SAG Meeting 1' 15

Steven Bleicher Lecturing

The Seacoast Artists Guild Started of the new year with a lecture by well known color theorist, Steven Bleicher.  Mr. Bleicher gave an  fascinating talk on Color Psychology that kept his audience both engaged and entertained. Perhaps the most interesting thing I learned is how serious businesses and governments are about applying the knowledge of Color Psychology. For some insight into how deeply one can get involved in this topic check out Mr. Bleicher's resume at:

 http://www.coastal.edu/marketing/expertise/expert.html?id=49

Paintings to be critiqued.. mine is the abstract on the far left.

As a Senior Professor of Visual Arts at our local Coastal Carolina University, and a national and internationally known artist in his own right,we were thrilled when Professor Bleicher offered to critique some of our paintings at the end of the meeting.  There's nothing more valuable than having someone with Steve's level of expertise give you a different perspective on your work. 

  

A new year, a new beginning. 1 '15

I love New Year's Day.  It always feels like a chance to wipe the slate clean and start anew .  

 We open our appointment books on January 1; all the pages are blank.  We begin filling the pages with resolutions and goals, and ( if you are as obsessive as I am), begin refining those goals into plans.

In truth.,  Hal Borland was probably more accurate when he said that "the  year's end is neither and end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us" One thing I have learned from last year is that whether I want it or not, 2015 will bring new challenges, and whether I seize them or not, 2015 will bring new opportunities.  So my one overriding goal this year will be to paint more and stress less.

2014 in Review 12"14

2014 was a rough year emotionally; maybe one of the toughest I have had to deal with in quite awhile. It has been filled with sorrow from the loss of family and friends, and many unpleasant personal responsibilities. There were times I was barely able to meet both my business and personal commitments, much less give any attention to  being creative.  There were many occasions that I seemed to take one-step forward with my creative goals, only to find myself falling two back.  At times I despaired of every being able to make any progress toward my meeting my art business’s 2014 plan. 

And yet in review, I am finding that I did meet many of my personal goals as well as almost all of my business goals for 2014).

• ·         I created several new series of paintings last year.
• ·         Painted some larger format oils
• ·         Successfully expanded  into the print market
• ·         Took steps towards a future goal by taking technology training I will need to use.
• ·         And most importantly I kept the business profitable.

Granted, accomplishing all of this was not easy and there were many hard choices to be made. For example I had to drop out of my favorite gallery.  The time commitments and cost of gasoline required to be involved in that gallery, would have prohibited me from producing art, and probably have put the business in the red.

"Sometimes painful things can teach us lessons that we didn't think we needed to know."
Amy Poehler.

The lesson I (re)learned this year is the power of having a solid business plan.  Having one allowed me to focus upon the priorities, and make choices, which will kept me on track through the hard times and  has put me  in position to move forward rapidly now that circumstances  have changed.

 So here’s to the end of a successful, (albeit, brutal) 2014 , and the beginning of a  brighter New Year in  in 2015 

Nice way to end the year 12 '14

Whoop Whoop!

 Just got word that two more prints from my Pawleys Island Series have sold.

Thank you Fine Art America. That's a really nice belated Christmas gift, 

and a lovely way to end this year.

SAG Fall Show and Sale 10 '14

This evening Bruce and I attended the opening reception for the  Seacoast Artists Guild's 11th Annual Fall Art Show and Sale, which was held  held at the Seacoast Artists Gallery at 3032 Nevers Street, Myrtle Beach, in The Market Common. The judged show will run from October 3rd through October 19th from 12-8 pm Monday through Saturday and 12-6 pm on Sunday.  Artwork will include paintings in oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel and mixed media as well as fiber art, sculptures and photography by members of the Seacoast Artists Guild.  All artwork on display in the show will be for sale to the public.  Our judge for the Fall Art Show will be Professor Maura Kenny from Coastal Carolina University. An awards reception, open to the public, will take place on Saturday, October 4th, from 6-8 pm. The public will also be voting for their favorite overall piece of art between Sunday, October 5th through Sunday, October 19th, and at the end of the show,  the guild will award a trophy to the “People’s Choice” winner.

SAG host the MB Chamber of Commerce 6 14

On Thursday, the Seacoast Artists Guild hosted  a reception for the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce. Nearly 150 people came to the reception  which was held  in our gallery at The Market Common.

Bruce and I had a great time,  There was lots of good music   food ,and friends

and ,of  course,  lots of good artwork.

My wall  displayed some of t my "Buy local " series

Brookgreen Garden's Fine Art Craft Show 6'14

Bruce and I went to Brookgreen Gardens new two day juried Fine art and Craft Show today  and I am so glad we did.

Threatening Sky

  The sky rumbled and grumbled all day, but the rain stayed away 

60 exhibitors is a lot

 for the sixty local and national artists who were juried into this two day show.

Held within the background of this beautiful nationally re-known sculpture garden

Whimsical living garden sculpture

BJ and I got to meet the known artists whose works are sold within fine art galleries across the country.

BJ chatting with Master wood carver, Timothy Bahn

There were demonstrations of pottery throwing, glass blowing, hand loom weaving and a chance to learn many of the processes used in making much of the work on display.

A Custom Quilted Kimona

There were whimsical items, art for the garden, custom commissioned artwork, and hand loomed wearable art on display.

BJ chatting with fiber artist Amy Bowden

Bruce bought me several original knitwear items from the very creative fiber artist Amy Bowden.  Now I can really look snazzy when we go to art events.

'Buy Local' series now on exhibit at CAG 6 '14

Here's a peek at some of my new " Buy Local" Series Paintings

"Creekside Beauties" 14" x 11" Oil

June 1st was the designated day for all the exhibitors at the Charleston Artists Gallery to refresh their  exhibit areas with new artwork.

"Got the Blues"  14" x 11 " Oil

I  had all the art work ready to go up, but was scheduled to be in California that day.

"Seeing Double" 14" x 11" Oil

My friend, Steve Jacobs offered to hang my new paintings for me.

"Take Home Sushi" 7" x 5" Oil

Thanks for the help hand,  Steve.

Another perfect day at CAG 5 '15

Spent a perfect afternoon in hanging out in the Charleston Artists Gallery talking to the crowds of art lovers who are in town for the Spoletto Festival.  I also hung  some of my new paintings from my "Buy Local" series .Here's a preview of one of them:

House of Blues 11" x 14" Oil

Preparing the ' Buy Local' Series for Display 5 "14

Test layout using tiles to measure

My new 'Buy Local Series' paintings are signed, sealed, and ready to deliver to the Charleston Artists Gallery on Saturday.  Now I need to find the best  way to arrange them together before they get hung on the gallery walls..  The best way, I have found,  to do that is to measure off  areas. on my floor  that are the same dimensions as my wall-space(s).  (If you are unfamiliar with where you are going to be hanging, it is a good idea to visit or at least call the gallery ahead to verify the dimensions of where you will be and ask about any potential obstacles within that space  e.g. I once found myself working  around some light switches) Sometimes I use  blue painters tape, and sometimes I use the tiles themselves to mark the edges).  I  then start arranging the paintings  within that space until I come up with a pleasing combination.  Once I am satisfied with the layout, I take a quick reference photo, and mark down on a piece of paper the number of inches between each painting, and the number of inches the top and bottom paintings are  from the ceiling and floor.  Together the photo and layout measurements give me a quick way to start hanging once I arrive at the gallery.  If I have multiple columns of paintings I start hanging from the lower right and work up.  If I am only hanging a single column, I work from the top down. 

It may seem like a lot of extra work, but taking the time to do this one extra step is worth it. It's amazing how much smoother the art goes up with a little advance planning.

CAG First Friday Artwalk 3 '14

The Charleston Artist Guild Gallery is all decked out with new artwork. If you haven't made it down there yet, don't forget,  today is Charleston's  Friday is the Art Walk from 5-8pm, so make the CAG Gallery your first stop.  I will be there to greet you..

Boats on Display at SAG Gallery 3 ' 14

 Like everyone else I know, I am tired of winter.  When I was offered some prime window space at the SAG gallery,  I decided to display some paintings of boats this month.  Hopefully  everyone who sees them will be reminded that warmer weather will soon be  here.

Oconee State Park just Sold 2 '14

Thank you Seacoast Artists Guild for selling my painting "Oconee State Park" to a good home. It was one of my favorites.

Writing my 2014 Marketing Plan 12'13

 With all the aggravation of the year end accounting behind me, it is finally time to do some business paperwork that I  really enjoy:

Writing my 2014 Business Marketing Plan

That's right I said I actually like writing a business marketing plan.  I can even say look forward to it the way some people look forward to making New Year's Resolutions.
And for me the activity brings with it the sames sense of renewal and hope for the future as I, and many other people, get from making New Years resolutions...
 

with one difference..... I  set goals for every aspect of my business

 And I really really get into detail on the process

I am a firm believer in it is the  the system and the process of implementing the system you set in place to reach the goal, not the  goal itself which makes one successful or not.  

The process usually starts with a review of last years plan
 There are many ways I could market my art work ,from private &/or guild galleries - street fairs and exhibitions,  from public online auctions - to private websites,  from paid advertising-to pursuing free publicity in the press- or even social media, just to name a few. It can all be overwhelming – and I cannot do everything. So  I review last years plan with written notes of worked and paid off, and what did not.
This gives me the basis for cutting out what is not effective and leaves time, energy, and money to put toward something that might be more effective.

The next step involves tweeking the portions of the plan that seem to be working with even more effective tactics  and scoping out the overall calender of know events so I know there will be no delivery conflicts

After that I researching  new opportunities and sorting them down to a select few that appear to be potentially profitable, will fit within my budget, and still leave me time to produce art.

I have passed up many opportunities that came up throughout the past year, and  stuck to my 2013 marketing plan.. At the same time I collected data on how those opportunities worked out for others and now have a large list of marketing opportunities to review.   Over the course of the next few weeks these will be filtered into the existing plan based upon their compatibility with resources my time budget and skills, and also my own personality. 

 Over the course of the next few weeks these will be filtered into the existing plan based upon their compatibility with resources my time budget and skills, and  my own personality. No matter how profitable Aname is as an art form, I am unlikely to every be able to approach it with the passion that I have for landscapes.  I need to be able to commit passionately to what I do, or I my work will lack luster. And finally, I look to whether new opportunities fits within my five year strategic plan which lays out the big picture of where I would like to see the business be.

We all know that plans are imperfect things. How can I possibly know what's going to happen 12 months or five years from now? Isn't putting together a marketing plan an exercise in futility . . . a waste of time better spent meeting painting more art ? Yes, sometimes but only if you believe you can be 'discovered' on a street corner.  If you don't plan, you're doomed, and an imperfect plan is far better than no plan at all. Airline pilots know that, it's better to be a few degrees off course from their destination airport than to have no destination in mind at all. The point of flying is to get to a specific destination, and without a marketing plan, one  is drifting aimlessly.  Sometimes one might luck out and find an safe airport but I doubt that your passengers would be all that happy.  More often than not pilots without plans make  a forced  landing in some farmers field.  Neither landing is likely to gain positive professional recognition .

Oh no! It will soon be time to file my tax report 12'13

 "It's not fair", my young friend cried, "I'm an artist, not a CPA."

While I didn't  dissolve into tears, I must admit I felt a distinct knot in the pit of my stomach this morning when I realized that within a week I will need to be filing my taxes.

... No not with the IRS ---that is coming up too...

But first in line is the State of South Carolina's Department of Revenue. 

 Like many states, South Carolina charges a sales tax on items businesses sell .

Fair or not, it is the law of the land that  artwork sold is taxable and yes  even artists are  responsible to ensure our sales are meeting the tax requirements.

This year I only sold my work through  three galleries, two of which collected the excise tax, and two did not (non-profits).  It's this time of year that makes me glad that Corporate America taught me to appreciate being disciplined  and systematic about record keeping .  A quick print-out of a Quickbook Tax  Report which showed not only the product sales income by gallery, but the sales tax which had been paid ( or not) at each.  Plug this into the South Carolina Dept. of Revenue Form and I have a tentative draft of the excise taxes I  own for 2013.  All I have to do is wait until the year is officially over to make sure there have been no new sales to be added, and I will be ready to file.

Quick books makes it so simple, that I regret every time I rolled by eyes in boredom while doing the record keeping.

End of the Year Business Accounting Review 12 '13

 The end of the year is near...which means it is  time to make sure my  business accounting records in order.

As with  many artists, the business side of art is always less attractive than the creative. Still the truth is, when it comes to running an art business we all need to get serious about finances. Even artists have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure we’re meeting the legal requirements.

 So I spent the morning going comparing my Quickbook entries to my bank records and receipts. Fortunately, my years in corporate America taught me to keep  an organized set of records, and to be reasonably prompt in my financial  book-keeping, so it is not as painful a task as it seems to be for many of my friends.

Here's some of  business practices that helped make today less stressful.

1. Be specific: When I get a receipt for a sale or an expense I not on it what it was for ( sales, product supply, office supply postage, etc)and I note how an expense was paid (cash , check, credit, debit)  this makes it a lot easier to reconcile by bank accounts later on.
2. Be organized:   It saves me a lot of grief having a separate filing system for my business receipts and paper records.  If my business is every really flush I would like to get one of those fancy electronic scanner organizers.  For the moment I find that a unsophisticated a large expandable file folder with twelve separated sections (one section for each month) does the job.  After noting on the receipt what it was for (see above) I place each receipts as I get it into a envelope marked with the month then put it into the appropriate month section of the divided folder.  I find that keeping the receipts in an envelope, as opposed to loose in a manila file folder ensures that they don't fall out of the folder and get mixed up.
3. Keep accurate records:  You might like to purchase an accounting system like Quickbooks or Xero, or you could use a spreadsheet or ledger book, but you definitely need a system to track your earnings and expenses.  I use a Quickbooks. 
4. Update often.I  jot my business mileage into a  inexpensive notepad  I keep in my car, then I update my mileage and sales and expenditures into Quickbooks at least once a week. ( I try to keep all my purchases confined to one day a week so I can focus upon the creative side the rest of the time, but during some times of the year, that isn't possible so then I make entries more often. .
5. Keep business and personal finances separate:  For tax purposed you need to have a dedicated business account and, probably (as I’ve discovered) a credit card. This helps avoid the dreaded tax sin of co-mingling of business funds with your personal  finances.  
6. Cross check monthly records:  When my bank (and credit card) statement comes in at the end of each month, I check the receipts I have collected for that month against statements. Once all is recoiled on the paper end, I double check the entries into Quickbooks.  Then I file the bank statements in the expandable folder in that months section.  At the end of the year all my tax receipts are in one place
7. REVIEW AGAIN at the end of the year. I print out all my bank statements and credit card statements and compare them to my Quick book entries.  That's what I was doing this morning.  Since  I've stayed on top of it throughout the year this review worked in my favor.  I found  some  missed entries for expenses in sales taxes paid, bank fees, and  cash expenditures for parking; and some mileage entries that had been missed.  Nothing earth shaking, but it definitely helped clean up some minor accounting discrepancies

Prepping for painting in St Augustine, Florida 12 '13

As a belated Hanukkah gift to one another, my husband and I are heading to  St Augustine, Florida  tomorrow for a weeks vacation.   Bruce wants to do some golfing at their two famous courses -The Slammer and The Squire, AND The King and the Bear.  I want to find some place warmer than South Carolina and hopefully find something interesting to paint.

Assorted pastels sorted by value and temperature

 I usually bring along  my oil painting equipment on road trips, but often find that it is impossible to fit even a two hour plein air session into our whirl-wind site seeing day schedule,.   So this trip I am taking a cue from the traveling artist guru,  Karen Margulis, on packing light and painting small..

Aceo size, 5" x 7" and 8" x 10" home made pastel paper

After studying  some web cams in the St Augustine area for their current local colors, I chose a small assortment of  pastels that seemed to fit the area.  I snugged the pastels between some foam pads in a cardboard box.  I also took a tiny watercolor kit to use for quick studies or to use as a ground beneath the pastels.  I then cut up some water color paper into 5" x 7" sheets then brushed several coats of clear gesso on the paper  The clear gesso stiffens and waterproofs the paper, while adding some tooth for pastels to grip.  Add a couple of water color brushes, a sheet of foam core and a small role of painters tape ( to attach the  pastel paper to the foam core while painting), a pack of hand wipes, some paper towels and a canvas bag to carry it  all, and I am ready to go.

Creating your own sanded surfaces for pastel paintings. 10 '13

  I spent my scraps free time today creating my own home made pastel surfaces using  recycled 300 lb watercolor paper and Liquitex  Clear Gesso... and I love the results.

I had some partially painted water color paper practice sheets that had been sitting around for years.  I cut them into smaller pastel sizes (9x12, 8x10, 5x7 and aceo).  I used a 4" wide  foam brush to  put one coat of the gesso on  unpainted side of the paper, let it dry  ( about 10 minutes) then came back and added a second coat of gesso atop the first. The gesso stiffened the paper making it even stronger for pastel application, and the grit in the gesso gave just the right amount of  tooth to the surface for the way I apply pastel. I was so please with the results that I repeated the process over the colored side of some acrylic beach washed watercolor scraps.  Again.  It worked beautifully, allowing me to see through the grit to the colored paper.

I can't imagine why I didn't try this sooner

Liquitex Clear Gesso over unpainted watercolor paper

Well actually,  I do know why.  I love working on textured surfaces. ..  the more texture the better,  and have tried applying grounds etc. to make my own.   I usually find it all too messy and time consuming, so I wind up opting for more the convenient, albeit smoother, manufactures brands of sanded papers .  This is a classic example of what I meant when I confessed, in yesterdays post, that I tend to put off  all but the painting until later. I read first read about the Liquitex process over a year ago in Karen Margulis 9/12/12 blog post.  And I  heard about it again this summer  from another pastel artist in the Charleston art Guild.  Both said that it was a fast, easy, and inexpensive way to create one's own textured surfaces.  Even with those voices to recommend the process, I  took no action beyond purchasing the Clear Gesso .  I have been on a roll with my painting this year, and I wasn't about to let anything like the possibility of a better surface get in the way of expressing  my vision.

Liquitex Clear Gesso over recycled  beach wash watercolor paper

 Fortunately the universe has intervened with a mandate that I put off painting  for a short while... just long enough to force me to think through what supplies I will  need for my painting a day project I will begin next month.  In less than the time that it took me to write this post,  I was able to create all the  pastel paper I will need for  next month, and saved a lot of money in the process.   Sometimes you don't know what you're missing until it arrives on your door step.

What to do when the universe hands you lemons 10 '13

My husband and I are involved in a major real estate transaction that has recently developed some serious complications.  Getting all the crinkles ironed out is consuming both my time and my energy to the point that I have not been able to focus on any new paintings for the past week.  Worse yet, it may be weeks before the issues are straightened out and the transaction finalized.  I need long uninterrupted  periods where I can focus on the painting process,  or I lose sight of the original vision.  Right now the universe  just isn't providing the uninterrupted time in order to paint something worthwhile..What to do? 

My solution has been to prioritize my time to focus  upon the real estate, then use the time remaining to work on art business (at least the busy-ness)  tasks.

   Updating my business records in quick books, organizing my art storage, priming supports are all necessary  tasks.  

I seldom get outrageously behind  in the business duties,  but I admit  that  I usually do put these mundane chores off until last, and only tackle them after I have exhausted my passion for painting.   Fortunately,  they are the perfect activities for when  I don't have time to concentrate on a painting and still  want to stay productive.  I can work on one of them  for five,  ten, or twenty minutes, then stop to attend to something else, and come back and pick up where I left off without impacting the results.

The best part is that I know that once both the personal and art business chores are complete, I will be rewarded with all the more time to focus upon  doing what I love most.. painting