The Many Benefits of Creating A Series

"A series is a collection of paintings that when viewed

leaves no doubt the same artist created them all.

The theme running through the work is stated and restated

in different yet interconnected ways and the viewer can

look at the collection and understand more easily

what the artist is trying to convey."

~ Lynette Ubel / Ubel Arts, LLC Blog

In Lynette Ubel's excellent blog post, she states, "After the commitment to begin a series is made, it begins to take on a life of its own. With each additional painting in a series, the original thought grows into something more refined and bigger than a singular painting could ever be. Every addition allows the artist’s voice to get louder and clearer, demonstrating that they are on a path,

know what they’re doing, where they’re going, and what they have to do to get there."

I have noticed something happening every time I do a series. It refines my skills as well as my vision. This week's advice to an online student was; "You will really benefit from playing with the pigment without trying to create a masterpiece. (Case in point, below) Because I am rusty at this technique, I did 16 backgrounds - all one right after the other, to re-establish and refine my skills and get comfortable with the results. I didn't get it the first one or two or half dozen, but by the 12th or so try, I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it again. The bottom line is, get help from someone with real experience and don't give up. You need to set up a factory. 

Over the past four Saturdays, I've been giving private lessons to a student
who's been creating a series. She is flourishing and astounded by her progress
and inventory by "building a factory" and doing them assembly-line fashion.

I'm convinced that working on the pieces together and repeating one step at a time,

over and over again can really reinforce and expedite learning and spark individuality.

See John Cage's "Rules for Students and Teachers." 

Actually, I think I'm always working on a series of series these days, lol.

I can't really even remember the last time I worked on a one-on. 

"Not many of us can be convinced that working in a factory is a lot of laughs.

Being a factory may be even worse. But there's something to be said

for building one and getting into it."

~ Robert Genn

Happy Creating!

X ♥  O

 

The Red Canoe Vs. Mystery In Painting

I found yesterday's letter, "Notes On Paucity" by Robert Genn, very interesting. Paucity is something that many of us artists will or already have come to grips with in some way. This succinct, witty essay conveys some very important truths. With the help of a suggestion by his long time friend, Joe Bloggett, Bob decides to take the red canoe out of the painting he is working on. He goes on to explain why; "In some paintings it's best to have viewers launch their own canoes". I invite you to give Robert Genn's Twice-Weekly Letters a look if you never have. You may be missing a real gem. I've been subscribing and gleaning insights from The Painter's Keys for more than a decade! Thanks Bob, for your letters and your continued dedication to raising the bar of art and evolution.

The Red Canoe  ~ Winslow Homer 1889  /  Wikimedia Commons

To Internet Hell And Back

I've been to internet HELL and back over the past week. To make a long story short, it all started when I went to renew my domain name, SpiritArt.us. It was ten days before it was due to expire. Turns out my domain registrar went out of business. They were resellers, so I had to go to the main registrar to find my data. With the high rate of scamming and manipulation on the web, beware, of even the big guys. I was slammed in the beginning by the company, did meet with some cooperation mid stream, but then ended up short changed in the end. Thank God for my wonderful technical support staff at ViaVerio Web Hosting !! One by one, hour by hour, Jason, Tim, Oscar, Dave, and James all got me through this. Thanks so much guys! I still have some work to do, but now there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel!

Today's InspirationEveryday quote:
"To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist." ~ Gail Sheehy

On a brighter note, I became an exclusive photographer with iStockPhoto yesterday. Now I have a bronze film canister and a gold crown by my name. It looks so much better than that old grey thing. I didn't have a photo of me in a crown, so here's the next best thing. It's a shot of me taken by Robert Genn , the Author of "The Painter's Keys" in September of 2005 aboard the cruise ship "Coral Princess" in Alaska.

GROWTH

Many people and events continue to contribute to my growth as an artist and human being. My new foray into creating commercial images, along with my current mentors and influences continually shape my spirit and my work. For all you artists and quote-a-holics, go to Robert Genn's Resource of Art Quotation Pages for hours of perusing and unbridled inspiration!

Giving Thanks

Selling most of my work myself, I've been making personalized handmade thank you cards for everyone who purchases an original painting from me for years. The pay off is well worth the effort. I archive each painting with an ID code and a photo which is kept in on file. I use an ink jet print out of the piece and glue it to quality paper and write the title of the piece and a personalized message for each painting purchased. It's also a great way of keeping a record with pictures and addresses of my collectors. My buyers always comment on how much they appreciate the notes and look forward to receiving them in the mail. Often these notes find their way onto people's desks at work or get carried around and shown to friends and family.


Later they end up attached to the back of the piece. I am fortunate that people get excited about my work and it's a way for them to show it off without carrying the actual artwork around. In this day and age, I need all the collectors and help I can get. Thank you cards and personalized attention help to turn my customers into collectors and friends.I am very appreciative of my collectors and live by the saying that the quickest way to stop the flow of abundance is to neglect showing gratitude for that which you have already received.

I often get responses like this one from my web site testimonials page. "I just wanted to let you know that I took the watercolor out of the packaging last night. In short, it is a beautiful piece of work, and I am truly happy with it. I also want to thank you for the nice card that you included with the watercolor - very classy. Thanks again Sandy, and I hope to buy again from you in the near future." ~ Jason C. Nelson, Dallas TX ~ 8/14/03

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." ~ William Arthur Ward

See Robert Genn's opinion on artists writing Thank You Notes and other artist's responses here.

The World Has Hope

Today I got a letter from Canadian Artist, Robert Genn about The Arts and Barack Obama.

Read Bob's inspiring letter here.


I feel this is not only a victory for change and reform here in the USA.
The world is watching and paying close attention, because this is SOMETHING REALLY BIG! Nothing like this has ever happened before! There is a higher energy at work here and I am so psyched!

See Five Reasons Why Obama Won the '08 Election Here.

"BRISK SALES IN A CROWD"

Our outdoor festivals have come to an end for 2008. We are exhausted and exhilarated! Here's a picture of Our Three Tent Setup last weekend at the Cranberry Festival in Chatsworth, NJ. We had a very busy two days. It was fun handing out autographed copies of the Show Program, reuniting with old customers and friends as well as making new ones.


I had a nice surprise yesterday morning when I found my reply included in the clickbacks to Robert Genn's Oct. 17th letter, "Lessons from a Turkish Market" . It's got a picture of me standing in front of our booth at one of our fall shows. Bob and Andrew, thanks so much! I especially appreciated the compliment you gave me under the photo too. I didn't get it until I read the comments that followed mine. You are the best!

WATERCOLOR WORKSHOP - DAY TWO

I started today's workshop with a couple of handouts from ROBERT GENN 's : Twice Weekly Letters for Artists. I have subscribed to this inspirational email letter for artists since the beginning. Starting as far back as 1999, I think. I've been praising Bob and his efforts ever since. His readership has grown by leaps and bounds from a mere handful of readers to probably hundreds of thousands world-wide. I highly recommend subscribing! It is a powerful resource, not just for painters, but for anyone with an interest in the arts and philosophy.

In last week's Sept. 9th, 2008  letter, "Build A Factory", Bob writes; "During the last while I've been giving my two bits worth to several would-be painters. These folks are young, well educated and talented. They want to talk about the business of making art, the possibility of going to art school, their future in art. They also check my modest brain for what I might think galleries want, price points, popular sizes, that sort of thing.

While this is all very nice, I've glazed over a few times, and frankly told one of them to paint a hundred paintings and give me a call when she does. There was a significant silence on the other end of the phone--as if it was just around the corner that I might coach creativity into her. "Think of yourself as a factory," I said. That was the end of that call.

Not many of us can be convinced that working in a factory is a lot of laughs. Being a factory may be even worse. But there's something to be said for building one and getting into it.

Artist-wannabees need to find a physical place to be. For artists who think big and lofty, an unused loft in a rust-belt town might be the choice. But a factory can also be in a corner under basement stairs, or an easel at the bottom of a garden. Factory is a mental thing.

An art factory is a place where unmarked supports enter on one side, become caressed with the physical manifestation of human imagination, and are subsequently pushed out the other side. Whether these modified supports are commercially destined or not, it's a process that needs to take place.

When the factory gets the steam up and things begin to happen, the worker becomes hooked. Also, as skills are learned, techniques defined and directions found, the place begins to look like a perpetual motion machine.

Theoretical folks don't always understand that the factory itself turns its operator back into a student. The factory becomes a school. If you like the idea of do-it-yourself learning, and you are curious about what you might be able to do, a little private factory is one fine institution. If your factory starts small and gets productive, you'll need a bigger factory." ~ Robert Genn


Here is a copy of two days of paintings from my own Sandy Sandy Factory.


In today's handouts, I also included a copy of this addition from yesterday's September 12th Painter's Keys letter, titled; "John Cage - Life is a Workshop"

John Cage's "Rules for Students and Teachers.":

1 Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile.
2 General duties of a student--pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.
3 General duties of a teacher--pull everything out of your students.
4 Consider everything an experiment.
5 Be self-disciplined--this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.
6 Nothing is a mistake. There's no win and no fail, there's only make.
7 The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It's the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.
8 Don't try to create and analyze at the same time. They're different processes.
9 Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It's lighter than you think.
10 Break rules. Even your own rules. Leave plenty of room for X quantities.

John Cage (1912-1992) was a composer, print maker, performance artist, writer, philosopher, editor, teacher, mushroom expert, collaborator and poet. Fact is, John Cage had a lot of fun in his factory. Considered one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century, he produced works with one note, no notes, notes by chance, and a noted organ composition that takes 639 years to play.

Thinking about the life and "happenings" of John Cage, it's not difficult to see that joy, imagination and brilliance flow from factories. "Life," he said, "is a workshop." ~ Robert Genn 

After practicing watercolor techniques, students all wanted to stick to tonal studies today. Building on yesterday's lessons, here is the demo I did today.

Happy Creating!

See A More Current Post About Working In A Series.

Friendship Lost

Last week in my Inspiration For Your Day Blog, my topic was friendship. It got me thinking a lot about my friends, the ones I have and about ones I've lost. There's a saying that the way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost. Too often we take friendships for granted until it is too late. Having friends over for dinner always makes me think of my dear departed friend, Jim Rinier, who passed from this world unexpectedly fourteen months ago. Jim always made getting together special and often had themes when he put on a dinner party. We usually got together once a month, alternating between his place and ours. He had a way of making every occasion and every friend feel very special. Below are pictures from my Bon Voyage Party he and his partner, Tommy, threw for me a couple of years ago before my Alaska Cruise with Robert Genn's art group.