Things I Learned as an Oil Painter: Thing #20

4 min read

Deviation Actions

maccski's avatar
By
Published:
1.5K Views
Thing #20 and still a ways to go! This is a big one:

If you plan to paint seriously, then seriously plan.

I think the big thing for me, in terms of staying focused and motivated, is planning. At any point I know at least the next 3 paintings that I'll tackle.  I know how big they are, why I'm painting them, where (I hope) they will end up, when (I hope) they will be done and sometimes I even have a plan-B in case the intended audience doesn't bite. It's never set in stone and I have to remain flexible because things come up. I don't spend sleepless nights beating myself up about a painting taking twice as long as expected, because priority #1 is not the time taken, but the quality of the end product, right?

I'm sure that this will all sound a bit too much like a job to some of you, but I know what my life artistic is like without it. Up until early 2011 I didn't do this and I simply drifted along with negligible progress. I was a "kinda-sorta-painter". When I finally resolved to make a go of this art thing, I needed to figure out what to paint way in advance. No more showing up at the easel clueless. To me, that would be an express bus to artist's block.  The time taken planning is more than paid back in painting time.

I mentioned I know the reason why I'm painting each piece. The "why" is all about what draws me to a subject (the shadows, light, lines and shapes). I find I like to alternate between complicated cityscapes and loose flowing natural landscapes. The intense perspective and piecing together of a city piece is extremely rewarding, but draining for me. It takes time and, for some reason, I like to do 'em big. Once done I need to cut loose and dash off a quick landscape or two. It's like my kids going nuts running around after a long road trip. My last "going nuts" session produced 4 reasonably sized landscapes in 11 days (that's a lot for a guy with a day job).

The "where" in the plan refers to upcoming shows, galleries or specific buyers (from commissions). I'm a member of one national and two local artists' organizations and they organize group exhibitions throughout the year.  To avoid getting caught without a coherent body of work to show or with nothing at all (gasp) to show, I plan way ahead. I spend months before the exhibition working out what I'm going to submit and when I need to paint it. I work backwards from the show date, building in a minimum of a month's drying time and a week or two for framingp. I also want to make sure that (ideally) the same piece doesn't show up at the same show two years running. I'm also in a gallery and the owner is doing a pretty good job of selling my work, so I have to keep "feeding the beast" (no, the owner's not a beast; it's just an expression). On top of that, I'm lucky enough to get commissions here and there, so I also have to plan around the client's needs. Without a plan I couldn't possibly make everything fit together and keep my sanity.

The plan-B is something I've only recently started. It's great to sell paintings, but it's also great to have a back-up plan. Sometimes this will mean that I paint a particular piece for two shows. In this way, the plus side of not selling is not having to paint so much for the next show. Also, if your're shrewd about how you select works for shows, your "old" work will be seen by a new crowd.

Right now I'm planning thing #21...

Why am I posting this stuff? maccski.deviantart.com/journal…

Take a look at my Facebook page...if you like it, please "Like" it! www.facebook.com/MontrealArtis…


© 2013 - 2024 maccski
Comments8
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
hannacoy's avatar
Wow, thanks for writing this -- it's helpful to see the 'nuts and bolts' of how people succeed at painting.  I think I am where you describe yourself pre-2011, and I'm not sure if I am ready to go to the next level of organization yet, but this is good to read.