New Year Thoughts

October 2008 in New Hampshire

This year is completely different than any of the past ten. It seems as if everything in my life has changed. I've added new friends, lost some clients, and established new business relationships that seem promising.

The economy is a huge challenge at a time when I have moved my working studio and am paying rent for the first time in my painting career.

Today is my birthday. Usually I say to myself "oh it's just another day", but it doesn't feel like that this year. It seems monumental.

I am still working projects that have lingered for months, and I'm grateful for that. Apparently once a big hotel project starts nothing can hold it back. Indeed, this particular project won't even open until 2010, and I have this entire year to work on it. That gives me some sense of security.

Artwork has trended toward photography and giclees. I am able to supply both, and I think that helps me in a shrinking economy. I'll keep painting, though. I say that, but I haven't really gotten any paint under my fingernails for awhile.

Today I am delivering 960 prints for a hotel project. Also one emergency print for model room for another project. I say "emergency" because it's a digital painting I created and provided the digital file to my client. They had an agency print one and the colors are completely wrong. I tried to explain that the color is based on the combination of ink, substrate and profile, but what they really wanted was a print that is the right color, so I printed one. It's for a hotel in Boston, one of the few projects that has not been put on hold. Which is just a euphemism for "cancelled".

Mania Sets In

With six projects all in various stages of production I have run out of studio space, which now includes my living room, dining room, and third bedroom. And when a client calls to ask me to do just one more thing before I leave town on Tuesday I freak out! Too much to do and not enough time.

I went to visit my Dad in Harlingen this past weekend, and we had a lovely time watching golf on TV. Golf has been his passion for many years, and since he can no longer play, he watches. He's lonely though, and I wish we lived closer because I don't see him as often as I'd like.

This morning I am printing three giclees for model room for a hotel resort. Purchase orders will be issued for this job when I get home. I'm printing all three images, with quantities of 900 ea, so I need to get a move on - it will take forever and I'll use both of my 44" printers. Also for this project I am painting the casting that I've had made of the original sculpture I finished this week.

I have struggled mightily to get three good prints on aluminum. I've had different problems with every print, and it has cost me hundreds of dollars since I'm buying pre-treated metal from Booksmart. Yesterday I pulled my last sheet out of the package and it has a big gouge across it. I'm a little high strung right now and fired off an email which was quickly answered by Eric, offering to replace the product immediately, and he helped with the other problems I'd had, too. Thanks Eric!

Spring storms are wreaking havoc here in North Texas. Besides tearing up my beautiful flower beds, the high humidity makes it hard for paint to dry. I'm trying to heed all the cautionary labels that say "do not use in high humidity". Well I can't wait forever!

My medical clinic project is coming along nicely. I love working with Denise! We have all but a couple of pieces picked out.

I have a new project that's a large grid painting for a local construction company. I went to their offices yesterday for a photo shoot, and got lots of really great ideas walking around their back storage yard.


The new abstract commission the Glorieta series (above) is almost done, but it just hasn't told me so yet. It still needs a tiny bit of tweaking. Lucky for me the wonderful woman who ordered it understands the creative process and will wait.

This weekend I'm fabricating another photo box with resin so it can cure while I'm out of town.

With all these things in process, nothing will get finished before I leave town, but I sure will have a lot of work when I get home. There's some security in that.

Art That Matches the Sofa

My specialty is creating artwork for hotels. A big part of my income is derived from creating and printing guestroom art. My clients are commercial designers for high end properties who don't want to use posters that are readily available. They want something custom that matches the decor of the room. Yes, art that matches the sofa! I am not opposed to creating this type of artwork, in fact, it's a challenge for me. I think it's good exercise in keeping the creative juices flowing.

I get tired of it, though, and that's when I want to paint huge abstracts with wild abandon.

None of that is happening today, though, as I finish up that crazy painting-over-a-giclee process. Then I'll get ready to pick up Helen (from Berkeley) from the airport and visit a few galleries with her. I'm picking up a big purchase order today, too.

Painting Again

It's been awhile since I've actually painted. I've been too busy at the computer conceptualizing (which is equally important).


I'm painting today, but it's not really a good thing. I had painted the abstract above, then took it to get transparencies and a scan. The scan was terrible. I didn't know how terrible, since I no longer had the original painting. So I processed it as best as I could, and printed the giclee in three 44"w x 60"h panels. Then four coats of varnish.

Once it was delivered and compared to the original painting, whoa - the blue color was way off. So off it went to the designer for approval. She liked the blue color fine, but did not like the shading of the curvy swirls. So today I am painted those swirls white with a pearlized finish. It's not easy. Takes three coats of paint. And I guess I'll have to varnish again when I'm done. I have gesso all over me, and I've had to be very careful to not get paint where it doesn't belong. aaaack!

Tomorrow is a new day, however, and my friend Helen is coming to town from Berkeley. She's here for this weekend's conference, the College Art Association and the Women's Caucus for Art. And Friday night there are lots of gallery events, including my own show with TexasWAX.

15 Minutes of Panic

Midday yesterday I realized that I didn't really have anything to do. No deadlines to meet, nothing to prepare. No concepts to dream up.

I considered worrying about it -- and spent 15 minutes doing so until the phone rang and I was right back in it.

A project that I thought I lost came through, only one photographic image, but it's room art, so it's multiples.

And two new projects needed concepts, so I was busy photoshopping most of the day. I got very confused because the two projects are completely different. One is a Texas location with lots of color and Western imagery, the other is beach, with a pale khaki and cream palette. One is over-saturated with color, the other under.

I did find some photos on a hard drive that I barely remembered taking, and some of those were perfect. I always have to submit new things because I work with so few clients they can't show the same things all the time. That's good and bad. Good because it keeps me out there with my camera, and bad because I don't often sell the same image for more than one project.

And I'm happy I had the foresight to get transparencies made of the last two landscape paintings I did, because I've already had an order for five giclees.

I've been contacted by one of the tenants of Texas Clinic and I'm meeting with them on Friday to discuss custom paintings for their suites. Right before that I'm seeing Henry, who wants to talk to me about the next clinic project. That's REALLY good news!

So I'm sending thanks and gratitude out to the universe for once again providing work so I don't have to go out and get a real job!

Cleaned Up

that blue does not photograph well, especially with the sun shining on it! 60" x 30"

Well I've cleaned up since yesterday -- even had my nails done. I was through with the blue, anyway.

Today I'm painting the curly swirls on that blue background. On Monday I'll take the painting to have a transparency made and scanned, because I intend this image to go in my "giclee" file. Sometimes my clients don't have the budget for original paintings. I use the scans to print my own paintings, and sometimes to montage together for entirely new "paintings" created digitally.

That keeps my printer running while I'm in the studio. I'm giving it a rest today after two days printing round the clock for a room art project in the Caribbean.

Got a new project on my plate today, room art for a hotel in Southern California. My client called and gave me the color palette and design concept. From there I dig through my image inventory of both paintings and photography and submit appropriate things. That actually is quite an investment in time, because I always color tint whatever kind of image it is to fit the project. There's a lot of photoshopping involved. Still so much easier than painting something and hoping somebody likes it! Computers really simplified the commercial art business. I don't have to paint a thing until it's sold.

The Final Final

The promised photo of the Texas Clinic grid painting. Another thing I thought of regarding my deadline extension is that my solo show comes down on Nov 5, which means that whatever didn't sell out of that show I can use in the clinic. That gives me even more breathing room.

On the table in front of it is one of the giclees I've just printed for a hotel in Fort Worth. There are two of those and I've varnished them this morning so they will be ready for delivery tomorrow.

I'm going to take more personal time today, and maybe go to the Greek Festival. It feels great to be more relaxed and not under so much pressure. whew

Texas Landscapes

Texas River Late Summer, acrylic on canvas

My paintings are not traditional by any means, but sometimes it's necessary to create for the client. That's what I'm doing now by painting Texas landscapes. I won't be selling the originals, but rather giclees on canvas. In order to get a high quality digital image I will take all five paintings to be professionally photographed and scanned into digital files. That's just more inventory for my print files down the road.

Keeping Timelines

I am in the middle of so many projects I keep forgetting what I'm supposed to be doing. That can't be productive!

The photo above shows, on my wall, bottom layer, three canvas panels which are a triptych I haven't finished. Hanging in front of that (with the white border) is one of 10 photographs that I have printed for the Ft. Worth hotel job. The other nine are hanging in the bathroom. To the right of that is the 30" sq painting that's one of the new ones for Mercury Grill. In the foreground is a giclee of a previous painting that goes with another set of photographs not yet printed for the Intercontinental hotel here in Dallas. What's already put away are the photo paintings. Finished them around noon today.

Then I took a break (but left the printer running) and went to the dentist. On my way home I dropped off a copy of the pricing proposal at the job site for Texas Clinic. whew!

The best part of the day so far has been faxing invoices. Now if it will just quit raining!