cows- 9x12,- what can I say about that? -they were there,
and at the bottom the afternoon sun on Mt.Blanca- 6x8, painted last night with my class.
So now I have to go to the studio and really get to it; I have a commission waiting with a serious deadline- but more about that later.

Your Are Invited - PAAC Show, Saks Galleries, Denver '12

I will be in Denver on Friday night for the opening of the 15th Annual PAAC Show at Saks Galleries. This annual juried exhibition draws plein Air painters from all over the country and I am very excited to have 3 pieces in it.
Click on any images to see them larger.

If you are in Cherry Creek Friday night the 24th between 5 and 8pm - step into Saks Galleries and enjoy the party. The show will hang until July 9th.
At the top:
'Twilight Graze' 9"x12", SOLD
'Monday in Taos' 12"x16", SOLD
and 'Rock Creek Thaw', 20"x 10",
all in oil.
By the way, "Monday in Taos" was the painting I was working on last October when I took that really stupid leap off a porch and broke my foot. Fortunately for me, the piece was almost done.

See the entire show catalog on line; click on Saks Galleries.

Moon Rise Paint Out

Tuesday night the San Luis Valley Painters met at the marsh north of Alamosa, facing Mt. Blanca to paint the full moon rise as the sun set. The evening was a little breezy but not bad enough to keep us from painting. At the top is my 6"x 12", Moonglow.
At 6pm it still seemed like broad daylight and hard to get a handle on what values would be like. Evening phenomena is like that - an hour of hanging around and 10 minutes of frantic painting. I take time while the light is good to layout my composition, work the shapes and try to anticipate where the moon will pop up. Some decisions should be made ahead of time, like: do I want to keep the foreground lit with the setting sun, or dark indicating the sun has set? - Will I use the alpen glow when it lights the mountain, - if so my foreground will be dark. Sometimes, you find yourself just standing there watching it all happen - with out a clue. That's not all bad - the first time - but going out to see the sun set, in a place where you can see the horizon is a good way to observe what happens in the landscape. Nothing can take the place of direct observation.

David Montgomery checks out the scene through his viewer and in the other photos Dee Bartee, Dave Roepke, Beth Keck, and Judith Greenwood paint by the water's edge.
This marsh is one of my favorite places to paint and summer evenings are stunning as the sun sets and Mt. Blanca lights up with alpen glow. The water is a destination for migrating birds of all types and in the Spring the water can be covered with Sandhill Cranes.
I am a member of the PAPNM (Plein Air Painters of New Mexico) and all over New Mexico and Colorado painters were out to paint this event. To see more "MoonGlow" paintings click on the link to the PAPNM wesite.

Class Notes: Speaking of Drawing

The challenge this session has been DRAWING - things bunched or stacked; making radishes appear fore shortened as they radiate from a center bunch, or working with ellipses that go in several different directions. Like the bowl and cups shown here- which are so slightly OFF.
Painters tend to focus on broader subjects such as over-all composition, or value, which are important but as a landscape painter, I get a little drawing lazy. The demand of doing a class demo twice a week is one of the best ways to stay sharp - or even improve.
Ellipses are what drive me crazy. It's a love-hate thing and I am always looking for ways to include them in a still life.
An ellipse is a only circle in perspective, but like a circle the eye of the viewer can always tell if it's off.
I strain after accurate ellipses and it seems like problems only appear after the painting is finished.
If ellipse drawing is a struggle for you, practice, practice, practice.
Two good things to know as you draw:
1. an ellipse is made up of arcs and has NO flat edges - just like a circle;
2. if divided into quarters, each quarter will be exactly like the others - just like a circle.

Hazey Days of Summer

June came to Colorado in smokey haze and in spite of high wind warnings Sue and I took the easels out to the east end of town to paint some urban junk that had been tempting us for weeks. We stood out between derelict tanks, broken down shacks and abandoned rail cars; all this combined with a sky the color of the dirt - made for a rather gritty piece.
As it turns out, smoke from the big fire in Arizona was blowing into the Valley turning our beautiful skies gray. In the end we only lasted about 2 hours before wind and blowing dirt sent us running for cover.

I have been thinking about mark making lately. Sounds like 'Drawing', but feels like the only apt description of what I have been considering as I paint; using tools, other than a brush, to apply, lift, move the paint around - make marks - and not just for the heck of it, but to give a sense of the image and even the character of the day.
At the risk of sounding too technique-y, I think there is place for mark making that is harsh, chiseled - broken - in service of the imagery. That would also imply a place for the soft, goojey, wispy or globby, all those technical terms. In the case of this painting, trying to convey a gritty and gray day amidst the abandoned urban junk;
soft and beautiful brushwork need not apply.
This is the envelope I am pushing right now. What I have done here is hardly dangerous, but it's been on my mind. My graduate drawing professor, Gene Schilling talked about drawing like it was a force to be reckoned with; an invitation to the dark side.
Hmmm. . . .

Still Friends - after all these paintings

And still smiling - even after months of painting, working and planning.
Thanks Dave and Sue.
Thanks to everyone who drove up from the Valley to Creede for our opening at the Repertory Theater Gallery and to folks in Creede who supported us.
The whole project went so well that we are taking this show on the road and will open at the SteamPlant Event Center in Salida on December 17th with a party at 4 pm. The Salida show will highlight plein air work done together this summer and into the fall.
My mountain sunset,
"Late Show" - to the right,
was the first sale of this show.

You Are Invited

The 3 Friends Show, featuring the work of Susan McCullough, David Montgomery, and myself - opens tomorrow night, June 3rd - 5:30 pm, at the Creede Repertory Theatre, Upstairs Gallery in Creede.


We hung the show last week and are looking forward to the par-T tomorrow. Sue is busy making truffles and putting together a fruit cascade (hmmm, no I am not sure. . .).
You can get an idea of the work in these photos but to get in on the great food - you have to be at the opening. I think it will be a good party. Hope to see you there.

A big Weekend in LaVeta and Creede

LaVeta was hopping on Memorial Weekend - Saturday night with art openings all over town. In the photo I am standing in front of a display of several of my paintings featured in LaVeta Fine Art Gallery.
Spanish Peaks Art Council Gallery opened a photography show and Pinion Hill Pottery, featured the fabulous and amazing work of Sharon McCoy. Great food everywhere and a beautiful, mild evening - perfect for art and good company in the very charming mountain town of LaVeta.










The Taste of Creede Quick Draw drew artists from all over, and this year, I think the largest group of spectators and bidders that I have ever seen there.
In the bottom photo Stephen Quiller holds my 8"x 10" painting done in the hour - which I am grateful to say, sold quite handily.

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend is always an invitation to enjoy some of the Best of Colorado and this year is no different. In La Veta, the LaVeta Fine Art Gallery will kick off the summer season in the Spanish Peaks area (just south of Colorado Springs and Pueblo) with an opening party and reception Saturday night the 28th from 5-8 pm.
Also on Saturday evening in LaVeta - just around the corner from LaVeta Fine Art Gallery: the opening of the Spanish Peaks Arts Council Gallery 2011 Photography show. Two good reasons to be in LaVeta on Saturday night. Hope to see you there.












In the other direction, high in the San Juan Mountains, Memorial Day means "The Taste of Creede". One of Colorado's most colorful and classic mining towns, Creede knows how to celebrate, featuring artists' demos, restaurant food tasting, music, theatre, and children's activities all weekend. The Silver Chef Cooking Competition is on Saturday.

Sunday, May 29, at 1 pm will be the Quick Draw Contest.
The Quick Draw is hosted by Stephen Quiller, (whose gallery is in Creede) and attracts some of the best artists from several states including Steve Quiller, Kris Gosar, Randy Pijoan, Peggy Stenmark Morgan, Charles Ewing, Jan Thompson, and Frankie Will.

Quick Draw fun starts at 1 pm and artists get one hour to complete a painting. At the auction immediately following, bidders will have a chance to purchase work they just watched being done by top artists.
Creede will be the site of a lot of holiday partying but don't miss the National Small Prints Show hanging at the Creede Repertory Theatre, Lobby Gallery. In the Upstairs Gallery at CRT the 3 Friends, 3 Painters, 3 Points of View show, featuring plein air work by myself, Susan McCullough and David Montgomery is on display as well;
all well worth the beautiful drive into the mountains.