Blog

In memory of Carolyn Curlette

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:21:00 -0400

Carolyn Curlette was born and raised in Birmingham, Al. After living out of state for many years, she and her husband were transferred back to Birmingham and settled in the Trussville area. When she wasn't writing she enjoys reading, traveling and visiting museums.

She was an author of several books. You could google her name and read the many books she wrote.

Her first three novels are “DESERT MIRAGE”, “ALWAYS MEANS FOREVER”, and “THE CHARLESTON CONNECTION”.

I would like to take a moment to say goodbye to a dear friend Carolyn Curlette. Carolyn lost her battle with cancer yesterday morning .I remember the first time I met Carolyn awaiting the arrival of our grandchild in a waiting room. I found her to be interesting and enjoyed our conversations. If I was asked to describe her I would have to say she reminds me of the true Southern Belle. She was gracious,hospitable,family oriented and a true lady.

I visited with her in her home on an occasion and seen all the paintings she has acquired through the years, she enformed me that she had more in her attic. She loved the arts and was always eager to encourage me with my work. She wasn't a painter but she was an artist, she create visions with words. I was honored to be her friend, and I will miss her. She had recently told me about starting a new book and she was excited to be writting again after a short period of rest.

Carolyn was an inspiration to those who knew her and she will forever be embedded in our hearts. Goodbye dear friend....you will be missed..

Julie Lamons

Murals for granddaughters

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:35:00 -0400

Ashyln's mural. Ashyln is a little girl who love's castles and princesses and the color pink and purple.

Ashylns reaction seeing her mural for the first time

Me working on Ashylns mural.

Aliyah and her mural. Aliyah wanted a nature scene and it started with a bird and two butterflies. She kept adding more animals to her list, we finished with a bird, two butterflies, frog, turtle, squirrel, and a deer.

She is holding the small painting that Judy painted.

Aliyah's reaction seeing her mural for the first time.

Judy working on Aliyah's mural. A special thank you goes to Judy for all her help, without her this would have been a struggle for me. Judy is wonderful on flowers and as you can see there are a lot of flowers. I myself have taken this opportunity to learn more about painting flowers. At the end of the day the smiles on my granddaughters faces were special rewards for their Nana.

Fruit of the Vine II

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:57:00 -0500

I submitted this painting today to the Auction Coordinator from Memphis For the WKNO Art Auction. It will be televised on Chanel 10 of Memphis,Tennessee coming in January. A fund raiser for PBS.

I am excited to announce that I will be participating in the 2010 Art Auction for WKNO Channel 10 to be televised. Anyone interested in seeing the exhibits in Gallery 10 can visit their website www.wkno.org Artworks will be posted Dec 15th for early viewing. The 2010 Art Auction is scheduled for January 30 & 31.

I will be spending more time painting new work getting ready for the second annual Delta Event coming in February. It sounds like plenty of time, but when creating art it isn't much ...

The Independence County Seniors Art Exhibit.

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:42:00 -0500

Flora Jackie

Martha Jessie

Above: Some of the artist that participated in the art classes

Below: The art exhibited hosted by Independence Co. Senior Center.

(Refreshments provided by the Senior Center)

A new painting Completed..

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:22:00 -0400

Today I posted a new painting, something I think I am calling completed..

I know as an artist it is sometimes hard to know when to stop. I can still see things I could still do. I called it done because I know me, if I keep on I will end up with a disaster. I have been known to ruin many a painting by picking at it. I am not going to confess how many paintings I have destroyed. (smile)

How many times I have regretted touching a painting that I actually liked. I have taken that last stroke to find I need to add more strokes to finally losing the painting alltogether. This is a lesson learned. Once you find a comfortable place and acceptable for you LEAVE IT ALONE!

Sign it and let it go....

Working Commission

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:24:00 -0400

The Fighting Rooster Painting. Most recent Commission.

Recently I was asked to comment on Commission work, and I had forgotten about it until I read Tony Mofitts Art World with my comments added. I thought some of my readers would enjoy reading it. But first let me say I think as an artist that when asked to do a comission the client knows the style of work I do. There is something they see in my work that make's them pick up the phone and call to ask me to do the work instead of another artist. Here are the Q&A below that appeared in the article.

1) What would be the best piece of advice/ tip you could offer someone about to begin doing commission works for their main income?

My best advice would be to go where the work is available. Small towns have friendly people where every one knows their neighbors but not many job opportunities.Yes a few commission jobs are available, but as far as commission artists are concern, we have to look outside our private corners. Seek recognition in your area and get your name out, but look for a larger audience in a larger city.

2) What's the biggest pitfall artists need to be aware of when taking on commission work?

When asked about the biggest pitfall I would have to say it is not having the creative freedom to paint when working on a commission. The client has an idea of what he/she want to see in their painting, It is their vision not mine. It is my job to make their vision become a reality, but do take notes when they are consulting with you all their ideas, because they can sometimes talk about several things and unless you write these ideas down some will be forgotten. Not everything needs to be in a painting but sometimes a client thinks everything should be in the painting ( including the kitchen sink!)

visit: http://tonymoffitt.blogspot.com for the article in it entireity.

What do you do?

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:01:00 -0400

Lately I have been reading so much online from various artist and I am beginning to wonder who do I believe... It seems like there is lots of advice available to show us how to market our art or how to make our sites worthy of visiting. I have no grip with that, actually most of the time it is valuable information.

What I am beginning to wonder, does it really work? I guess it does for those that spend all day sitting in front of their computers or have hired someone to sit in front of their computer to publish articles for them. Who has that kind of time or money? And if you do when are you painting? What about family responsibilities? Reading all the art related articles online will leave you without time to eat much less paint.

What do you do, and what do you read? I picked a couple of blogs I like to follow and there are a couple of art forums I am fond of. I don't have time for all that is out there.

My best advice would be to visit a few and pick out your favorite. Don't spend all your time reading everything because if you do then your letting life pass you by. Stop and enjoy the art... the world is a showcase and scenes can be found in your own backyard.

Another Senior Moment

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:22:00 -0400

We just finished another workshop at the Senior Center. Here are a few pictures of the students. Hope you enjoy seeing them.

The Surefire Way To Price Your Paintings

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:17:00 -0400

The other day I was asked by a student artist about pricing their art. This has been a question often asked .My reply was width time height divided by two and as each year passes and popularity increases add 10% .This is in response to the area and location. I also told the artist that experience plays a role in pricing their art. How long have they been selling their art and if not long then don't set thoses prices high. Are you a well known artist in your area? Do you have clients already? I know some think it depends on the quality of the artwork, but it has been my experience it has more to do with being known as a working artist . The main thing to remember is to be consistent, the price should stay the same regardless of the time spent in creating the art, and have no respect of persons

(meaning sell the same size painting at the same price to everyone) I recently read an article about this question and found it to be very informative. So I asked the author for permission to rewrite it here for my friends in art. You will see his link at the bottom of the article.

The Surefire Way To Price Your Paintings

Would you like to have a massive advantage over 90% of all the other artists currently trying to win gallery representation? This one simple tip is about to put you miles ahead of your fellow artists.This is a practical, fail safe, foolproof way of pricing your paintings. It was handed on to me by a gallery owner.There is a sensible, logical way to price your paintings. It?s a centimetre or inch rate. Let? say, for example that an artist decides his starting rate will be10 cents per square centimetre. That means if the artist paints a 40cm x50cm canvas, he has painted a total of 2000 square centimetres(40x50=2000) At 10 cents per square centimetre, his asking price for the painting is $200. This is regardless of how long the painting took to create. If it takes three days, three hours or three months, the asking price must be $200. .Suddenly your pricing structure makes sense... to everyone

From this point the gallery can suddenly make sense of the artist?s pricing,and that?s very important. It also means that every painting you now create will make pricing sense to your clients. A large painting should be priced in exact proportion to a small painting and this method makes it possible and automatic. There?s no emotion here. It?s black and white mathematics.Supposing a client comes into the gallery, sees your work, and decides to commission a painting from you. How much will you charge? How would the gallery possibly handle the client enquiry? ?Yes, of course he can paint your commission. I just don?t know how much he will charge this week. It depends on what mood he is in?? I' ll say it again. Galleries dont like dealing directly with artists, and this is one very, very good reason why. But if a client were to commission a painting from an artist who uses a centimetre rate, the gallery only needs to know what size painting the client wants to instantly be able to work out exactly what the price will be, how much commission to add, and therefore they can confidently quote the client a price. Simple! Selecting a starting rate is an entirely personal decision. Don?t make the mistake of overpricing your work unless you"re happy to starve. If you"d rather be earning an income from your art you"ll choose a starting price that makes your art competitive. And remember also that your price is just the beginning of the pricing process. In our example above the artists base price was $200. But once it reaches the hands of the gallery, the final sale price is usually doubled. Will anyone pay $400 for your 40x50 canvases?Think carefully before you decide.Once you have a base price, you then need to work hard on justifying a centimetre rate increase. The more exhibitions you hold,the more art prizes you win, the more publicity you receive will enable you to justify gradual centimetre rate increases.

http://tonymoffitt.blogspot.com

Papa's Shoes

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:59:00 -0400

In honor of Father's Day I was asked to come up with something for Dads. I thought about my Dad coming in from work and taking off his shoes and socks in the living room. Times were different back then, Mom was a stay at home Mom and she would have dinner ready when Dad came in. We would all sit at the table and give thanks for the food and then the family would actually talk to one another. Our entertainment happened on a Saturday afternoon, Dad would call and end of the work day and Mom would get the ice cream and soda pop and we all would gather in the living room to watch championship wrestling at 3:00pm. Dad loved wrestling because his brother and him wrestled a lot when they were kids. I didn't like wrestling but I did enjoy the weekend treats. My brother would accuse me and my sisters of giving ourselves a larger portion than the boys, which we did deny. In truth he wasn't far from the truth.........(smile)