Arts Alive

Last week I did a workshop for kids through a program called Arts Alive, funded by the Addison Center for the Arts. The class was at the local Junior High School and 5 students had signed up for my Mandala Designs class. I had three 6th graders and a couple of 8th graders. The class was in 2 sessions for about 2 hours each.

On the first day, all the kids prepared 2 canvases with the background colors they liked. The time went by really fast! It was a little surprising for me to learn that middle school kids have not used a compass to draw circles before. So it was interesting to teach them basic geometry before starting  to paint.

In the second session, they got to play with 3 dimensional fabric paint - a.k.a. puffy paint. They were painting mandalas similar to how I paint them and it was fun to teach this way of playing with paint to the kids.

One of the kids might soon get much better at this than me :) 

Check out how she is free-handing the pattern with fabric paint. 

There were a couple of times when I had to remind some of the kids to be respectful of the class & focus, but overall it was a fun and satisfying experience, and may be, I think I would be more open to working with kids again than I have been in the past. of course, it was also great to be part of a program that brings more art opportunities to kids who wouldn't otherwise get to explore things outside their regular class stuff. So proud of these budding artists :) 

Paints Galore

At least once every couple of weeks or so I get an email or facebook message from someone asking what kinds of paint I use for the paintings I create. I just counted the number of different paints I have in my studio - I have at least 20 brands of paint I use on a regular basis and another 5 or so that I have around. That is a lot of paint! Sometimes I have 1 or 2 colors in a specific brand and in others I might have their entire range. I also have about  8 - 10 different mediums I can use to thicken or thin my paints & add various types of textures to my works. What one has to realize when they start painting and want to ask other artists what they use is, not everyone they come across is a hobby artist. I am also a business woman and I keep investing in my business. 

                                

Since my paintings are created for sale, I make sure I use the best & high quality paint for the job. The paints I use do not fade or yellow or change color over time. They are also ones I love working with. The paints on the palette above are my recent discovery and I am in love with them! I use at least one of these colors in all the works I have been doing recently. I am constantly experimenting with my technique & working on improving my art. That means investing time & money to get quality products and learning to use them properly. To answer the question of what brand of paint I would recommend - my only advice would be to experiment for yourself to see which paints you like & which ones are best for what you want to do. Spend time talking to people working in your art supply store and they will provide recommendations on the kind of work you want to create. Be patient and take time playing with the paints till you are comfortable with their characteristics. I have been painting for a little more than 3 years now and I am always learning & discovering something new with my paints all the time!

My Week in Review

Like all artists, I go through the frustration of people around me assuming that I have a lot of "free time" in my hands since I "work" from home. Mostly I have gotten around to ignoring comments like "you are painting as a hobby" or "its not like you have a job", sometimes I put my foot down and say, well it might be easier if I have a job, but instead I run a business! This week in review - actually just the last 3 days and this morning, is to give an idea on what it takes to be a professional artist these days.

Monday was cleaning day in the studio: I moved all the stuff around that needed to, filled up the trash can, cleared all the tables so I can start my coasters project next week, organized all the paints, cleaned brushes & palettes. When S got back from work, he helped with vacuuming the place & re-do the carpets and floor coverings. 

I had to finish a large 36"x48" commissioned painting & ship it this week - I was waiting to hear from the client for the go ahead to put the sealant coating and when it came through, here are some of the finishing steps:

Drying on the Easel

• On Monday, I removed all the sketch lines that were still visible
• On Tuesday morning I did a second coat of black gesso on the sides and did one coat of sealant
• On Wednesday morning I did a second coat of sealant, & signed on the back
• Tonight I have to buy hangers with double screws for it and attach them
• Tomorrow I have to cling wrap it and take it to UPS for more packing & shipping.
• I also spent time FB messaging with the client

I have also re-started and finished this painting of a name on a cabinet door for a little one, a much delayed present, and need to have it ready by Monday. As of now, it is waiting for a second coat of sealant and needs to be wired on the back.

I had another friend bring by this Krishna statue for a little fixing that took a good chunk of an hour on Tuesday. This is one of those instances when a good 2 days worth of work for which I get paid, could restore this beautiful piece. But this is the best I could afford to do during a crazy week. (I have a policy of not doing unpaid professional work, but sometimes find myself making concessions for friends).

• Time spent on phone calls and chatting with the friend during drop-off

Here is another commissioned painting that is in progress that I have hardly managed to make much progress on in the last couple of weeks. I did put two base coats of gold color on the birds this week. It has been staring at me from the table evoking a little guilt every now and then! At least I am not on a deadline to get it done in the next week or so.

I was hoping to get this dragonfly painting completed for my last outdoor show of the season this weekend, but that's not going to happen! Oh, dragonfly has to wait a couple more weeks for some flowers & leaves to appear.

• Time spent messaging with a potentially interested client regarding this painting

And on Tuesday I painted these two wooden planks with black gesso (as I was working on the large piece) and yesterday they got these color coats. Now they are also staring at me from the table, waiting to be painted with geckos.

In addition to all these - I applied for two holiday shows (filled out applications, wrote checks, mailed them, worked on editing and sending pictures for jury by email), followed up on another application from 2 weeks back, posted a few pictures on FB, updated my website with the Sugar Skull painting finished last week (http://www.artbybala.com/paintings/henna), planned for a holiday open house at my house -- for this I researched printing door hangers and distributing in the neighborhood / using the USPS small business promotion options to send out postcards -- all till S came home and vetoed the idea of the open house! Not to mention the 200 notecards I ordered this week during a sale at the printers, updated my inventory of notecards & prints, updated my newsletter mailing list and work on a template &  a plan to send one out next week (you can sign up here: http://eepurl.com/ShQLz).

I am not complaining, but trying to explain that in addition to the time I actually spend holding a brush or playing with paint in the studio, there is a ton of other responsibilities that goes with being a professional artist. Unless I invest time in marketing, I cannot put my art in front of people who appreciate them or can afford to buy them. Then there is the element of networking - though I am not doing much of it offline, there is still time spent online to connect with people. There is always social media that takes a good amount of time for promoting the works. I also have to spend time researching what I am going to work on next - ideally creating sketches for the flowers on the dragonfly painting, and ideas for the geckos. 

Hopefully I have now managed to convince you a little bit to not ask me about my "free time" or "hobby" :) 

Off I go to prepare lunch!

First Oil Painting

Wanting to learn something new, and a reason to leave the house during the week, I signed up for a couple of classes offered by the Elk Grove Park District. The first one is a Oil Painting class and the other, an open studio for artists. I have been to two of the oil painting sessions and finished a small 9" x 12" painting on canvas panel. I was told that the panel I took was too textured and I had some trouble having to push hard to get enough paint to stick on it. The final painting turned out to be a lot darker than I wanted it to be, but it still looks decent for a beginner's effort. 

Progress after week-1

Finished painting from today

I started a second painting today, from a photo, and the project is, to put it mildly, very ambitious. Two more weeks before I know how it is going to turn out. I also need to buy a new set of oil paints in the mean time, as I have been working with a very old set bought from someone off of craigslist a few years back. Even with pliers, we can't seem to open some of the tubes! I am beginning to actually like painting with oils (though my preference is still acrylics), to want to invest in a new set of paints. Shopping time next week :)