So right now it’s a Friday night and while some people are going out to the bars I’m here writing this blog post; maybe I’ll go out tomorrow, who knows. Anyway, currently for my art I have been doing a lot of posting to my Etsy, Storenvy, Facebook page, and YouTube channel. It feels as if I am doing more of that than actually producing artwork at this point, but I have to post my artwork to get it out there to sale. If I cannot get anything to sale then I cannot make a living off of this and will not be able to do this. I think another reason that it feels like I’m posting more than painting is that I am stuck on a larger piece. I normally like to work on one piece at a time if I can especially now since I am photographing it on a constant basis. I would like to take all the photos I need for the time lapse of the painting; being that I don’t not want to move the tripod and camera if at all necessary. Also with that I am wondering if I should release the photos that I have now of the time lapse video and call it part one, or if I should wait to get all of it done and have a single video? I don’t know, you tell me.
This leads me to my next point; I think I need to just focus on smaller paintings for now. The reason for this is they can be done at a quicker pace than the larger ones can. Also this will allow me to create more individual pieces each week; if not at least one a day. If I could work up to doing a painting everyday that would be great! If I create one small painting a day that would also allow me to create one time lapse video of that painting a day as well. With those paintings being smaller they would sale at a lower price point because of the size, which means there is a greater chance that they will sale. Also with the smaller paintings shipping for them is much easier to do and the price is easier to predict going off past paintings of similar size and weight. While this is going on I can still be working on larger paintings everyday as well I just won’t be able to finish them as fast. In the future I might work on larger paintings more if I have a gallery show coming up in the near future. With the larger paintings showing them and selling them locally is better because shipping becomes a real hassle and really expensive.
I am still working on doing time lapse videos for my paintings. I have been looking on YouTube and seeing that some people take videos so its them and their painting that is being shown in the video. As for mine it is just the painting being shown through the time lapse video which I think works to show the progression of the painting itself. Also in their videos the camera is always to the side to allow the viewer to see the person working on the artwork as well as the artwork him or herself. This gets the viewer a skewed view of the painting in those videos, but with my time lapse videos the view is straight on. This is able to be done because I set up the camera right in front of the painting being worked on and I paint for a little bit and move and take a photo then just repeat multiple times. The result is a video of just the painting changing from second to second. Which at this point in time is what I like best.
On another note with me biking around and taking reference pictures it has gotten way too cold to get on my bike and do anything. I was on my bike Monday and the cold was burning my skin which has happened before, but the cold penetrated my head and gave my an instant headache which hasn’t happened to me before, so I have been off of it this past week. I mean the highs have been in the teens and the lows some nights have been in the negative teens. When this cold spell ends I will be able to get back out there. I would like to be able to set one day aside a week if not just part of that day to just get out and take reference photos for upcoming paintings. I would really love it if it can all be done by getting around on a bike which is healthy for me and the environment. Speaking of using a bike to get around I have found one which I think would be great for me to use, but it costs around $400 dollars and at this time it is hard to afford. I am planning on getting it once I have the appropriated funds available, like if I sell a large painting or a few smaller ones. (wink, wink)
Another thing that I have been debating is whether I will stay in Ohio this year or move back to North Carolina. I am originally from North Carolina and partially moved to Ohio back in 2010 for school at CCAD. I have looked at a MFA program in Greensboro, NC that I like, and of course my family is down there as well. Also it being this cold here in Ohio it has to be warmer in NC, or at the very least not as much snow, so more bike riding. In my experience there seems to be good opportunities here for artists and I’m not sure if it is the same back in NC, so that is something I have to look into.
I think that that covers my rant for this week. Like I have said in previous blog posts I want to write one of these a week to help explain things in finer detail than you may get out of one of my Facebook posts or YouTube videos. This is something I am working on doing and hope to do for a while.
Thanks for reading,
Chris
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