Abstract Art Blog

Getting the best digital files of your art

When you have your artwork photographed, especially for use in making giclee prints, does your photographer give you the right kind of digital files?  It's important for artists to document their work properly, because once an original is sold, it's too late. 

Quality slides and color transparencies were the preferred documentation method some years ago, but in this digital age, there is a different standard.  As an artist, I didn't pay a lot of attention to this issue.  I took my own digital photos which were good enough for my website, but not much else.  Once I started having giclee prints made of my work, my printmaker did the photography (and sometimes scanning) to create the high-resolution file necessary for large prints.

Recently my new printmaker Jim Kirsner, who I must disclose is also my brother-in-law, pointed out that the format of  a digital file is critical to historical documentation.  Here he is in his own words:

"When your printer gives you a CD with the image, are they giving you the original capture files (usually TIFF or Raw) or are you getting JPGs?

"Are you getting clean files (unedited) as well as the optimized print file (mostly only of value to your Printer's printer)?

"Not important, you say.  Well it is if you, say, move out of the area and have to start up again with a new Giclee printer.  Or, what do you do if your current printer ceases operation? Can you recover with less than pristine digital files?  Of course you can, eventually and at considerable editing expense.  Why risk it?  Simply request copies of the original captures from whoever is doing them for you, they are your property!

"I can not emphasize too strongly the importance of possessing the original, unedited, un-color corrected file, the negative, if you will.  There are many of you who have a considerable Giclee business.  That high quality, unedited file (no JPGs, only TIFFs or RAW files) is the raw material of your Giclee business, especially when you've sold the original.  No file, no Giclee.  Questionable file, more expense, maybe not the same quality Giclee."

Jim has been making my Giclee prints for the last few months, as well as working with other area artists.  For more information, check out his website at fineartprintbyjim.com.

Art Trail A Success

This past two weekends I had my studio open to visitors, as did 53 other artists in the greater Ithaca, New York region.  We had perfect weather, which brought people in from Canada, New York City, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut, as well as from our local communities.

I sold several prints of my most popular painting, Culmination:

Culmination is the image I put in the Art Trail brochure, and many visitors commented on it.

I wasn't sure how sales would be, since the country (and the world) are facing scary economic times,  but I had my best Art Trail season ever.

One of the original paintings I sold was a floral design on paper:

I also offer this image, Abstract Flower Six,  in limited edition giclee prints on canvas.

Some things I learned from this year's Art Trail:  

• Always mark items clearly with pricing so visitors don't have to ask.
• Offer inexpensive items such as cards, calendars and prints, as well as original art, so that everyone can afford to purchase something.
• Introduce yourself to everyone who comes and ask them something about themselves.
• Be sure to have biographical material about yourself available for those who want to view it.
• Provide a mailing-list sign-up sheet.
• Offer a simple snack like cookies or chocolate.
• Have help if possible.  At times I was a bit overwhelmed handling everything by myself.  Luckily my daughter arrived just as I was trying to wrap two original paintings I'd sold.

All in all, I am very pleased.  In addition to sales and possible new clients, I also got to meet other artists and was invited to participate in a group show next year. 

 

Greater Ithaca Art Trail Open Studio Weekends

Check out the Greater Ithaca Art Trail  for  maps and information on 54 artists showing their work in 49 studios which will be open this weekend and next (October 18 and 19) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  I worked like crazy last week vacuuming, moving furniture, and organizing my art in order to get ready for it. 

The Art Trail open studios are a once-a-year event in the fall when the leaves are turning and the weather is still beautiful here (depending on the weekend--this one is great).  I like them because I get to talk to people about my work face-to-face, which I don't get a chance to do when I sell from my website or galleries.

Preparing my studio for the art trail also gives me a chance to stop and reflect on what I have accomplished during the year.  I have so many new paintings to show for my efforts, and that feels good.  But stopping my work flow in order to have a passably neat studio for two weekends also gives me a chance to think about what direction I want to go in next year. 

With the economy in its crazy free-fall, maybe I should just hunker down and conserve what I have, but I am an optimist, so I will continue to take on new projects and to think of my life as expanding rather than contracting.

The last painting I completed before getting ready for the trail was the second of two canvases for a commission I received recently:

  Matrix 2, 56" x 42"

Now I will put out some chocolate candy and get ready for the crowd!

Painting an Abstract Commission

   Commissioned Abstract Painting

Recently I was talking to some artist friends about painting commissions.  One friend was complaining that her client wanted a painting of their house which listed all kinds of very specific criteria that had to be included.  Another also complained about clients "talking too long" about what they wanted and said she felt like charging them more for the longer they talked.

I mentioned that I also was working on a commission, but since I make non-representational abstract paintings, I didn't really have this problem of the client asking for too many specifics.  "I need to get the colors right," I said, "and to express a feeling, mood or idea."   

Is that easier or harder than having a specific subject matter to paint?  I think it is just "different," and that each kind of project depends on the artist's particular expertise and talent. 

One thing that makes it easier for me to paint commissions is that I always paint two canvases instead of just one.  That frees me up so that I can be more spontaneous.  If I mess up one, I still have the other.  It also allows me to paint one canvas in a narrow interpretation of the client's desires, and the other in a freer, looser style.  And then they get to choose. 

The image above is my first attempt, almost complete.  Below is the beginning of my second attempt:

End of Summer Gloom

Cool September days in the northeast remind us that dark winter days are ahead.  In Ithaca, NY, where I live, there is an abundance of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).  In the past, I never thought I was affected by the approach of winter, since it lessened the guilt I would feel about staying inside all the time working.  But this Fall has been difficult.

Nevertheless, I completed one last Tic-Tac painting:

   Tic Tac Five, 44" x 44"

I also finished one in similar colors and composition, but without the tic-tac motif:

  Crescendo, 48" x 48"

Now I have to start work on a new commission, a 42 x 56 canvas to be hung in a health consulting firm's conference room.   

More Tic Tac Toe Paintings

Trying to paint with a tic-tac-toe theme has been extremely frustrating.  I never imagined I would have so much trouble doing it.  I guess for me, having a design in my head to begin with doesn't allow me to be spontaneous and free. 

I worked a bit more on Tic-Tac-Toe-3:

Tic Tac Three, 48" x 48" 

I like it better now, but would have made different choices if I'd had a chance to do it again.

Here's one that is looser and doesn't follow the design literally:

  Tic Tac Four, 30" x 30"

It is Labor Day, and all the Cornell and Ithaca College students are back on campus.  A friend of ours just moved here after getting 3 adjunct classes to teach at Tompkins Cortland Community College.  He will live with us until he finds his own place.

Summer is over.

Tic-Tac-Toe Paintings

  Tic Tac One, 36" x 36"

Recently someone challenged me to paint the theme "Tic-Tac-Toe," and I made three attempts.  The above was the first.  Since I often use the symbols X and O in my paintings, I didn't think I'd have too much problem taking the theme a step further into a more literal expression of tic-tac-toe.  But I found it quite difficult to be both literal and my usual loose, expressive self. 

In my second attempt, I was much looser, but still a bit too literal:

  Tic Tac Two, 30" x 30"

My last attempt was a very large painting that took a tremendous amount of time and energy, but still seems too static:

  Tic Tac Three, 48" x 48"

I am going to pursue the tic tac theme further, and will keep you posted on the results.

Early Abstract Paintings

  Crossroads, 36" x 36"

Over the years, my sister Laura and her husband have collected a lot of my art.  When they moved to Ithaca this year, I got to see it all.  It's always instructive to see what I was painting earlier in life, such as the above piece from 1989.

"Crossroads" was painted when I lived in San Diego, and I believe the piece below was also:

  Outland Paths, 60" x 60"

I see that I loved line then, and that love has carried over into my present work. 

For a short period, I included bits of text into my paintings.  This one was painted when I lived in Alexandria, Virginia:

  I Love Ice Cream, 40" x 40"

Looking back, I'm not sure what was going on in my head, but some of the phrases included (as well as the title phrase) are "believe," "now," and "before we judge."

Looking over work from our past is a bit like revisiting our earlier selves. In it we see the signs that led to current directions in our art. 

Naming an Abstract Painting

  Abstract Canvas #46 48" x 48"

After completing this painting recently, I needed to find a name for it.  Some artists may have a name in mind when they begin a painting, but I never do.  It's not until I photograph it after it's finished, usually, that I come up with a name.  At that point, some images suggest a name immediately, like this one:

Splash, 44" x 44"

With canvas #46, however, no name immediately came to mind.  But I was listening to a Leonard Cohen album, and the words "what they meant" struck me.  This phrase is abstract enough that it works as a title for abstract art.  Here's the painting on my website:  What They Meant.

Do titles of abstract paintings really matter?  When I was young, I refused to name my paintings because I didn't want to influence what the viewer saw in them.  Some non-objective  (non-representational) painters  give their canvases numbers rather than titles for this reason. 

But it is unwieldy to use numbers, and I believe my clients would prefer to have a painting with an actual title rather than a number.  In fact, sometimes the name is a big influence in the sale.  Someone purchased a print of my painting, "Laughing Lotus" because of the name.  It was a gift for the owner of a yoga center.  I'm sure the buyer also liked the painting, but they found it by searching for the word "lotus" on the internet.  Here it is:

Laughing Lotus 48" x 48"

Since I am bipolar, and sometimes depressed when I paint, there were times when I would give a painting a name with a negative connotation.  I did a series of "death paintings" for example, in which the word "death"  appeared subtly in each canvas.  I titled them "Death Painting One . . . Two . . ." and so forth.  Now that is an extreme example of how not to name your art if you want to sell it.

Death Painting One

Starving Artists

Every so often I hear from an artist who is struggling to make a living, struggling to find time to paint, and struggling to market their art.  Most artists in the United States do not make a living by selling their art.  Some find commercial ways to use their talents--in advertising, business web design, interior design, etc.  Some get MFA degrees and teach.  Others work at anything they can find to put food on the table, making art evenings, weekends, or in the early morning. 

I heard from a young artist today who is struggling simply to put food on the table, with little time for her art or the marketing of it.  My heart goes out to her, for I spent much of my life dealing with the same struggle. 

Our art requires much of us, and what it gives us in return is often unrelated to financial success.  Yet we are bound to pursue it.  I always felt much worse when I wasn't making art, no matter what else was going on in my life. 

Here are two canvases I've been working on, one complete and one not:

  Canvas #44  60" x 60"

  Canvas #46  48" x 48"