I began creating small paintings of ‘emotional moments’ a few years ago on Indian Khadi paper. This roughly textured paper absorbs paint and water like a sponge, making it easy to make small paintings quickly. I treated these like I would a diary entry in my journal, and sometimes created a whole series in one evening. They were incredibly therapeutic to make because after short bursts of energy I would end up with half a dozen takes on a feeling or an image I had in my mind. Creating these images was and is still like a meditation for me, and painting in this way allows me to produce work easily without over-analyzing and obssessing about ‘what the market wants.’ This keeps my creative fire stoked, and can often lead to ideas for other images. This was before I’d even heard of Duane Keiser’s method of a painting a day.
The New York Times published an article on May 10 about how during good times, an art auction is the obvious choice for a collector wanting to sell a work of art. And now that the recession is deepening, many art collectors are ‘retreating’ into selling their art privately, for less money. Well boohoo I say.
“The game has definitely shifted,” said Christopher Eykyn, a former head of Impressionist and modern art at Christie’s who is now a dealer in New York.
I should hope so.
What has also shifted is the balance of power between artist and dealer with the publication of 51.9 million blogs (according to Technorati). Artist/bloggers such as Duane Keiserare democratizing the art world, using the Internet to change the making and selling of art, and therefore taking back their power. Dealers and galleries, who have historically commanded a whacking 50% commissions, no longer have exclusive control in defining who is hot or successful. Now artists can sell directly to the public, using blogs or auction sites at prices more affordable to would-be collectors. They can even create a new customer base using this media.
To your success!
This was originally intended to be my painting blog, but now it's also about writing, what we ache for, and everything else important.
"Your paintings are like auragraphs. You pick up the information from the person and express it through art. However, they are on an altogether deeper level - not dealing with the outer projection of ourselves, not even with the spirit, but on a soul level. They are soul reflections".
Mary Clair Kelly, Cruse Counsellor
