“April is The Cruelest Month”
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THE SIMPLE ALTERNATIVE LIFE OF AN ARTIST - 05/25/2009
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Painting of Dennis Wilson (Beachboy)
50" x 70" acrylic/latex on unstretched canvas First – do not tell your client how easy it was to create your artwork or they won’t respect it, there-by devaluing your ability and talent. For example: If you can do a drawing in a couple of hours tell them it took a week and you suffered black-lung disease from the charcoal dust. This pricing policy is based on equality between you and the client so they need to know you have struggled and endured.
The best clients have struggled through their MBA program and now sells sub-prime mortgages or unsecured bonds – and we all know how hard those items are to sell. Like you, they are selling an intangible item that has no intrinsic value. So you have to establish grounds for cooperation in place of competition for their all-mighty dollar. Because, invariably, they have the money and you don’t.
Here is how the pricing policy works. Let’s say it takes five days (in an eight hour day) for you to create a piece of art. Your price on the work is exactly the same to everyone – and I mean everyone. You want, in return for your five days of work, the same amount of money your client makes in the same time period. For example – you paint the portrait of a piano bar musician who makes (between his gig fee and tips) around two hundred dollars a night. The musician pays one thousand dollars for the portrait. Let’s say you paint the portrait of the Wal-Mart greeter who works the third shift. He makes ten dollars an hour (if he is lucky) and only works six hours a night. He pays three hundred dollars. But you get an attorney and he is making three hundred dollars an hour. That is twenty four hundred dollars a day or twelve thousand dollars in five days. That is what he pays. Twelve thousand dollars.
As you can imagine this pricing policy brings out deep-seated resentment in some "would-be" clients. And just so you know why this irritates some people so much: it is that you (the artist) think you are on equal footing with them.
Now – you know who will yell that your price is way out of line. But it is not. Everyone pays the same price. Five days of labor. I have had lawyer men tell me this is not fair. Fair? Fair? And I tell them they are welcome to come over and take five days painting my house and we will call it even. Or he can give me five days of that lawyering stuff he does.
But you may still run into some resistance with the attorney. He will say that he spent a lot of time in attorney school. You counter with the fact that you also spent years in graduate school and have your Master in Fine Art (MFA) and have fifty thousand dollars in student loans to prove it. He will say he has a large, plush office to maintain and needs it to impress his clients and justify his high fees. And you counter and say you have a large and luxurious studio that you have to maintain to impress your patrons. He punches and you counter-punch. And he will come up with enough excuses for why his time is more valuable than yours. And at some point his arguing skills will wear your down. At that point you say: "Okay. Okay. You are right. I’ll knock off twenty percent and you can have it for seventy-two hundred."
Do not sell your artwork short. When pricing your artwork here are my final words: Thousands and thousands of years ago "man" started painting on the walls of caves. (That is – if you believe in evolution. If you don’t then quit painting like someone else does) If god wanted artists to bend over he would have had those cave people paint on the floor.
PS: If you do not like this pricing policy check blog posting: "Capitalist at Work - Pricing Your Art in a laissez-faire Manner"
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Labels: Artist pricing, Pricing Art
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Labels: Capitalist, laissez-faire, Pricing Art
It’s Sunday – it’s about 80 degrees out - and I don’t feel like doing anything constructive. And since I get to do anything I want, anytime I want I’m just going to lay here on my chaise lounge and stare at the ocean for most of the day. While you – (who may be stuck in Sunday traffic somewhere living a life of quiet desperation) can know that there is someone out in the world living your dream. Maybe – just maybe – tomorrow I will get back to painting.This is a sample of the different sunsets seen over this past year from the front windows, deck and patio of the studio.
Labels: video movie
On a recent post I showed what a sunset looks like here at the studio. The best sunrises and sunsets occur just before or after a rainstorm. Anytime there are clouds in the sky I get the dramatic views - which is most days.
Labels: video movie
Palisades Highlands hiking trails are about 4 1/2 miles
from the artist's retreat. I was up there looking for a
landscape scene to paint and stumbled across this deer.
It was near the stream (see photo of stream below) and
we startled it. The deer ran down stream about fifty
feet and started feeding, giving us time to photograph it.
This is the stream that runs parallel to the hiking trail.
The trail leads either to a beautiful waterfall or up over
the ridge to Topanga and Trippet Ranch
Further up the stream is "Grinding Rock". Chumash Indians
used this rock to grind the acorns from the trees that were
along the stream bed.(see photo below for a closer look at
the grinding stone.) The Indians lived in the area from about
800 years ago up to when missionaries came to the
Southern/Central coast of California.
Here's a close-up of the grinding hole. Obviously that is not an original stone for grinding but the hole is. There are a couple of more grinding holes found close-by.
Along the hiking trail there are a number of small caves.
Photo of tree frog that we saw along the stream.
Another video of the sunset at my studio. This video is taken just as the clouds are coming in for a rainstorm perdicted for later this evening. I get fabulous sunsets before and after storms - and this is a sample of that. Anythime there are evening clouds this is how it looks at sunset at my studio.
Labels: video movie
I got up at my normal time and the sky was so pretty that I decided to get onto the beach before the rainstorm came through. And this photo shows what it was like. I do ask myself sometimes why I want to leave but then remember both my daughters live as close as I do to the water - each on separate coasts.
We biked three miles down the bike path to the Santa Monica Pier for the a Starlight Music night at the pier. During the summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day - every Thursday night they have a free concert. Last Thursday it was Gerry and the Pacemakers and Peter and Gordon. We picnicked on the beach during the concert. Also you will see the solar powered Ferris wheel that was recently installed on the pier. You can see by the number of people on the pier and on the beach that these concerts are well attended.
It's another day in paradise (around 76 degrees) and a couple of people who live in the park are on their way to the beach towing their kayak on wheels. They will launch it right across the street and paddle up and down the coast. North about a half mile is the great surfing spot at Sunset and Pacific Coast Highway. Topanga surfing point break is about a mile and a half. South is the Santa Monica pier about three miles. It's nice to have immediate access to the beach without having to worry about driving or parking.
With your "special friend" enjoy the romantic evening views from the picture windows, patio or deck. As the sunset turns to night turn out the lights and treat yourselves to a playful encounter.
Is your relationship or marriage getting a little stale? Are you feeling like you don’t have enough time for each other? From your hide-a-way you are only steps from the beach. Take your lover on an enchanting stroll along the shore.
After an amorous evening with your sweetheart, relax and have a cup of coffee or tea on the deck. Be sure to savor the experience fully as you are creating memories that will last a lifetime.
Just thought you'd like to see another inspiring sunset.Being surrounded by all the beauty, peace, tranquility makes the time you spend here unforgettable.
Please hold onto the "railing. That's the chain on the side of the rock wall. I hope you are not discouraged in coming to see the place. The views are great. Just remember - fear is a cruch for those who can't cope with heights. Oh, yes - on your way up, if you lose you hat - don't, I say don't try and pick it up.
I thought the trail would keep everyone from coming
to see the place at one time.
Be very careful when passing someone
going in the opposite direction.
Now just up a few steps.
(they are on the left in the picture)
Sometimes I give the advise that you should relax
on this beautiful hike- but you may feel more
comfortable tense. When you get to this point on
the trail - the trail does sometimes change -
without notice. So hang on.
Gets a little steeper here - so put your toes in the holes .
But
It's not much further. A few more steps to go.
And here you are.
There are three ways to get back.
Unfortunately I don't know them.
If you don't want to come out and see the place -
nobody is going to stop you.
Today I took my camera with me on my run on the beach in order to video the dolphins that swim by a lot of the days of the week. What is interesting is that if you asked a dolphin, "what does two plus two equal?" - it would say, "thirteen.!" I know, that’s just my imagination running wild – but that’s better than being driven by reason. Imagination lets me live and make art. Reason would have me doing something foolish like work. Making art is mostly useless – but endless in possibilities.
Not much excitement in this minute video of the dolphins other than seeing them – but that is enough for me. When was the last time you saw a dolphin in the wild? Recently? A long time ago? Never? Were you out to sea? On the beach? As Ortega Gasset said, " Tell me to what you pay attention and I will tell you who you are."
Labels: video movie
Labels: video movie
SUNNY AND BRIGHT EXPOSURE
South Eastern lighting
great for painting or writing
QUIET approx. 500 sq. ft.
with
indoor/outdoor room adding
another 100 sq. ft. of living space.
For more outside living there is
a brick patio facing the ocean
The Mobile Home Park has a very nice
heated SWIMMING POOL and
JACUZZI available
to residents and their guests.
2 Bedroom (Current one of the bedrooms is used as a den/studio/storage (with a fabulous White Water Ocean, Coastline and Hillside Views), Both rooms have large closets.
Living room (with fabulous view. The entire living area (which includes the den/studio/storage area is lined with windows that show views to the ocean, up the coast and the hillside).
Kitchen (with fabulous view)
Covered deck/indoor/outdoor room (with fabulous White Water Ocean, Coastline and Hillside Views)
Brick Patio (with fabulous White Water Ocean, Coastline and Hillside Views)
side yard/garden
Covered Carport
2 large storage sheds (5' x 8' and 4' x 8')
Lots of built-in storage cabinets
The mobile home has been recently painted inside and out. Three new skylights and a new oven.
Beach (across the street) Bike path (across the street along the beach) Sunset Surfing spot (1 mile) Hiking trails SM Mountains (1.5 miles) Gladstone's Restaurant (1 mile) Pacific Palisades town(1.7) Von's Market (1 miles) are you more upscale? Gelson's Market (1.7 miles) Trader Joe's (6.1 miles) what more could you ask for? Costco? (6.9 miles) Santa Monica 3rd Street Promenade (3.1 miles) Santa Monica Pier riding on bike path (3.4 miles) Bergamot Station Art complex (5.6 miles) 18th St. Art Complex (5.3 miles) Venice riding on bike path (5 miles) Malibu (Cross Creek) (8.7 miles) Heaven (you're already there)
Mileage provided by Gmaps Pedometer
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inspirational place to live and work