Some of my Favorite Tools

Hey Guys! I just thought I would share some of my favorite tools with you this week.

1. Color Reducer - Value Finder

The first thing I think you have to learn to do either in drawing or painting is understanding value comparison.  This is one tool that is really great for that because it cancels out all of the color into one color, in this case red (sometimes comes in green too). So that you can look at your scene and your painting with it and make your comparisons.  This is just to help you learn to see value instead of color, as some colors can really fool our eye into thinking they are either lighter or darker.

You can purchase this particular one here: http://www.cheapjoes.com/cheap-joe-s-value-sketch-and-composition-finder.html

 2. A Value Finder-  I like this one because you can hold the little cut out holes over an object to judge what value it truly is.  Simultaneous contrast is especially something that can make us misjudge a value. For instance when you are staring into a shadow that has a brilliant reflected light, the more you stare at it in that isolated way the brighter and lighter the reflection will look. Always compare it to something in the light to get the true value or brilliance, but if you just can't see it resort to a tool like this to reveal the truth.

You can get it here: http://www.dickblick.com/products/gray-scale-and-value-finder/



 

 

 

 

 3.  A Good Ol' Color Wheel - This can help you come up with pleasing color schemes for you painting or can help you if you are struggling with judging your saturation levels or hues.  A lot of times student may resort too much to white to lighten and they lose the brilliance of the color. You can hold up the scale to the object that you are painting and to what you painted to see where you are off.  Also, it's a good idea to go through paintings by artists that you admire and just see what kind of color schemes they are using. A lot of times they are altering reality to fit into a pleasing color strategy. I like this particular color wheel because of the gray overlay and that it gives you some color theory education too!

They have this one here: http://www.amazon.com/Cox-3389-Creative-Color-Wheel/dp/B005F6S0BU or if you have a Hobby Lobby they have them there too.

Okay. That's it!  I also want to thank everyone who has been supporting me. All the MINI sales, likes, comments, shares, watching you tube videos and purchasing video lessons at www.openstudioonline.com  You all keep me able to live the dream as a full time artist and I am so grateful to you!

 

HAPPY PAINTING TO YOU ALL!

 

 

I WILL BE GIVING AWAY ANOTHER FREE MINI ON APRIL 1st! SO PLEASE JOIN THE BLOG FOR A CHANCE TO WIN.

Get Back in the Saddle

I can't believe it is already the middle of March!  Wow. I have to admit that the beginning of this month really  sidetracked me from my goals that I set at the first of the year. I had committed to a show last fall that I was invited to and while it was an honor to be asked (and I even won an award so what am I bitching about! ha ha) at any rate it was a big time consumer, distracting and not very profitable. I will say, I really had some help from some wonderful fellow artists and students and I do not regret at all the time that I had to spend time with them and their help was so appreciated.  I did however get pretty bummed out after the show, which was my fault, and so I spent a few days in the deep well of defeat and self pity! I am laughing now ;)

What did I learn? 

Don't just focus on this one moment!
This is my biggest trap that I fall into. I tend to forget all the previous past successes and possible future opportunities. Remind yourself of where you came from and where you are going. When I first started taking art lessons I could give a rats ass about winning awards or selling anything, that wasn't even on my radar. What I cared about was trying my damnedest to learn how to draw, paint and sculpt.

Pick yourself up as fast as you can! 
Really you're only losing more time and missing out on happy moments by being defeated.  The faster you re-visit your written goals (you do have them right?) and get back on task, the better.

Focus on the positives!
Really, I have never been in a situation that did not lead to good somewhere in the future. I've been at many shows where the sales are low and let me tell you it is no fun when everyone is being a bunch of grumpy butts because they aren't selling.  I have been a grumpy butt too, but  there are positives to focus  on and it's not just about a sale.

Be a Realist!
For some reason I think as artists (maybe just humans in general) we tend to take not selling so personally. It's not because we're a bunch of greedy bastards, but because it is a form of affirmation or validation of our work.  So I say, be a realist....there are many reasons outside of the fact that your work must certainly suck that people aren't buying it. Could be it just wasn't the right place or time to cast your net. If the same is happening to the majority of the other artists this is certainly the case. Of course, if you keep doing the same thing over and over and your not getting results -STOP IT! ha ha.

Contribute!
Get the focus off of yourself. There is someone out there you can inspire by making your best art and sharing your journey. We all need each other!

Look to Others!
I am often times a giver and get a lot of fuel by sharing my work with others. When people share that my work is inspiring them, teaching them or motivating them it really fills me up, but sometimes I need that too. Looking at artists you admire or finding new artists can really kick up your desire to get back in the game.

Photos of the recent show:

 

This month's 1 hour Daily MINIs so far:

"Copper Pot and a Carnation" - 6"x6" - Still available here:
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/526523

"Copper and Pink Carnation" - 5"x7" -Sold

 

"Happy Sunrise" - 8"x10" - on auction here:
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/527309

Three Little Apples - 5"x7" - available here:
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/528928

"Dramatic Rosebuds" 5"x7" - available here:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/528929

It's been getting so sunny and warm out now, here in Oklahoma so I decided to try some still life's plein air :) So much fun doing some cool shadows and warm lights for a change.

"Hot Sunny Carnations" - 6"x6" - available here:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/528930

"Foggy Quiet Morning" 6"x6" available here:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/528855

"One White Carnation" - 7"x5" available here:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/528931

"Sunlit Lilies and Red Glass" - 6"x6" - available here:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/528932

"Hot Sunny Carnations" - 6"x6" - available here:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/528940

"Sunrise Through the Trees" - 8"x8" available here:
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/528941
 

What do I do with all these paintings? + February's MINI WINNER!

Let's do the fun stuff first!!!!  FEBRUARY'S MINI GIVEAWAY WINNER IS:......

SHARON EGAN!    

 Congratulations Sharon.

How do I pick a random winner???  I use an automated random number generator website to pick a number from my list of members, and that's who wins that month)

I want to say thank you so much you guys for your constant support! For taking the time to look at, like, share and purchase my art. I was only 2 minis away from my sales goal for the month, so I am super happy about that!

WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL THESE PAINTINGS?

So this weeks post is about a question/comment I get probably at every workshop or class. I have heard it so regularly that it has forced me to really contemplate it over the years.....as I had never fully understood the mindset of the question and never really knew how to answer it. 

I could give you all kinds of ideas for what you can do with these paintings. I probably have and will, but I really feel like the question is a mindset and if one is not careful this question can be the seed of quitting or stagnation in your development.  So I have a few suggestions that hopefully you can use to shift how you see all of those paintings stacked up in your studio. So what do you do with all these paintings? It's time for a paradigm shift!

1. CELEBRATE!!!!!!  Honestly, you should celebrate. Stack 'em all up, lay them all out and celebrate.  Look at all of the time you have given to developing your skill. Every painting is a document of what you understood at the time and every painting is an inch closer to your dream of creating even more beautiful work.  Because you can't get there without stacks of canvases and a road made of painted panels.

2. IT'S AN EXPERIENCE NOT A PRODUCT!   I think that part of the hang up with making paintings is the fact that it is a tangible object that we have produced. It exists in the world now, you can pick it up, touch it, hang it on the wall....and so generally we feel that something should be done with it.  It should be shown, it should be sold, etc.  Now contrast that with let's say going to the gym and exercising to get stronger.  To me, it's the same thing.  When I go to the gym, I'm putting in my time and energy....investing in me......and there is no one paying me at the end of the workout.....and I can't really see any tangible results on any one workout.  It takes a lot to change your body, to change your mind, to build a skillset.  There are a lot of misses, a lot of failures and you don't always get a reward. 

3. ACCEPT THAT A PERCENTAGE OF YOUR WORK WILL NEVER GO ANYWHERE! This is how it has worked for me at least.  In the beginning let's say that only 10% of your work might be worth anything and 90% gets chucked. Year after year that percentage comes closer together. Even now after 8 years of at least 40 hours a week of painting and 4 years of art school I would say at least 25% of my work goes nowhere.  Yes, it is definitely rewarding when people want to buy your work... and for me it's definitely necessary to do it as a living....but if I couldn't make a living doing this I think I would still do it when I could because I love the work and the gratification of making something gorgeous.  

 

4.  YOUR IN GOOD COMPANY!!!  If you have stacks and stacks of paintings in your studio, your in good company!  In fact, I'd say it's a REQUIREMENT for success.  Yes, I have been able to sell a lot of paintings (anyone who knows me knows that I am all for selling & showing), but I also have had a ton of paintings get thrown in the trash, get sanded off and painted over. I've given paintings as gifts to family, donated to charities, etc. Right now, if I counted up I would guess I have at least 100 paintings in my condo that are yet to sell or show.  Some will find a home, some will be content to stay with me.  If you ask any professional artist they will probably tell you the same thing.  As a matter of fact on a visit to Quang Ho's studio last year he had probably the biggest stacks of paintings in his studio that I have ever seen (which I desperately wanted to dig through all of them-ha ha). 

 

5.  YOUR TREASURE CHEST!  I love keeping old paintings around for a long time. To me they are unfinished ideas....that may have been a really great idea and I just couldn't complete it at the time.  I have a bunch out in my garage right now and every time I pull the car in or go out there, I go on a little memory lane dig.  I often find an oldie that just makes me smile and I think...hmmmm....I just revisit that- that wasn't a bad idea.  In fact, I did have one that I had hanging up for a year and I finally pulled it off the garage wall and took it inside and finished it. It is one of my most satisfying paintings. Sometimes I think our mind just needs time to figure out what to do with them.

 

6. PURGE!!!  So this is the last option, but also a very very good one. Purge those babies! Throw them in the trash.  Or in my case, I had built up an entire wall of portrait sketches which I am trying to get better at. For several weeks, they were inspiring. I was studying where I could improve....but one day they just looked like this black cloud and felt like such a burden so I just took them all down at once.  They were on linen sheets, so I just stacked them up in a nice tidy pile and tucked them away for the time being (I was ready to chuck them just yet).  It was a huge relief. I literally had a start over.

It's a BADGE OF HONOR you guys. Keep working! ENJOY your work!  Every painting is not destined to go anywhere, but to help you in the future. 

 Here are some paintings I completed this month:

 

This is one of the larger (12x24" oil on linen) paintings that I worked on this month. 1 out of 3 finished gallery works I did. I really tried to push myself longer on these paintings in order to get more depth, richness and subtlety.  The time investment is sometimes agonizing for me, but worth it in the end.

 

 

A few of the recent MINIs. All 6"x6": 

Power to Influence

Have you ever been in the presence of someone that just by being around them you felt elevated, inspired to be your best self.  I recently had this experience in a simple exercise class. Just watching this woman standing and walking strong, filled with the glow of life left me knowing that we all can embody greatness in our daily lives and through the simplest of tasks. You know that saying that you become who you are around?  Well, I believe it. What a gift to others in your life to be this kind of person! 

Having this experience really reminded me of how much I - we - can have an impact on each other.  We are in this together and we need each other's strength, patience, love, courage, compassion and vulnerability.  Sometimes we forget we have this super power. We forget why we should use it.  We forget that we can start where we are. We can let our inner critic, the outer critics, our insecurities, surrounding negativity and MEDIOCRITY get the better of us and play it small.  You don't have to follow the herd.

As a person who was not instilled with a lot of self esteem as a child, as an adult I have had to work very hard to give myself credit for the good things that I do and try to be even better tomorrow. I have had to learn that I am worth it, that my life is worth it!   Every week I try to affirm my "musts" which are my values that I live by.  Things that I must do in order to be satisfied with my life.  I check in on this at least weekly. I don't know what I can accomplish. I don't know what I can do yet.  I fall short, but the reflection on what I did that week to work towards my musts builds me up and creates a stronger center of self.  This is ESSENTIAL for my mental and emotional well being. 

Especially, the more I put myself out there, showing my work publicly and especially online.  You want a test of your self-esteem just put up a YouTube video, or post work on Facebook.  Unfortunately, there are people out there who will take every chance to tear you down.  I've been criticized on almost everything I can imagine.....and it's not constructive criticism....including my voice and that I talk to slow.  I've had people tell me to "get a life" that my painting sucks! Ha Ha. Then others who are not as hateful, but decide to take it upon themselves to send me "helpful" ideas and pointing out where the flaws are in my work - when they are not even in the arena themselves! They are sitting up in the stands pointing their fingers at everyone else whose trying.   Sometimes these ridiculous comments can catch me off guard and take me back a bit. I always have to remind myself that I know I am working towards my values every day, in the arena contributing what I can.  I also have to remind myself for every criticism there are probably 50 times that in positive feedback. A few comments cannot rock the bedrock of 8 years of hard work.

I hope you will find your gifts and refine them ever day to give back as a gift to the rest of us!


Here is some of the work I completed over the last 10 days.

 

Minis! Don't forget to JOIN the blog for a chance to win a MINI on March 1st:

"Hot Pink!" - 7"x5" - Starting bid $50 here:

 http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/504907

"Lavender Rose" - 90 minute Classroom demonstration

starting bid: $125

available here: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/505669

 

"Daisies in Glass" - 6x6" - oil on panel - 60 minute MINI

I made a YouTube video showing how I painted this one, that you can view here :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noaNCQZsQdc

"Moroccan Blue Jar" - 16"x20" - oil on linen - $2400

This one I worked on several days and still think I will go back for a few more touch ups/changes. I wanted to do a combo of rich warm oranges and yellows with the cool turquoise blue and I wanted it to be filled with light and atmosphere.

 

Along with teaching taking up 3 days, I also took another 3 days to record/edit some new videos. This painting "The Blue Ginger Jar" is a new lesson that I recorded on video.  It is over 2 hours long with me talking about what I am doing and why every step of the way. It also includes several pages of written material as well. 

It will be available this week for $25 at www.openstudioonline.com

 

 

 

Thank you everyone for your ongoing support!  My goal this month is to raise $1500 through my MINI and demo sales (to go towards my student loan debt) and I am more than a 1/3 there so far!

 

Please share my work on Google+, Pinterest, Follow me on Facebook, Like my YouTube videos. Every little bit helps!

 

 

  

Winner of January's Mini Giveaway!

Drumroll please.............(did you really do it?).......The lucky winner is...........

 

Jim Serrett!   Congratulations Jim. I will email you with further instructions- this message with self destruct in 5,4,3....

Thank you so much everyone for your support this month!  Please follow along with my journey. I will be giving away another Mini Painting March 1st!

Here are some new minis just completed.

• range from 4"x4" - 6"x6"
•  1 hour sketches  starting bid $50 or buy it now $75
•   if you are not signed up on Daily Paintworks or don't have paypal please let me know via email kelli@kellifolsom.com or a Facebook message. I have other options for you.

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/500997

 

 http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/501009

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/501362

 

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/501363

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/501364

Cramming & Catching Up

This post will be rather short today as I have some catching up to do on minis..... 

Admittedly, as you may have noticed, I haven't done any minis this week.  This week was the deadline of an art show competition and even though I am more of a steady farming type of artist - working at the same routine pace each day,  a week or two before a deadline I am always cramming in the hopes of that one last painting that will just knock everybody's socks off. I don't think this has ever worked once! Ha Ha. But stubbornly, I always hold out hope that it will.  So there is lots of fast food, unwashed dishes, piled up mail, dwindling food in the kitchen and no time for the supermarket. Painful photographing (trust me this is the most frustrating part) and editing of the work. Trying to decide whether or not to enter the piece that photographs really well or the piece that has something special in person- sigh. This is often the case, and since most competitions now are judging from digital images there is not much you can do about it.   Emotionally, the cycle tends to go through hope, determination, anxiety, self-doubt, hope, preparing for rejection, acceptance that I have done the best I could and let the chips fall where they may.  

So now that is done, I can get back to my normal working schedule which produces between: 1-3 gallery paintings a week depending on their complexity and size, my 1 hour daily sketch, and on average 1 day of teaching a week. 

 

We are only 24 HOURS AWAY FROM THE MINI GIVEAWAY!  I hope you will JOIN my blog, by clicking that little Green Google Join button on the right. Check to make sure you show up in the members list underneath.

I started catching up on minis yesterday afternoon and with that said, I gotta go so I can do more today! I want the winner to have plenty to choose from. 

Thank you all so much for following, commenting, pinning, sharing, bidding, etc! All of it helps keep me striving daily for artistic achievement.

Much Love,
Kelli

Here are some of the gallery paintings finished this month:

 

"Cottage Roses" - 18"x14" - oil on panel - $2000

 

"Apples with Brass Bucket" - 16"x20" - oil on linen - $2400

 

"Daisies and Blue" - 24"x30" - oil on linen - $4800

 

"Pink Gladiolus" - 24"x20" - $4000

 

"At Her Dressing Table" - 30"x40" - oil on linen - $4800

 

"Champagne Pink & Red Roses" - 14"x18" - oil on panel - $2000

 

1 Week Away From My Mini Giveaway!

That's right we are just 1 week away from my mini painting giveaway.  Right now your odds are 1 in 64!  If you would like a chance to win one of my mini paintings please make sure that you JOIN the blog. You will see your picture listed among the members. Which means you will probably have to sit down at an actual computer to do this, the phones are not showing the button to join.

I am so excited to give someone a painting on February 1st!  I will announce the winner here.  I ask that the winner emails me at kelli@kellifolsom.com and I will give you a list of available paintings to choose from.

  I will be coming out with a new batch of minis next week so please keep watching my Daily Paintworks gallery on the right hand side of the page or follow my facebook page. Another big thank you to everyone who has purchased my work! I am soooo looking forward to writing a big check to Wells Fargo and chop down that student loan.  Also even if you can't purchase something, every time you like, comment, pin or share me on google+, it is a huge help you guys!  This really gets my work out there to more people.

 

ONLINE TUTORIALS:

If you are an artist and wondering how I paint you may not know that I have some free YOU TUBE mini tutorials and I plan to do more:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpeTocscj4o

Also I do have a full 2 1/2 hour video + 8 page written lesson available here:
http://www.openstudioonline.com/Account/Workshop/SecurePages/WorkshopEntryPage.aspx?WorkshopId=37

And you can also schedule critiques for your paintings on this mentor website.

SHOWING UP:

Down to business, I wanted to write about showing up.  It's so important that you are showing up everyday in your studio and doing deep work.  Deep work can only come from having a set amount of uninterrupted time to focus. Yes this means no internet, no phones, no getting up every 5 minutes because you remembered something you have to do.  No studying someone elses work for 30 more minutes. If you only have an hour, use that hour! Everyday!  There is so much that you can only learn from time in the saddle. (Check out Cal Newport interviews on the topic deep work on YouTube)

 These days it seems like we have an unending wealth of knowledge from other people who are masters and that is great of course, but  just because one "knows" what they are to do does not mean that they can do it.  Unfortunately, you can "know" and then sit down to do and the "knowing" does not come out. You know what I'm talking about don't you? Aaarrgghhh, I should be better than this!  This can be so frustrating.....and well, I wish I had some better news for you, but there is no way around it, you just have to not be able to do for a while. This is where a lot of people give up.  I encourage you to be willing to make paintings that do not live up to your knowledge.  It's the only way. You can't get to a great painting by doing one painting. I promise you that one day you will be painting and all of the sudden you will realize that your skillset has caught up a little bit to your knowledge.

 When this happens, EUREEKA! Go get a root beer float folks, it's time to celebrate.  I tell you nothing makes me happier than realizing that after months of struggling I have finally reached a new level.  I don't even give a shit what anybody else thinks about it or that it's not as good as So and So. I know that I improved! I know that I will keep improving. I recently had this experience with my portrait painting.  I've been going to group once a week at least for months, I went to 2 portrait painting workshops this year, I've watched videos, I've analyzed my paintings and master paintings.....and finally my portraits started to show improvement this week.  You have to be willing to fail, be a beginner, look like a fool in front of everyone, be vulnerable and open and allow someone else to help you!   This is so hard, but personally NOTHING is worth missing my goal of improvement - especially my own insecurities. 

 

Some minis from this week:

I painted another pear mini by special request. No matter how many times I paint pears, I always find it a challenging study and try hard not to make they look like light bulbs.

Pink & Red Carnations, 7"x5", Starting bid $50!

I loved the spiraling light on these carnations, sort of a contrapposto of flowers!http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/496873

or buy it now for $75. If you don't have paypal just email me for another form of payment.

 

 

What else do I do?

Of course my schedule doesn't just include painting 1 hr mini sketches. I also complete up to 3 larger gallery works a week. In addition to hiring a model once a week privately and going to a portrait group. 

 

Here is one of my recent gallery paintings, "Apple Butter Bucket" - 16"x20" - oil on linen

and you guessed it, it is for sale $2000 framed and shipped.  So just email me if you are interested. I also do a 2-4 month payment plan, $500 a month. I can take credit cards as well.  

 

Framed in black and gold, it's about 23"x 27".

 

 

You can already see one of my portrait sketches in the background there. Here are some of the portrait sketches I've done recently , total working time is about 2 1/2 hours each and some rough 30 minute figure sketches in my studio searching for ideas. It's said that you shouldn't show your unfinished work, but I don't know- I always enjoy seeing the artists sketches that I admire. It gives me an idea of how they were trying to discover and art gold didn't just ooze out of their fingertips all the time!

 

30 minute figure sketches:

 

 

2 1/2 hour portrait sketches....I had some root beer floats to celebrate my progress!

Portrait of Kiana

Portrait of Kelly