Here I am at 7:43AM, after feeding the birds, putting party things together, etc.

I thought you might like to have a few tips from my long years of studio parties. You can do them any time, or as often as you like, but do them thoughtfully and with care. A studio party is a way to thank those kind folk who support you in many ways. You might sell paintings or not, but the emphasis is on giving your friends a nice day. As I have said, I do three parties a year with the same themes, in the same months.  Annual events are remembered and looked forward to.

I start preparing about six weeks ahead. I order post cards and stamps, getting them in the mail four weeks before the party. I always address them by hand. People appreciate that effort.

I always have something simple to give away. It can be a book mark,tiny art,anything. This year I have beautiful leaves to share. Some years I give lovely bird feathers from my collection. You can do a drawing for a small painting. Ask for postal addresses and choose a name from those as a winner. 

Put a sign on the door, welcoming visitors, telling them to come right in.

Keep the food menu simple and self serving. Make more than you will need.

Always have a helper who will assist with payments, food,etc. My studio assistant handles that at all my parties. My job is to enjoy my friends.

You will need a payment system for credit cards. That can be simple like Venmo or PayPal. I have a Square card reader.

Have a price list available by size. People like to know prices and don’t want to ask. I have one in each room, and keep a tape measure on a visible shelf. 

Don’t be a used car salesman! I never ask people to buy. I let them come to me first. People hate to be sold to. 

Have brown paper and tape ready. I always wrap paintings that way. People appreciate that service. For small, unframed art, I keep brown flat bags. 

You can set up games in the yard, or offer walks on trails like I do. 

If this sounds like a lot of work, it is. But it is so worth it. Your friends always remember the fun of your parties.

This country painter has the most fun of all…..

I’ve been thinking about how we look at paintings and nature. The issue came up with a collector. When we view the natural landscape, we don’t see details everywhere. In the landscape there is foreground, middle ground, and distant ground.  A good painter will spend a great amount of time observing, not just painting the landscape. We decide which of these areas get the most attention. Thus called the focal point, or what I like to call the area of interest. 

Many inexperienced painters try to make all areas of the painting detailed. The viewer has no focal area to focus on. They are confused because they don’t know how to be led through the painting. If everything is important then nothing is. Our natural view is never focused on everything in the scene. It is the painter’s job to tell the viewer where to stop for a moment on an important element. It is the painter’s job to guide a path through the scene.

On the other hand, our collectors have the right to ignore our training and to get the dream they ask for. I never say no. I explain my reasoning, but their ideas take precedence over mine every time. It’s not my painting, but theirs.

This country painter loves my collectors so much……

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It occurs to me on my walks that nature is the best art teacher.  It teaches me about symmetry, asymmetry, atmospheric perspective, value ranges, compositions, light, color temperature, saturation levels, intervals, tangents, to name a few lessons. There are many more. For a landscape painter there is no better teacher, but abstract painters would be wise to study mother nature’s lessons too.

The biggest lesson nature teaches us is the rhythm of life, patience, the privilege of living on our dear planet, and what we are going to lose for future generations without this knowledge.

Country painters are humbled by the wild places…..

Oh what a beautiful morning, here in rural north Florida! It is what I’ve been dreaming of for long hot months. Mr. sun was drifting down the lane toward the west as he rose.  The air cool, dew on the grass, and the tiny spider webs visible in the grasses.

I’ve noticed that our wild creatures are coming out of the woods this week. Yesterday a young flock of wild turkeys toured my fields. They have no fear of becoming Thanksgiving dinner. All creatures are safe on my land. The deer like to graze in the back yard. They have a favorite spot on the trail, with nice shade for their afternoon nap. I can watch them from the east window of the house. My birdies are about grown now, no longer the awkward unkempt teens they were last spring. 

I feel so grateful for the privilege I have in living this time of life in the woods. Soon I’ll be back on the trails. My land manager will mow them just before the Hot Dog party, so guests can stroll along the paths and enjoy the experience. I look forward to these next months of exploring the natural world.

Country painters are so lucky…..

If you are seeking fame and fortune as a painter, you may be in the wrong business. There are MANY more artists than available collectors. Art is one of the few professions that allow members to declare they are artists with no degree or certification. Retirees by the thousands decide they want to be artists. There is nothing wrong with this. The problem comes from unrealistic expectations.

Many of us have degrees in art from universities. We are told in art school that it is the work that is important, not whether we sell it. Of course they say that. They are tenured in the system, not required to sell art to make a living. I spent quite a few years focusing on winning prizes, chasing the idea of fame after art school. It was a distraction only. I should have saved that money for learning to market my art and how to run a business. The ribbons meant nothing. 

The reality is that making a living as an artist is not about winning prizes or fame for most of us. There are few who achieve fame. I decided a number of years ago that fame was not what I wanted. What I truly wanted was to make a living painting. It took me a long time, years in fact. I finally made it when my kids were in high school. It took me 40 years! 

This country painter is so lucky now, thanks to so many of you….

Repetition and balance are important in the artists’ toolboxes. I have learned this over the years. I always wondered why artists through history continued to paint scenes again and again through their career. Now I understand it. It is a matter of interest and the desire to do it better or to better understand a subject with repeated attempts. I often paint a scene that intrigues me many times. I never get it right, but the desire to continues.

 However, there is a danger to painting one subject only for a career life. I know painters who do this and their work becomes stale and terribly predictable after some years. My favorite subjects are upland, rural ranches and farms. I can paint them endlessly and happily, but I change to rivers, wetlands, springs, florals, birds, etc. for periods, to give myself new challenges. 

 When I go back to my fields and beloved trees, I have a fresh, new interest for them. Perhaps I have learned new brush, knife work by changing to a different subject for a time. I notice more about color palettes, composing, values. It peaks my interest further to attempt mastering my favorite subjects.

 
This country painter has a lot of fun…

A few months ago, I decided to open a Substack account. At the time, I thought it was a great way to monetize my Art and Stories. I never figured out how to put a donation tag on the account but I enjoy sharing anyway. 

At the time, someone told me about a donation account called Buy me a Coffee. I joined that and put the link on the bottom of my home page on my website.  I have no expectation, but I think it is a nice idea. People who don’t need or can’t afford original art, can still support favorite artists for five or ten bucks.

This week a friend in California bought me a 10.00 cup of coffee with the link. I was surprised and so delighted by this generous gift! How thoughtful! I occasionally assist artists, and buy art for my daughters. So many of us live marginal lives. It is a wonderful treat! 

This country painter thanks all who care for artists…

I’m starting to get excited about the months to come. With cooler weather I can go for a residency at Fair Oaks farm. I miss it so much in the hot months. 

I’ve been painting there for close to 25 years. I explore every inch of it and have recorded my adventures there in hundreds of paintings and stories. A lot changes in that length of time. Trees come down and new ones are planted. Fields are restored to their natural flora. The back basin becomes a pond in wet years and a prairie in dry years. The ancient live oak limbs gradually droop with girth and age, carrying their moss skirts which drape like the fine ball gowns of ages past. As I pass, they whisper encouragement to me. Their shade is welcomed by birds and small animals. 

I remember the college boys who learn lessons in cooking, hard work and graces, taught over the years by the steward of Fair Oaks, graduating to fine careers and futures. A new crop every four years. 

Now we have the wonderful Fair Oaks Foundation with educational opportunities for all who come to our events and Soirées. The steward of the farm provides the location and we are all grateful. I planted my roots there years ago and I continue to thrive in the good soil.

There is no place like it for this country painter……

Who knew?

Evidently there is a FeedSpot Top 15 Florida Art Blogs. They contacted me to say Art and Stories is among the top Fifteen. I had no idea. They sent me this nice graphic image to display. I have been a blogger since 1995. I still love blogs the best, though they have been mostly replaced by podcasts. There is something special to me about writing every day and sharing it in a blog. It is slow and thoughtful.

For bloggers like me, it is a rambling process. I write whatever is on my mind first thing in the day. I sip my coffee, listen to the birds and think about the process of life. There are a million or so ideas floating around randomly in this old brain. I have many filing cabinets in that small space full of questions and ideas. This is the time I spend sorting through the rusty old files. 

Thank you FeedSpot. It’s nice to know people still read blogs and country painter stories…..

Feedspot is an RSS Reader that lets you subscribe to blogs, news sites, and any website you want to keep up with.To take advantage of our Branding features and get enhanced visibility in the list, try  FeedSpot for Publishers.

Artists’ reputations are built carefully over a number of years. In my youthful hubris, I thought my art college degrees made me a star. What a joke!

You are a star when you keep the promises you make to friends and collectors. You are a star when you honor other artists who have earned their reputations. You are a star, when you encourage beginners and emerging artists behind you. That is called grace. 

You are a star when you behave as a professional in dealings with corporations and business people. Artists have sadly gotten a bad reputation in the business community for inappropriate behavior and dress; not following through on timing and commitments.

You are a star when you treat art as a business because that is how you earn your living. Schedules,consistent hours for art practice, marketing, and time for those who support you. That is a must for your success.

This country painter keeps working toward a goal of stardom in the art world…….