Voice - A Journey Worth Taking-Cont.

Back from a road trip to North Carolina and the changing of the leaves.  Road trips always foster interesting conversations with my husband.  It's great; he's a captive listener!  After a quick stop in Charleston, SC, we headed toward Asheville. Somewhere on I-26  I brought up the topic of Voice and asked David. . .  Was voice something that could be identified by the viewer or did the viewer need the artist to provide words of explanation?  This was prompted after seeing a collection of work by an artist at the Robert Lange Studio in Charleston.  We both agreed we could identify some artists because of their brushwork, color palette, subject matter, and unique elements such as backgrounds.  Is this voice?  Or is voice something deeper in the concept or meaning the artists is trying to convey?  The more we talked, the more I wasn't sure I could describe voice or would even  know it if I saw it.  As a reader of literature, I can usually tell who an author is after a few chapters without looking at his or her name as long as I have read three or four of their works.  So maybe voice is just that , a definable style.  Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with a message you are trying to convey?

The above image is a closeup of a painting I just finished called Italian Repast.  Below is the full 32"X16" canvas.  People always tell me they can tell my work without seeing the signature.  Is that style or voice?  Your thoughts on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

VOICE - A Journey Worth Taking con't.

     As I prepared for a pilgrimage back to my early roots in North Carolina, I checked out my favorite galleries in the area to see who is showing their work.  One of my favorites in Asheville is 16 Patton Fine Art Gallery.  What does this have to do with voice?  In reading artists statements of work that I am drawn to, I found an artists who describes what I am alluding to when it comes to emotions and connections.  The artist is Mase Lucas and I have taken an excerpt from her artists statement to show what I am trying to describe.
   
       "Notwithstanding an occasional portrayal of horses in
        action, most of the paintings are quiet and reflective …
        herbivores at peace … as they are here in my fields.
       The thing about horses that makes them compelling
       art subjects is the same thing that makes them
       compelling to me in their own right. My heart melts
       at their beauty and kindness and my adrenalin rises
       at their power … a power so often restrained to
       accommodate us humans."

When your subject matter can cause a welling up of these kinds of emotions then you know you have to share them in some artistic form; now you are beginning to speak in VOICE.  Is communication through subject matter all there is to artistic voice?  Not necessarily so, but you are coming closer to the meaning of your art and your voice.  More to say about voice in the near future as I continue this series.  How do you speak your artistic voice?  Have you found it yet?  Your comments are welcomed!

VOICE - A Journey Worth Taking

Something magical and mysterious has recently happened in the creation of the last few paintings that have come off my easel. So magical and so mysterious that it has caused me to step back and ask . . . have I found my “voice?” In asking comes the decision to explore the journey that has led up to this eureka. My logical brain has known for years that finding your voice is the key to an artist's expression. It's what distinguishes your art from the rest of the herd. I also know that it comes from somewhere deep inside and is not easily reached. And last I know that when I see this type of expression be it the written word, dance, music, or art, it can bring tears to your eyes or make a lump in your throat. Words like emotion, spirit, connections, and even no words will be on the map for this journey. My road map begins with an inner journey.

Accessing it requires a personal decision to do the work. It requires time set aside away from distractions on a regular basis. My suggestion would be to set aside about 10 to 15 minutes each day and revisits old memories. Write memories of events that have given you the greatest highs or the lowest lows. Feel the moments and write down your thoughts about what you felt back then. These moments will well up and drive the need to put them somehow and in some special way on canvas. This solitary exploration will allow you to pull it apart and make sense of it. It will drive the artistic expression. This is VOICE. Also pay attention to those objects, place, and people that make you not only take notice but resonates with your emotions. Keep a discovery journal either in written or visual form or both. Add pictures from various sources.

Voice for me is an emotion that is aligned with my life experiences that are remembered.  It reflects my story; the good and the bad. It is told with the utmost desire to tell it truthfully without ego putting in its two cents worth. It requires detaching from the outcome and just go where it leads you. Now that I am older and in my crone stage of life, I am free to tell it like it is or was. Painting with voice must somehow connect to this inner journey. I will add more about my journey in the next blog. In the meantime, please share with my readers how you discovered your VOICE.

Butt Pain from Sitting on the Learning Curve

    Is it just me or is this technology explosion causing you to ask . . . WHY?  This past week Robert Genn's s newsletter broached the subject of the lack of sales in this weak economy.  He stated that in a conversation with five artist, one being a technology guru (my words not his) sales were almost non existent.  Obviously if their work is not up to par all the advertising in the world won't help.  And during this same week I pulled up a site that I had bookmarked some months ago called ARTIST HELPING ARTIST.  This particular radio broadcast was about blogging effectively and all the strategies to have a bigger following.  I was overwhelmed with all the techno information.  I've tried staying current but new information and marketing information to promote my art has overwhelmed me.  I know that if you do the work you will increase your community of readers but is that enough?  Do you have to have a store with books and prints of your work to make it pay?  Why do a few artists (daily painters) seem to sell everything they paint on ebay.    What is the real goal for putting all this information out there?  I would love to hear your personal experience with being internet savvy.  I have included the broadcast at the bottom for those interested.  This broadcast is only one of many that are great and I recommend checking this site out.  Just be sure to have a pencil and lots of paper to make notes.  Looking forward to all comments on this topic.

Listen to internet radio with Artists Helping Artists on Blog Talk Radio

I'm wild for White

Carolina Blue  20X28, oil on linen

Though I am a native born Floridian, North Carolina near Chapel Hill is a major part of my life and family history.  So painting with themes related to my NC roots is major for me.  "Carolina Blue", the fourth painting in my new series of paintings featuring my favorite NC pots and old white fabric family heirlooms is my latest testimony to my heritage. But, something is happening here that I didn't expect when I began.  The nuances of color and temperature changes with white fabric have made me understand grays in a way I have never thought possible.  Now, when I lay out my palette at the beginning of each day, I can mix puddles of white with ease and understanding of what I am seeing.  The "air" of the background colors becomes part of the shadows of the whites of the fabric.  Now when someone asks me what colors you mix to make white, my answer is . . . "depends on what you are seeing."  The teaching advise of  "... if the light shapes are cool, then the shadow colors will be warm and visa-versa"  isn't necessarily so.  Judging value gradations is the other skill that painting white fabric promotes.   The folds, turns, hills, and valleys are much like painting a landscape.   Learning to "see" takes time and painting white can really move that process along--just a suggestion.  I love painting white to the point that I think I am addicted.

Business Planning for Artists - Part 2

Business Planning for Artists – Part 2
In my previous Blog Post on the subject of business planning we reviewed some basic per-planning elements that should be answered by all of us. These elements included your Vision Statement, Mission Statement, and answering the ultimate question of what business you are in. I suggest that you revisit the basic elements reviewed before moving on. That said, here is a basic outline for a general business plan beginning with the Executive Statement (which, by the way, should be written last as it summarizes the whole of you business plan).

1. Executive Summery
   What business am I in?
   My Vision
   My Mission
   Keys to my success
2. Business Summary
   My Strengths and Weaknesses
   My Experience
   My Education
   My Business History --- an on-going business or start-up
   My Location and Facilities
3. Products and Services (or both)
   What do I create (e.g. Custom Fine Art)
   What services to I provide (e.g. Commissioned Work)
   Competitive Comparison
   Source Materials Used
   Technologies Used
   Promotional Materials/Literature
   Future Products possible
4. Market Analysis Summary
   My Market Segment
   Target Market Strategy
   Market Needs
   Market Trends
   Market Growth
   External Opportunities and Threats
   Market Participants
   Distribution Patterns
   Competitive Factors
   Main Competitors
5. Strategy and Implementation summary
   Value Position
   Competitive Edge
   Marketing Strategy
   Pricing Strategy
   Promotional Strategy
   Marketing Programs
6. Financial Plan (there is a whole list of items that can go here, but I need to start making this post a little shorter!)
7. Personal Plan

Okay, this looks pretty daunting and is why most artists do little if any real business planning. I should also say that this outline is not chiseled in stone, so it is a starting point/suggestion not an absolute! The purpose of a business plan is to focus your attention to the grunt work of business. So if you were to work through even half of the elements of a general business plan outline, you would be in a better position business wise than the average artist. In addition, there are many business planning programs available for both the Mac and PC that will walk you through the planning process. None are all that easy to use in my opinion, but are still worth the effort to learn to use or master. I personally use Business Plan Pro and QuickBooks Pro to help me to better understand my art business and where I stand financially. I will have more to say about art business planning as others ask questions. Until then, please feel free to make comments, or ask your art related question using the comments area. I welcome and appreciate questions and input.

Business Planning for Artists - Part 1

As artists we do not normally think of ourselves as business people. However, if we plan to make a living as artists we are indeed also business people. Recently, through direct E-mail and Twitter, I have been asked about business planning for artists. Business planning in general is a topic that could fill a completely independent blog or website. Here, I will attempt to be brief but still provide some basic information and direction so that you can begin to think about writing your own artist’s business plan.  Sorry, no pictures on this one.

For starters, there are a few fundamental elements that you must think about in order to begin to develop your written business plan for your art businesses. Carefully consider the following points; in a brief paragraph or two you should be able to describe for yourself and have a good basic feel for each of these basic elements:

• What business are you in? Describe in seven words or less
• Your Basic Values & Beliefs --- who are you really
• Vision --- where do you see yourself in two, five or more years
• Mission --- why do you paint (sculpt or draw) in the first place
• Internal Strengths and Weaknesses --- what makes you different; make you less competitive
• External Opportunities and Threats --- gallery or museum invitations; the economy
• Competition (like it or not we all have competitors!) --- who are you compared to
• Your Products and Services, Customers, and Markets --- quality matters; who are your clients/collectors; what markets do you play in---sidewalk art shows, galleries

Let me say this right from the get-go: I know as artists that it is difficult to think of our works of art as products, but to the art show art buyer or the gallery owner/dealer that is what our art represents. If you or the gallery can’t sell your work, you are out of business plain and simple! Take a good look at your work or have an unbiased person take a hard look for you. Is the quality of your work equal to or better than others already in the market place you want to play in? Are your artistic skills and standards as high as or higher than those you compete against? Your work represents and speaks for you and you are judged as an artist accordingly. So what does your work say about you?

I will have more to say about art business planning in Business Planning for Artists - Part 2, or as others ask questions. Until then, please feel free to make comments, or ask your art related question using the comments area. I welcome and appreciate questions and input.