PRINTS – LINO AND WOODCUTS

Since I bought a print bench for etching, lino and woodcuts, I have experimented quite a lot with it. This is some of the initial observations on a possible process:-
1. Do a full scale drawing and the drawing must work. (I must say at this stage I am in such a hurry that I have to go back and do proper drawings – again and again!
2. From this drawings do some kind of design – simplify and try and “design” the drawing – alter it into simplified forms that will be easy to engrave and cut out or chisel out.
3. Get the mirror image of this design and transfer that on your medium – (wood/lino/copper plate/ etc.)
4. Do the engraving or carving or etch work.
5. Make test prints on scrap paper.
6. Make corrections based on the prints – don’t overwork – go slow at this stage.
7. Make prints.
Basically three quality areas-
1. The drawing or design work
2. The engraving/carving or etch work
3. The print work
If anyone of the three above fails, the finished product fails. I have without extensive studying made this observation from experience and would like to record it from the outset.
Obviously all the other detailed stuff that other people rave about is also true – the quality of the paper, the ink, the adjustments on the etch press and lots of other details in the carving process or etch process but these three listed are control points. All three are equally important – if you fail one, it fails; and only when all three are good work, the end result is good!

ON PAINTING STYLE AND INFLUENCES

While going to exhibition after exhibition I hear some people comment on my painting style – this is what I search for and in my opinion is that the following helps you to define it:-
1. Firstly it is qualified by how you draw – if it is in great detail and precise then your paintings could be very photogenic or with elaborate detail; if your drawing not in great detail, then your painting would also not be in great detail. If it is just clean lines then your painting will also reflect clean lines and spaces. The uniqueness of your painting could be found in the different way in which you draw.
2. The amount of colors that you use and how you use them – do you use dirty/broken colors by mixing or do you like to use “clean” paint, impasto, etc. This has a direct bearing on the brightness, contrasts, etc. etc. of your painting. Do you use it thick, thin or layers and how do you apply it with oft or bristle brushes or palette knife or other instruments?
3. I believe many will disagree with me that the subject matter that you like to paint influences your style and especially in how you interpret it or what other message you have in your subject matter, how simple or naïve or even complex it might be.
4. The fourth influence on your style of painting is your schooling or “masters” that you respect. One can clearly see some resemblances creeping in over time or there is just something that reminds you of another artist or great master.
5. A last influence is the emotional intelligence of the artist. It is very easy to “read” the personality of the artist or his emotional condition by observing his paintings. Is the artist very happy by nature or is the artist depressed, is he outgoing, does he communicate and have easy exchange with other people? One artist for example very seldom show any human beings in his paintings….Another just paint people – many people together engrossed in some activity or portraits. The emotional intelligence can also then be gleaned from observing the something more and something else in the painting.

The important factor though is to qualify your art style and to grow in it. I think a certain deliberate effort to enforce your own unique style must be made – deliberate effort and to evaluate it: put some works or photos of it next to one another and compare it.
I don’t think you have to adapt in any way if you follow the process of developing and maintaining and growing your own unique style.

In conclusion it is needed for one to from time to time experiment and play and add “new” techniques and influences to your style. Never undermine or compromise creativity and a certain artistic freedom that goes with it even if it does not look like some of your other work. Let it influence you. There are people who would copy a certain artists in subject matter and in process and only later to come back and to do their own work again; but now “influenced” and changed by that exercise. The same could be said for working with another artist or additional training etc. All these can be influences on creativity and your style.

COLOR BALANCE

A very easy process:
1. Take a photo of your work, download it unto your pc, view it on a viewer(Microsoft Office Picture Manager) "zoomed out" . This way the photo is much smaller and the colors closer to one another and you see an error so much easier.
2. Now correct that error on your painting.
3. Take a photo again and go through the same process again. Repeat the process until you are happy with the color balance.

MARKETING YOUR ART - KEEP ON KNOCKING

I have been thinking about this topic since that is quite a difficult subject for artists and many of us are not top sales or marketing people. The following conclusions :-
1. Study marketing by yourself. Get marketing books and do your own research. Maybe you get a new idea or concept.
2. Keep on knocking on the doors of the commercial galleries. Just go there once in a while and show your work. The day comes that there is an open door.
3. Explore auction houses especially those that auction artworks.
4. Try contemporary galleries for limited time exhibitions either by yourself or with a group.
5. Update your website and all related links.
6. Keep selling your art at your house.
7. Put a price on your artwork - do not let it go cheap. Get the mental picture of a good price fixed in your mind. Identify with it fully. Price some of your work at home accordingly.
8. Be open to ideas from other artists and the related industry.
9. Exhibit regularly with all galleries open to you - be there!
10. Improve your artwork! There is a market for good art. But in improving it be real - do your own work, original and honest art because in the end that will work!

AUTOGRAPHING OR SIGNING YOUR OIL PAINTINGS AND DATING IT.

Two issues are significant here. The one is how you sign your artwork and the other is if you should date it or not.
Autographing or signing – should you sign it very “professionally” or artistically or hide it? That it blends into your color range? Many questions, but the one you should answer is what are other artists, which are painting similar works as yours, what are they doing? Do you find reason in it?
I think the best option is to blend your artistic signature and date that the worked was completed into the artwork in such a manner that:-
1.It does not draw attention to itself.
2.It does not compete with the focus point or main area of interest of your painting.
3.It still contributes somewhat to the balance of the painting or at least does not skew the balance.
4.But it must still be clearly seen on inspection.
If you should do it differently like contrasting color or bright or very noticeable style etc. however, that is your prerogative.
Some artists only put their initials while others put the whole name and surname and even some only the name. If the style is very significant and can easily be distinguished then that could be done. Some artists also sign their work or index their work at the back of the painting as well as dating it.
As to dating your artwork – the older you are, the more important dating becomes. The problem is that you cannot go back to some work that now hangs in a gallery or in another country or in some unknown house or study. By dating it retrospective exhibition could be managed a little easier at a later age. The verdict? I think it is good to date your work.
Final thought and this is just an artist’s opinion – do you want to leave a legacy of artwork? Properly sign it somewhere and date it – alternatively if you only just want to make a sale then do whatever your artistic mind can come up with. Just be consistent or strive more or less to come to some place of doing it with some reason.Or make some artistic statement!

PRICING YOUR ARTWORK

The pricing of your works are really up to you. That’s the fact – you choose your price!
But you must remember that a good marketing person can sell your work for much higher amounts. However for you to be a serious artist and to avoid later problems with resale values or with "investors" and galleries, it is better that you determine your price. Whatever somebody else then sell it for has nothing to do with you. If works are overpriced and sold by a good salesperson and later are sold again and the price are significantly less, you as an artist get a bad reputation and it will influence your sales.
So how do you price your artwork?
The starting point is twice what it would have cost you to frame it. As your art style and quality of your work increase and you begin to sell more then increase it to two and a half or three times the framing price and later on raise it again. You will get a feel for your price! Beware though of cheap thin plastic frames - rather frame it properly! If a work does not need a frame but can hang as a board or canvass just like that ask yourself what it would have cost you to frame it and start with that.
If one work is of a much greater artistic value than some of your other work because it is just a better work, ask your price and motivate it that way! You are the artist - you ask your price! Sometimes the price can simply be doubled and your sales can increase if you have started with less rather than more!
It is always better to see your art being sold again by the original buyer for higher prices than lower. This way you get a good reputation and your work could enter certain markets as investment art! That is the ideal! This is why you must determine it carefully if you are a serious artist! You don't want to upset old customers and collectors!
Price your work carefully and be consistent and treat your customer with integrity!

VALUE OF THUMBNAIL DRAWING

The thumbnail drawing is made on very inexpensive paper and the drawing is made very roughly emphasizing the tonal values only in three – areas of white, dark and medium scale. Many of these drawings can be made so that one can find the ideal composition as well as the basic tonal values. The maximum size of the drawing is about 5cm by 10 cm but can be smaller. I choose this size because it easily fits on A4 ordinary printing paper and clipboard and therefore easy to handle out of doors. I also very roughly scale the drawing so that I can transfer the outline to my canvass or board.
The value of the thumbnail is simply this – if it works on this small scale in three tones and it makes sense, then it will work on a larger scale. Once it is transferred to my larger canvass, I work very intuitively and make further adjustments but I always have my reference material in the drawing and the actual photo. I have deliberately not just transferred a photo to my canvass – I first draw and already prepare my mind on problem areas when I am going to actually paint it.