Marketing Art

February 22, 2016

Three years ago I took my first marketing class online with Leslie Saeta.  I just checked and the challenge is still available.  Here is the link:   30 Marketing Ideas.  My own experiences are listed on old blog posts.  (There is a search button in right hand column of this blog which might have been one of the assignment of the 30 day challenge).

It really made a difference for  me in a lot of ways.  I use a lot of the ideas that Leslie suggested and it made me fearless about social media.  The best tip was to find a local retail place and ask if they would show your art.   Thank you, Heather Boutique, for showing and selling my art.   My latest discovery is INSTAGRAM.  Although it was a mystery to me at first I've been exploring it and trying to figure out how to use it. 

This article explains how it can help artists.  Article about how to sell art on Instagram

It said to use it to tell a narrative about your art.  I'm still trying to figure out what that means, but will  discover that as I go.  My plan is to put a couple of photos on each day and see what happens.

I hope these links and ideas are helpful to you.  Please share your ideas about marketing in the comments. 


One more link to Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caroljosefiakfineart/
or https://www.instagram.com/caroljosefiakfineart/

(Leslie said to link everything)

Always link to where you are selling your art: Daily Paintworks

How I start most of my paintings....

February 16, 2016

I start my paintings several different ways, sometimes even with a white canvas, but mostly doing a value study with burnt sienna or transparent red oxide.  I do a very loose drawing except for architecture or the center of interest.  Once the three value work is finished I go back and emphasize darks using a mix of Ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, my accent dark.  Plus I wipe out the lights with a paper towel and oms.

Step I

Step 2

Premix the colors used in the painting and try to follow my rule of having darks across the top of palette  (accent dark in top right corner), tints on the very bottom and middle values in the middle of the palette.  There is also attention to warms and cools.  I use these colors as a starting point and continue to mix for variety as I go.  That is why the palette looks so messy, but organized if that is possible. 

Step 3

Apply blocks of color all over.

 Step 4 - Finish color and refine shapes, check for edges,

Posted on Daily Paintworks.  8x10 - Snow Day  in Fredericksburg

Developing your own style

February 8, 2016

When I painted these tulips today I was thinking about how there are little pieces of things I have learned from taking workshops, looking at DVD's,  and studying online blogs. 

These are things I was thinking about today and yesterday doing these two paintings: 

Robert Johnson - put a brush stroke down once and leave it alone  (scrape it off if it looks wrong and start again rather than messing around with it on the canvas.

Qiang Huang - just watched his new DVD which is terrific.  I like the brushes he uses, too.  Qualita from Jerry's Artarama.  Awhile ago I bought the 1-inch angular one that is very versatile.  I recommend his DVD.  Great info about value and basics of oil painting!

Nancy Franke - starts on a white canvas but retains her darks so well.  Use big brushes.

Dreama Tolle Perry - having a transparent dark underneath to help retain the darks.  Use color like confetti.

Every teacher I have ever had emphasizes darks and artists I have studied online also do this.

Carolyn Anderson - don't paint up to the lines (from original drawing), but over the line and inside the line.  She is a great person to study regarding edges.  Think of shapes, not lines. 

Somewhere I read that using red, yellow and blue in the background gives it luminosity.  There is also a lot written about pulling colors of the painting into the background.  Color is in the air.

Display Your Paintings in a Room Setting

February 6, 2016

Leslie Saeta displays her paintings so well in room settings and gave some ideas of how to do this on her blog.  Here is the link:  http://lesliesaetafineart.weebly.com/blog


I started doing this on facebook by just taking a photo of one hanging in my dining room.  As a result of this post,  I received some great ideas from facebook friends.  Thank you

Although I just blundered through this first one and it might have worked by accident, I will try to figure it out.  Below is the link to the APP.  I think you can even pull in your own room photos.  This is a good start. 

Display your paintings in a room setting  (link to APP)

My example shows a painting which is really an 8x8 painting, but it in the room setting it looks gigantic. 

I need to start painting bigger or find a way to display my small paintings in groups. 

Painting Loosely

February 4, 2016


Patti Frasier at Daily Paintworks

Patti Frasier, an artist in Fredericksburg, Virginia, taught our class this past weekend.  She is such a talented artist who paints with loose and bold brushwork, while maintaining strong color and great lights and darks. 

She generously demonstrated her techniques for painting loosely and provided us with notes and tips about painting which summarized everything you need to know about painting. 

Here is the work of two students that shows so well  strong color, luscious paint and beautiful brushwork. 

Patti shows her work on Daily Paintworks, a website for artists.  Here is a link to her vibrant work where she sell her paintings.

Patti Frasier at Daily Paintworks


Thank you, Patti, for being our teacher this week.  You are an awesome teacher. 

Painting Interiors

January 2016

I discovered something new to paint which is a little bit like plein air painting only inside.  I just moved my plein air set up around the house.  Being snowed in helped. 

I approached it the same way I do my landscape paintings by doing an underpainting in burnt sienna and finding a pattern of darks that hold it together. 

Both on DailyPaintworks:  http://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/carol-josefiak-3555/artwork

Toning the canvas

January 4, 2016

The first layer of paint (toning the canvas) is so useful in giving a painting the look you want.  I've learned that every artist has a different approach.  Your choice can give harmony to the painting and be a part of the final outcome.  Below I have explained my reasons for choosing a different undertones in each painting. 

 This one started out with an orange/yellow tone.  The reason:  complementary color of blue.  I thought it would add some color vibration to the final painting. 

I chose permanent rose for the toning because I wanted this painting to be all about "pink".  The pink first layer would make the pink look even more pink. 

Here it choice was burnt sienna because I thought it would work with the blackish blue of the sneakers.

Can you tell I used a strong red for the undertone?  I like the way it peeked through against the reds and purples plus the greens.  I let the red show through the edges of the glass, too. 

Plein Air Painting

It is never too early to start painting.  This painting was done from another photo, but I wanted you to see how Hannah, my granddaughter, saw color and painted with such concentration (her dollie was there as company).  It was really fun to watch her paint with such freedom and focus. 

My husband made this set-up by attaching a very small palette box and some watercolors that I bought from jerry's artarama to this tri-pod. 

Fall Colors

This painting was done from a photo that I took while painting plein air at Mott's Reservoir.

Check out the serious painter in the right lower corner. 

Although I didn't paint this while at Mott's, just being there inspired by the color made me want to paint this in my studio.  I painted a small study of the boathouse while there. 

12 x 16 oil with lots of palette knife work. 

Large paintings are listed  on my website and are available at Heather Boutique in Fredericksburg, VA.  This one isn't framed yet.  I am looking for a new source for plein air frames. 

Student Show

 

I am so mama bear proud of my students.  Here are some of their paintings in the show that starts officially tomorrow.  We did the "hanging" yesterday thank you to my husband, John, and Elizabeth and Lynette at Water Street Studio.  Elizabeth took a photo of us after the "hanging" which is on their website, happy and tired.  I can't figure out how to put it here since it is on Instagram, but here is a link to their website.  link to Water Street Studio - our photo is on the right

 

Thank you also to the students for their dedicated work.  I am so proud of your accomplishments. 

 

 

 

 (poster made by Water Street Studio)  Thank you for making it.

 

 

 

Nancy Bradley

 

Ginny Lewis

 

 

Dee Antil

 

 

Don Carnohan has paintings in the show, but I don't have photos.

 

 

There are more paintings in the show by these talented artists.