Just a short blog today....
Portrait of Linda - current Issue (Spring '10) of Watercolor Magazine by Lori Woodward.

The last couple of weeks, I've been getting dozens of emails with requests to look at artists' websites, give them critiques, and answer their technical questions. So far, I've been answering.

However, in order to get my work done, I need to make a new policy. I won't be answering many individual questions or critiquing artists' work as their request. Just this week, I've received several dozen requests, and although I enjoy helping other artists, I'm beginning to burn out.

I write for several art publications, and so if you have a suggestion for a blog or article that might answer your question as well, please suggest away! I can't promise I'll answer on the spot, but it's nice to know what questions are out there.

Today and most of next week, I'll be in my studio working on an article for the summer issue of Watercolor Magazine - it'll be on painting rock formations. My blog on Fine Art Views normally goes out on Wednesdays. I do try to answer questions about art marketing on that forum, so if you want to be active there, please sign up at: http://fineartviews.com

I'm not the only writer there - and it's one of the best place online where you can learn to market your work. It's free.

I hope you understand why I can no longer meet the needs of everyone on an individual basis.

Sincerely,
Lori

My two main mentors these days are Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik, and... that's good news for you.

Nancy Guzik painting me from life

This past weekend, Richard counseled me on whether I should publish my own instructional books or go with a known company such as North Light Books. He said that since I don't have a ton of money to invest in self-publishing that I could go with North Light and it wouldn't cost me a dime. Sure, I wouldn't make much, but I'd get a lot of free press.

The really exciting thing is that Richard said I could start my lessons with, "Richard and I were discussing... Color... and this is what I learned". In other words, he's giving me outright permission to teach things I have learned from him. He's such a generous guy! 

I've also learned a ton from Nancy Guzik over the years, and I truly adore her paintings. She'll be teaching at American Artists' Weekend With the Masters 2010 in Laguna Beach. I"m so excited for her - this will be her teaching debut.

I've got to run off to Dennis Sheehan's workshop today - he's having a St. Patty's celebration with his 15 or so students. He invited some of us Putney Painters to join him, and his studio is close to my house. I'm planning on asking him if I can rent his studio to conduct a couple of workshops of my own: one on art marketing, and one on watermedia landscapes.

Painting in progress - by Richard Schmid:

Something Richard said this past weekend, really caught my attention. As we sat around the table eating lunch (which is Richard's monologue time), he explained that what subject we paint doesn't really matter because all we really can paint is "light". Without light, we can't see anything, and so we paint the way light falls on an object, and the reflected shadows within. The color is determined by the temperature of the light, and the local color of the object.

Here's a flower that Richard began painting on Saturday. The light source was cool light - making the shadows warm. He usually intensifies the saturation of the color in the shadows - why? Because he can!

I just finished up with a series of blogs on pricing art for Fine Art Views. I had also written a blog post on the Artist Daily blog about pricing artwork, and that post was, by far - the most popular I've written there. Clint Watson also confirmed that my posts on pricing had the most comments of my FAVs blogs.

So... what I'm hearing from you all is that you would like more information about art marketing, how to run the business, do the bookkeeping, get into galleries, sell on your own, etc. I'd love to share what I've learned over the years with you all.

But in order to make my blogs - and resulting ebook- remarkable, I'll need lots of feedback and suggestions from you... my fellow artists. I've been collecting questions from you for several months, but again, I'd love it if you would post your questions here by commenting on this blog. Don't feel that any question is too simple or silly.

I won't answer them all here, but will consider each when planning further writing. If  you're not signed up for Fine Art View's email newsletter, you probably should. That's where I'll be posting my answers for the most part. And if  you'd like to sign up for my email newsletter on this website, go to the appropriate button and add your info.

My email newsletter will include lessons and tidbits about painting/drawing that I've learned from my mentors: Jack Beal, Sondra Freckelton, Richard Schmid, and Nancy Guzik... plus a few other lesser known mentors. In order to share my info this year, I won't be painting as often - except for instructional articles in Watercolor Magazine. It seems my true passion is for writing and sharing what I've learned along the way... my secondary passion is for painting. (I love my hubby too) ;-) Had to include him so he wouldn't feel left out.

So please ask, ask, ask... selling artwork, painting techniques and principles, time management and organization for right brained people.

I look forward to future conversations.
Lori