Painting Every Day

I'm trying very hard to balance drawing and painting the "analog" way with learning how to create on the computer. The computer is fun and it has the wonderful function of "command z" which allows me to go back a step or 10 steps if I mess up. But I find the computer analytical. I think it's because I'm still learning how the programs work. Painting and drawing is more meditative for me. I just go with the flow. I usually don't worry about mistakes because I can quickly cover them up or use them to my advantage. I think having a more meditative creative process feeds into my learning how to create on the computer.

I doubt I will actually be able to paint every single day. I'm going for 5 days a week. I made my rules simple. I set my timer for 30 minutes and just go for it in a small sketchbook. So far I've been using gesso, gouache and some collage. I try to not have a lot of materials on hand so I can be quick. I've also given myself permission to quit if I'm not "feeling" the page. It's just my sketchbook. Forcing art making if you aren't feeling good about what you are creating will not result in a good piece. I think it's important to try for at least 30 minutes though as it can push me past any uneasiness in the beginning and get me into the groove. Here are some fun pages I've done so far.

 

 

They're playful and simple. I'm just goofing off and having fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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The Final "Make Art That Sells" Bootcamp Assignment

For our last assignment Lilla Rogers did things a little differently. We had to make a personal piece of art that we would either give as a gift or keep for ourselves and we weren't allowed to share any sketches or our final piece in the Facebook group. You could hear the screams and collective gasps from fellow Bootcampers around the globe. The Facebook groups in MATS are very active and supportive. Getting feedback can help give an artist perspective, inspiration or that ego boost we need (unless no one comments on your work which has happened). Many campers were upset with this but I actually liked this idea. I'm sometimes influenced by what my artsy friends are posting. "Ooh, that's a good idea" or "I was going to do it that way, now I can't" or "Wow, everyone's work is way better than mine!" All these thoughts freeze me up and I have difficulty creating. I was relieved I couldn't see other's posts since I was at a loss of what to do. The subject matter was to create art of your favorite drink. I don't draw or paint drinks. Ahhhhh!

I drink coffee and I did drawings of cups and tried some lettering but no ideas were coming except mixed media art you might see hanging at Starbucks. That's not the kind of art I make. I tried an abstract piece of coffee beans and that was a bust. Then I thought about what I like to draw: characters. So I played a bit with different critters drinking coffee or hot chocolate (my other favorite drink).

 

I took out my favorite paints and inks and created art for me with foxes and hot chocolate (yum!).

 

I am so happy with how this turned out. It's a fun piece of art. I did some collage and played with my inks and made fun characters. Surprisingly it only took me a couple of hours to do this piece. It hasn't flowed that easily for a while and it never really flowed that easily for a MATS assignment. Don't get me wrong, I loved all the classes and will likely do Bootcamp next year but it was so helpful to not see what other people were doing. I haven't decided if I want to put this as a print in my shop or save it for a holiday card or maybe make a series of critters with food for holiday kids plates. It's one of the best things I've done and I think it could be great for licensing.

Next week I'll share my piece for Lilla Roger's Global Talent Search. The galleries of the entries including the top 50 will post the 26th of August and I'm going to wait to share my art until then.

For artists interested in licensing and creating marketable art, Assignment Bootcamp is a great course. You get a real good idea of what a real life assignment from a manufacturer is like. Click here to get more info on next year's Bootcamp.

If you like an intense class to learn everything there is to learn about making art for licensing, just click here to learn about Make Art That Sells.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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Some Art Days are Good and Some are Not

I've been playing around with different media and different techniques. Some things are successful and some, not so much. Here are some things from my studio.

Cutie IPad Art

First Go At Coloring in Photoshop

 

This will become something cause it's too adorable not too.

 

Love the next three faces so much!

 

 

Has potential, maybe...

 

And in my attempt to be primitive I created this mediocre one

 

A reject from Braveheart

 

No! No! No! Put those oil pastels down right now and walk away. It'll be best for everyone.

 

Some days I create things I am over the moon about. Other days I create well, crap. But that is ok. Every mark I make teaches me something, even if it's never to pick up an oil pastel again (at least not this week). I believe all artists go through this; musicians, novelists, chefs, painters, all creative types. Every artistic individual you love has at one time created something that will never see the light of day. But if you don't make the bad you will never learn how to make the good. So, make something bad and be proud. (You may choose to hide it forever or post it on your blog like me)

 

Thanks for stopping bye!

 

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A New Painting and a Sale!

I've been taking Mindy Lacefied's 6 month course, Wild Surrender. February Mindy did a lovely textural sailboat painting and her lesson inspired this painting.

This is my first painting to feature a boy (my son was thrilled!). I had so much fun painting this one. My love of the ocean, the book "Where the Wild Things Are" and the painted papers of Eric Carle influenced this piece.

In other news, my birthday is March 15th! To celebrate I am having a 10% off sale in my Etsy shop. A print of the above painting is available along with some other new art. Just use the code HAPPY45BDAY at checkout. Sale ends midnight on Sunday the 16th.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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Let the Countdown Begin!

 

This is how many days I have until I can work at my art full time. Both my kids will be getting on the bus around 8:15 and getting home around 4:30. If I work about 9:00-4:00 five days a week that's 35 hours a week to create and work at my business. I decided to start a countdown to give me a goal; A focus.

Things have been a bit crazy the past couple of weeks. We've had snow and ice with school closings. I had lots of little things to get done before I went into the hospital for surgery. Then I've been recovering from surgery. Things are finally leveling out and getting back to normal. While I was recovering I spent time thinking about my art and my frustrations. I get really annoyed at not having time. I'm talking 4 or 5 hours in a row of uninterrupted time. It just doesn't happen often. So, what can I do about it? How can I get what I want? I think I need to let go of the desire of having hours of uninterrupted time and just steal minutes where I can. Focusing on "time" has become a roadblock so I'm changing my thinking.

I'm taking "Year of the Fairy Tale" from Carla Sonheim and this month's assignment has been about "quantity" over "quality". We have to make lots of quick sketches and paintings instead of intensely working on a few paintings/sketches. I love this concept. It puts all the focus on the process of making art instead of the final product. So, I'm going to make as much art as possible and not care if it's "good enough" to sell or if it will "work" for licensing. I'm just going to make the art and have faith beauty will emerge. Some of the best things I've made have been when I just got lost in the moment of making art.

My art buddy Juliette Crane has been painting on paper and she has piles of paintings now that were quick to make and are lovely. And my friend Mindy Lacefield had a post of all her work from last year. Over 100 paintings. I can't even imagine accomplishing that! If I let go and just think of any minute spent on making art as valuable I know I will have a wonderful body of work. I'm just going to sketch, doodle, paint and create. Whatever time I get will be time well spent because I'm not going to worry about the "quality". I'm going to enjoy the process!

Here are fun charcoal sketches I've been making on book paper. They take a few minutes to create and they are so dang cute!

I love these little drawings. The charcoal has a nice bold line and you can easily smudge and shade for depth. I can see some of these pieces being used in something else down the road. Every mark has value because it leads to another and another and another.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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Feeling a Little Lost

I've been thinking a lot about the art I create lately. I've been feeling lost. It's not that I dislike the art I am making. I am just not sure if it's "me". I think The Make Art That Sells e-course changed how I look at my art. I want to make art that I love but it also has to be marketable. So, I am questioning everything I am creating. I just want to enjoy making art but I also want to sell it so, where is the balance? How do you balance being commercial and being true to yourself? I decided I've been overthinking things and my problem may be that I haven't found my style. I've found some of it, but not all of it. My art is also not quite focused for a specific market. So, I've gone into analysis mode and started thinking about where my love of art comes from. Why do I love art?

When I was growing up I loved (and still love) Disney Films. I watched the Disney Channel when if first came onto cable and they actually showed all the classic cartoons. I have quite a collection of (now out of print) books on Disney Animation. I used to trace the characters and color them in. I still love to look through the books and I now get to watch the movies through my children's eyes.

In high school I fell in love with Impressionism. I actually enjoy most fine art but Impressionism is my favorite, especially Degas. I love the color and texture in Impressionist paintings. I also like how they captured daily life and landscapes.

In my 20's and 30's I worked in several different bookstores and my favorite department was the children's section, especially picture books. I loved the stories and the art. The best part of picture books is that the art can be so different. Below are pictures of just some of the books in my collection. I have a lot! I think my favorite thing about picture books are the characters created. The trick to creating an excellent picture book is that the words and the pictures work well on their own but are perfect compliments to each other. I was recently reading a Frog and Toad (by Arnold Lobel) story to my son and he was cracking up at the story and the pictures.

So what does all this mean for my art and what I create? I'm not sure yet. I think I have some of the whimsy from Disney, some texture from the Impressionists and characters from children's books already floating around in my art. I just need to keep drawing and working and drawing some more. I have been experimenting with other media too. My beginnings in art was in the craft world. I was a certified Donna Dewberry Muralist. As much as I enjoyed being a crafty painter I'd like my work not to look "crafty". This is my personal preference. Most important though I need to remember what kind of art makes my heart sing.

 

 

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Dealing With the "Tough Stuff"

I have been debating all week whether or not to blog about a recent art related experience. I don't want to come across as negative or whiny. But the truth is, my experience is something all artists go through and I feel it's important to share how I am dealing with it and what I've learned so, here it goes.

Last weekend was the Black Friday Chrismtas Sales' Extravaganza that every retail store engaged in. I jumped on board and loaded my shop with affordable originals and I lowered my prices for my prints. I promoted it over the weekend trying to be "just enough" without being annoying. I didn't get a single sale. I was super disappointed. I did get more traffic but no purchases.

When a disappointment like this happens in your life, especially if you are an artist, a lot of negative thoughts start filling your head. Stuff like "your art isn't good enough", "all your friends who've told you your art is good were lying", "there are hundreds of people who are better than you", "maybe you should make jewelry instead" and so on. These thoughts lasted about a day or two and I tried my best to ignore them. They were just a story I was creating in my own head and they aren't the truths I want to believe in.

After a couple days objectivity comes into play. I had thoughts like "you haven't been active with your shop until this past weekend. You need to work on that.", "self promotion isn't your favorite thing to do. Find a more creative way to do it.", "make good art". That last one really stuck with me. There's a great commencement speech from Neil Gaiman called "Make Good Art". And that is what it's all about. During last weekend I had some time to paint and it felt so good and so peaceful. I didn't check Etsy. I didn't have negative thoughts. I was enjoying moving the paint on my surface and drawing with my pencils. I got lost in the art making for a while. It was joyful.

So, I'm moving forward from last weekend. It's okay that I felt disappointment but I don't want to stay in that place. I have to move forward and do what I love doing. I have to learn from the experience. So, I will spend time analyzing and honing my business skills. First and formost I have to make art that I love and not what I think people will love. I have faith my audience will find me and sales will come my way when they are supposed to.

Here are some pieces I've been working on. I just love making critters! Hopefully these guys will be in my shop this week.

Here is the link to the Neil Gaiman speech. It's very inspiring!

If you would like to share how you deal with disappointment, I'd love to hear! Just post a comment below.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Snapshots From My Studio

I hang lots of things on my walls in my studio. My art, sketches, art from other artists. It inspires me. I use it for reference. It helps me remember ideas I want to try. 

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Making the Transition

Well, we have survived my son's first week of kindergarten. We only had one glitch the first day, he missed the bus home. Other than that everything has been going very well. I'm more relaxed too. It's easier managing one child at a time. As far as I know, Evan is enjoying Kindergarten. I ask him, "What did you do today?" and he replies "I don't know? Why do you keep asking?". At least he's not complaining, right?

I spent last week simmering, getting a feel for my new schedule and thinking about schedules and what to accomplish on what days. After taking Part A of Make Art That Sells and participating in The Global Talent Search I realized I have a long way to go in building this career. I have a good grasp on creating art. I need to learn how to adapt it to licensing. I knew I wasn't going to be in the top 50 (I'm pretending I made the top 100) of GTS and I think I would've had a panic attack if I did end up as a finalist. I am so not ready to meet the demands of licensing. I really need a Monday - Friday schedule free of kids to be a full time artist. Right now I need the flexibility to drop what I'm doing if I have to. Caitlyn is only in school twice a week and at Nana's a couple times a week. I also suffer from migraines which will knock me right out. So, the next twelve months will be about building my business and portfolio.

I made a brief list of things I feel I need to do in the next 12 months. I'm analyzing my schedule to determine what days are best for creating art, building my business and learning Photoshop and Illustrator. When Caitlyn is at Nana's I have a huge chunk of time to work so, I'm leaning towards those days being dedicated to art making. Caitlyn's preschool days give me over 2 hours of kid free time so, those may be business or uninterrupted learning time. The next twelve months are going to be about discipline too. I am terrible at planning my week and setting goals. I've got to be better at that! Maybe I need to add that to my list of "things to do".

I did accomplish one thing on my list and I'm not referring to buying packing supplies. I opened an Etsy shop! I'm polishing it up and filling the shelves. I still have my Fine Art America store for prints shipping outside the U.S. I will only be shipping within the U.S. with Etsy for now. Fine Art America will also matte and frame prints if that is what you desire. I won't be doing that in the Etsy shop. Etsy will be signed prints and original paintigs Please, visit it often! Make me a favorite. I'll be adding things each week!

Here is the link for my Etsy shop!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LyndaMMetcalf

And here is also the link for my Facebook Page. Another goal of mine is to utilize Facebook more in showing works in progress and promoting new work. If you like my page you will be updated on new happenings!

https://www.facebook.com/Lyndammetcalf.artist

Thank you so much for stopping by. I appreciate all my readers who follow me. Taking Make Art That Sells has really changed my attitude towards my business. I am motivated and excited about it. I hope more and more people will come along for the ride. I love sharing this journey with you!

 

P.S. If you are serious about your art and want to build your business, I highly, highly recommend Make Art That Sells. The class I took has an awesome Facebook group and Lilla Rogers is an inspiring teacher. I am sure all future runs of the class are going to be as exciting as the first run. Lilla is filled with excitement for part B (you don't need to take Part A first) and may have other things in the works down the road. It is the best investment I have made for my art and my business.

 

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