A collection of stories, thoughts and good vibes from my back porch

I get asked about this frequently - And recently, one of my friends who owns a gallery opened an artists co-op that has space for about 30 artists. This is no fly-by-night co-op. It is a well-done, first-class operation (done in the same fashion he does most everything), and has some wonderful artisans inside. Painters, watercolorists, pottery makers, custom furniture, photography - all of them have excellent work represented there. And because of my relationship with the owner and the gallery, I guess it was a natural assumption I would also occupy some space there. In fact, I was one of the first people he asked to join in, and there was one wall there that had my name all over it. 

So why not? I paint a lot. I have 25-30 paintings I could hang right now. I'm working on 3 more currently. I have more than enough to show. My paintings are good enough to show, and they are framed, and hanging in my studio right now. I have the ability to replace anything that sells, and there would not be much chance that there would be empty space on my wall. 

I've thrown this around in my mind a lot. I've had lengthy discussions with my wife, and another artist friend of mine whose opinion and wisdom I respect. I've considered - would it be good? Yes. Am I good enough? Yes. Would I sell anything ? More than likely, yes. I've looked at the pros and cons, and came this close <> to jumping in at least twice. But each time, I have reached the same conclusion - not now. 

In one word, it's "TIMING." 

I am currently in a great, and somewhat enviable position for an artist...at least from my perspective. Right now I don't NEED to sell anything. I have a great job, and even though I work 45-50 hours a week, I still have time to paint after work and on weekends. My job affords me the ability to purchase just about anything I want or need when it comes to art supplies. I have everything I need right now - studio space, paints, canvases, frames, easels, etc. Heck, I even have things I DON'T need - I have things other people need... Painting is easy right now, and it's a way for me to "decompress" everyday after work.  I can paint when I want, where I want, and if I want. Committing time in a co-op would take away from that, if even it's 2 days a month. 2 days a month to me translates to 2 weekend days a month, because that's the only time I have whole free days. And currently, I am committed to 1 weekend on 2nd Saturday (and I don't have to do that), so I really would have to commit to 2 more Saturdays a month, because Sunday is the only day Linda and I have off together. So that leaves one weekend a month for myself. Can't do that... not right now.

The other thing with "TIMING" is that I am not satisfied with where I am as a painter yet. I have only been oil painting for a little over 2 years, and I am still learning and trying to get better. Every week I challenge myself with something new, and I am committed to improving, and still trying to develop my own "style." I feel like such an amateur at times, and sometimes the quality of what I just finished is, in my opinion, crap. There are at least a dozen paintings on my studio floor, leaning against the wall somewhere, either unfinished or totally abandoned because they are "crap." Am I good enough to be showing my work? Probably, and maybe more so than others. Do I feel I'm ready? Nope. Not even a little.

OK - one more thing. I have sold a lot of paintings from just my newsletter and my website. I don't NEED a place to hang my work to sell it. Would I sell more if I had a gallery wall? Maybe...probably, but I don't need that right now. I need to concentrate on getting better, so that when that time comes, I will be ready - emotionally, physically, and at a skill level I am comfortable with. But right now, I dig when someone likes what I do enough to pay me for it. I also like that I can give a painting away if I want to , and I have been able to do that on occasion. 

So my conclusion is this - I am a spoiled brat who likes to paint, and enjoys being able to do whatever the hell I want. And I am trying to get better at what I do - so I can be even more of a spoiled brat... I guess that's what it's all about. 

A couple of weeks ago, I took my first solo outing to Pantermuehl Ranch, to scout around, do a few sketches, and get some ideas to paint. There is so much subject matter there, and it's a large working ranch, so there are plenty of places to go, and one can spend a lot of time out there just looking, and get a lot of ideas. I took about 100 pictures, did a couple of pencil sketches, and a couple of quick watercolor sketches. I used a tiny (smaller than a business card) size watercolor to lay out the larger 20" x 30" oil painting I completed this week. I thought I would share the process here. I wound up in a pasture looking at a large oak tree I thought would make a cool painting. Here is a photo of the scene.

After a couple of different sketches, I did a quick watercolor. Keep in mind, this is smaller than a business card - 

Then I laid out the idea with charcoal pencil on the canvas - as a size reference, the original watercolor is on the bottom of the easel. 

Next step is to tint the canvas and lay in the dark spaces. I also created some texture for the foreground trees. 

Day 3 - I start from the back and work forward, laying in the sky first, then the ground, still leaving the trees for details later.

Day 4 - I then painted in the trees and highlights

Day 5 - Now here's what I really like about oil painting - if I don't like something, I can take my palette knife and take it out - my friend Bill calls it "erasing." I didn't like the tree on the left, so I erased it, and replaced it with a couple of different distances of tree-lines. 

I then finished it out, detailing the clouds, adding highlights to the foreground, and defining shadows, etc. Here is the final painting, signed, and ready to frame and hang.