 The Snuggie is dead. Long Live the Snuggie! For those of you who don't get clobbered with infomericals let me first tell you what a Snuggie was. It was a sleeping bag with arms that you could curl up in and watch TV on your couch in polyester soft comfort. It looked like something a cult member would wear but it only cost $19.99 and it was the "Pet Rock" of 2010. It solved a problem by keeping you warm, it fit everybody and it was kind of hoot . (until you had to get up and go to the bathroom but what do I know ). Anyway...the Snuggie was everywhere. Fast forward to 2016 and the Snuggie is as rare as Big Foot. Where did it go ? The answer is it saturated the market until everybody had one and there were no more people in need or in "want " of the Snuggie. What I have learned so far: The daily small painting market is the Snuggie. It was great from 2012 -2015 . Then things changed when everybody had the small affordable paintings they needed for their in home galleries, more painters appeared and they joined in and suddenly paintings are selling for a starting bid of one dollar. Less then the paper it costs to paint them on. So the market is saturated but I say it is not dead. We can still paint. We can paint larger and better and find our audience when the next wave hits. This is the time to nurture our souls and to paint with conviction and discipline. Painting will never die . Unlike the Snuggie painting lives on because it is essential......you don't need art to live but you must have it to thrive.
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I am painting a series of scenes of my house. It is a simple post and beam home typical of the New England area where I live. As you can see above I have two versions of the same painting. In one I pushed the value range as far as I could . In the other I stopped just short of that.
I feel that the one that has the longer value range is stronger in composition while the other reads as friendly and satisfying but a little bit "meh"? What do you think? What I have learned so far: Establish value shapes and don't back down from hard decisions. It is better to sacrifice an O.K. painting to get a better one. There is always another painting ready to go and who knows the next one could be the best one you ever did.  I am participating in a program called 30 Days Of Awesome. It is a guide for how to live a full life and how to find balance in your life. Each day there is a task to accomplish. Sometimes it is related to running a business and often it is about taking care of yourself and others.
For example one task this week was to do something for somebody else. The next day switched things up with thinking about and working on some long term goals. Which brings me to the title of the post. I am calling it Dreams Of Flying because these 30 days have got me thinking about painting bigger...much bigger and to contemplate deeply both why and what I paint. What I have learned so far: I have a saying , the syntax is wrong but the meaning is clear. It is, "Where ever you go there you is." This is true for me as an artist and as a human being. I plan to paint my home interiors using the principals of color, shape, value and form. I will be painting larger in format and sometimes a peony or a rose will make an appearance because that is my brain using its "magical thinking ability" and that is how we fly.  I have been contemplating unexpected outcomes. But my mistake was in fearing them and here is why....  I decided to dress for success and take some pictures of myself using the self timer on my camera. Maggie got excited about the beeping as the camera counted down and I got this unexpected moment that captures our relationship perfectly.
Then the phone rang and it was the Vermont State Arts Council calling to tell me I have been awarded a show in the Governer's Gallery in the year 2017! Holy unexpected outcomes Batman! I hoped and dreamed of this but never thought it could happen for me . I will keep you posted about all the dates and preparations for this exciting event. In the meantime this is the biggest art thing that has ever happened to me. What I have learned so far: Show up. Show up everyday for the future you hope will come to you. Show up on good days and bad days . Just show up and do the work and an expected outcome will come your way and in the meantime. You will get better at your craft so you will be prepared for the call when the phone rings.  When I started showing my work online. I was a new artist. I painted pet friends daily . I loved my pet friends and they showed me how to paint using value patterns and shapes.
I miss those days and am looking for pet friends to paint again. Perhaps you know somebody who would like to see their little darling in watercolor or you have a favorite picture to share. I will paint and post it here for everybody to see. It is kind of a game of pictures. Everybody wins and we have fun in the process. You can send pictures to jowatercolor@gmail.com and share this with your friends. What I have learned so far: All the really valuable information is passed from friend to friend. It is how you find the hidden gems in your life. I know where the best cookies and cake can be purchased, how to find someone to stack wood for me and even solve pesky computer problems. I sort of subscribe to the motto of "never shut up". because that is how you gather information for later.  I am participating in two events. The first one is called painting 30 paintings in 30 days. This happens about twice a year and I have always done it since it first began. It is fun to see what others post each day. 30 paintings is not a stretch for me . I tend to paint more than that monthly but this time I plan to slow down and work in more layers.
The second event is called 30 Days of Awesome. It is a marketing exercise by the the The Cake Biz site. I love all things cake and buttercream based and there are some great strategies to follow for the next 30 days to keep my energy and enthusiasm up and maybe even move a painting on to its forever home. |
About MeI am a watercolor coach, watercolorist, and author. 
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