Catching the rain

Hello Little bird

Original oil painting 20x16"

by Susan Roux

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Did you receive an email from Eric Rhoads about catching the rain? He's the publisher of Fine Art Connoisseur and a few other artists publications. In it he talks about having alternative strategies in our difficult economy. Thinking outside the box, even looking outside the box, when seeking ways to market our art. We are all creative. I know a lot of you are marketing yourselves effectively over the internet. It does offer a wide range of avenues. I personally don't take advantage of them. I could learn a lot from many of you in this realm.

Frolicking

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I have been represented by galleries for the past decade. I sometimes have trouble with other marketing venues due to the prices my art requires, to stay abreast with my galleries. As you may already know, undercutting your gallery price is detrimental to your gallery relationship, your representation. I've struggled with this. It seems to limit my possibilities because I no longer have the freedom to fluctuate my prices to accommodate varying venues.

Hat Dance

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But I have to agree with Eric. As you may know, I hung my art at Nosh, a restaurant, for the month of March. I received less than a 24 hour notice before the show had to be hung. It would have been very easy to decline. But something made me hustle and get a nice selection of art on their walls. My prices remain high and sales were far from my hopes. At best I'd wished for a local gallery to stop in for lunch, see my latest girls and want to represent me.

Quite the contrary happened.

In one month's time, I sold seven paintings! I can't believe it. At a restaurant! I'm sharing this information with you so you won't close the door on opportunities you might think are pointless. We are all at different stages in our art journeys and what works for one person may not be the answer for the next. But keep your eyes and options open. Like Eric points out in his article, you need to reach out in different areas to find customers. Just imagine if I hadn't rushed to put an exhibit together in record time? I'd have missed all these sales...

Thank you my new collectors. You made my month!

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Don Hatfield's Workshop

Hat Dance

Original oil painting 24x18"

by Susan Roux

Everything is in order. The venue is booked, the local Inn has reduced rates for you and Don Hatfield is definitely coming to Maine in July to teach you. He's laid out all the specifics on his blog, so I won't regurgitate here. Just go pay him a visit.

I will tell you that you need to sign up through me. So if you're interested or thinking about it and need an extra nudge, contact me. There are four 3-day slots you could be booked into, so in order to keep it all straight, Don has me in charge of registration. If you are interested in being in the same class as a friend, let me know.

I told you about Don's humorous side and today I want to tell you about his dedication to teaching anyone who is driven to improve. Yes, I said dedication.

We are all aware that college art degrees nowadays fall very short of teaching the real principles of art and painting. It's been common knowledge that if an artist desires to really learn the specifics they must do so through an apprenticeship, mentorship or workshops. The real secrets are handed down from seasoned artists to beginners and intermediates. As time marches on, the greats of today are sensitive to this and want to ensure that the knowledge continues through generations and time.

As I see it, it's our purpose to learn as much as we can in order to pass our knowledge along. Otherwise, art and painting as we know it will be a dying art...

Here's where Don Hatfield comes in. He's interested in teaching you. Really teaching you. I hosted him last July and he taught a workshop to the locals. Since then I've been in weekly communication with him. Phone calls, emails, skype... you name it. Anything and everything I could do to keep him informed on my progress. If you've been following me since then, you know my drive to improve has been very strong. I have Don's support to thank for this. He's continually feeding me bits of information that help me progress forward.

I never knew what it would be like to have a mentor. Now that I have one, I can't possibly tell you how amazing it is. I've been teaching for years and find it so nice to have someone I can bounce my ideas off of and get real valuable input in return. It's like having the best teacher in the world at your disposal. Wow!

When you read his workshop page and he makes mention of staying as much in touch as you desire, he isn't kidding. Aside from the initial workshop fee, he asks nothing of you except to work hard at improving. How can you beat that? It's the deal of the century!

So incase you're sitting on the fence, wondering if you should sign up or not, do so. You won't regret it. Don won't try to mold you into something else. You can still paint your way. What he will do is teach you about relationships and open your mind and eyes to things you most likely miss. He's mastered it and can offer each person what they require for advancement. Many of my beginner students will be taking his workshop, so don't think you aren't advanced enough to take it. He'll help you at any level.

Hat Dance is my latest painting. I didn't refine her as much as the others in this series. For some reason I really liked her initial block in. She looked so fresh and summery. I decided to keep her and work the background to compliment the look. Each one of these evolves. I've been having so much fun. That's not to say I don't get frustrated from time to time, but watching them evolve on canvas, taking on a life, a personality of their own is a wonderful experience. I never know where it's going to take me when I begin...

Don't forget to sign up for Don's workshop. He won't teach you tricks or gimmicks just the real fundamentals that will help you improve. (Plus you'll get to meet me!)