Today I launched my first painting collection. What a feeling. It’s hard to describe. It’s quite scary putting pieces of yourself out into the world and simply hoping people will like them enough to bring home with them. It’s been so wonderful at the same time to have spent over two months creating these 10 pieces to give to the world and they’re finally here, all together.
The Inspiration
I’ve admired so many artists for so long that paint with very obvious and large brush strokes. They don’t seem to even attempt to blend or layer. The brush hits the surface and then that’s it, the stroke is done. One of my favorite artists (Teddi Parker) calls this “mark making.” Very deliberate brush stroke placement that results in a beautiful image. Another artist that I love (Sarah Sedwick) calls it “loose realism” and even teaches classes on limiting brush strokes. One of her exercises involves picking an object and painting it in 25 brush strokes, then 20, then 15, then 10. The results are incredible and it really forces you to think about the way that you paint and how many brush strokes are really necessary.
This, impressionism, and palette knife painting are my three favorite types of art. Whether the subject be portraits, landscapes, still life, or something else all together, the art simply draws me in like nothing else. I wanted to create this more than anything. So I went with big, broad, and bold brush strokes. I wanted to paint with a single flat brush and layer the brush strokes and colors until I was happy with the result. And I was!
I started with “Trellises to Climb” and worked my way through “Seed Starters.” I wanted to play with color more than I had been, so I experimented with adding slashes of vibrant colors into the dirt. The results were so fun! I ended up painting the dirt the same way in every painting in this collection because I loved it so much. I added deep blues and reds to the browns and blacks and mixed them together in every combination I could think of and spread them across the canvas like butter.
The other thing I really liked about this style is that it’s not too realistic. I didn’t have to focus so hard on the details, just on the idea of details. I wanted to layer the colors in such a way that it seemed like detail but wasn’t really.
The inspiration behind the subject matter itself is much more straightforward and I think I’ve written about it before. I wanted an even number of both plant and animal themed paintings, all showcasing different moments of life just beginning on the farm or homestead. This is the beginning of my journey to becoming a full time artists and I wanted to start with that hopeful, youthful, abundant, and strong growing energy.
The Paintings
My sister is always out there supporting me no matter what and I couldn’t ask for a better sister. She’s the type to show everyone she knows my artwork even if they aren’t remotely interested, she’ll show them every last painting anyways and I love her for it. She even sold The New Farmhand to a friend of hers on the military base in Alaska where she’s stationed. That’s already more than I expected to sell in the first week if I’m being honest lol. She might even have a friend interested in a digital pet portrait for his wife!
I added two bonus paintings to the collection on the final week before the launch that only my mailing list was able to view. I was hoping to attract more people to the mailing list with that as an incentive. I also included the option to shop the collection 24 hours early with a password I sent in the emails.
The rest of the paintings that haven’t sold yet will be looking for homes in the coming weeks. Anything that doesn’t sell by this Friday will be coming with me to a fair on Saturday in my town. I’m so excited, it will be the first time I’ve shown my work anywhere but online. I hope I can connect with the people in my town and show them that my art is worth hanging in their homes. I went shopping yesterday for all of the equipment to set up the stand and I can’t wait.
In Other News
On a totally different note, I thought for sure I was losing my job last week. We had a team meeting where it was announced that the budget for one department (that supplies all of our work) was diverted in the company. Our boss said we would all have to find other areas of the company to help out with for the last six months of this year as there will be no more hours allotted for us after July. I have been cross training on our sister team for a couple of months now and so it was decided that I would jump in full time with them beginning right away. I took a position on the evening shift with them and begin this Tuesday.
When I tell you I nearly shat myself. I thought I was losing my job and somehow I got something like a…promotion? I don’t know if I should be thinking of it that way as my official job title hasn’t changed, but they said at the end of the year I can decide if I really want to come back to the team I’m on now or stay with the team I’ll be joining in a few days, and this team I’m joining is higher up in the company. I anticipate that I won’t be coming back to the team I’m on now. I think this new position will be a better fit. BUT, you never know what will happen in a year. I could go viral tomorrow and sell all of my paintings and become a full time artist overnight! 🙂
