Month: September 2016

One thing I do now want this blog to be is a “typical artist blog” where each post is “this is my latest painting” and “I love how the reds pop out of the green …” Though this blog will often be about my art, I hope it will also be about a larger perspective.

Today I would like to write about how an artist knows a painting is finished. This question has been on my mind because, indeed, I am about to finish a painting. At least, I think so. I am a realist painter, but I don’t strive to emulate photographs. I don’t work trompe l’oiel, where it’s hard to tell the image before you from the actual thing in situ. Nor am I a photo-realist or hyper-realist; the current printing technology allows photographers to fill that role. I make paintings that look like paintings of objects. It’s a bit of a fine line to walk, but that’s the dance that I do.

So how do I know when a painting is finished? At some point it becomes obvious that it is almost finished. All the different components have been completed, underpainted and glazed as needed, and to a consistent degree. The picture stops being a collection of parts and becomes an connected whole. Are the connections right? Are the colors balanced? Are any adjustments in the fall of light needed? Should more details be added to one part or another? This is a fussy stage, where small nuances are adjusted here and there if not everywhere.

After each adjustment, I look at the painting for a good while, looking for anything that could or should be done. Then I ask if the change will really improve the painting or not. After making the change, I have to re-evaluate and ask if it is really better. If the answer is no, then I have to ask if that’s because my painting skills need improvement, or because the painting was as good before the change as after.

Then I put the painting aside for a day or two where I don’t look at it. A final inspection with a fresh eye, and if I still think it’s done it gets signed. Once signed, a painting is inviolate.

 

Today I went as a spectator to Art in the Barn in Barrington, IL, one of the larger art fairs we have in the area with over 175 artists showing.  Next year I will be submitting my entry for participation. But this year I went looking for different things. Besides the art, I wanted to see how the booths were set up, how people organized their things inside and behind their tents. How did solid panel walls work compared to mesh walls for hanging. What about lighting, especially in the indoor areas?  I wanted to see how people set up tables to hold guest books and business cards or flyers. And of course I wanted to see if people were buying or just looking like I was.

The day’s weather started out overcast and drizzling, clearing very gradually. Though the exhibitors were probably nervous at the start, it turned out to be a good weekend for a fair.

It was clear that the largest single category was Jewelry, at 37 artists.  By comparison Painting, a combination of Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, and Pastels, totaled 43 artists. Ceramics, Fiber, Wood, Sculpture, etc rounded out the other half of the show, and of course Photography was well represented at 22 artists.

I wonder if the Art in the Barn organizers track purchases by category. It would be interesting to know if people are buying jewelry or paintings. Small, low priced trinkets or major works of art? Originals or reproductions? Though I’m sure to learn soon what the numbers are for my own works, it would be interesting to see if there are general trends. If I can find out I’ll write about what I learn here.

Hello, world! This is my first blog post, now that the technical issues with attaching it to my site are worked out. I’ll be blogging about art in general, with a particular focus on the realistic oil painting I do. But I hope to share about the topic of the moment, be that art appreciation, technique, business, or just about life in the studio.