I visited a real studio!

I got to visit Justin Hillgrove's art studio today! It was awesome. He is the nicest person in the universe and is willing to help me with any questions I have and loan me all the gear I need to show my art for my first time. 

Check out how cool he is and all his work! 

 https://www.impsandmonsters.com/

I learned that when you're selling art and someone is like, "Should I get a sandwich or this print?" You say, "Go get a sandwich." If you're a nice person, they'll come back next year and buy from you. 

Some more learning: 1) People like to buy buttons *with $100.00 bills (so be ready for cash), 2) Customers like seeing "3 for $_.00", 4) Borrow showing equipment before buying it, 5) Have helpers, and 6) Anyone can sue you but if you're doing a parody or a transformed work it should be okay.

Biggest Learning: People can't comprehend artists that do multiple things. For example, Weird Al makes his own music mostly, but everyone just thinks of him making parodies. So, even if you have only one parody in your booth, most people will assume that all your work is a parody/allusion to something. 

Bravery Challenge #2:

The bottom square on the right might be my next idea for a painting for NWPAS in June: Bride of Pinbot.

Bhahaha I made a lot of sound with my paintbrush yowza (my teacher said that was a nono). Learning. Always painfully learning:).

The far side of the face is the hard part to comprehend. 

Bravery Challenge

Last Tuesday, I had my second lesson with Jamie Bollenbach at Arts and Craftsman Supply in Seattle. If you want to see my awesome teacher's art: http://www.jamiebollenbach.com/ 

I LEARNED:

1. Use oil in oil painting. Doh! haha. Wow, life changer:).

2. Use oil to erase and clean your brushes.

3. Move the paint around: add and subtract using paint and one color. Like carving!

4. Paint a base of green or red first to paint skin. 

5. To get in a gallery is difficult because it's difficult to sell art.

6. Artists need to show other people their work -we need feedback and critique to improve.

7. Don't paint your kids because everyone thinks their kids are cute. 

8. Painting only changes politics if lots of people do it. 

9. Use good ventilation when painting ...and Hilma, don't put paint all over your arms to match your skin's tone.

10. If you want to be really brave draw a portrait on a small canvas and erase it every day. TOTALLY DID THAT! *See the pics and video below!!!

11. You can learn the most by looking at one painting in a museum for an hour. Ryan said, "Just do it to the painting we have by that famous artist!" Nice! I'll start with that one because Lana has the Nora virus this weekend. I can get to the MAC on Friday Morning.

12. To draw a song: think of how the song makes you feel and how a picture makes you feel.

13. Move slowly. Think of a classical adante tempo. 

14. Your stokes should be gentle and not audible: think of one slice of color on top of another without blending like a slice of butter on a slice of Mayonnaise. 

15. Draw every day.

16. What an artist feels and tries to portray is often opposite to how it maks a viewer feel.

WORK!

1. I started by completing the thumb drawing in green because that's how I'm learning to draw skin. I'm letting it dry until Jamie says to add to it.

2. THE BRAVERY CHALLENGE!!!!!!!! Brave is my motto.

Below is how I progressed and then a video of me erasing it. I highly recommend it. You get super attached and it's the best drawing you've ever done and you don't want to erase it and it's like destroying something that had life... and then it's like no big deal and you're ready for the next drawing.

Idea: I put a music stand beside my artwork to take learning notes.

I had fun trying. I am better thanks to all the mermaid drawing I've been doing melding multiple faces together. Ayla calls this one, "Alien Hair." I hope to have five more of these by next week.

Here I am erasing a painting for the first time!