SLV Painters "Eye of the Artist" Show

 Last night the San Luis Valley Painter's "Eye of the Artist" exhibition reception at Milagros was the jewel of the Alamosa Art Hop.
I may be indulging in a little bit of hyperbole but I do think this is the best show we've hung yet and our reception played to a packed house. 49 paintings were shown and several have sold - Yay!
Last night over 40 people had a chance to vote for their favorite for Best in Show.
In Alamosa- that is a big crowd.
Patrick Myers painting "Alpenglow Reflection" won the prize. Patrick is an artist and ranger at the Great Sand Dunes National Monument.  He paints the area with great insight and sensitivity to the subject. Congratulations Patrick!
Thank You to the everyone who came out to support us, and to the SLV Painters who participated.
SLV Painters Group is an informal association of artists who have been involved in my painting classes, both currently and in the past. We come together to show work from our year and hopefully, inspire others to share their work with the community.
Thank You to Milagros coffee house/gallery, a non-profit very much at the heart of Alamosa community life.
20% of all proceeds from sales are donated back out through Milagros and LaPuente to serve Alamosa.
This show will hang until the end of April.
To everyone a blessed Easter and Passover.

Class Notes: Art Scam Emails

I just spent the morning amusing myself researching Art Scams on the internet.
Though I wrote on the topic of Art Scams a few years back - (see Art Scams under Labels - to the right on this blog),  the fact that these annoying emails keep coming, says that the topic is still relevant.
It started with this email:

Enquiries Department <enquiries_department@outlook.com>
to

Hello Artiste,
  My name is Michael……Am interested in your artworks, am so excited to search through your artworks online, it really attract my attention and am willing to purchase from you directly. I will appreciate your
response for availability with total cost.

Best Regard

Michael

Gee - if this person was SO interested in my work they could have at least addressed me by name. That's Red flag #1
Red flag #2 - bad grammar. You would think that internet fraud alone would raise the call for better grammar in emails. Why is it that scammers can’t seem to get it?  Good Grammar counts.
Red flag #3 - specific works are not mentioned. This scammer has never seen my website.
This is a template letter and when an artist responds with available art titles and prices - the scammer has the info needed to engage in a supposed sale which always involves a 3rd party shipper,
and a money wire transfer or certified check for MORE than the amount. In which case the seller (me) cashes the check and sends back the difference. It is a way to steal!
Classic scam stuff!

Artists always perk up when someone comments on their work. We are by nature a needy lot - wanting to be seen, appreciated, relevant. It all comes with the territory but let's not be foolish as well.
And I'm not immune;  my heart skips a beat when someone makes an inquiry, but I have also become actively skeptical.
If you get a suspicious email about your work, Google the name or the email address. Chances are someone else has received the same email.  The link to the right on this blog Stop Art Scams is a great site for more information about Art Scams and a list of names often used.

I have gotten so many Scamming emails that I seldom respond. Like the one above - I will simply hit delete- or better yet - hit SPAM.
That's not to say that I won't sell on-line. If an email inquiry comes to MY name asking about specific work, uses correct English grammar, is not in a hurry and is willing to work through my process in a professional way; Great!
Legitimate buyers, or even just shoppers, usually see this as a safe and careful way to do business.

Tim Deibler in His Studio

A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to visit Tim Deibler in his studio overlooking the Spanish Peaks in southern Colorado.
I tagged along with Tracy Miller of the Tracy Miller Gallery in Manitou Springs, as she interviewed Tim for a feature on her gallery website.

I met Tim a few years back when we showed together at Art for the Sangres in Westcliffe, CO - and I was excited to just
be a "fly on the wall" -
Ha!

Turned out to be more of a party;
Tim’s relaxed style belies his amazing work ethic and we could have chatted the morning away gawking at his art collection, his HUGE art library and his stockpile of what looked like thousands of stacked plein air paintings. He let it fall rather casually that he really didn’t market the plein air work so much but saw it as the path to improving his work. That, being his goal as a professional painter- and his “job” everyday -  to improve the work
- and the right people will find it.
And so they have: Tim has authored a wonderful book on landscape painting  “Capturing the Seasons in Oil” and you can see his work in places like the Brown Hotel in Denver where a huge mountain aspen scene dominates the front desk area. He was also featured as the cover artist for the 2014  L.L.Bean Christmas Catalog. You cannot BUY advertising like that.
Faith is a guiding principal in Tim’s life and work, and his gentle and generous outlook seem to flow naturally from it.
This weekend the 13th annual “Representing the West” Show opened at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center and Tim’s huge sunset over the Spanish Peaks is the piece that opens the show- it is a stunner.
See more photos and read the interview in it’s entirety at studio-visit-with-tim-deibler.

Happy New Year - or How to Get Going Again When the Going Has Been Rough.

Happy 2015.
I haven't posted since November 29th -2014.
Now, even I am beginning to wonder where I have been. . .
The end of my 2014 was full of drama when a 48"x 36" painting I had shipped to Texas arrived there in several pieces.
You try to take those sort of things in stride but it was very hard when the client is crying foul, the insurance adjuster is claiming fraud and I am just crying.
I spent a lot of December painting a copy of the destroyed piece then set it aside to cure and left with my family on a long awaited trip to Germany for the holidays.
Our time in Germany was magical-  beyond expectations,
and I did not paint a lick - or even have a desire to do so.
I know, to some artists that is heresy, but I felt used up in side - or maybe just fed up.
It happens to almost all artists at some point - the lack that comes from only pouring out and not soaking in. The hardest part can be figuring out just how to get the juices flowing again.
Sometimes what we need is a really long soak in a really big tub.
I think what I needed was a lot of really dark beer in a foreign country.
But, you don’t need to go abroad to gain a new perspective -  sometimes you do need a bit of soaking.
If your 2015 has been a slow starter, don't panic.  Stress, work and so many other things, common to us all - can dry up the tank of Inspiration. And it is amazing sometimes how far we often go - on empty.  Hmmmm. . . .
Be good to yourself.  If you are an artist type, or even if you aren’t - get together with others, take a class where someone else directs the creative activity - and soak it up. A class can be the recess in your week- a time of creative play, or the lab of discovery that can become pure alchemy.
All the best to you in 2015.

Holiday Treasures

Looking for a fun way to start your holiday shopping -
that does not involve appliances or big screen TVs?
Head to historic Manitou Springs, Colorado on Saturday, November 29th, where  the fun begins at the Holiday Miniature Show and sale from 4 to 7 pm  at the TracyMiller Gallery,
16 Ruxton  Ave.

Holiday Miniature shows pop up everywhere at this time of year and are the best places to buy work from established, and emerging artists,  - for the best prices.
With so many great artists featured at this show, you can be sure there will be something for everyone - all very affordable.
The Christmas Season is also a wonderful time to be in Manitou Springs; located between Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak,
this fun and festive mountain town is a hotbed of galleries, unique shopping, restaurants, and family attractions- especially inviting at this time of year.
This show will continue in Manitou Springs, at the TracyMiller Gallery, through the end of December.
These pieces here are just a few of the miniatures I painted for the show. Have a great weekend.

So. . . .what did you do on your summer vacation?

Every summer my painting classes head to the great outdoors.
For the evening class this summer I chose locations with long views specifically so that we could work on sunsets.
In the Studio Class we work on "sunsets"- as an element of the landscape and I have found that practice and a little study about: cloud shapes, sky color, landscape values, and low light painting can go a long way in preparation for the actual outdoor experience.

My personal feeling is this: cloud shapes MAKE the sunset. Sky colors and a quiet landscape help to make it all work but if the cloud shapes are dynamic and an active compositional element- then the sunset will also appear active and dynamic.

Everyone in class improved their plein air sunsets and I found my self much more comfortable doing what used to be very intimidating.
The time frame for a sunset is SO short - if you only do one plein air sunset a year -  it can be like trying to catch a tiger by the tail;  the results are seldom pretty.

I did a bunch this summer as practice and most went off wet to galleries where they sold rather quickly.
These are only a few - all are plein air, and all are pretty terse.
The last is 9x12 and probably my final plein air sunset of the season.
This winter I want to make larger versions of the studies and next summer do much larger work en plein air.
Practice, practice, practice.

TAOS Fall Arts Festival

Fall color is making its way thru Colorado from the high country down to the river valleys.  I look up to the San Juan's from my house and can see golden colors spread across the mountains like a necklace. 
At this time of year, artists want to be everywhere at once and there is a lot of chatter:  about the best color,  when it will peak - where it will peak  -  will it snow before it does . . . .
It can be a little nerve wracking. 
Last weekend I was in Creede painting with Sue McCullough and we caught the beginning of what we hope will be a long Fall. To the right is my piece, 14x12 - painted along the Bachelor Loop road.

This weekend it is Taos Fall Arts Festival -  as we follow Autumn's momentum and head to one of our favorite places - TAOS.
Taos Fall Arts celebrates the season with events and shows featuring fine art, arts & crafts, music, film and street art - all free and open to the public.

Sunday, Sept 28th, from noon to 5pm I will be painting at the Wilder Nightingale Fine Art Galley on Kit Carson with Sue McCullough and many of Wilder's other artists. Kit Carson will be hopping with openings and artists everywhere.
Come and join the party.

If you are looking to take in more of Fall in Taos - head down there on Friday for the TAOS SELECT opening that kicks off the weekend,  Friday Sept 26, from 5-9pm at the Kachina Lodge Conference Center. This opening will feature only invited Taos artists and, like all of the festival events, including the Taos Art Museum and the Fechin House are free and open to the public - open daily from 10am-6pm.

Fall Painting Classes

Hi all.
2 Painting Class options for this Fall in Alamosa, Colorado:
Studio Painting on Tuesday Evenings from 6:30pm to 9:30pm, starting on September 2nd, and
Plein Air (outdoor) Painting on Thursday Mornings from 9 am to noon, starting on September 4th.
The class session is 8 weeks long and based in the Studio at the Alamosa Family Recreation Center.


On Tuesday Evenings our focus will be on the landscape as we study composition and design, color,  and technique. Beginners are always welcome, even first-time oil painters brave enough to jump in.

On Thursday Mornings we will be out painting in the landscape around Alamosa punctuated with a drive to the Conejos to paint Fall color.
The first meeting of the Thursday Plein air Class will meet the Alamosa Recreation Center for a paint-along demo. Location schedules will be passed out at that time so everyone will know where to meet in the following weeks. Students bring their own supplies to the plein air class and as always, beginners are welcome.
If you have painted with us in class before, you are welcome to drop in on either class for a drop-in fee. Call the Alamosa Family Recreation Center at 710-589-2105 for Registration or  information.

Evening Plein Air

After several weeks of dodging rain drops and lightening,
the Tuesday class was rewarded with a beautiful summer evening. 

It was blazing sun when we set up at 6:30, out north of Alamosa
but it wasn't long before the evening began to unfold.
Thankfully, most of the action was off in the distance, - a thunder storm with lots of great lightning and a long, varied, and beautiful sunset. Life is good in Colorado.
At the bottom is my take on the evening.

Class Notes: Marketing ART- or Who am I?

In my classes there are artists at all levels and stages of their journey; some are long time art business people spanning many genres and mediums, some paint for show and some paint to please only themselves. Everyone is working to improve.
In class we talk about the "Art business" and what life is like as a daily/working painter. Questions that come up are related to the "How to" of selling as much as the "how to" of painting and students ready to make a leap to the more serious side of selling want to know where to start.
Often the conversation begins like this:
     "I have been painting/creating for many years and have a ton of work in  - watercolor, oil, acrylic, some is landscape, some still life. I used to live in another state and painted at the ocean so I have a lot of seascapes plus the ones I did in college. . . . . .
Also, I went through a phase of 'art quilting'.
Where do I start to SELL all this stuff?"

Whoa!!  TOO much stuff.  
This is where I ask - WHO are you? -  and WHAT are you selling?
In a word - this is "marketing".

Deciding WHO you are, or want to be, is the hardest part.

Are you a painter, sculptor, fiber artist?
What is your medium? - subject matter? Landscape, still life, portrait, abstract?
Do you work best en plein air, or do you prefer studio work?
If you want to SELL work (beyond the occasional “one off”) - it becomes about marketing. The more specific you can be about WHO you are as artist - the easier it is to target the market for your work and be successful.
If you have a lot of work already - gather up the BEST, putting together what goes together stylistically and pulling out what does not fit. Start with only the best.  If you end up with 2 pieces - that is what you build on until you have a "BODY" of work, 10 -20 pieces.
Galleries are looking for distinctive work with a consistent style.

I market myself as a "Contemporary Plein Air Painter, working in the Western landscape". Those boundaries keep my marketing on track.
When I choose paintings for advertising and promotion I go with work that most exemplifies MY style and genre. I never want to muddy the water with other styles, other genres, or old work, - no matter how "good" it is.

When I lived in California, I sold a ton of seascapes- because I lived there. Not anymore; my galleries and collectors want work done in my region. That is not to say that I never paint seascapes or sell them but they have to fit the marketing criteria of  "contemporary plein air painter- working in the western landscape".
It is not about what I CAN DO - it is about what I want to SELL.