Slogging at the Keyboard

One of the biggest problems I've encountered in the years that I've been a professional photographer is the issue of how to manage the vast inventory of images that I've amassed. I've tried several solutions, but they all had their shortcomings. I'm heavily invested in Adobe Lightroom now, and it's working for me. I shuddered at the idea of keywording 60,000 photos. Yet if I didn't I would have to rely on (a rapidly fading) memory of where I was when I took a particular photo so I could somehow retrieve it for a potential sale. It's been a nightmare up til now. Three weeks into it, all photos have some sort of keywords, some more detailed than others right now, but at least there is some sort of organization going on.

Last week a client placed an order for an image I presented three months ago. I had the small jpg and that was it. Less than a minute later I had located the original raw file. A month ago I might have spent an entire day tracking that one image down.

Next is cataloging my paintings. I don't have near as many of those but still think creating a catalog is the way to go. I can keyword each one and when I have a project looking for "red abstract" I'll be able to easily find them.

What a relief to get a handle on something that has bogged me down for years!

Social Media

I've had a few emails recently, from people noticing that I am neglecting this blog. It seems that Facebook has been my preferred method of keeping in touch, but I promise to get back to blogging.

Just returned from a week in Florida, where I toured Sawgrass (golf resort) for a golf-related project. I'm a novice, it was all new to me, so I learned quite a lot. First and foremost, never tease a golfer about the game. It's like church, they are serious!

The course itself was manicured to perfection -- lots of water and palm trees, with a profusion of azaleas. Gorgeous! Got in some beach time, even though every time I laid down the towel, clouds started rolling in. But hey, it was still the beach!

Met with a new client in Jacksonville, and hope to establish an alliance with them. Business is off in the commercial art industry, but the one segment that is still strong is healthcare, and that's their focus.

It's Sunday, and not normally a work day, but I'll be downloading and processing photos today. Might even make it over to the studio to work on the two paintings in progress.

Settling

The weather is always unsettled this time of year, with Spring approaching. With the stirrings of new growth in the world around me, I am also infused with a new creative spirit. I have a few new paintings being "born". I've done some sketches, but they don't really come together. They never do until I put paint on canvas.

I've been processing a lot of photos. Photography is still trendy in the commercial design field, and with a database of over 20,000 images, I work on them all the time. When a client calls for particular images I need to be ready.

I'm trying to design a new logo. I'm not really good at graphic design, and once I firm up an idea I'll turn it over to one of my friends who do that professionally. I did my own logo when I first started Art Girls, and it wasn't very good! My friend Gary did the next one, and did a great job. Maybe I should call and turn it over to him now.

I've got three new projects for this year. They are all medical office buildings for the same group that built Texas Clinic last year. It's a great group of people, and we have a good team. They just give me the plans and I do a proposal based on their budget. I'm not really accustomed to doing the complete job with all the framing and everything, but they were really happy with Texas Clinic so this should turn out well, too.

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".

Changing Perspective

One of my photography groups had a meetup today in downtown Dallas. It was 30 min helicopter photo shoot. I've never been in a whirly bird before, so I was excited and anxious as we left the ground. Once we soared into the air I really got into it. The late afternoon light was yellow and warmed up the glass skycrapers, glinting and reflecting back. We made several sweeps around downtown, then around Texas stadium a few times, banking over the opening to shoot directly down. Wish there would have been a game going on -- that would have made a great shot! As it was, the light was perfect, the experience was thrilling. Now I want to do that everytime I travel to a new city. I took hundreds of photos in that short 30 minute segment, so now I'm downloading, deleting and processing. What fun!

Managing Change

This is a series of digital prints on canvas (30 x 42 ea) commissioned for a hotel in Myrtle Beach, FL. They will be printed on canvas and gallery wrapped. The fish photos were taken in the San Francisco aquarium last year. It was such a challenge to get any good photographs in low light conditions with moving subjects. These aren't entirely clear, but they make up for it in character!


As I look around my small home studio and analyze all the equipment, storage, and supplies that I have crammed in here, I can't help but feel good about the new commercial space. There will be room to do everything, and everything will have its place. I need someone with space planning skills to lay it all out for me. What a relief that will be!

I haven't decided about moving my printers and home office. Obviously I will now need two computers, and some kind of network so that I can access my files from home. But just thinking about that makes my eyes glaze over. I'll have to hire that out.

Today I have a 2:00 installation, then I need to get home to pack for my trip to New England tomorrow. It's a photo shoot, and I'll be mostly concentrating on that, but it sure will be nice just to breath the air up there. My friend Helen has given me an itinerary to follow for the best scenery.

Change of Seasons

Today has been landscaping day, when I tear up those spindly summer impatiens and replace them with the smiling faces of fall pansies. I'm doing white this year -- full white flowers, little purple faces, and some burgundy snapdragons as an accent. And red cyclamen. I'm exhausted.

I had the pleasure of visiting with Nita Leland on Friday night, at the gallery reception at Artists Showplace. I bought a copy of her new book "Confident Color" for my friend Dave. He thinks I'm really special for having it autographed by Nita! It's a great book, be sure and check it out. Was also nice to see my dear friends at the gallery.

I have a full week ahead, with a big abstract painting to get started on before heading to New England on Friday.

My new website is being worked on as we speak. It's strictly photography, and I hope to populate it with thousands of images. I've got my work cut out for me for sure!

Power Outage

Sometimes after a painting or project is completed I experience a power outage.

I'm having one today. Yesterday my client came over to help me assemble a seven piece installation that they will use as a sales tool on presentations to design professionals. I was rushed to complete it, and wanted it to be my best work. I used an assortment of techniques: painting, photography, cast resin, poured resin, photos on metal and plexi, and a new process of frosted plexi boxes holding sticks, rocks, and other natural elements. I would post a picture of the completed design, but I didn't take any! Nor did I photograph any of the elements. So unlike me!

Today I still have some photography to print, but after that, it's basically a down day, where I regroup for the next project. Alarmingly, I don't know what that is, since my schedule seems completely clear.

Win Some Lose Some

How could I forget to mention that I am in a group show this weekend at the Bath House Cultural Center in east Dallas? There are two concurrent shows, one is printmaking, and the other is encaustic wax. I'm in the encaustic show. The two exhibitions compliment each other nicely. Come see if you are in the Dallas area - Saturday Aug 30, 7-9 at the Bath House, 521 E. Lawther Dr., Dallas. It's on White Rock lake.

That's the "win".

The "lose" is that I was not the chosen photographer for room art for the renovation of what used to be the Adam's Mark hotel in downtown Dallas. It has been rebranded to a Sheraton. They are using photography as room art, and I submitted about 50 pcs of which they chose three for model room. But that's as far as I got. There were 4 model rooms, with 4 different photographers. I don't know who was chosen yet, and I don't know what criteria was considered in the decision. Could have been a framing issue, or budget restrictions, or they just didn't like the imagery. Oh well.

Another event I forgot to mention is that I took part in Scott Kelby's (of Adobe) international "Photo Walk" in downtown Dallas Saturday night. Fifty registered photographers gathered together at the West End and quickly dispersed looking for a winning shot. Submitted photos can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/groups/scott-kelbys-worldwide-photowalk-dallas/. Mine are the ones marked "artgirls".

One last thing. I finally succumbed to the pressure, and I now have a Facebook page.

Remaining Calm

Travel is anxiety producing, whether you're coming or going. I've already been home a week (today) and I had to be reminded that I hadn't blogged in awhile!

I came home to three purchase orders from three different clients. The dates are tight, and I'm struggling, since they are all paintings. Then I got another PO for five new paintings for the Ritz Carlton hotel in Dallas. That project also includes 12 large scale photographs.

I still haven't finished the 8 ft painting that I started before my month in California. Yikes!

Also, the PO for my huge project in central Texas has come through! I think I have til the end of the year to get 900 castings made in China, and print 2700 images for guest rooms. woohoo!

And for some reason I have loaded myself up with extracurricular activities. I'm going to the gym with my neighbor in the mornings (when we both can), I have Belly Dancing class on Saturdays, and I've joined three local photography groups and a hiking group. I'm reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. I really took to heart what Scott Ginsberg said about getting out of the house. But since I'm me, I'm overdoing.

My Dallas client has asked me to produce a sample 3d installation piece in a size small enough to take to presentations. I've been doing so many mixed-media pieces that photographs can't capture that they need some samples. And I agree -- but how the heck do I work that into my schedule?

Yes, you, too can have these problems. Here's how. If you are an artist, say yes. In fact, what would happen if you said yes to everything? That's what I'm experimenting with right now, which is one reason why I'm so busy all of a sudden! I like it!

Lightpainting

Lightpainted Dahlia - outside

I'm still on vacation and surfing around the internet last night brought me to a flickr site of lightpainting. I wasn't familiar with the process and searched around some more for instructions on how to do it. Since Helen has a fabulous garden in the back, I tried it. The weather wasn't good, so much fog that moisture accumulated on my lense -- and a little breeze to go with it, bad sign for a long exposure.

I think the technique has definite possibilities and I look forward to trying it again with another subject. This one is illuminated by a regular flashlight playing around the flower.

Good News Friday

Historically Fridays are good days for me. My client likes to release purchase orders on Fridays. I did get a PO yesterday, but not from my client. It's from a purchasing company in Atlanta ordering something that I don't even know about. I'll have to get clarification on Monday, but I do remember quoting something for this project. I think it's for photography which will be printed as digital wallpaper. Nobody told me what images, though, and the PO says "HOT! Deliver ASAP!" Nice, but I don't know what to deliver or to whom. Glad to have the work, though.

I had a last minute request late yesterday, to resize and recolor three photographic images. I was deliriously happy to comply when I was told that these have been chosen for model room for a hotel with almost 2,000 rooms. It's a competition -- I don't know how many model rooms there will be, but I'm not the only artist. Sure would love to get this huge project -- and I have a good shot.

Slacker

I've been such a slacker lately! Among other things, some medical problems are interfering with my ability to create.

But in the good news department, a big project that I've worked on for half a year has been approved by the owners. It's the 900 room JW Marriott down by San Antonio, TX. I have five pieces in every guest room: 3 prints of original paintings, one processed photo on metal, and the big carving that I worked so hard on! The carving will be cast in resin. It's good to have the security of knowing that project is on track, and on my schedule.

Haven't heard about the two other very large hotel projects that I have pending. On those I was competing against other photographers. Should be a decision soon about who gets the job, whether or not they decide on the exact images. Mine were highly manipulated, and "artsy" instead of straight photos. I don't know if that will work for or against me.

I would like to hear something soon, though, so I can plan the rest of my year, with some time off for surgery. I'd rather say "time off at the beach" but I don't see that happening.

Big installation next week. 3o pieces for Verity Radiation, a suite at Texas Clinic. Will have two more pieces to finish up for that job. After that there's a photo installation for a long ramp wall that I am designing.

Will have a preview Happy Hour for some designers at my studio next week. They want to see the completed components of a 22 pc installation for a local hotel. I better get busy!

Saturday night is a charity function. I normally wouldn't go to something like that, but I've been trying to get out more.

I haven't kept up with this blog lately, either, but now that I see how helpful it is in motivating me to get in the studio, I promise to be better!

Wouldn't You Know

The designer has finally approved the sea shell casting. I was in such a hurry to get the samples to her that I didn't even take a picture! I'll have time for that later, but for now, the one she chose was the first pour, the one with a distressed surface from using too much mold release! It did create an interesting texture, so I think it was a good choice. I just hope it can be replicated. We'll know today, when the second set comes out of the molds. (fingers crossed)

I did get a two month extension on my major project, the 22 pc installation for the registration desk, but since I was already in the big middle of it, I haven't entirely put it away. Everything involved has multiple steps. I'm getting as many done as I can, so every layer has a chance to dry completely before the next step.

Yesterday I got approval for the next carving, to replace the one I did last fall that was not approved by the hotel owners. This is the sixth design; it was a struggle to get something that was acceptable to both the designer and the owner. I hope to be carving it tomorrow. And with the experience I got the last time I did this, I'm doing it outside so I don't have that terrible mess in my studio. The dust from carving foam has a static charge that won't let go.

36" x 36" carving

Also yesterday my client called to ask if I had any photography of colorful bowls. I said no. Then she emailed me what she had in mind, and in digging through old travel photos discovered that not only did I have exactly what she wanted, it was as though the photo she sent me as reference was mine, since it was in the same market in Istanbul, Turkey!

Had a great meeting with my new medical clinic client, and we chose all the artwork for the suite in two hours. Amazing! She understands that I'm traveling and then she's traveling, so I don't need to stress about deadlines with this project.

Have another project in the works for a large grid painting for a construction company, will meet with them next week. It seems it's always like this before I take a trip.

Taking My Time

Invariably I am swamped with projects before I leave for a trip. This time is no exception. I'll be gone for three weeks, and there are several deadlines during that time, which means I'm working like a madwoman! I have projects in every room of my house, not just the studio. I am printing on metal in my second office for the large registration installation, printing original photography for public spaces for another hotel in my main office, the front studio is full of platforms in various stages of completion, my slant wall holds an abstract painting commission, the table in the living room is covered with sketches for another carving, the kitchen holds glass bowls of colored water where I'm adjusting color recipes for the cast resin pieces, my back studio table holds the printed metal photography which is being coated with layers of clear varnish. So when I got another purchase order yesterday afternoon, I almost went over the edge! But how could I say no to this? It's the hotel in Arlington that I did etched glass for back in the 80s.

This is the original glasswork that I did in the 80s. At the time the wavy pattern matched the fabric on the chairs.

Door to the lounge, I sandblasted the logo back in the day! Soon to be replaced.

This is the colorboard for the new space.

This is the drawing of the photographs and installation of artwork for the new space. The photos are mine, black and white, which will be printed on 44" x 44" plexi and mounted with standoffs. Cool installation.

It's just so very odd that my work would be featured so prominently in the same hotel I worked on twenty years ago! I have original photography in every guest room, and according to the PO I just received, twenty large scale photographs for public spaces. Amazing.

The good news I received after that PO was a phone call that one project's deadline has been pushed back two months. Yay! I can finish it up after I get home, and can go visit my Dad in South Texas without worrying.

Today I'm in yard, it's time to plant flowers!

Planning Ahead

I thought it appropriate to title this post "planning ahead" when my last one was "be in the moment". How can a person do both?? To anyone who has a busy schedule, you just do it. While I am waiting for paint to dry I scan through emails. When I plan a trip I think ahead to that time off and plan work around it, both before and after. While I'm gone, I'm in the moment.

Today I have been at the computer most of the day, and printing almost the whole time. I had three separate art layouts for hotel model rooms to put together for the designer's approval. It's mostly photography so I made prints. Then I printed some marketing materials. I put together a series of photos documenting the carving, moldmaking and casting process. And I printed out the three section layout of the 22 pc installation that I have designed. Busy day, and the printer is still cranking.

I should have a tracking system, but once I'm paid for the originals commissioned for a hotel model room I put the project out of my mind. It's usually a long lead time between model room and purchase orders. And I don't necessarily get a PO just because I did model room. Sometimes the owners don't like it and they change it up and the order goes to someone else.

In case anybody has an idea that I am successful with everything I present, let me tell you it ain't so. Got a really big rejection this week. The second design for the cast piece was completely wrong, according to the hotel owner. I wish I could get a handle on what they are looking for, because I don't see a connection between their very thorough criticism and the sketch itself. I better have a lightning bolt of an idea soon!

I know it's Easter Weekend, but I'm being blasphemous and working the whole time. Some in the studio, some at my desk, and some in my flowerbeds! My poor poppies have been valiantly blooming, but since they've lived here they have had to endure several freezes, high winds, and this week's 7" gully washer. They're still blooming, but they're beat up. I'm going to give them some neighbors and plant begonias around them.

In the Moment

At the request of Kesha Bruce I am posting one of the photos from Saturday's meditative shoot. This was one of 20 that I shot of a rapidly decomposing pile of corrugated cardboard. Lots of abstract patterns and texture. I loved it! I was working with a macro lens and a very shallow depth of field. Why this photo fits the theme? If I went back to this location today everything would be different. The strong winds today may have sent some of this pile down the alley, the light is different, and even I am different and may see this in a new way. Since the point of the shoot was to be in the moment and document that moment, I think this particular series (more than the requisite wildflower shots) are particularly appropriate.

But that's not all I've been doing. I finished two 48 x 48 abstract paintings in the Red Circles series. They are commissions for a local hotel project.

Meditative Photography

My new friend Henry taught a Meditative Photography class at his house on Saturday. There were six of us. I went with no expectations, but early on I realized I knew exactly what it was about. It's about being present in the moment. It's discarding any other thoughts except "be here now". I didn't know the name of it, but it's something that Nancy and I remind ourselves on the first day of every photo shoot. It always takes us a little time to get into that special place where everything in front of us is precious. We tell each other that this is the only moment we have in this place at this time. We photograph with those eyes.

That's what we did at Henry's. We did a slow examination of the things around us in his backyard, then we took our cameras out and about, returned in 30 minutes and shared our photos. It was fun.

Since I was in the neighborhood I popped over to the arboretum, which was really bad timing for three reasons. 1. bad midday light 2. weekend crowds 3. kids

At least I scouted out what was planted where and I can return for a more efficient shoot next time.

Today was the monthly meeting of Texas WAX, and we took down our show, and made plans for the next venue.

I'm back at the computer, processing photos for the purchase order I received on Friday. After this I'm designing the remaining two parts of the large hotel installation so I can get approval on it this week. Yep, another busy week ahead.

Creative Concepts

Lots of things inspire me, but bringing a creative concept to completion is always a challenge. When I did the carving (above) as a concept for a cast piece for hotel room art, it presented a huge challenge. I had no idea how to even start. So I started with a sketch, did a lot of internet research, bought high density foam and carving tools and went at it. Had the mold made, and we made a casting which was hung over the tub in the model room. The designer loved it. Apparently she was the only one. The owners said it looked too tropical for a resort located in the hill country of central Texas. With that as the only comment, I was commissioned to create a new piece.

It has been on my mind for a couple weeks now. I didn't know what direction to take it. I tried modifying the original design. Didn't work. I thought of other plants and trees located in the area that I could abstract into something cool. I did extensive internet research. I drew some digital designs. Nothing really worked until I got out a pencil and paper and came up with this:


I sent it to my client who replied "that's my girl". Yay! Have not heard from the designer yet, but I'm confident I'm on the right track. Once the design is approved I will go through the whole carving, moldmaking and casting process again. And these are big pieces, 36" x 36". But there are over 900 rooms in this project and that sculpture will be in every one of them.

I am having a similar experience with the cast resin shell project, only it's proceeding much slower. I've had a purchase order for awhile, but getting all the information from my client and the designer is proving to be a real challenge. This is an instance where my client insists on being in the middle, and not allowing me to discuss the details with the designer directly. I don't understand that at all. It's just not efficient, as I talked about in my last post. We are disagreeing on the mounting method. Now I have agreed to make a small sample piece with a cleat embedded in the resin for the designer to approve. I won't even get into what a waste of time I think that is, because the customer is always right -- right?

In other good news, yesterday was Purchase Order Friday -- and this one is all photography for a healthcare project.

I'm rocking and rolling, it's Spring, birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and I'm headed off to a Meditative Photography session with a new friend. I'll report back.

Hybrid Photography

I admit that I am not a purist in any artistic endeavor. I use multiple mediums, separately and in unconventional combinations. At least at this point in my career I mostly know the "rules" and consciously break them in ways that still allow the resulting artwork to maintain its technical integrity. Meaning it won't fall apart over time.

As someone with a short attention span and a home studio, I constantly track back and forth between the studio and the computer (with a stop at the kitchen in between!). More and more I am spending design time at the computer instead of sketch book. I need a more comfortable chair.

Since photography is a hot design trend right now I've been working to get more images online. I want to keep this gallery more traditional and expected. I want my crazy digital designs to stay on my own hard drive, and sent out for concepts for specific projects. It's too easy to steal digital imagery, and I'd like to have a line that really is my own.

I've been tagged by Judy Vars. Following her instructions:

"...all their wonders, were an extension of the PCs and modems already in use -- AOL had trained millions to use email, and word processors were popular applications on those computers." From "the myths of innovation" by Scott Berkun. I have that book on my desk because (1) it's a good book and (2) he used a photo of mine as illustration in it.

Otherwise, I don't see the point of this "tag" -- and I don't think I'll be passing it on. Sorry, Judy.