The Tradeoff

There's a trade off to have any kind of art life/career. One can read about artists in magazines and think how great it would be in their shoes. The problem with that kind of thinking is, while it looks good, it has it's downsides . Often those artists who lives seem to be terrific, have the same relative concerns as the rest of the art world. Art careers require a great deal of maintenance, the more successful the artist is, the more maintenance is required. The artist James Rosenquist recently lost his studio as a result of a wildfire in Florida. I don't know any one who would trade places with Mr. Rosenqiust. Those big studios that are shown in art magazines require a constant influx of cash, an artist has to be selling a lot of art to get that to happen. The trade off comes into play when one decides to be an artist, that's just the way it is.

NYT surveys economy and artists

The NYT is asking artists to tell how the economy has affected their lives.
Google NYT artsbeat , look for Attention Artists.. The entries are very informative to read.
I was hoping the media would do this. The entries give examples of how artists
are coping with the recession. I found this by chance.

Artist Income

I recently read a letter from an artist who said he makes 70k-100k a year. Considering the fact that the income is from art, that's pretty good. Paying one' s way with art is quite a feat in my opinion. Art is something that people can move to the bottom of their needs or wants list. To make five or six figures in art is very special, especially in this economic time.

Posting Frequency

I don't post to my blogs unless I have a thought that I need to get off my mind. I do admire those who have a lot to say blog wise. I wonder how some bloggers who are artists have the time to make art and blog also. I tend to wait until something strikes me, then I post my thought. It's always enlightening to see what other people have on their minds. Blog on , I say.

See People In Person

Last week I was informed , that one of my art colleagues deceased. The lady was a vivacious and creative person. I was so out done because, I drive by her home often, I had intended to stop and say hello. She informed me by phone that she had been given three to six months to live. DANG! DANG! DANG!. I had her business card on my writing stand, my plan was to send her a thank you note for a phone call she made to me in December or January. I can 't remember the exact month. We did have a long talk on the phone. I feel sad that I didn't get one more visit with my colleague. This event makes me more aware, that people need to be in touch in person. I will work on doing just that .

Thoughts On The Daily Painters

I was just thinking about The Daily Painters. When I was early in my art career, I painted all the time, I was kind of driven. I made all kinds of paintings subject wise. As I got more experienced, I tried to do more complex subjects. Some passed my edit and some didn't. This brings me to the Daily Painters, I don't know how they do a painting every day without feeling pressured. I respect an artist's ability to make art all the time.I really do. I have discovered that, I don't have that drive. I tend to work on a series of small pictures , maybe eight to ten works. I assess my efforts, take a break then start up again. My hats off to the daily painters. Just some observations.

Got Cash

I got some cash for a painting yesterday. I made the work some time back. I hadn't offered it for sale before now.
The buyer of the painting is a colleague in education. So I gave him the colleague price. I am not precious about my paintings.
I get what I can for them and I can always make another painting. In this economic time, money is money.