Saturday, February 14, 2009
Patricia and I went back to the Plastics Club today to see what response they've had on their Small Worlds Exhibition. I wanted to see just what kind of paintings/photos/collages/constructions people actually will pay money to own.
Well, the Curator met us with a long face and talked about the state of the economy and how, as a result, nobody is buying art these days. Of the 182 items in the exhibition, red sales stickers were on THREE - two miniatures (about 2" x 3") listed at $20 and $150, and one larger painting listed at $300. I guess amateur artists just aren't going to get rich on sales of their works this year. Pity.
I have been really struggling with Walt Whitman - or, the Thomas Eakins version of him. But at long last I've had a breakthrough. I knew that I'd painted the background a bit too black, but thought it was "close enough" - see the photo from my last post. But I finally bit the bullet and changed the background to dark brown, and also darkened his jacket to match Eakins' portrait. As Ted Xaras tells us repeatedly: "Make just one change in a painting, and it will change EVERYTHING." So with that background change I suddenly had to pull that background brown into his hair and beard, then because of that I had to reconfigure the highlights in his face. Everything pops now, and it really looks pretty good! FINALLY!!!!
This also confirms Ted's admonition to NEVER go for something that is "good enough." Always go for hitting the ball out of the ballpark, nothing less.
I don't yet have a photo of what Walt looks like now, but will post that soon enough.
