painting: On Green Dolphin Street

[helenic]

On Green Dolphin Street, Oil on Canvas, 8"x8"
FOR SALE - £80 ono

(click on the image to see an enlarged version)

I started this painting very shortly after these two, but it was left unfinished when I got ill and, in the way of unfinished projects, hung around for ages waiting for me to get round to it. Which I finally did last week, after issues of canvas-obtaining postponed the start of my next commission and left me with a couple of days and not much to do in them.

I'm not sure I'm going to do many more of these small Women Not Wearing Very Much paintings (or as borusa insists on referring to them, my "Hand Phase") unless there's specific interest - they were intended more as a way of getting me painting no matter what than as actual 'art' (although unlike a lot of people I have no moral issues with the art-as-interior-decorating phenomenon; aesthetics are everything, after all). That said, I had an idea this morning for a lovely little four-part series of white roses which you could hang on a stair case or similar, and I still have all the reference photos I took of Cambridge when I was planning to do a collection of small painted memoirs of the town (rather than the university). All of which would be less of a financial risk than Actual Art, and I'm still poor enough to have to care about such vulgar things as money.

I'm still debating whether to try and sell these on ebay or use them to build up enough of a collection to exhibit. Part of me rebels against the idea of exhibiting anything less than the big, narrative-based, exciting and meaningful paintings I have planned but can't afford to spend time on yet, but common sense suggests that exhibiting anything is better than nothing and if I've spent the time on these paintings (and, indeed, am trying to persuade my friends and acquaintances to buy them) I shouldn't be so quick to disparage them. So perhaps I should just shut up.

Comments

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

(or as borusa insists on referring to them, my "Hand Phase")

I think you'll find that was me. Specifically, your Single Hand phase, as they each have only one hand in them. :)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Was it you? I get confused sometimes about which of you made which sarky comment when :)

[aiwendel.livejournal.com]

tis an excellent painting. :)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

thankyou! :)

[vardebedian.livejournal.com]

common sense suggests that exhibiting anything is better than nothing

Is it? I'm a bit puzzled. If the point is to sell a bunch of deliberately-commercial painting, I'm not sure whether you're better off on eBay or an exhibition - I'm guessing eBay, cos it's a much larger market than you can possibly get through the door of a studio. I'd have thought the main benefit of an exhibition is to establish your name and reputation amongst exhibition-goers, and if you say that the stuff you've got to exhibit isn't what you want to be known for you'd be doing yourself positive harm in that respect.

Just FYI I'm very fond of white roses and in the process of decorating a new house...though you should also know that getting Elaine to agree to putting anything on a wall is usually pretty tricky so I'm very far from being a guaranteed market.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Hrm, yes. You make a lot of sense. I still feel guilty about doing any deliberately commercial paintings that aren't commissions, but I really shouldn't. It's true that I don't have time yet to indulge myself and spend 2-3 weeks of emotionally invested work on a painting that I might not be able to sell; these little paintings are quicker, easier, more likely to appeal to buyers, and able to be sold for far less. They certainly arent' what I'd like to be known for. I'm waiting for a certain development in the modelling work I'm doing which will give me the financial freedom to take artistic risks, but in the meantime at least it's practice, and it's stuff I can add to the portfolio. Ebay it is, then :)

[whatifoundthere.livejournal.com]

etsy (http://www.etsy.com/) strikes me as a much, much better market than eBay, since people browsing etsy are actually looking for original art. It's also (IMO) a much warmer, friendlier, site, with a funky search system.

eBay is a large market but it's also awfully diffuse, and I'm not sure there's any real way to get noticed there unless you flog like mad on other websites.

You'd be surprised how much money you can make (on these shores, anyway) hanging art in coffee shops. I think a piece like this would be snapped up within days.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Oooh, thankyou for the link :) I will definitely try that before Ebay.

I'm not sure how to go about hanging art in coffeeshops. I figure I probably need more than a couple of pieces before I approach someone, though.

[cavalorn.livejournal.com]

Who was the model? She's lovely.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

I don't know her name - this is loosely based on a lingerie photoset by Philippe Vaurès Santamaria. She ended up looking quite different from the reference, though, especially her face. One of the things I like about doing a painting that isn't a portrait commission is being able to have artistic licence with how people look :)

[tar0r.livejournal.com]

Wow, your work is amazing. :]

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Thankyou very much! :)

[twi-light.livejournal.com]

Very nice :-) Impressed!!

[libellum.livejournal.com]

thankyou! :)

[smhwpf.livejournal.com]

That's gorgeous. Very interesting expression you've caught on her. Good stuff!

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Mmmm, and nothing at all like the photo reference :) The face hasn't changed at all since you saw this at Trowbridge - that's how long it took me to get round to finishing this! Thankyou, though :)

[oldwallpaper.livejournal.com]

Hi there, I was wondering if you'd mind an add - you were recommended by one glitzfrau. The painting above is really striking... I had no idea people used Livejournal for such productive purposes! :)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Not at all! I am flattered and baffled at being recommended by the delightful Glitz - I hope I live up to whatever she's said!

[oldwallpaper.livejournal.com]

Certainly you will, by the looks of your art anyhow!

Added :)