The Little Apprentice

My daughter is helping me fill in the background with black. Don't worry about it looking scribbly. It will all be finger blended together. 

New Portrait

I've been busy writing for my book, so I decided to take a break and make a work in progress, an example, for the book.

My coworker/friend was kind enough to let me borrow her sons for portraits, who I have in class as well so I do know their personalities. For this one I wanted to keep the nature theme of the Zen series, but have it say something about him. Well, he loves animals and has a put lizard of some sort.  So I won't give away what the things will be in it, but you can guess it is lizard related!

The size is 16" x 20" Polychromos on Fisher 400 paper.

Keep, Store or Bin?

Since I have more artwork to store at the moment than I am ready for, I am doing the arduous task of deciding what to keep, store, or bin. I know - its hard - but I've created a system that is working for me and I've even made a messy little flow chart of the questions I ask for each piece and an action required for each answer to those questions. It is helping me through that feeling that everything needs to be kept and everything has merit because I made it, which is much too emotional.

So I start with the top question and work my way down. 

Does this piece support my brand? Which I think means a few things. First, if it supports my brand it is a good representation of my skill. If it was a bad day or an old piece that isn't up to par - the answer is No.
Fitting in my brand also means that the subject fits into the image I am trying to portray. That might mean it fits into a series I am working on at the moment or it might mean a general idea of subject. For example I have decided that my very traditional work that doesn't have much "me" in it doesn't fit in my brand anymore even if it is a skilled drawing. So for a recap: right now I am definitely keeping things that are well done and that have a Nicole twist on them like my 6x 18's and my kitsch or box series. I am not keeping things that I made to look like classical or dutch still-life with classical arrangements and drooping lemon peels. To those I will answer "no" because I think they no longer fit in the Nicole Caulfield brand. 

If the answer was yes, I'll wrap it and keep it in the easily accessible ready for shows pile. 

If the answer was no - next question

Will this piece fit in a theme or brand of the future? This is a judgement call. I may have done one piece that is different from the rest... like maybe my eighties piece. I can look at that and ask if it might fit in in the future even though at the moment it doesn't fit in my brand. & yep, I think I may want to do some more montage or collage pieces so I'll keep that one.

If the answer was yes, I'll wrap it and keep it not too far away so I don't forget it. Maybe I'll hang it up for a while.  

If the answer was no - next question

Is this piece sentimental? A piece can be sentimental for various reasons. One that often comes up for me is that it shows some skill development.  Things that I just plain old like but have no place to hang goes in this category too. 

If the answer was yes, I'll take it out of the frame and store it in one of my portfolios. 

If the answer was no - next question.

Would a friend or family member love it? Some people think you should never do this, but I see no harm in it if it would make them happy and I don't need it. 

If the answer was yes, I'll wrap it and ship it off.  If they want the frame, I ask they give me the cost of the frame. 

If the answer was no - then it's time to Bin IT! If it hurts too much then I should have answered it was sentimental above... and I reserve the right to change my mind. 

First Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak Peak from the book in the making! This is step 1 and the last step of this demonstration. I'll have more sneak peeks from time time, some with more steps and some with less steps like this one. 

and a little sketch to illustrate a point below. 

Times Are Changing

On Thursday I had the unfortunate task of picking up my artwork from Monadnock Fine Art Gallery because they are closing their doors due to the economic climate. They are greatly going to be missed by us artists as well as the community. I have been told that they are going to still function for us hosting  rotating shows at various upscale Main Street businesses and keeping up their website.

photo: artwork picked up from Gallery on the studio floor

Two years ago I had come to a different crossroads. I started teaching part-time at a local grade and middle school. It is a demanding part-time job with 10 grade levels to teach in 2 days, along with no curriculum provided. My studio time out of school was invaded by constantly thinking about what projects I was going to do next and doing examples. Not only was my time eaten away, but my mental ability to stay focused on my artwork when I wasn't teaching was stressed.  SO I had to down scale my fine art projects which included removing my artwork from galleries that weren't performing and putting my colored pencil portrait book project on hold. I decided to just keep my artwork at Monadnock Fine Art Gallery (the one that just closed) and Chasen Galleries.

 So now that my best selling gallery is no longer needing the same output from me, I can resurrect my portrait book project. I am thinking of this change as a good thing and a chance for me to finish a project I really feel strong about. I have one chapter finished, and a table of contents finished already.  Basically I have the book planned out which is the hardest part. I am thinking the rest of the chapters will take a fraction of the time that that  first chapter took, as it was a huge learning process. I am also excited about how my teaching experience has enlightened me on a new direction for my exercises in the book.  I am looking into self-publishing options in ebook and print format which was not as available two years ago, so the formatting and editing will lie on my shoulders, but I think it is worth it.

I hope you all are up for the ride into this new venture with me! It will also mean less artwork displayed on this blog for a little while. So watch for book sneak peaks and the occasional still-life or portrait in this space! 

possible ebook cover concept