On the easel this week

Thought I'd share what's on the easel this week. It's a 11x14 ( in progress) oil on canvas of an Umbrella Cockatoo. I met this guy, or gal, the summer of 2016 at a local art fair in Belleville. What a character! My two daughters and I took turns holding him or should I say he was holding us! 
There is a good chance that this painting is already spoken for but don't hesitate to inquire if interested.

2017 ARTPRIZE My entry in progress

This time it's for real! Though I had plans of entering this 6 panel painting into the 2016 ARTPRIZE competition life decided that it wasn't to be. But now, look out ARTPRIZE  2017, here I come!  
There are 6, 5ft x 3 ft canvases that will be butted up to one another so the finished piece will be 5 ft tall and 18 feet long.
As you can see my subject is the coral reef, full of sea life and bright color. At first glance you'll be drawn in to the beauty of the piece however there is an underlying subject that isn't so pretty. We are talking about plastic pollution of our oceans and its effects on sea life. 
I plan to create a 3 dimensional field showcasing the effects of plastic pollution both in front of and above the painting.   
Stay tuned for progress photos!

Art Licensing info interview withTara Reed

So this art licensing thing is all new to me and there's a lot of good information out there that will help anyone (like me) to understand it. 
I've recently signed a two year contract with an art licensing company and so far everyone I've spoken with has been very helpful. I've sent them several hi-res files to build up my portfolio on their site so their clients can see first hand what I can do. It would be nice if that were all you had to do and let the royalty checks start flying in but that's not exactly how it works. Not if you want this to be a successful venture. 
Sure, send your licensing company everything you already have but the next step is to look and listen to what's popular with the buying public and begin to tailor your creations towards what you feel will work on many different types of products.  
A friend ( thank you Kim Ensch) sent me a link of an interview with Tara Reed who is a successful licensing artist and I found it very informative.  I'm sure many of you have heard of art licensing but may not have had a good source of info.  Here is the Tara Reed interview.

There is also this website which is very informative. artlicensinginfo.com
Go get em!

In Studio Art Classes!

I am once again scheduling studio art classes for private lessons or small groups of up to four. 
My studio is located in Van Buren Township just off of Michigan Ave. one street to the west of Denton road. 
Visitors are welcome to visit my studio prior to signing up for a class. I offer instruction in drawing using graphite, ink, colored pencil and polymer clay sculpting.
Please follow this link to my website class information

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New Ventures- Licensing my art

As Autumn draws to an end and the summer art show seasons door had closed there is a new window opening. You get it. The hole "one door closes and another one opens" thing. I had hoped that with the somewhat strengthening economy I would begin to experience a stronger art market beginning to take shape. Not so much. What I have noticed at all the shows and art fairs that I've done in the last couple of years is that 2-D art is taking a big hit. Their just seems to be less and less buyers for original 2-D.

I've been working on Polymer clay sculptures and figurines for most of the past year with pretty good results in sales.  I enjoy this medium and it is responsible for most of the years earnings.
The only problem is that I really miss painting.

Simultaneously I have been looking into licensing my art so that my images can be produced on other  products while I get to stay in my studio painting. There's a happy thought! Royalty checks coming to me while I sleep, and paint of course.
So after sending out one portfolio I was pleasantly surprised to receive an invitation to partner with Art Licensing International out of Vermont.
This would mean that one might find my work adorning many types of products such as wall art, fabrics, puzzles, clothing, greeting cards and much more.
So with that said I have signed the contract and the company begins promotion of my work.
Here is the link to my page at ALI.
Here's to new ventures!

Bradenton, Florida Village of the Arts

It's been two years since my last trip to Florida when I camped in the everglades and scheduled four back to back weekend art fairs. While I was there I checked out the Village of the Arts in Bradenton which is next to Sarasota. 
I just returned home from a 10 day visit of checking out the area in more detail and again visiting the village during their Art Walk which is the first Friday and Saturday of each month. I had never been to Florida during the Summer so I thought this was the perfect time to see if I was just as enamored with the area at it's hottest time of the year.  It turns out that I'm pretty smitten with the place even more. 
Village of the Arts is a working artist colony that was started about 13 years ago and is steadily growing. The concept is to live and work out of your home in the midst of a culturally rich and artistically vibrant setting where your collectors come to you. This is an artists dream!
The photos don't lie, This place is colorful and fun and just plain happy.
The plan is to begin the process of becoming one of the happy villagers in the near future, (assuming the family's on board). 
Time will tell!

Good Bye Ann Arbor Art Fair!

As a working artist you set personal goals as a kind of step ladder to advance your career and climb to the next level of success. More sales, higher price points, bigger and better shows. For me and many artists over the years the Ann Arbor Art Fair was one of the premier events for an artist to get in to. It was and is still well known all over the country.

 I was very fortunate and grateful to have been selected as the Guilds featured artist for my inaugural year in 2010.  What I didn't realize at that moment was that it was also the year that I peaked at this fair.  Here's the problem.  The public seems to be getting tired of it and many of the artists seem to feel the same way. It's the most difficult art fair of the year to do. For most of us it's six long days of exhausting work during the hottest days of the summer not to mention the extreme expense of this show which is at least $800 if you're a local. Much more if you're not. I must sell $800 worth of my product just to get back to $0.  I can deal with that as long as I can expect more sales considering the longevity of this show and the sheer number of  visitors reported by the fair organizers. 

Unfortunately, regardless of what the show organizers are saying, the crowds are down dramatically. I remember when you had to take baby steps to get to the next booth in a tight crowd. Now I could bounce a ball across the street from my booth to the one on the other side and not hit anyone.

Amazingly the show organizers look you right in the eye and say, "the crowds are just as strong this year as ever" or "the buses are always full". The buses may be full however I remember when you had to wait in a long line for 45 minutes to catch a bus.  No waiting now!

I read an article on Art fair Insiders that was written by Nels Johnson titled, "Put a fork in it", whos' booth was just a few away from mine. He had a similar view. Here is the link.

I was so looking forward to a long relationship with the Ann Arbor Art Fair however it looks like 6 years is the magic number for me. There was a glimmer of hope that its heartbeat would strengthen, however it's flat-lined for a while now and it's time to pull the plug. This fair has been ridding on the wave of its' former glory but alas it's time to say Good Bye Ann Arbor Art Fair. (Play Taps here).

It's been a while!

Well, like the title says It's been a while so I'm going to try and catch up. Here are a few of the paintings I've been working on while on blogging sabbatical. 

New Painting!

"Green Violet Ear Humingbird with Orchids".This is one of my latest paintings which is now in private collection in PA.

This orchid is one of my own and was my first one. I now have 30 plants! It's a sickness!

Details of "The Guardian"

Here are two details of one of my new paintings titled " The Guardian".  I have used modeling paste as well as other man made objects to tell this story.  Visit my website to see the entire image and to read about my inspiration.  Just go to my portfolio on my navigation bar and click on Original Oils.

Among other things I've been exploring dimension on the surface of my canvases by way of  light weight modeling paste. In some cases I'm embedding materials or found objects into the paste before it drys. I've been having a lot of fun with this. 

The photo shows an area of a painting in progress. I have incorporated sea glass as well as sea shells creating a relief area representing the rocky reef. Other objects within this painting are jewelry and coins from a long ago sunken  ship!

I'll post full image when completed.

If it weren't for today's post you might think that the Myans were mostly right and the world as we know it ended earlier than scheduled. My last post was on September 10, 2012. Then NOTHING............

Alas, here we are as well as another post from yours truly.  
Last year handed me a very busy art schedule which always makes me happy.  It also handed me a very difficult time to come through with the illness and eventual passing of my Mother, my life long supporter.
Throughout our lives together she would ask me, with pride, to never give up on my dream of my pursuit of art.
When she said it to me for the final time as she lay in her hospital room it suddenly gained more meaning that it ever had before as was true of my answer. I told her that I could never give up as it is part of my soul. 
It is who I am.

So, it is with that promise to my mother and myself, today begins a new artistic chapter in my life, not with a dramatic change of subject or media but with a new sense of my artistic freedom to share my thoughts and images that are important to me and the people that have so strongly influenced the person that I have become.

I will be sharing my work soon.

Level One Bank Community Gallery Reception

Just wanted to thank those that came out to support me. Here are three really nice ladies that I had the pleasure of meeting. They dropped in to see what was going on.  They were a delight! 

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Wow! It's been about 3 months since my last post.  Time flys when your having fun! I've had such a busy summer.  I guess that's a good problem to have.  After the Northville Art in the Sun art fair I've done an art fair in my own community of Belleville, one in Perrysburg, Ohio, completed 5 new paintings and installed 26 paintings for my latest solo exhibit in Ferndale, Mi. which opened last Friday.  So far I've been told the response has been very good! 
I should have made more time for writting but that's the way the ball bounces!

The pic shows one of my latest paintings.  Better photo to come.

Art in the Sun (Northville)

This Friday, June 22, is the first day of Northville's art fair, Art in the Sun.  Northville is a very nice little city.  This should prove to be a great time!  I'll have all of my newest work, many of which are smaller canvases that are perfect for that small space in your home that could use a burst of color!

Here is a link to my web site for more info.