Professional shots of Frosty Series

Some lovely finished shots of my Frosty series, fresh from the photographer's. These works are acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 30" H x 20" W. Top to bottom, "Lemon Frost," "Mint Frost," "Strawberry Frost."

Taking inventory

I want to tout the wonder that is Flick!, an inventory software designed especially for artists.

Even though I am a super-organized person, for most of the 13 years I have been painting professionally, my artwork record-keeping has been sloppy. My studio storage shelves and flat shelves for works on paper were like black holes; lots of stuff was in there, and I never knew exactly what. I kept meaning to address the pressing problem of what was where, which became readily apparent whenever I received inquiries about my artwork. But I was so excited about the act of painting that I just kept making work and stuffing it into any available nook or cranny once I was finished.

Finally I decided to try and get it together. Having spent years as a secretary at MIT, I prided myself on my ability to create tables in Microsoft Word. So I tried setting up a series of tables and typing in all the pertinent information about each work of art I had on hand. But it was difficult to make each little section the right size for the varying types of information I needed to keep track of -- titles, sizes, prices, etc. Plus I kept thinking of new and necessary categories after each table was finished, so I'd have to go back and make painstaking alterations. Also it took so long to import images, since the software wasn't really made for that purpose, that I soon gave up.

Luckily, the wise and generous painter Rebecca Crowell came to my rescue. Rebecca told me that she had had good luck with a software designed especially for artists to keep track of their inventory, so I went to their website and clicked around a bit. It seemed easy to use, and since it only cost $30 to buy, I went ahead and made the purchase.

I'm so glad I did! Since this software was created with artists in mind, there are handy fields for all the unusual information that only artists need, from varying dimensions to provenance to calculations for the artist's take minus the gallery's percentage. What has really worked for me is that I can create and print out inventory reports that group the work by size and include a photo of each piece (images can be quickly and easily uploaded). So when the phone rings and someone is asking about a particular piece or series, I can quickly and accurately look up exactly what I have and give complete information about it. And whenever a new series is finished, it only takes a few minutes to update my records.

I highly recommend Flick! Here is their website.

A worthy recipient

I dropped off my painting "Presto" (acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 28" square) at the Art Connection this week. It will be donated to the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights at the Boston Medical Center, an organization that "strives to create a healing environment where refugees and torture survivors can connect, feel safe, and renew their lives."

I am honored that my artwork has been chosen by such a worthy recipient, and hope that my painting will brighten the Center, and provide interest and inspiration to the patients and employees.

I love the Art Connection! Working with them always reminds me of the power of art to bring good to the world.

Career advice from many sources

I am in a new go-ahead phase with my art career: I’m making new larger works in specific series, and I am investigating ways to get this work OUT into the world, in new and more diverse venues.

On the practical side, I am reading a number of career advice books specifically for artists. Yesterday, I started “The Artist’s Guide: How to Make a Living Doing What You Love” by Jackie Battenfield, and I highly recommend it. The author gives practical and specific suggestions on what an artist needs to do to determine what s/he needs, artistically, professionally and financially. The book includes quoted ideas from the generous and knowledgeable artist Joanne Mattera, and that alone is enough to recommend it.

I also have coming from the library “Art-work: Everything You Need to Know (and Do) As You Pursue Your Art Career” by Heather Darcy Bhanda. Once I’ve had a chance to read these books, I plan to make the lists and follow the steps needed to expand my professional connections.

Both of these are new books (2009), and I’m sure it’s no coincidence that they have been published now. So many crucial factors have brought sweeping changes to the art world in recent years. Between the economy, the Internet, the digital camera, and the general push to “go green,” being an artist who connects with the world is a whole different story from what it was even a few years ago, certainly 10 years ago.

On the unpractical (but just as important and effective) side, last week I watched a recent DVD on Louise Hay’s life and techniques (“stumbled upon” at the library). I had found Louise’s ideas to be MOST helpful when I first read “You Can Heal Your Life” in the late 1980s. (In fact, I wrote her two lengthy letters about how much her ideas had helped me, and she answered them both with very kind letters.) I believe it is provident that I found this DVD now that I am again in need of career help. I have started doing affirmations with regard to showing and selling my paintings. We’ll see what happens, but if my past experience is any indication, something unexpected but amazing will result.

After watching this video, I decided to revisit the “New Age” technique of making a “treasure map,” detailed in Shakti Gawain’s wonderful book “Creative Visualization.” With this method, you print out pictures of whatever it is you want MORE of in your life, and look at them daily. (When I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but had no experience, I made a treasure map using a picture of a teacher leading a studio art class, cut from an old RISD catalog. Only I pasted a photo of my head over the teacher’s head in the picture. It worked!)

I also used this technique about a year ago, as I described in this blog entry, and it really worked: I have sold a number of pieces to corporate collections since then.

Last weekend, I made the treasure map shown above, showing images from some recent exhibitions and also showing my work hanging in corporate settings, both situations I want MORE of. I’m using the technique of looking carefully at it and simultaneously saying my career-related affirmations several times a day.

I figure that, by tapping into all of these sources for help with my career, I will have covered all my bases!

My website has been updated

My updated website has just gone live! Click here to view.

The last update was late last summer. I've been quite prolific since then, so this latest update includes many new pieces in the Gallery section. Above is one of these new ones, "Honeysuckle Rose" (acrylic and fabric on canvas, 30" H x 20" W).

My wonderful web designer is Jeanne Williamson. Jeanne is herself an artist (here is her art website) and author of a new book, "The Uncommon Quilter" (here is her site devoted to the book). I highly recommend her services, whether you want a new website created or a currently existing one updated.

Thank you, Jeanne!

What a difference a pro makes

This is why I hire a professional photographer! Most of the other entries on this blog are illustrated with images that I take myself by propping up my painting on a wall and snapping at random with my trusty digital camera. This usually happens when I am excited about a new work and want to get it on my blog fast, or when I have a show coming up that I want to mention on the blog, but the works haven't been properly photographed yet.

But for my web site, obviously I need to do better than that. If you're in the Boston area, I highly recommend Joe Ofria as an art photographer -- he works from the Image Inn in Arlington, Massachusetts.

The image above is one that Joe shot for me. It's named Orange Tangle; it's acrylic and pastel on paper, 30" H x 22" W, and was made over the summer. It's all ready to join a bunch of other new pieces when I have my web site updated.