Northbound and Southbound

These were designed and painted as a pair, both 20 x 16". They're a little different -- drawn in various pencils on basswood panels, then coated in translucent wax medium and painted with a wax medium/oil paint mixture. The grain of the wood is one of the things that made me buy the panels in the first place, so I left some areas with only the translucent wax coating, allowing that natural texture to contribute to the paintings.

They're priced at $300 each/$575 for the pair, and prints are available here at my Fine Art America page.

My Kingdom for a Horse

Flying Duchess, 20 x 20" oil on canvas, available, $500. Fine reproduction prints start at $17 on paper, $42 on canvas.

This is a painting I'd been meaning to create for months -- and I finally did it because I had committed to a show and I had a deadline.

The show is called My Kingdom for a Horse, and opens Saturday, 10/5, from 4 to 9 pm at the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery.  I'm one of 18 artists who was invited to exhibit, and it's been a real honor to be chosen.

The heat isn't off, though! Because now I'm getting ready, and still making art, for Saint Paul Art Crawl -- which begins Friday at 6.  I'm a guest artist at J.A. Geiger Studio where a lot of fun events will be going on for Josephine Geiger's 10th Anniversary celebration.

The notion of deadlines as bad things, as stress and restriction and everything art should avoid, is in my experience all wrong. I seek them out, because they cause me to become productive and creative in new ways. The pressure overcomes the other fears that go along with the creative process; when there's a deadline, perfectionism has to step out of the way.

Four Things Nobody Tells You about Buying Art

So, it's time once again for Saint Paul Art Crawl! As a participating artist, I talk to a ton of people during Crawl, and I notice that there's a short list of things basically nobody knows about buying original art. What follows are the Big Four:

 1. You can afford original art.

At my two shows this weekend, I will have originals ranging from $1500 to $20. I own several under-$100 pieces by other artists. Drawings, hand-pulled prints (if you're not sure, ask the artist if they're hand-printed or reproductions; see Item #2), small paintings, pieces of fine pottery -- there are plenty of options, and events like Art Crawl are a great way to see what's out there.

Art Crawl is the only time I create "on the spot" animal sketches, like this 8 x 10", for $20 to $40 (depending how long you ask me to spend on the piece). If you've never bought art before, this is a fun way to start, because you can watch the whole process.

2. Your questions are perfectly good questions. 

Somehow, people get the idea that there's a yardstick: YOU MUST BE THIS EDUCATED TO RIDE -- and most folks feel they don't measure up, so they leave their "dumb" questions unasked. Such a barrier, if it really existed, would result in a world full of sad, lonely artists who all had to find other jobs.

So what you want to know is super basic? It's okay. The level of art knowledge most artists expect from non-artists, is about the same as the level of chinchilla-breeding expertise we expect from ourselves (Sample question from artist to chinchilla breeder: "But how do you tell which one is the boy?").

 3. Artists (and many galleries) offer layaway. 

I am trying to remember if I've ever met a professional artist who would not happily arrange a layaway plan so that someone who loved their art could afford that piece they really wanted.

... nope, so far I don't believe I have. And I know that a lot of galleries will do the same. It's just good business sense. Asking about it falls under Item #2: perfectly good question.

4. We'll take commissions (as seen in yesterday's post, "I Didn't Know You Could DO That!")

As long as it's in our basic style and medium, most of us are glad to work with you if you need "Something like that, but in this other size" or "That kind of pot, but with a deep red glaze instead of the green that'll clash with my house," or whatever it is. It's also possible we already have exactly what you need, but it's at home, or there wasn't room to display it.

I hope this will put you a bit more at ease before Art Crawl, or that outdoor fair, or when you're standing in front of that little gallery and wondering whether to step inside.  There's plenty I didn't cover here, of course, so if there's something you're wondering ... remember Item #2.

~*~

Here's where and when to find me at Fall Art Crawl 2013. Please note that on Saturday I will be at My Kingdom for a Horse at Stillwater Art Guild Gallery from 4 to 9 -- an unavoidable overlap, so if you have an animal you want drawn that day, arrive right at noon! I'll be leaving for Stillwater at 3.

"I didn't know you could DO that!"

That's what someone said to me yesterday. The man's neighbors had hired me to create a set of three big canvases for a dining room wall, and until then it had never occurred to him that this sort of thing was possible.

The canvases in question -- each 40" high x 30" wide. My years of experience as a muralist meant that the size was not a challenge for me. The homeowners wanted an old-fashioned Italian type landscape with a medieval/Renaissance procession of figures, with five banners that would represent the family's five children and their occupations.

This is all oil paint, and the decision was made by the homeowners and their designer (the wonderful Mary Mackmiller of mackmiller design + build)  to keep the colors low-key so that the art would fill the space but not overwhelm it.

Crow and Magpie in their Best Attire

This pair of drawings are about 7" high x 6" wide, and they come from ... well, I've been drawing birds since I was five years old, and this week I allowed myself to go ahead and put some "silly" ideas I had on paper, and see where it took me. These are the same mixed media technique I use for so many of my animal portraits: layers of watercolor, pencils and pastel on heavy cotton paper.

Surely there's a story here, a fall festival of the Corvid family, perhaps. The Steller's Jay will be next in this series, though I don't know what his headdress will look like yet. I'll figure it out.

Louise the Greyhound

Below is the photo I was using for reference. I printed it out, then sketched the changes I'd need to make -- primarily, correcting the way the camera had "shrunk" her rear end. Copying verbatim from photos rarely makes for good art, and camera distortion is one big reason why not. 

 

In the photo, her tail was tucked underneath her so you could barely see it. I pulled it forward to show that adorable little Greyhound tail-curl at the end. And I thought I was done, until Josephine Geiger said, "But what's she looking at? Put an ant in there!"

I groaned, but she was right. We needed to see what had caught Louise's eye. The dog's expression and winglike ears made me think of a butterfly, so that's what I went with. Just a small one -- but enough to emphasize Louise's charming, lively character.

What's Wrong with This Picture?

When I come home with groceries, my rule is that I must put them all away RIGHT NOW. No matter how tired or hungry I might be. So I followed that rule yesterday, and later realized this had happened:

Look closely. Click the image to enlarge, if you need to.

Most people say, "Don't shop when you're hungry" -- because you'll buy stuff you don't need. But I have, um, other reasons. 

Goldfish Greetings

I have new greeting cards coming out! The first two designs are the ever-popular Goldfish series; this time, a pair painted from life at FK ArtGlass in Minneapolis, where they have a nifty indoor fish pond.

The cards are 5 x 7" (standard size), blank inside, and come with pretty linen-textured envelopes. Sets of four -- two of each design -- are available at $16 plus $3 shipping in the US. Ordering is easy; just email me and let me know what you'd like.

The original paintings are watercolors measuring 6 x 9." I held onto them until my printer was done scanning and formatting them for the cards. They are now available (unframed, art only) at $65 each.

The Great Chicken Art Mystery

Chicken Sister (Pop), 10 x 8" oil on canvas

What is it about paintings of chickens? I've discovered that people LOVE them, and I can always sell them -- usually pretty fast!

 

The Chicken Sisters (Pop and Punk), 10 x 8" each, oil on canvas. Available at $125 each; $225 for the set.

This isn't a complaint. I grew up with a henhouse in the back yard, and I think chickens are fun to watch -- all those rounded forms and surprising shapes make them interesting art subjects. I know why I like them, but I like a lot of things and few of them get the kind of response that the chickens do.

Chicken Sister (Punk), 10 x 8" oil on canvas

 So, what do you think it is about chicken art?

Drive-By Chickens

Chorus Girls II, 12 x 24" oil on canvas, by commission. Click to enlarge -- it doesn't shrink down that well.

FUN.

And with that, I must dash out the door to go get food and cocktails deliver a horse portrait.