Administrative Arts

Photo: My students in a recent workshop in palette knife painting at my studio

If you are reading this and/or enjoying my blog, then I assume you might be interested in receiving updates as I post them. Even if you have been notified before or asked to join the Patzart Group, please now just use the simple subscription form to the right and you will be notified via email when an update has been posted. And I thank you!
It would seem, at first glance, such a simple thing. Create a blog, email your friends, your students, your family, your patrons, your collectors et al and share with them your latest paintings, your thoughts on art, your painting or drawing tips, etc. Another one of those half-day jobs that turns into days of trial and error and, in the trials, causing those on your email list to never want to hear from you again! First, email lists that contain a large number of email addresses, as mine do, don't get past my outbox (on several different mail services, e.g., aol and gmail) because the mail police are afraid they might be spam. So I spent hours of entering email addresses into address book "groups", which "they" told me to do, only to then have the whole group rejected as a security risk.
Google then said to create a google group (not within the mail service) and I would then be able to email everyone in the group with one email. They have a system wherein you can either add email addresses or you can invite people to join the group. I tried to add my list and the numbers were too high. So I had to let them invite the people on my list, which then causes these people to have to join, and fill out paperwork, etc. I am so sorry!
So now I have been researching ways to make this simpler, to communicate with those who have shown an interest in my work, in my writing, in my teaching, in my thoughts, to market to those who may be future collectors, to share with other artists. And I found Feedblitz, a subscription management tool that will make all this manageable. I welcome your subscription in the upper right corner and you won't have to join any groups or go to any further trouble. And if you wish to unsubscribe at any time, they make it simple for you to do that, too.
Being an artist is not only about making art, but also about public relations, marketing, advertising, selling, branding, getting your name out in the public eye, giving back to the community through donations, teaching, maintaining your professional relationships, etc. All of the latter takes time away from the former, but one without the other is fruitless. So there is art and there is business, and better the twain shall meet.

Art From the Heart

Following the events of September 11, 2001, friend and fellow artist, Lisa Gleim, participated in a project in which artists painted portraits of firefighters killed on that horrific day and donated them to their families. Later, she proposed the idea of painting soldiers from Georgia who had died in service of their country in either Iraq or Afghanistan to four friends, Geraldine Zaki, Leah Henry, Fran Milner and me. Together we formed the Atlanta Fine Arts League (AFAL) in 2005 to spearhead this noble project, which we call Art From the Heart. While the AFAL has taken on a life of its own in the past year which I will discuss in another post, Art From the Heart remains our primary current objective. Approximately seventy Georgia soldiers have died thus far while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Portrait artists have been ready and willing to step up to the plate to do their part and many portraits are either complete or in the works. The paintings are being donated to the families of our fallen heroes. We will paint two in cases where there is, say, a surviving spouse and parent(s). We are having a little more difficulty finding ways to contact all of the families. If anyone reading this knows such a family, please ask them to email atlantafineartsleague@yahoo.com and tell us of their interest.
We ask the family to provide us with photos, details about their loved one, and to describe the soldier's personality to us. Since we are unable to meet the person, knowing something about him or her is helpful. Paintings are being given to the families as they are completed and, if they so choose, they will be included in a special exhibition of all these portraits to be held at the Patriots' Museum in Atlanta in the fall of 2007.
There is a great deal of emotion for the artist in painting these commemorative portraits. Talking to the family and becoming involved in their pain as well as their pride gives us just a small sampling of what they have endured and the loss they have suffered. There is also, however, a tremendous feeling of satisfaction in being able to give something that you hope will be treasured for decades to come by those who have endured such pain.
So now it is time for you to meet "my soldier," United States Marine Corporal William (Billy) G. Taylor, killed in action November 30, 2005 at the age of 26 in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Fellow marines with whom Billy served have left messages for his family on the Fallen Heroes website, and they remember the great love Billy had for his little daughter, Leah. Billy's mother, Catherine Krattli, has told me of his Indian heritage; she is Aztec and Yaqi and his father was Cherokee. Billy joined the Marines after 9/11 feeling it his duty to protect his daughter and his country. He served for two and a half years in Washington, DC, standing guard at the funeral of Ronald Reagan when Former President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara paid their respects. He was a member of the Marine firing squad for funerals and, as he participated in the 21 gun salute at one, he became the focus of the eye of a National Geographics camera for a special on how each branch of the military bury their dead. Billy was known for his contagious smile. His mother misses him every day.
It is now Sunday, April 1, 2007, and I am adding to this story. Yesterday I met Cathy Krattli and Leah in person for the first time. Though the painting was still wet and I couldn't give it to her, I did bring the completed portrait (finished the night before) for her and Leah to see. It was a very emotional event for me and what an amazing story I have to tell.
Cathy and Leah were in Blairsville to perform with their native American group, The Drum, at a newly opened store here selling native crafts. When I arrived, they were already performing, the men sitting and the women standing in a circle around a large drum playing and singing Indian songs. There was a chief in full native regalia who spoke, sang and danced around the group. Between songs, I met Cathy for the first time and we hugged and I spoke to beautiful five year old Leah, Billy's daughter. I told them that I had the painting with me if they would like to see it. Of course they did and I retrieved it. At the next break in their performance, Cathy and another woman in The Drum, herself a veteran, Leah and her stepfather, Mike, came over to see the painting. Cathy's response was astonishment, saying that it was Billy, that it looked just like him, and tears came to her eyes. I asked Leah if she knew who was in the painting and she answered, "Daddy." That's when I started to cry. Cathy, a Gold Star Mother, said she wanted to show the painting to the other members in the group, most of whom were veterans, and asked if I could wait for the next break in the performance. I waited, of course, and the next thing I knew the chief handed Cathy the microphone, the painting was shown to the band members and the audience, the project was explained and I was told they wanted to give me a special blessing. Cathy explained that this is done by only the women in the group and is usually reserved for other women. (Little did I know what was coming.) I had to stand in the middle of a circle formed by the ladies and the painting was placed right side up atop the drum, facing the sky. The women then beat on hand held leather drums with sticks with padded leather ends on them and sang, in beautiful melodic voices, a lovely song in a language I didn't understand. I was facing Cathy and could not help but say as she was singing that Billy had her eyes, which I knew well from painting them. She choked up a little during the song. It was a very emotional event.
Billy's step-dad, Mike, commented on Billy's mustache in the painting. "He was always working on that," he said. It is amazing how a little thing can bring back a flood of memories.
I am very thankful that now I,too, have a wonderful memory to cherish.

Freedom of Expression

I had just completed my latest of five portrait commissions last week, feeling relief from the stress of months of painting with the hope of my clients' happiness. It is amazing how the final analysis that there is no more you can do to make the painting better, that it is now time to sign the painting and call it complete, and that all your current deadlines have been met lift a major weight from your shoulders. One would expect that a day or two away from the studio would be welcome, but instead, a couple of lemons on my kitchen counter, brought home by my husband for lemonade, provided the inspiration for a small still life painting. I have been itching to paint some still life paintings for quite some time and I immediately grabbed the two lemons, an orange from the refrigerator, and two over-sized marbles I purchased for just such a purpose. I knew the blue marbles would be a perfect complementary color foil for the orange. I returned to my studio, set up the tablecloth, the subjects and the lighting and painted for hours. I had to make myself stop painting to make dinner, although I'd have kept on painting if not for a hungry husband. (I'm the cook, he's the dishwasher - that's the deal!) Next day I was back at it, just as eager as I had been the day before!
One can love the process of painting regardless of subject, and one can prefer certain subjects to others. But the process of painting to please no one but yourself, to produce an effect you envisioned with no other opinion or outside influence, with no approval necessary save your own, allows for a freedom of expression without equal. It felt great after so many recent commissions, especially knowing there are currently four plus one pending ahead of me.
I have titled this still life painting The Odd Couple, referring to the marbles. I hope you like it as much as I do! And if you don't that is perfectly okay, too!

Learning by Teaching

It is still early in 2007 and already I have taught a six-day workshop in oil portraits in North Carolina, five three-hour sessions of my weekly classes in my teaching studio, and I have attended one four-day workshop! I have six more painting or drawing workshops and those weekly classes scheduled to teach for the remainder of the year.
A schedule like this is very time consuming, not to mention that it seriously cuts into what might otherwise be painting time. So I often question why I keep doing it!
The first answer is, of course, the most obvious. It helps pay the bills. There are times when painting sales and commissions may be slow in coming, and teaching helps fill those gaps. While I keep my class and workshop prices as low as possible, the income is still a necessary addition to the income stream. The other reasons I continue to teach are far less tangible. I have given much thought to this and have found that I have really learned by teaching. I have learned about my own philosophical and analytical thinking every time I have to explain a particular aspect of painting to a student. I must think, question and explore while I am painting and read constantly to stay abreast of other artists, their art, their methods and their styles. I have to understand color and composition well enough that I can explain them to students in ways that will be meaningful to their progress as painters.
I love learning so this is wonderful for me. And I truly love imparting what I know to others hungry to know it! There is nothing as gratifying as seeing a student in an A-Ha! moment only to go on to improve their work with his or her newfound knowledge.
The last, but certainly not least, aspect of teaching is the forging of wonderful friendships with those whose interests are well aligned with mine. There are a good number of students who have taken my classes or workshops for years and my life would not be the same without them. I thank them all.

On Painting Snow

Note: I started this post on February 1, 2007 and am just finishing it on April 15th!

With my weekly painting class cancelled this morning due to snow and ice that fell overnight, blanketing these mountain roads and fields with both beauty and treachery, I thought I would take advantage of the time and write about painting snow. I am looking out the window behind my computer desk as I type. If it weren't for the icy cold rain and sleet that is still falling, not to mention the warm and comforting fire in the fireplace, I would be out painting or, at the very least, photographing the snow-covered hills, trees and pastures. I LOVE painting snowy winter scenes complete with the leafless skeletons of the deciduous trees, the snow laden evergreens, snow drifts and white topped fences, houses and barns!
In all of my drawing and painting classes and workshops, I stress the importance of value. In the language of visual art the term refers to how light or dark any color is as well as to the all the greys (neutrals) in the range from black to white. Painting snow, in light and in shadow, provides ample opportunity to maximize the effects of value for greatest impact.
Using color with white to add interest to the snow, cooler tones in the shadows, warmer tones in the light; pinks, greens, blues, yellows mixed with white add interest and intensify the effects of light on the snow.