"Ocean Motion" 2013 20x60"
oil on gallery wrapped canvas
I had barely started this painting
when the title, "Ocean Motion", came to mind. I was dancing my palette
knife across the 20x60" canvas in great swoops and swooshes of colors
reminiscent of the sea, so it's quite a fitting title.
My
dilemma, when doing an abstract, is to keep it simple. Keep the idea
flowing but not get caught up in representation. The title could have
sunk the whole painting if I hadn't stopped when I ran out of ideas and
left the painting to wait for 4 more days while I thought about it and
thought about it. There were, I'll admit, lots of hand wringing, hair
rending moments when I thought I might just have to call in
reinforcements for guidance. But, in the end, I tricked myself into
getting back to it by saying, "I'll just work on this one spot of green
that's bugging me".
I
know, if you're wondering what my process is, just writing that last
little bit isn't going to help you understand how I was able to come to a
finish. It actually was a matter of painting too much of something that
didn't jibe with the rest of the painting, because the strokes were
short and choppy, then coming back in with my palette knife and mixing
them all together. Finally, to include elements of sea foam, I brought
in the mixes of white at the bottom and declared it done. Still need to
sign it.
The start
Next day
The Finish
Rather than make this post about any particular bit of art making I've been up to, I thought it was time to discuss buying art.
7 years ago, I fell in love with a painting on Pablo Taboada's website and then actually met the artist several months later. I asked him if he still had the painting and he pulled it out of storage for me to look at. It was as gorgeous as it looked on his website, so I immediately asked him if he'd do a payment plan. I'd only recently read that some artists and galleries will do that, so I took a chance and he agreed!
Then, he did something special...he discounted the painting $500 because he said that I hadn't asked the price. A high muckeymuck's wife had also liked that painting but tried to talk him down in price, which is an insult to the artist. My approach definitely won me favors and the most delicious painting ever!
It took a year of payments, but it was totally worth it because I look at it every day and am inspired in my own art making and life.
What I hope you'll get from this story is: if you love a work of art, find a way to buy it. Many artists are amenable to payment plans. Many also take credit cards or PayPal, so you can make your payments to the cc company.
Asking for discounts doesn't always work in your favor, as we saw with the high muckeymuck's wife, but if the artist offers it...go for it!
You won't regret buying a work of art that speaks to you.
