Jose's Art Journal

23 September 2013

Sonoma Interlude

As in all the plein air events, after all is said, painted and done, the statisticians in all of us come up and start wondering, why didn't I sell more, why did others sell more? etc.. Useless exercise if there ever was one but unavoidable. Each one takes their own conclusions home and a few intimate their findings. It's always an algorithm with evanescent variables between weather, name recognition, size, subject, local fame, price range, etc... My conclusion: warm muted paintings in the 5x7 to 11x14 range mostly of agricultural subjects by painters with a record (not criminal). Immediately after that, I throw my conclusion to the wind. My intention from the start was to challenge myself to larger pieces and avoid the obvious. Water was a big attraction to me stuck as I am in a waterless place....Oh , I did pander, yes i did, I painted the Sonoma Square, I admit it. And it didn't work as I expected. So there you have it.

So don't expect me to say you should paint this or that in this event because it will be as useless to you as it should be. The out o'sight paintings sold and many of the very good ones sold if they were attached to painters with a history. The quality of everyone's work was outstanding and there were many watercolorists which I found refreshing.

Moving on, this was my second year doing this event and even though the organizers changed the dates to minimize the chance of rain, it rained, on the day of the sale... oodles. That didn't deter the brave souls actually interested in buying artwork so I think it was success overall but numbers will tell.

The organizers did an OUTSTANDING job yet again at providing lodging, booths, lunches and plenty of occasions to mingle. I do think this is one of the best plein air events in that regard. 40% of the profits go to support art school programs in the county so it is a very worthy cause too which pushes artists and collectors to make it work. Sonoma is a wealthy county with breathtaking landscapes so it's a perfect conspiracy of sorts. Well, except for the rain on the sale day but I'm sure the farmers were delighted.

At the gala reception with "Petaluma reeds" 9"x12" sold.

Gala dinner and silent bid at the Fairmont Resort.

In a brief summary of my brilliant location scouting (not at all) this year I decided to venture to Petaluma - which wasn't too far - in hopes of some river scenes. Petaluma is a bit of a suburb with a charming town but not the sweeping river vistas I was hoping for. It's a convenient painting location and I did a couple of paintings while avoiding the "too quaint" city center. May be I went overboard with the grain elevator piece below. It was the contrast of the huge shadow mass against the wisp of smoke and the water that made me decide on the subject. The fact that I added a guy in a canoe tells me I was concerned about the stark industrial theme even though it is the light/shade pattern that originally motivated me.

Petaluma grain elevator. 14"x11' Jacobson collection.

One of the luncheons was provided at Quarryhill Botanical gardens. It is commendable that the organizers talk to places like these beforehand into letting us camp there. They make sure the locations are also very scenic. Quarryhill isn't only lovely but it has ponds and a vineyard as well. That's where I painted the "Velvet Juice" piece below attracted again by the play of light and the contrast with the velvety grapes.

"Velvet juice' 10"x8" Quarryhill Gardens.

On a couple of occasion I decided to aim for the coast as Bodega Bay was in everyone's mouth. Aiming as I did, the ditch by the road, barely a mile away from where I was staying , was what I ended up painting. It has water in it, of course. Never mind the dead raccoon stench, the steps going down into the creek were too much to resist in a "create your own metaphor" way.

" In the ditch" 10"x8"

Ah, but the dead raccoon was nothing compared to the troubles that I endured painting this idyllic apple orchard in Sebastopol. Looks innocent enough doesn't it? It was a day of gorgeous clouds and a premonition of weather coming our way. I arranged for permission to paint and no sooner had I set up my easel, strong, persistent winds started kicking the thin dust and making it swirl all around in little tornadoes that toppled my easel twice, covered my car and kept me sniffling for the remaining two days. This painting is oil ...and soil, on canvas. I'm sure a few flies also left their lives and opinions on the surface. The trees were covered in apples because it is apparently not profitable to pick them these days and farmers prefer to let them rot instead of incurring a loss.

"Them apples" 12'x16"

But the Sonoma landscape is like a pillow for the senses. It's the farms that accent the mellow hills that make it into a visual church. I was driving around Petaluma when I came upon the clean geometry of this landscape. This painting falls into the category of artwork I was talking about at the beginning, that sales algorithm . It happens to be one of my favorites and it went to a collector which I hope will enjoy it as much as I did.

"Pointing to heaven" 8"x10" Petaluma. Sold

Right after the golden farm, I started chasing the harvest moon around. It was late and very dark when I settled for a nocturne. I painted "Stagger back home" also in Petaluma. It represents a liquor store by the side of the road. No light other than a headlamp was used. I was situated across the store in a pitch black junkyard. I kept hearing a shufflle of bushes and smelling intense whiffs of marihuana but never saw anybody. I finished this one fast but it turned out pretty interesting.

"Stagger back home, Jack" 10"x8"

This piece below was painted on Lakeville road south of Petaluma. On a rickety old river harbor. It took me a while to render the intricate latticework of the dock. It's a wonderful place to paint and the owner of the place is the chihuahua Rosie which made it to the painting as well. She has plenty of work in this derelict spot without us painters coming around to cause trouble.

"Dock owner" 9"x12"

Twelve paintings total. Some of theme are here. A quick draw piece, And this one also done close to where I stayed in Glen Ellen. Sonoma has become one of my favorite events. The artists and the organization are fantastic and a model to follow.

"Morning Breat" 11"x14" Glen Ellen

New Friend and phenomenal ukrainian artis Anton Pavlenko

Daniel Aldana and Dan Schulz paint at Quarryhill.

Chuck Kovacic, unable to pose without flair.

My soggy booth.

01 July 2013

Business Plans (2)

As predicted, the heat is on and I am stuck in Pasadena trying to work. I talked about coming up with a business plan in my last posting. It's taking a bit longer than I expected. But with extra time some things are getting done. I finally finished this little painting "The truck Wash". I had a feeling I would like it and I do. I might make a larger piece based on it.

"The truck wash" 8"x10"

I also mentioned I was going to visit Eric Merrell's studio since he offered very kindly to show me how he build his frames. We took a whole lot of time from his day but I came out with some good information that I intend to put to good use as soon as possible. Eric is awesome.

Eric demonstrates gold leafing.

Eric goes to buy moulding.

My commission for Tri Delta in UCLA is going well. I created about 10 small studies and the client seems very happy. She will be choosing the pieces she wants in a larger scale. I went to UCLA fro 6 Sundays in a row trying to find the most emblematic views without falling for one discipline or area of study in particular, so no Music building, no Law or Medicine, just general views.

One of my UCLA studies. 8"x10"

Sculpture Garden Study. UCLA 8"x10'

In order to create a good business plan, I spent $50 and took a class at the Small Business Development Center (Pacific Coast Regional, SBDC) in Los Angeles. This is a very convenient tax-supported one-stop center that will help small businesses get started. I certainly do not fit the typical profile of the guy or gal that wants to open a Salvadorean restaurant, market a new kind of diaper or open a beauty salon but I thought I could benefit from putting some numbers down.

I had some success (albeit no awards) at Plein Air San Clemente. This is an expensive event since it doesn't provide for housing and sales are pretty dismal always but I decided to have a booth of sorts for one day and got a possible large commission from that.

"Pier Radiance" 9"x12" Painted and sold in San Clemente

And I did a few demonstration/class session at Westridge school for girls in Pasadena. I really enjoy teaching even though the girls went from interested to talking about TV shows to interested again. I actually just painted a portrait of one f them because it was too hot to go outside.

But back to the Business Plan. Here is my Executive Summary:

Jose De Juan Fine Art is a business that will aim to enhance people's lives with unique, original artwork and art-making activities. Jose is a full-time artist and painter dedicated to provide his clients with artwork that relates to their life experience and aspiration of beauty as part of their surroundings. He produces traditional oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings depicting landscapes, portraits and scenes people can relate to and keep as reminders of a more meaningful sense of self and community. Jose is committed to provide his clients with quality artworks made to last whether on commission, through galleries or sold from available inventory. As part of the same guiding principle of life enhancement, Jose L De Juan Fine art will strive to provide individuals and groups with instruction and ideas that enable them to further their own art making effort and success in achieving a life of beauty.

And my Mission Statement:

To provide people with ways to recognize, capture and materialize the beauty of their lives.

29 May 2013

Business Plans

In my 7th week of unemployment/being an artist I have started to get over the initial shock and nasty depression. I apply for jobs but companies aren't hiring in visual effects, not cg hair groomers with little knowledge of commercial software anyhow. On top of that, the lovely Los Angeles summer will start to fry my brains soon so I better get some things done before that happens. Los Angeles in summer is hell and don't let anybody tell you otherwise. I need to pull myself together and go for it, basically. I need commissions, sales, workshops, marketing....I need a business plan.

So a lot of ideas have been gathering steam. Ideas to save money (materials, framing!, website and marketing would be good places to start, not that I do that much marketing at all but I need to start.)
Ideas to make money. Ideas to promote myself. Ideas to educate myself. In the meantime, I've been painting, applying for events, doing some commissions which I can't post because the people that commissioned them haven't given them as gifts yet, sigh.

"Eden Roses" painted at Roger's Garden's. 12'x9"

One thing I've done is visit two local artists that I admire a great deal. Junn Roca and Eric Merrell. Junn Roca makes a living out of painting, period. His wife Frannie is his devoted promoter and cheerleader. They have put 4 kids through college. All on art and scholarships mind you. That , I think, is being a professional artist. No arguments. On top of that Junn and Frannie are extremely nice people and Junn makes a coffee that could wake up the mummies in Egypt. My visit to his studio was eye-opening. We talked about the business and hard work of art.

Eric Merrell. Well, I'm seeing him tomorrow so I'll just say that he is an awesome artists that builds his own frames and seems to have quite a calm and well tuned demeanor that I admire. It shall be interesting to know a bit more about him.

I also befriended Ezra Suko. A young artist recently back from Iraq where he was stationed. He already has three galleries representing him and is painting full time. Now that's the way to go.

Some good news as well. I got a big nice commission I'm working on and I became a signature member of LPAPA and I finished my series of classes at Willard Elementary as part of the "My Masterpiece" program of PSUD and the California Art Club. That was a very satisfying experience. So not all is waste and wow-is-me.

In the meantime, I did paint. Here are some things that I produced. I scheduled a few shows locally and I'm keeping busy.

"Jacaranda Glow" 8"x10" Pasadena

"San Pedro Bluffs' 8"x10'

Options:

"Garden Gate" SOLD.

I've even decided I might need to start my own business with a friend. But that's also very preliminary so I won't talk about it. What I have decided is to make a Business Plan so that everything is taken into account as much as possible. And to stir things up a bit I am reading Leslie Saeta's 30 marketing ideas in 30 days to get things moving. She is a slick operator Mrs. Saeta.

"Mauve Clouds" 8"x10"

The essential part is this: My art adventure is now real. Whether I fail or succeed is entirely up to me and what I am sharing in this blog now is "the thing", not tips, not digressions on composition and beauty. Like Voltaire's Candide, I'm over this being the best of possible worlds but I'm leaving Eldorado. (what did I just say about digressions?, I guess I can't help it.) BUT, the first thing I'll share is my new spanking business plan for everyone to tear apart. Keep you posted.

18 April 2013

Monterey Plein Air Convention. Finale.

Point Lobos Study #3

We had a routine down by day three. The smartest thing we were doing, obviously, was going to the pub and yapping till 1 am just to have to wake up at 6 for ... bootcamp! So I was pretty groggy for "How to approach a gallery": Patricia Terwilliger from Jones & Terwilliger and Elaine Adams from American Legacy in Pasadena made the case for a proper approach to galleries. Hint: no emails, no CD's...more artist, peer-to-peer recommendations) .

Point Lobos study #4

Another embarrassment of riches followed in subsequent demos. With Ken Auster making a 50x50 painting in 45 minutes, which was certainly a bit gimmicky if you ask me but people loved it and he is a phenomenal painter anyway.
There were other demos that made an impact on me. I'll just mention briefly Bryan Mark Taylor. This painter is not only very good but is a model of what one might call a career standard. Often a whiff of bohemian and inner turmoil emanates from the word "artists" even when most professional artists are just that, professional. B.M.Taylor's career has been not only meteoric but he gives a bad name to "focus". He was both a vendor (designed the STRADA easel) and an excellent demonstrator. When his time was up, he simply moved to the hall and continued until satisfied. His brush stroke is sensitive and parsimonious and he has a great eye for wide scope scenes.

Mark Bryan Taylor poses with his piece.

Mark Bryan Taylor demo. With the STRADA easel.

Brian Blood is an excellent painter as well. He did a beautiful job working on a piece to demonstrate how a painting can "sing" even in a foggy overcast day. Looking at his website one can perceive he is attracted by the mood of scenes and tries to enhance it with unusual lighting conditions.

Brian Blood.

One of the longest demos belonged to Jeremy Lipking and Michelle Dunaway. May be Jeremy's demos was the one that impacted me the most. Skip Whitcomb said in his presentation that he didn't understand people that bragged about making 8 or more paintings a day. "It's not a race. How many of those paintings are good?" Well, here is an artist that takes his time and long as the demo was, it was very refreshing. Jeremy didn't speak much, Michelle seemed to carry the Richard Schmid
philosophy talk points. A philosophy which has won over so many artists. Daniel Keys was in the audience too! The audio in the second demonstration hall was pretty awful but seeing Jeremy paint was a thrill.
It was said several times that the artist career is forever because the image in the painter's head is always behind the painter's skill. Jeremy Lipking certainly has skill for miles and is one of those painters whose images inspire to wade whatever gaps in draftsmanship, brush work and color use one might have. Now, that doesn't mean everybody should paint like him, far from it. But watching his careful measuring, observing the delicate use of the brush and how his artwork reflects the visual truths of loose areas and lost edges against crisp and rich focal points...well, it is humbling.

Mian Situ, when presented with his accomplishment award also referred to the fact that "anyone can throw painting on a canvas and make it look good." A finished artwork, which is what Mian and Jeremy usually accomplish, requires a lot more though and subtlety. Again, this is not to say that everyone should paint like them, that would be stupid. But the ability to dominate a large canvas at the level of nuance of effectiveness of these masters sets a sort of "gold standard", at least for those who aspire to dominate the classic atelier tradition . This is not opposite to a loose plein-air style. As a matter of fact, looking closely to a Mina Situ painting or a Lipking painting, one might be forgiven for thinking you are looking into a miniature landscape with just as much variety and freshness. I know it's not just a question of scale but it's still a point to consider.

Lipking's portrait of Vanessa.

It bears repeating.

Lipking and Dunaway.

The last day, Saturday, buses departed for Asilomar. I decided to do my own thing and go paint lupine meadows. I think I enjoyed the solitude and trying to calm the chatter in my head, the doubts about my career, the unemployment situation, all the good advice pending over me. On Sunday, I painted a bit more, this time in Point Lobos. I was about to leave when I met up with Ray Roberts who encouraged me paint one more. "Armando (my partner) will understand if you are late" he said. Ok. You don't refuse such an invitation. So I did paint. And he painted right in front of me too after I found I view I liked. He has done in no time but I took my time. And then I left for my 6 hour drive home.

Before I forget: Value Viewer.

Cows near Gorda.

San Simeon rookery.

16 April 2013

Monterey Plein Air Convention 2103. Part 2.

I am not used to all this green! "Corral del Cielo" 12"x9"

The second day of the convention was also filled with marketing boot camp and demos. I must highlight a few. Scott Christensen is one of my favorite landscape artists. As a young man he played football but a neck injury left him wanting so he took up painting. And how! I suppose he applied all his sports stamina to his artwork because he is one hell of a landscape artist. His palette was unique and I couldn't get the reasons behind it. I think he uses Vasari colors and a series of greys. I have to do more research on that.He talked about establishing an idea before starting work.
Oh wait, someone already did. Underpaintings. Awesome!

The dynamic duo of Camile Przewodek and Ned Mueller was very entertaining. Camile is a colorist, and Ned is a self-proclaimed tonalist. Camile's earnest style contrasted wonderfully with Ned's devil-may-care sense of humor.

Camile's art is intriguing. She is a student of Hensche who in turn studied with Monet so there is a color lineage right there. I've wondered about her philosophy for a while since she is such a popular reference. and gives many workshops around the country. She is a popular teacher with many followers. She claims admiration for Sorolla, Frank Benson and Isaak Levitan among others.

Her favorite quote from Sargent: "Don't be a landscape painter, or a still-life or a portrait painter. Learn to paint and paint anything." ( I know this quote thing gets tired but quotes are really like easy mantras to keep in mind while painting.) Ok, with that out of the way ...the main point I got from Camile is that she likes to start with bold high-chroma colors, well beyond what one might perceive and then proceed downwards taming the initial explosion into more subtle variations. Easier to start high and then descend. Another distinct characteristic is how wide her palette is with 20 colors plus as opposed to more limited choices in the rest of the speakers.

Camile is not against finishing a painting outdoors. Many artists declared their outdoor studies a total necessity but nothing more than color notes. Among them, Ray Roberts, Jill Carver, Scott Christensen and Skip Whitcomb. Camile doesn't find it troublesome to return to the same spot twice to "finish" a piece. In that, she is following Monet as well.

Ned Mueller is another proponent of black and white studies to settle the composition and reduce anxiety. Big shapes first. And never ever think literally but visually. His self-deprecating humor made him fun to hear but his briefly executed demo was great on top of that.

Point Lobos Turmoil. 8"x10'

"Blue Jay and Lupine Meadow" 9"x12" SOLD

And this brings us to yet another amazing demo, the pair of Jill Carver and Ray Roberts. I am a devoted Ray Roberts groupie so I was all ears even though I took a four day workshop last summer with Mr. Roberts in Malibu. You can read all about it in my previous post. Roberts is on a quest to find interesting shapes and dark patterns whose abstract qualities attract attention. He has an extensive illustration background in which he was forced to work in extra clear black and white graphics that wouldn't be drowned in print format. This, he says, was excellent training ground.

His influences are multiple, Assaro, McCaw, Craig Nelson, Clyde Aspevig, Sullivan and co-conspirator Skip Whitcomb.

Ray Roberts starts with the dark shapes first to obtain the interesting high contrast pattern from the start. He commented on how he doesn't paint the color he sees but the relationships. For example, when painting white water, distinguish between the whites that represent foam(in dark and light) , glistening or just turbulence. All these entities should have distinct colors to differentiate even though in reality they might be much closer in hue and value than what we could paint.