Strange But True

Years ago I met someone whose wife was an artist.  They lived in Paris, I lived in New York.   Until that neither of us knew anything about each other's work.  But her husband saw my work hanging in my then office.   He commented to me that my style was similar to his wife's.  I found that interesting.  He then told her.  Later a few weeks went by and a couple of us from work went to his place...and I saw for myself it was true.  Our styles were similar...and even more so our palettes were the same.    It reminded me when I saw an exhibition at MOMA of Picasso and Braque's work side by side.  Those two knew each other...in my case it wasn't the case.  She and I have met a few times over the years...and each time we are both struck by the similarities our works take.

Style changes...new directions

I find it a struggle sometimes as my style changes...I go thru this period of "artist's block", the equivalent of "writer's block".  I wonder do other artists experience this too?

For me this is a time when I'm pre-occupied with other things in life, looking at new methods, new experiences.  Or sometimes, just doing nothing special.

Right now I'm going through one of these periods, trying on a new direction, as though I was trying on a new suit...only this is about finding a new voice to my work.

Impatience...wanting to finish quickly

Whenever I start a new painting...there reaches this point, where, I become impatient and want to see it finished. It's almost like when we were kids and would ripe the wrapping off presents to see what was inside...or the anticipation on xmas morning.

Style Evolution

I've noticed over time, that my style evolves right after I've entered a dry period. Writers experience "Writer's blocks", I experience "Dry Periods". These are periods of time that I want to paint, but just don't have anything to express...or it just seems that way.

When I was younger, I used to think these meant something, like I wasn't really an artist, after all arent'artists always creating? Now I realize that it's just part of the process. Something that happens. For me these dry periods have always resulted in a shift in my painting style.

What I see appearing on the canvas is still expressive, but the style is a different than what I was producing a year ago...and the palette is changing too. I'm excited to find where this one takes me and for how long.

Here's an example of one....

Notice there is no clue about my website address...so how did they track me?

Hello,
I want to place an order in your store,and i will like to know if you ship to Taiwan and my method of payment will be Via Credit Card. So please let me know if you can assist me with the order , And please do not forget to include your web page in your replying back to my mail. I will await your prompt response as soon as you receive this mail, I will be very glad if you treat this email with good concern.

Warmest Regards
Mr Alex McCarthy

Distinguishing scammers from real patrons

Lately I've had a number of enquiries from people overseas interested in purchasing some paintings...in the end they turned out not to be real. Luckily no one took any money from me. I quoted my work exclusive of the shipping costs. When they said they had a shipper they used I started investigating if the shipper was real...when I found nothing to corroborate the shipper's identity. I made it clear that all costs for shipping would be paid by the buyer directly. Once I said that, they were no longer interested.

Looking outside the norm to find the right tools

A few years ago, a friend, whose wife is also an artist, shared with me that she was using these metal trays as her palettes, so that she could cover them, in between with saran wrap to keep the paints moist. She works in acrylic, while I work in oils. While my palettes don't dry out as quickly since I work in Oil, they still do dry out. I've been looking for something to use to hold the linseed oil I work with, turp etc in containers that I'm working with that can be closed up so the liquids don't vaporate as quickly...as well as finding something to hold my palettes so they also can be covered. Today I found them, in bed bath and beyond. A couple of cookie sheets, and spice containers with tops and magnetized bottoms are perfect.

The Artist's Experience Purpose

I started this blog as a way to communicate the experience of an artist. What happens, what it's like, what it takes to promote your work, spotting the scammers.