This week I've been working on a painting that is a bit different from my usual ... there are no trees... but there are pilings.  This painting came to me while I was taking the aqua bus in Vancouver from the end of Hornby Street over to Granville Island.  As I looked at the pilings, inhaled the salty air and took in all that I saw.... I was filled with joy.  

We moved to Vancouver from Ontario in 1984.  It was my first glimpse of the beautiful mountains, the pacific ocean, barnacles, orcas, the sea to sky-ness of it.  It was where I met friends that I hold dear to this day.  

When I look at the ocean, the mountains, the pilings... I see incredible beauty.  What is it about the coast that makes my heart so happy?  I think it is the memory of all the good times, and good friends that we had and met while living there.  

I believe you can find beauty anywhere... i really do, but Vancouver holds a special place in my heart.

There is something I have run into recently, that I am trying to sort out.  It is finding the balance between showing and selling a painting.  

I believe it is important to enter shows, because you want people to be aware of your work... more exposure.  When you enter a show, you have to go through a "submission" process.  Usually, you are require to send photos of the work you are hoping to show by a certain deadline... then it is seen by a jury... and you are notified anywhere from a week to a month ( in some cases ), whether or not your work has been accepted for the show.  

The problem I've run into is that someone would like to purchase a painting, after I have entered it into a show, but before I have been notified if my painting is to be included in the show.  I should say here that when you send in your "submission", you have included the price you are asking for your pieces.  Now, some shows allow you to change the asking price to "NFS"... not for sale, so you can sell the painting and ask the buyer if they are OK with collecting the painting after the show... most are.

However, I found out the hard way... that some shows do not allow you to do this, and require that you still put the painting in the show.. for sale.  This means that I lose a buyer, and my painting is held in limbo from the submission deadline until the end of the show... which can sometimes mean over 2 months.  Also... having a painting in a show does not guarantee it will sell.  

So... my task is to find a solution for this.
Ideas:
1. Paint 24/7 so I have enough paintings to sell and show.
2. Don't enter shows with this type of policy
3. Suggest to the powers that be, that if a painting sells while it is in "limbo" (awaiting the jurying process, or accepted to a show that has yet to start), perhaps keeping it in the show as NFS, but paying a commission to the show hosts would work.
4. Paint well enough that the show host doesn't care what you put in as long as they have one of your paintings... :)

LOL... so, I think I have figured it out... #3 is perhaps the best option.  It really helps to pull my thoughts out of my head and put them down on "paper".  

I do not like any of the yellow paints I have been using... cadmium yellow light, medium, deep... and hansa yellow.  The problem for me is the transparency.  I often paint on a canvas I have primed with a mix of black gesso, purple,blue, and black, and I end up having to use several coats of yellow.  Often the yellow areas of my painting are very detailed and it is no easy task to paint a tiny detailed area over and over and have it look as neat as i'd like.  So... i'm wondering and experimenting with what I can add to yellow to make it more opaque.  I've tried titanium white, but it doesn't make that much of a difference.  Even painting yellow over a light background colour, i end up with brush strokes showing, and also having to do several coats.

Now, I love blue... pthalo, prussian, cobalt, ultra-marine, and when I blend these with white, I come out with a beautiful, smooth combination that is perfectly opaque, and usually requires only 2 coats.  It seems to go on more smoothly as well and the brush marks seem to disappear.  

Purple as well is beautiful... dioxazine purple... mixed with a little titanium white... one coat wonder.  :)

I have tried different brands of acrylic paint ... Stevenson, Golden, M.Graham...  to see if this would make a difference but haven't found that to be the case with yellow.  


Do different pigments blend better?  Should I try mixing my own paint with pigment and polymer emulsion?  This is a mystery to me.  If there are any other artists out there who read this, I would appreciate some feedback.



Mellow Yellow.... I think not.