Puppy Woes

I haven't worked on a floral in a long time and inspired by a couple of artists on social media, decided to give it a try for a new series for 2017. I also wanted the flowers to be based on my mandalas, but more organic. So, I started this piece on a nice, large 24" x 30" canvas on the beginning of this month. The first image below is the progress I had made on the end of day 2. Most of day 1 was working on the background and getting an idea of the layout & the colors. I had to take a day in between to travel for family stuff, but got back to the painting skipping doing fun stuff with the family. Second image below was end of progress on day 3 on working on this piece. 

Decided to take a break and go out for dinner with the visiting family and when I got back to the studio, the painting which was drying on top of my table, was half on the chair, covered in paint! Cue our adorable & anxiety laden puppy Kalai! She decided having mommy home for almost all day and having me step outside a bit was too much to handle. She had jumped all over the studio, unscrewed a bottle of paint and emptied on top of the painting and in jumping off sent the whole thing down to the chair and dripping paint on the floor. She also destroyed a pin cushion and managed to get all the pins out without hurting herself. I attempted to wash the excess paint off the piece in the bath tub and managed to get most of it out, but also some of what I wanted to stay.

I had to have my husband hide the piece, given how angry it made me and the frustration of not being able to do anything about it. After 2 days I started a very similar piece (below) and worked on it for another 3 days. I took it to get critiqued at one of my local art leagues and everyone loved it. Given the positive feedback, I finished another one for my show Dots & Lines at the Addison Center for the Arts.

This week, after a friend suggested it was a collaborative piece with Kalai, I finally managed to go back to the damaged one and work on it. Here is the finished piece, completing a series of 5 floral paintings. Two of them are already in a show and I am hanging another one in a new show starting tomorrow. I will be entering the fourth piece in a member show at an art league later this month. The story of a series 😏

FAQ - How long

One of the most frequently asked questions to me at Art Fairs is How long it takes me to do a particular piece / any of my paintings. It is also one of the most difficult questions to answer. Just to illustrate, this week from Monday through yesterday, here is everything I have been working on in the studio -

1, 2. Peacock on 24" x 36" canvas - started with prepping the canvas to quite a bit of progress! Thats from working almost 10 hour days

3. Dragonfly canvas made it back to my table to start the textured lines

4. A new flying owl piece on 24" x 30" canvas - prepped the background, drew the outline & added the eyes

5, 6. A new version of the Chicago flag - prepped 3 backgrounds in silver with interference green / red/ violet mixed in and started painting one.

7. Added one more circular layer on the red 24" x 36" diptych mandala

8, 12. Two new 20" x 24" Tree of Life paintings - did the background work last week and started with the trunks and shoots this week

9. Another peacock on 20" x 24" canvas - started from prepping the background on Monday

10. A set of 4 18" x 18" canvas prepped for mandala paintings

11. One more 24" x 36 background prep for another peacock!

When I am working on so many projects in parallel, it is really hard to think of time spent on just one piece. In fact a few years back I did estimate the time I spent on a 16" x 20" piece - turned out to be 38 hours from opening the canvas to the signing off on the piece. Well, when I also calculated what I actually made per hour on piece after selling it for $200 minus the cost of supplies, it got too depressing to think further about time spent on painting single pieces. 

So, please don't roll your eyes at me when I tell you I don't keep track of time spent on a painting, because I really don't and I can't think of a way when I can either. I hardly ever have just one project going on in the studio and given how easily I get distracted - from moving from one work to another, or starting something else when waiting for another to dry, estimating time is the last thing on my mind!

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!

The Best Palette

When I started painting, I used the cheap plastic trays with multiple cups as a palette. And soon discovered that the tiny amount of paint they hold is mostly useless and they are hard to clean. I then switched to the wooden gesso coated palette boards. It worked mostly well, but it was hard to leave it on a surface while painting. It felt like I have to hold it! 

Once shopping in Ikea, I found a large window piece with glass that worked really well as a palette. I just left it on top of a cabinet by my easel, it was easy to clean with a spritz of water and a wipe with a wet sponge. However, if I forgot to clean right away, it was messy to move it to a sink and give it a full wash.

Recently I found a stack of 12 porcelain dishes - pasta bowls that I have been using for the last 2 months. One of the best finds ever! They are awesome in letting the colors stay true as I mix, I can either hold it or leave it on the table and the best thing, they are easy to clean even if the paint has completely dried! 

Studio Sneak Peek

Almost a month after our move to the new place, my studio is all set the way I want it. We have converted our second bedroom to be the studio, thanks to a friend's suggestion! Not only do I have a much bigger and better space, but it is also brighter, with a big window and two tube lights. What an upgrade after the last space I had in our basement. 

We were also able to furnish the studio with three tables and a book shelf from thrift stores and they are perfect for the space. Since it is a rental unit, I am trying to be very careful about not getting any paint splatters on the carpet & the walls.

In addition to the painting spots, I also have a corner for bead work, storage space under the table for canvas. I have three bins - one for blank canvas, one for work in progress and another for finished ones. I am so happy with the new set-up, I have been spending so much time in there and being very productive! Kalki totally approves the studio and has half-claimed it for himself too :)

A move and A Task

We moved to the suburbs of Chicago last week and the move was uneventful. However, the daunting task of unpacking awaits. We have downsized quite a bit and now the second bedroom is going to be my studio space. However it is filled with boxes from the office, guest bedroom, studio, rest of basement and the garage from the old house. I have started unpacking but it surely is going very slow! 

I was able to buy three new tables for the studio space before leaving Madison, in lieu of the counters I had in my previous one. Hoping to have a functional studio space here in the next week.