The past few week i have been in the zone, painting several paintings a day. I have a huge backlog based on drawings that I have done over the past few months. I have been using ProCreate on my iPad and its changed how I set up my paintings. I can sketch on the iPad with the apple pencil. then print sketch or use Davinci to see drawing on my paper. I do color some of these drawings but don’t spend a lot of time on that part of the process. To me the key is to get the head of the subject right (Eyes and Nose/Beak). I often draw and erase multiple times in order to get the proportions just how i like it.
Adirondack Portal
I have also had the chance to do some wood working. Many frames as well as a few of my special driftwood accented frames as well as a unique portal frame. Another fun project was my wood box, bark on the spine, solid ash panels and magnetic closure.
Now a few of my paintings from the past few weeks.
I have taken a little time off from posting, and now my goal for 2023 is to post once a month at a minimum. January is a slow time for doing events and shows here in the Adirondacks, it’s winter and time to enjoy. I am working on building an inventory for the spring shows.
I have been working on some paintings of a more southern theme like pelicans, sea turtles and whales. I need to update my note card collection and these have been requested a few times.
I had a great season, and a shout out to the Workbench Collective in Plattsburgh NY. They sold several of my paintings, cards and lamps. I recommend a visit, it’s a very classy shop and represents a number of great artists.
Approaching the Christmas break I only have one more event to show my art. This one is at Livingoods restaurant on December 11th 10 – 3.
I have had a great year, sold a lot of paintings and had several record shows where paints have sold and caused a little panic painting to have enough for the next event.
I have painted several larger pieces that were not in the driftwood accented frames. I only have a few left and after the next show I will post them to my site.
I know pickings are slim here on my web site, it’s been hard to keep up posting them with the volume of paintings I am doing every week. I have often completed a piece during the week only to sell them at the next event that weekend.
My goal is to paint larger pieces over the winter and continue with more of my landscapes. I have the urge to try a few abstract pieces, it will be a stretch, but I think it will be fun, especially with no expectations of making sellable pieces.
I have had an interesting 2021. It was my first year seriously selling my art on a regular basis at farmers markets and the local Arts and Craft shows. Some events were greatly effected by Covid protocols and others were not. The indoor markets all required a face mask, not a surprise, but not as nice as all the outdoor events where it wasn’t required. Even though I focused on my selling my art I would have been a bit of a starving artist if I only did local events. I would need to expand my calendar of events to cover all expenses if I wasn’t successfully retired.
Sparkle Village Saranac Lake Dec 4th
This year was very successful in many ways. I got to show my works to a number of customers and had a number of buyers and even repeat buyers. I met a number of other vendors who have become friends and have found a network of knowledge about events, materials and contacts.
I have come a long way in my painting , a result of having to paint a dozen paintings in a week just to have material to sell at the next market. I was very pleased with the sales of my driftwood accented framed pieces, I had to make new ones every week throughout the selling season. Most popular was the blue herons and foxes. In many events this fall the smaller works have sold very well, many as gifts. The popular size has been my little 5″ x 1I look forward to the winter break, I have a deep need to spend time experimenting and playing. I have Sculpture designs I want to try as well as expanding my painting repertoire into more landscapes.0″ framed paintings. I have found them a ideal size for many people and able to fit into a wide variety of spaces.
The more events I did, I have noticed that my note cards have been a major part of my sales. I scan my originals and then modify them with an editing tool to make them into a PNG format with the background removed. I have developed a document format that allows me to place the images right where I want them. I have only started to take the cards seriously after I purchased my Epson ET-8550 in June. I can print on a heavy 110lb(300gsm) card stock and with the eco-tank printer I have only had to buy ink once after over 1500 cards. Packaging the cards in 6 packs with clear boxes has helped the sales greatly. I even did a couple of Christmas/winter themed card sets, that over the past month were a real hit. I have now started some paintings with a more spring theme that I will make into cards.
I look forward to the winter break, I have a deep need to spend time experimenting and playing. I have Sculpture designs I want to try as well as expanding my painting repertoire into more landscapes.
The moose at the top was wandering around just down the road at a local golf course. I love the Adirondacks.
This fall has been great. Great weather and a chance to see the wildlife around my home. A fox has been around and was trotting across the lawns while we were on a walk. We were surprised by an owl flying just over our heads and into the woods. At the marsh down the road I saw a raccoon in the long grass scampering away and the herons have been close to the parking area making the car a perfect blind.
All this nature has been an inspiration for many of my paintings.
After the past month of making art every day I was inspired to paint painting scenes from Carpenter Flats on the Ausable River.
I saw people fishing early one morning and the mist was intriguing seeing it from the iron bridge. It provides a great view is the rock flats. Different ends of the bridge provide unique backgrounds.
The driftwood frames really make the rustic feel for the paintings.
I saw a guy fly fishing in the Ausable river near carpenter flats when it was misty. Having fished there many times I wanted to capture that feeling.
I made a driftwood frame to accent the finished painting and It helps to capture the mood.
I feel a series common on, and I will get to do more fishing while scouting locations. I haven’t painted fast flowing rivers much yet, so I see many challenges ahead.
First piece – I found a small pine knot hole in the bottom of my driftwood bin. When i picked it up i could see my palm highlighted thought the hole. A scrap of Arches watercolor board a couple of minutes painting 4 geese with my finest brush and the result is a odd little piece that brings a smile to my face.
The second piece came from an off-cut of watercolor board from one of my driftwood paintings. I picked it up and it looked just like mount Mansfield in the Green mountains of Vermont that I see every day across the lake. Once I saw it, I couldn’t let it go to waste so I painted it, grabbed a scrap of black walnut wood that I cut out for my rock crystal lamps, shaped and finished it to serve as a stand and now I have another odd piece in my stash.
This past weekend I finally had a chance to paint in the sun room. First time this year that the temperatures reached higher than 60 degrees. It was a pleasure to enjoy the bright light and do a few paintings of dogs.
I wanted to painting standing up rather than seated, so I had to modify my setup. I used tripod to mount a palette including holders for my brushes as well as my paints and water. I used a second tripod with a Grifity Nootle, a board and binder clips to hold my paper. Below is a few pics of my setup.
I started a few paintings and enjoyed a beautiful morning before heading out to do some yard work.
This week I have spent my time painting. I have completed several paintings and made another dozen frames for those paintings. I have been painting dogs and cats, I find that painting puppies is most enjoyable.
I am watching the events unfold around the corona virus and hope that the panic will subside soon. I’m not sure what effect it will have on the farmers markets and art fairs, but I intend to go if they are held. I will miss the sporting events most, I love to watch sport while working around the studio.
This is my sad hound dog face, I am missing hockey most of all. I wish I had good internet, I would like to watch Youtube events, like the curling events form Canada.
