Don't give it away!

We've all been through this as artists. Someone asks you to speak to their group, review their show, critique their work, etc. And they don't mention payment in their request.

Maybe they honestly mean to pay you, and they just haven't included the topic in the initial conversation. Maybe they are cheap and hope they won't have to pay you at all. Maybe they are ignorant and think artists perform these types of services gratis. How do you politely handle this situation without 1. giving up what might good opportunity over a misunderstanding, 2. agreeing to something and finding yourself scrambling over the subject of money afterward, or 3. losing your temper and yelling, "You ignorant slob!"?

My friend Wendy offers this ideal solution.

Reply politely that you will get back to them on it as soon as possible. Then contact them with a professional and upbeat email message, listing your hourly rate and saying that it would be a pleasure to work with them.

If they decline in their response or don't respond at all, you will know that they were not willing to hire you at these rates, and so you have saved everyone time and trouble and perhaps even educated them that artists are professionals and deserve to be paid as such.

But perhaps they will agree to pay what you ask, which will give you the pleasure of being paid fairly for what you do best.

From making illustrations for no payment when I was fresh out of design school, to being asked to speak to a college class for free, to being asked to write a review for free, to spending more than a year insisting on being paid an honorarium that I had been promised ... I've definitely seen what NOT to do, so I very much appreciate Wendy's solution.

Back in gear

There are a number of hopeful signs that my art career has resumed its forward motion: a couple of consultants have clients interested in my work, so I'll be doing some dropping off next week. I'm also taking 5 pieces from my recent silver series to the photographer's next week (here they are, all lined up and ready to hit the road, below):

Studio happenings in March

As I mentioned in this earlier blog post, my art career stuff has slowed down, and therefore I am using this as an opportunity to plunge in to a bunch of new series, ONLY with a care toward what I feel like doing rather than what I am obligated to do.

Interestingly enough, now that my mind is clear and not bogged down with any specific exhibition or application deadlines or expectations, definite creative steps are presenting themselves to me. I have four series going at once, all quite different, but they are all an important part of what I want to say right now.

First, I have just had a taste of the creme de la creme of spray paints, and now I can never go back! (It's like eating your first piece of Godiva chocolate, when you're used to M&Ms.) I usually use Krylon, but they have recently redesigned their caps so that it's hard to get any specific sized marks. Enter Montana Gold!! This brand of spray paint goes on much more smoothly and solidly, it's far more comfortable to work with (i.e. the nozzle depresses more easily, so I don't have to tape my fingers to avoid blisters), and it comes with a series of caps that produce lines in different widths. (Plus it's not as smelly.) Heavenly!

I bought one can in "Mustard" color, and started to try it out, as shown below, in a 20" square collage. But I like the possibilities of this painting so much that instead I am going to cover more fabric with spray paint lines and collage the cut pieces onto a 40" square canvas. Tomorrow, the garage becomes a spray paint booth again! :-)




Next, I've finished 6 paintings in the Tapestry series (example of one of them, below), and I wanted to created 6 more in a cool color version. I tried making the painting below but wasn't satisfied with the colors. So I worked out a better color scheme on paper, and am going to test that out on an actual canvas this weekend.








I've finished 5 in the Frosty series (example below), so now I have Lemon, Vanilla, Raspberry, Strawberry and Pistachio. Since they have a very reflective silver surface, they are going to need to head to the professional photographer's. They are all wrapped in their little plastic raincoats, ready for the trip.




I also have plans to expand the shoe drawings I've done so far into a more specific series of illustrations with a more conceptual twist. More on that to come.

I have to admit, it feels strange to be doing all this for no specific purpose. I think this is the first time since graduate school (1997!) that I have worked so diligently without any definite end purpose for the work, such as a planned show, sales opportunity, or invitation to apply for something. It's like taking steps in the dark, guided only by my creative muse. But creating with this kind of intensity is what I live for ... it's what I work at my day jobs for, it's what I have simplified my life for. I can't not do it, illogical as that may sound.

My review of "Beauty in the Beast" at Gallery X

Here is my review of "Beauty in the Beast," currently on view at Gallery X in New Bedford. It appeared in today's edition of Coastin' in the New Bedford Standard-Times:

"Beauty in the Beast" review

My little pretties

I am not generally one of those artists who finds it hard to part with a painting once it's sold. I feel as though my experience with the painting happens while I'm in the process of making it. Once it's finished, the relationship is finished. I'm just as glad to part with it and move on to the next visual experience. (And I am certainly glad of the income because then I can buy more art supplies.)

That said, however, there are some paintings that I love so much that I would never part with them. Looking at them as a group, I'm not sure exactly why I want to keep these particular works, while the other perfectly nice paintings could go at any time as far as I'm concerned. Somehow, I said what I wanted to say with them, thoroughly, and I feel satisfied with them as finished products, as representative of what I am about as an artist and a person.

Do you have trouble parting with your paintings? Aside from the conventional wisdom that an artist should hold onto a certain number of her best works, are there some that you would keep just because you love them, no matter how much someone offered to pay for them? Do you know WHY you love those particular paintings over others, or is it some unidentifiable quality about them that you love?

Below: "Web," Acrylic and spray paint on fabric on canvas, 28" square, 2003.




Below: "Weave," Acrylic and spray paint on fabric on canvas, 20" square, 2003.




Below: "Seaweed," Acrylic on fabric on canvas, 20" H x 28" W, 2008.




Below: "Wet Web," Acrylic on canvas, 10" H x 8" W, 2008.




Below: "Niche," Acrylic on fabric on canvas, 60" H x 38" W, 1997.

Budget strategies at tax time

Just now I went through the annual process of itemizing my art-related deductions in preparation for sending tax materials off to the accountant.

I usually do this in haste in April, and because I’m rushing against a deadline, I don’t have time to really pay attention to what that pile of receipts is trying to tell me. But this year, as I’m a little earlier than usual, I had more time to think about each expenditure as I entered it onto my list.

Here are some of my conclusions:

The advent of digital has certainly meant good things for my wallet. I used to spend almost $500 a year in postage, mailing packets to apply for grant and exhibition opportunities. Between my digital camera, my computer and various types of software, I can send jpgs on line, in a flash, for free. It’s a whole new world! (And I’m not even talking about all the money that had to be laid out for film and developing, folders and envelopes, gas and time to drive to the post office, hours spent sticking labels on slides, etc.) ETA: Check out painter Kathy Hodge's blog post on this topic, if you want to appreciate how much improved things are!

My $30 investment last year of Flick!, an art inventory software, was worth every penny. SO much easier to keep track of what I have, SO much faster to update this information.

Remember to save ALL receipts. Sometimes I go to a general store like K-Mart to buy toiletries or household stuff, but I also buy art-related items like tape, brushes or rolls of plastic.

I’m very good at writing down mileage, as my friend Jeanne gave me the idea of keeping a notebook in my car, specifically for this purpose. That way, every time you start your engine, you remember to consider if anything on your upcoming route is art-related so you can quickly jot it down.

Here are some ideas I’ve decided on to help save myself money in the future (i.e. starting NOW), after going through all of my receipts:

Stop entering juried shows. I make this resolution on an annual basis, but I always fall for at least one show a year. This year I only succumbed to the urge once, but that meant a $30 application fee. I could have bought a gallon of gel medium with that $30! My new motto is: “If there’s a fee, it’s not for me.” I’m perfectly happy to split the profits 50/50 with a gallerist or consultant, but I will not pay to have my work considered for exhibition. At this stage in my career, it’s not necessary, as I already have a strong resume built up.

Cancel magazine subscriptions. I let Art News go a few years ago, and Art In America more recently once I realized they had stopped their annual Gallery Guide issue. Just now I let Art New England run out. I believe I can find all this information on line or at the library, which obviously is free, certainly better than spending $30 a year for a subscription.

Update blogs rather than website. In the past, I’ve gotten so excited whenever I have a new series ready (every three months or so) that I rush to get it on my website. And when I think of my website, it’s like having a room redecorated. I don’t just want to add a few new things, I want to redo everything!! But I need to start economizing and update my website once a year. My wonderful web mistress has kindly put links on my website to my Flickr account, this blog, and my career blog. As these are three sites I can update myself for free, it’s not like my online profile won’t stay up to date.

Bring snacks from home rather than eat out. I’ve noticed that, in the last year, whenever I run an art-related errand like drop off artwork, I’ll stop to eat out on the way home. If I have someone along with me to help, I buy a meal for them as well. This can add up, especially since I can only deduct 50% of the cost of the meal(s). I think I’ll start planning ahead and bringing a snack (like bottled water and a granola bar, especially if it’s just for me).

These are just a few possibilities to help me economize. In fact, I was so inspired by these realizations that, instead of going to the grocery store this morning as I had planned, I whipped up a casserole from some rice and lentils I already had at home … my thrifty New England ancestors would be proud of me!!

Tapestry series continues

My latest series, titled "Tapestry," continues ... here are the newest 4. I have 3 others completed and a final one finishing up. All of them are acrylic on canvas, 30 inches square.

I'm thinking of making a similar group in cool colors, since I'm enjoying this particular process so much.

Exhibit reviewed in The Gatepost

Framingham State University's student newspaper "The Gatepost" published a wonderful review of the studio art faculty exhibit I was in at the university's Mazmanian Gallery last month.

Written with perception and imagination by Tom O'Brien, the article included the following words about the works I had on view. (The piece he mentions, "Cyclone," is similar to "Slate," pictured above, 20" square, acrylic on paper.)

Link to the full review here. Thank you, Tom!

" ... the simplest process may have been exemplified by three paintings in the back of the gallery.

One of these acrylic paintings, entitled 'Cyclone,' was the first of three pieces constructed by Professor Catherine Carter.

The background of the three paintings is a woven texture by slowly dragging a brush across the entire surface, while a thick paste of acrylic was squeezed like a crazy straw on top.

The texture of these paintings is particularly visually engaging, and apparently, Carter achieved the “noodle” by squeezing white acrylic paint through a ketchup bottle. It seemed that the more she used this technique, the more she enjoyed it, resulting in three successively more busy paintings, a true process.

Said Carter of her artistic process, 'There are definite decisions being made as I’m working, but they are entirely related to what’s happening on the canvas before me and not on any preconceived intention.'

Acrylic through a ketchup bottle – just another part of the improvisational artistic process.

'I find that planned ideas don’t need to pan out once I’m in the midst of working. So I start with a general color or texture idea, but it is soon directed by the painting itself,' Carter said."

Flamenco footwear

The shoe series continues: here's my latest. Kind of a flamenco vibe here ...

My review of Surface Design Association show at Artworks

Here is my review of the Surface Design Association exhibit "One Passion, Many Voices" at Artworks! in New Bedford. The review appeared in the March 3 edition of Coastin' in the New Bedford Standard-Times:

Review of "One Passion, Many Voices"