Community Support Idea

In the past few years, several of the artists in my critique group have donated paintings to a local charity auction that supports art and art education in our community. It’s a noble cause, but several of my friends who participated have felt used and misunderstood. Their experience makes me wish more people outside the art world understood the value of our work.

After a fundraiser, my friends are out the cost of framing while the buyers walk away with originals for much less then the price they’d pay in a gallery. Times are already hard for artists, yet my friends felt pressured by the charity to give their work away. These artists want to use their talents to support a good cause, but they don’t want to diminish the value of their paintings in the process.

A teacher of mine believes we should never donate our original art. He thinks it undercuts the value of all our work and creates an expectation that we will donate again. He thinks a society that expects art for little or nothing does not deserve it, and he feels people value art more if it has a high price tag.

I think we need a middle ground, and our critique group tried to find one. Our idea is to have a well publicized art auction with starting bids equal to the cost of framing. This reimburses the artists. If no one is willing to pay for framing then the artist keeps the painting. After framing costs are paid, the artist and the charity split proceeds evenly. The artist can, of course, choose to donate her half back to the organization and take the tax deduction. It’s a win-win: the charity raises money while respecting and valuing the artist’s role.

I’m not sure where I stand on this issue. But it is clear to me that many non-artists think artistic talent is born of some gift from on high, not gained through effort and expense on the part of the artist. That is a myth we would be wise to debunk.

Creative Reserve

I’ve written in the past about the importance of creating a reserve of materials and ideas. Nothing feels quite so good as a stockpile of great reference materials and sketches. But it’s also important to build a creative reserve. I’m learning that as artists, we cannot continually make withdrawals from our creative accounts without making a deposit now and then.

The artists we work with here at Creative Catalyst have vast creative reserves. Their worlds include attending meetings, entering shows, and visiting different parts of the country. They do not need more visual stimulation. They need time to paint.

Those of us who don’t get out as often must seek out artistic stimulation. Let curiosity be your guide: visit a new shop or gallery, go to lunch somewhere different, or check out new materials. Shake things up. It is easy to get stuck in a comfortable rut. It impacts the freshness of our work. We forget it’s important to have fun, to play, and to explore. If you find that you are hitting a wall, take a moment to think about the last time was you treated yourself to a deposit in your creative account.

Cheers,
Lynn Powers

Words of Caution

The words of caution are, don’t be. As usual, I’m writing this for myself. It’s something I need to hear.

Each of us has only so much time on this earth. Especially in art, any time we spend being afraid of our own inner voice is a waste of a limited resource. Oscar Wilde said it best, “Be yourself, everyone else is taken!”

Years ago, an instructor pointed out that more women than men attend workshops. He then pointed out that more men than women enter shows. He wondered why that was. It was not due to lack of talent. I believe it’s because women are generally taught to be more cautious than men. This caution has spilled over into an arena where it has no place.

It is important to become proficient with the medium. It provides the freedom to think about what we are doing and not just how we are doing it. However, at some point we need to step out on that invisible bridge of self guidance with fearless gusto.

So onward and upward.

A Change of Plumage

I am rejoicing! The Goldfinchs are gold. That may not mean much to most of you but to me it’s an indication I’ve made it through my least favorite season of the year: winter. Like daffodils in the spring, gold Goldfinchs are harbingers of hope.

In winter the goldfinch are safely hidden by their drab plumage of grays. The return of their yellow means my senses can anticipate delightful bird song, color and the sweet scent of flowers. It’s in sharp contrast to winter in Oregon’s Mid-Willamette Valley. The Valley can become a soup bowl of colorless fog. Weeks, if not months, may go by without enough sun to permit cast shadows. Life takes on a two dimensional quality. It would be one big sensory depravation tank if not for the cold. I may be exaggerating, but not much.

This has nothing and everything to do with art. Art is a celebration of both color and the lack of color. It’s experiential and analytical. It helps us feel alive. Like some nuanced painting, there are beautiful aspects of winter but I’ve had to work to appreciate their subtle qualities. I don’t have to work to enjoy spring. Spring is overpowering in its abundance of options. Nothing is subtle. It is high energy and youthful.

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As a spring gift from me to you, please enjoy 15 minutes of bird song, recorded here in our garden on one of those wonderful spring mornings I dearly love. And a special thanks to Susan Bourdet for permitting me to use her image in this manner.

Enjoy!
Lynn Powers

As Long as it Takes

Last week I mentioned that I was attending a workshop. I’ve returned with one more tip: remember that a painting cannot be rushed.

I rush painting for a couple of reasons; the first is my inclination to multitask. I can unload the dishwasher, cook, and talk at the same time, but art takes focus. It’s high time I slow down and give it the focus it requires. I cannot squeeze art between other activities. It deserves its own time and space.

Secondly, I’ve been unrealistic about how long it takes to give thought and careful execution to a painting. This tendency comes from the open studio I attend at the local university, which is only three hours long. I know that when the session ends, I lose my model, so I rush. Rushing only gives me one more mediocre attempt at a painting to slide under my bed. The studio schedule should not dictate my expectations. It would be wiser to forgo spend the time making careful drawing.

Painting is not a horse race. It takes as long as it takes. The only good way to speed up my process is to get more experienced at what I do, and that’s something I’ll have to wait for.

Cheers,
Lynn Powers

Tips

I’m delighted to say that I’m attending a seminar this week. I needed the shot-in-the-arm! Every time I attend one of these things, it brings home the fact that so much of painting has to do with the accumulation of tips. Here are a few helpful tips I’ve learned over the years. Sometimes they make the difference between a frustrating experience and finding my way through of a problem.

If you’re having difficulty drawing, try closing one eye. When drawing a face or figure, a few nanometers one way or the other can distort the final image. Viewing with only one eye helps flatten perception and prevent the spacial shift that comes with two eyed vision. (Use both eyes when evaluating color or value). Also, don’t forget the other two simple techniques for accuracy: 1) visually measure with your arm extended and 2) drop a vertical line to be sure things align as they should.

Look at your painting’s reverse image. When checking your work, you can see it with fresh eyes if you view it using a mirror. This helps us evaluate our work as if it belonged to someone else. If a mirror isn’t handy, turn your painting upside down.

Use a value scale. A value scale helps remind us how dark a number ten value actually is! We may think we are using the entire value range but in reality we are not.

Note the direction and intensity of the light source. If the light source is strong, you have the perfect excuse to plow in the reflected light and color. In addition, the edge of shadows should track to the light source.

And finally, don’t forget to use more than one color in any one area. The mark of a real beginner is someone who, when painting a red shirt, paints it all the same red. They may simply shift the values without shifting the color, or in the case of oil colors, simply add black. At a minimum, everything in life is color impacted by what ever is adjacent to the object and the color temperature of the light. At least slide in a few analogous colors for energy and life.

That’s it for now. Please add the tips you’ve found helpful here.

I’m off to pick up a few more tips. (It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it.)

Cheers,
Lynn Powers

What do you love about art?

Much of my personal struggle is to improve while NOT destroying what I love about painting and drawing. The drive to improve can disrupt growth’s natural unfolding and put too much pressure on everything it touches. For me, the element of play, risk taking and discovery needs to be integral to the whole thing.

We all need to choreograph our own dance, which may include classes and workshops. But I’ve also found it very helpful to remind myself of what it is I love about art, and give it value. To improve without passion and joy is sterile. Art needs to nourish.

So here’s part of my list: I love…

• – seeing something come from nothing
• – hanging out with my art buddies
• – the challenge and thrill if anything comes of what I do
• – the feel of the brush going across the paper
• – colors mingling on the paper

What moves you to create? Link here to add to the list!

Cheers,
Lynn Powers