"Peach, Pink Rose", Carol Marine, and Alyson B. Stanfield

 Peach Pink Rose

8"x 8"

oil on gessoboard
$175

Click here to purchase

I have decided to try oil painting ever since my workshop with Carol Marine and actually, I like it! 
Carol's method is to paint "alla prima" or "wet onto wet"; the painting is completed while the paint is still wet. This requires you to work fast! Carol says it allows you to blend from your "islands" (main subject) into your "oceans" (background). And, when things don't work out as planned (which almost NEVER happens! ;) ), you can wipe it away! 

Carol's new book, Daily Painting, which I'm sure will be full of all of her tips and tricks, comes out November 4, 2014.

I ordered one!

Alyson B. Stanfield

Several weeks ago I met with local artist friends Brenda Boylan, Jo Reimer, and Celeste Bergin.  Joining us from Colorado, was dear friend, Art Biz Coach, Alyson B. Stanfield, for a wonderful breakfast at The Benson Hotel.
       " Alyson B. Stanfield is an art business consultant and author of I’d Rather Be in the Studio: The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion. She helps artists gain more recognition, organize their businesses, and sell more art at ArtBizCoach.com."
I have been following her since 2008, taken her online classes, I keep reading her book (over and over), and gain insight and understanding from her weekly blog posts. I highly recommend that you check out Art Biz Coach!

Listening to while I paint:
Audiobooks:

"The Hundred-Foot Journey", by Richard C. Morais, narrated by Neil Shah

Podcasts: 

The Lede, hosted by Jerod Morris

Artists Helping Artists, hosted by Leslie Saeta

Social Media Examiner, hosted by Michael Stelzner

"Wait, Wait.... Don't Tell Me!", hosted by Peter Sagal

Splendid Table, hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper

Music: 

My iPod

Really helpful!: 

I am continually checking a dictionary, thesaurus, spell check, but one thing that has been particularly helpful is the grammar check! Please excuse any errors that I make and tell me! :)

Essential Office Tool

Yup. After burning the broccoli, nearly forgetting to pick up my kids, and having 20 minutes online turn into 60 without me even noticing, I splurged and bought an egg timer.
Yes, Alyson Stanfield recommended this time management tool when I took her organizing class a year ago.....why oh why didn't I heed her advice and warnings sooner?!
Time's up! Gotta go ...on to the next task!

If The New Trend Is "Generosity", I Agree!

As I read the opening lines of the current Trendwatching brief:

February 2009 | Has there ever been more urgency for corporations to ditch the greed and embrace generosity? It's something that countless individuals have already started doing, of course: giving is the new taking, and sharing is the new giving.....
GENERATION G | "Captures the growing importance of 'generosity' as a leading societal and business mindset. As consumers are disgusted with greed and its current dire consequences for the economy—and while that same upheaval has them longing more than ever for institutions that care—the need for more generosity beautifully coincides with the ongoing (and pre-recession) emergence of an online-fueled culture of individuals who share, give, engage, create and collaborate in large numbers.

I immediately thought of the experiences I've had over the past year in my little world of art and business. I am continually amazed at the generosity, encouragement, support, and information I find through my online networks. I have met several artists/business people online who have helped by sharing information and/or providing encouragement and support. Just to name a few: Dave The Painting Guy has answered countless questions and does a free live painting class on Ustream several nights a week; Torrie Smiley spent 45 minutes on the phone with me giving advice about selling art online; Tara Reed, who I found through someone online, happens to live a mile from me and is an expert on art licensing and is always willing to help; Alyson Stanfield's website and book have been a constant source of help; and you can read any of the comments on my blog entries to see the wonderful encouragement from different artists. Most of whom found me through Karin Jurick's blog Different Strokes From Different Folks. Karin has given A LOT ( I can't imagine how much!) of her time to work on this blog which has created a new community for artists. In fact, because I have participated in her challenges, I was fortunate enough to be featured along with her and two other artists in an article in the January edition of Southwest Art!

(my version of "Jack" is the last one on the right)

I could go on and on and this has all happened in just the last few months! I am continually thankful for the generosity and spirit of support and collaboration from my online network!

Looking Back At 2008 & Forward to 2009!

When I went to college, I majored in illustration, but for some reason the course work didn't include any business or marketing classes. Last January I made a decision to learn about the business of art and marketing. Since then, the learning curve has been straight up and I know I have a long way to go, but I thought I would share some of the resources that got me started and have helped me along this past year.
First of all, I took the smARTist Telesummit, a professional art-career conference for visual artists.
The creator and host, Ariane Goodwin, put together a panel of several professionals who addressed all different aspects of the business side of art. I recieved a notebook full of notes and was able to listen to the presentations at my convenience. She has put together another promising panel of experts for this year.
I also took and organizing class from the Artbiz coach, Alyson Stanfield and purchased her book, I'd Rather Be in the Studio. Her class, book and her blog have been invaluable tools for me.
Another important resource has been David Allen's book, Getting Things Done. He provided the basic organizing skills I so desperately needed.
And for those of you in the Portland area, I took sereral workshops from the Regional Arts & Culture Council. There were several available, taught by local experts, and some of them were only $25 for three hours!
Also having an online presence and participating in social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have been very valuable.
Now to the task of reviewing, refocusing, reorganizing and implementing for the coming year!

Bunny With a Toolbelt

Alyson Stanfield has provided me and MANY others with valuable information , advice and encouragement. Currently, she is providing five conversations with successful artists. I recently listened to the interview with Portland artist, Hilary Pfeifer , a.k.a. Bunny With a Toolbelt. Her work is fun, fantastic, colorful? You need to visit her website and decide!

smARTist Telesummit

Ariane Goodwin organized a telesummit last January which I attended and found very useful. It was a new experience for me. I was able to listen to 13 different experts share and receive their handouts all from the comfort of my home and at my convenience. There was an opportunity to listen live or listen to the recording when it fit my schedule. I kept all the notes in a notebook and have referred to them throughout the year. Ariane is offering the 2008 telesummit for a $60 discount through Halloween. The speakers include experts such as Jennifer Loudon, organizational expert; Joan Stewart, promotional expert; Alyson Stanfield, art career expert; Leonard DuBoff art law expert. Click here for more info and to listen to a 60 min sample!