The small pieces are finished!

As a follow up to my last post, I wanted to share with you the finished pieces.  I really love they came out.  Enjoy!

#25 matted and ready to go!

#6 matted and ready to go

My My

Pretty in Peach

#25

Starting large, Ending small

paint and handmade papers

I have been having the best time lately working on large sheets of watercolor paper that that I will use to create small 5" x 5" pieces.  I start by painting the base coat  randomly.  Then I add more paint, some handmade paper, some photographs, some magazine papers, and tape to create the next layer.  More paint detailing is next.

4-5 layers in

I  use a cut up piece of cardboard to create a 5" x 5" opening so I can pick the areas I want to work with to create my final small pieces. I love working large and then not really knowing how the small pieces will look.  I love the randomness of it all.

I draw the squares in pencil, cut them out and end up with quite a few small pieces that I will matte and possibly frame.  I will add a few more layers to these small pieces and then they will be ready for my show in Manayunk http://manayunk.com/signature-events/manayunk-arts-festival/ at the end of June.

Selling paintings is so much more than about the money

This week an old friend from PA contacted me about purchasing a fairly recent painting I had for sale and had been publicizing  a lot.  She said it made her happy every time she saw any photo that I posted.  She said she really wanted it but was having some marital problems and dealing with a lot, not all good.  She said she really wanted to hang it in her own place one day but if it sold she would contact me to paint another painting just for her.   So I put it up for sale at a show I had on Sunday and it was getting a lot of attention.  I thought for sure it would sell that day but around lunch my friend got back in touch with me and told me to mark it SOLD!  She wanted it even if she had to make payments on it.  She said that my painting had become her inspiration to move forward and to find peace and happiness.  I am so touched.  And moved.  And most importantly, I do hope that it will give her the happiness and the strength she needs to move on with her life.

Beauty

PainterPaige hard at work

I thought you all would be interested in seeing all of the hard work that goes into my booth set-up each and every time I sell at a local show.  First we have to pack up the car with everything, drive to our location, figure out where exactly our spot is, then unload everything.  Then we have pop up the tent, put together all of the display panels, hang all of the artwork in the best spots possible and set up the table that holds my smaller pieces along with marketing materials and the ever important sign-up sheet.  But I love the way my booth looks when its all done.

My assistant hard at work

Early in the set-up stage

Have to get it just right

Ready for business!

The story of how I became PainterPaige

I think I was an abstract artist as a child.  As long as I can remember  I have always loved drawing and doodling.  As a kid I would sit for hours with a box or crayons and a pad of paper.  I will fill pad after pad with scribbles and doodles that I  would then spend time filling in with different color crayons from my box of 64.  I would do this endlessly.  My father used to be able to copy pictures he saw and I was in such awe of him being able to draw so well.  I think this was when I realized that people could actually draw things that actually looked like the real thing.  It seemed impossible to me.

Me about 10

 

The first time I knew I had some talent was in 3rd grade.  All of the 3rd graders in my city were asked to create “Be Friends With Animals” posters.  My teacher pulled me aside and asked me to stay after school to keep working on mine.  I didn’t really think much of it.  That is until the principal interrupted our class one day and I was called to stand in front of the room.  My first thought that I was in trouble, but no she told everyone that I won 3rd place and she presented me with a certificate and $3. My poster hung in city hall for a month.  It was a huge deal for me back in elementary school.

My elementary school in Allentown, PA

 

But art for me became a thing of the past when I started to get self-conscious and intimidated by my peers.  No way was I going to put any art out there for their review  or possible ridicule so I stuffed down my love of art for many years.  Even when I wasn’t creating art all of those years, I always knew that I wanted to be an artist.  How to become one, I wasn’t so sure.  Since I didn’t create anything while in high school  I had nothing to submit to art school.  Plus my parents were way too practical to let their daughter study something like art.  So I majored in communications where I knew I would at least have a chance to take some art classes as part of the curriculum.  

Fast forward 10 years later, I am married with two small children.  I still desired to be an artist or something in a creative field so I went back to college to get my interior design degree.  I was obsessed with decorating my home and thought I had some real talent.  But after two years of study I dropped out when I had no more money to invest in the program.

My family back in the day

 

A few years later I took  a floorcloth painting class  and that class changed everything for me.  I fell in love painting with acrylics and loved the entire process of taking my ideas and seeing them actually take shape.  I put a few floorcloths around my house and starting getting a lot of compliments and was encouraged to start selling them.  It went well right away and the response was really positive.  I sold  floorcloths for about 4 years until the economy took a turn for the worst and trying to sell anything became extremely difficult.   Many of my customers and admirers kept asking why I didn’t paint canvases but I honestly still felt so intimidated.  Painting floorcloths were one thing because I didn’t consider them “real” art.  

One of my favorite floorcloths

Another fun one!

 I don’t know what exactly made me paint that first canvas but I know I haven’t looked back since.   My love of painting has grown with each and every painting I create.  And slowly the intimidation has worn off.  People say my paintings make them feel happy.  I can’t think of a better compliment.  I’m living my dream.  And I guess I can finally call myself an artist.  

At a recent indoor art show

Art Business 2015

I have been working hard the last couple of months concentrating on how to build up my client/follower base in order to sell more paintings on-line.  I am happy with my in-person sales but I have been researching other sites that would be a good fit for PainterPaige paintings.  ImageKind was recommended to me so I have been working furiously for the last week to upload my pieces to this site.  It is a place to go where you can purchase prints or canvas prints of your favorite art for a very reasonable price. I feel very positive that this will a new revenue stream for my business.  I'll keep you posted on how its going.  My address is painterpaige.imagekind.com.

painterpaige/imagekind.com

Flower Power

I am having a fantastic time creating this very large 36" x 36" painting.  I knew I wanted to use colors that I don't normally pick and create a large flower painting.  I am so glad I picked the bright green background.  It makes all of the other colors really pop.  I'm not even close to being finished but I hope you love seeing my process as much as I love sharing it.

1st layer- bright green mixed with yellow

Some large flower shapes

adding details

The Pieces are Finished!

Here are the final pieces that I shared in my earlier post where I showed you my backgrounds and the first layer of spray paint.

I thought you would be interested to see how it all comes together and what they look like when they are finished.  I mounted them to hardboards last night and painted the edges this am.  They will be ready to sell this Sunday at Eastern Market DC.

I love SPRAY PAINT!

I love spray paint!  I love making collages.  I love the layering process.   It starts with 140lb mixed- media paper.  A few layers of paint.  Some spray paint.  More spray paint.  Some deli wrap and painted stamps.  Details  are next.

first layer - multiple coats of acrylic paint

Second layer- spray paint through stencils

Third layer- deli wrap and painted stamps

A new year. Welcome 2015

A new year.  A time to make new commitments.  To set new goals.  One of my goals every year is to blog more.  And every year so far, I have not kept that commitment.  Here it is January 27, 2015 and I haven't blogged since August.  AUGUST!  Oy.

I am still struggling with the "who cares what I have to say" fear.  But I am going to start anyway.

I am just going to write about my life as an artist.  My wins and failures.  My struggles and achievements.

Ok, I will start with some achievements from 2014.

1.  I  more than tripled my income from 2013!  Not bad, not bad at all.

2.  I was accepted at bigger and better shows.  Another good step.

3.  I have grown tremendously as an artist.  YAH.

4.  I have continuously put myself out there.  I let myself be vulnerable.

5.  I created my website and its up and running.  I printed cool business cards.

6.  I started selling prints of my work so that I don't have to keep reinventing the wheel over and over again.  I sold tote bags printed with my designs.  Keyword, is "sold"

7. My twitter followers has grown proportionately to how much effort I put into tweeting.  Funny how that works.

8.  I took my first in-person art business course.  I learned a lot and met some really great people.  A win-win.

9.  I still work full-time and do shows on the weekends, sometimes working 6-7 days a week and haven't given up.

10.  I survived!

The Evolution of a Painting

I thought some of you might enjoy getting a peek inside my process.  Hope you enjoy.