Old Barn Paintings for Primitive and Country Decors

YOU know, what ever you paint there is a niche or market for your art. 

More people are becoming  more art appreciative than ever before.

 And whether people are interested in abandoned house art, auto art, floral art, cross art or other, they have a market.

 So find your market and work it.

These are a few old Barn paintings I have for sale on Etsy right now.

Great for any country or Primitive Decor.

If interested in purchasing any of these painting please visit my Esty store at the following link:

http://etsy.com/shop/Belinda57

This painting is up for auction on ebay 

If interested please visit my ebay store at this link: www.stores.ebay.stores.com/CountyArtLoft

Staying the course with your ARt Career

This is the last four days of school. I had to pack everything up in my ( what I call ) my public art Studio, because they will be washing the walls and waxing the tile floor. Whew. I am just glad it is them and not me.

I have been lucky to have a 29 year career teaching art  and a part time career selling art. I fully admire the full time artist that sell art by purely commission and make a living from their sells.

But as you know their is a system to being successful in selling art and  making enough money to live from art sells. These are called career goals.

One goal  is: to make goals.
I always refer to  a list of goals I have made in the beginning of this year.
Some goals on my list have not been done yet ,and here it is almost June. But I keep carrying on and staying the course.

I am lucky in the fact that , because I have been so busy with classes and painting graduation gifts of school mascots,  and selling  on my web site,that I have not completed some goals on my list.

But that means that I have also been making money which is one of my biggest goals.

Another goal is to get exposed.
Working on my social media and the internet has really been a learning experience. 

Reading all post on how to sell and how to market my art form places like EmptyEasel.com, Artpromotivate.com and other places has taken some of my time.

I suggest that you also do this and read whatever you can find.

Also blogging, which I love and I hope you love it too, is time.

Another goal was to get exposed locally. I have also been working on this.

 One way is to produce art work for an up coming art fair with a booth .

Donate a piece of art to a fundraising exhibit. Which I have donated to a cause fundraiser, with one of my art pieces.

 And enter a local art juried show. It doesn't matter if you win or not ,you are  exposed and some people will not understand the judges picks any way. hah!


My Next goal is to produce a work of  paintings, about 25, and to either get into a gallery or exhibit at  local and state museums.

This will always bring people to you and a great source of exposure and income. 


So , I am going to carry on and stay the course. And you should also.

You do not have to be a Rembrandt or a Picasso . All you have to be is yourself and market your art.

I will always remember this quote from Picasso:

My mother told me that if I choose to go into the military I would be a great General someday.

She also said if  I choose to be  an Engineer I would someday be a famous Architect,

But Instead I choose to be Picasso.

Enough said!!!

So, stay the course and carry on . Make that skin thick and don't give up. Learn all you can on marketing and painting.
People will love you and your work and that is what sells.

Good luck,  good painting. Belinda

Step-by-Step Painting of an Acrylic Seascape!!!!

Well today is the day . I am going to show you a step -by- step painting of a Impressionist Seascape.

You will need in materials:
Cadmium yellow    Cobalt Blue       Ultramarine Blue

White               cadmium orange      Violet         Dark green

black                 red cadmium

All acrylic paint and a canvas , preferably 16 X 20

Brushes: Conical 1/2 inch, 1 inch Flat brush and a fine piont

Also you will need water in a container and a couple of 
Styrofoam  plates.

Step One:

on your canvas divide it into thirds. Use your Flat brush, Paint the top third a mix of cadmium yellow and white. and the bottom.

Step two : Paint a pure white streak maybe two on the top part in the middle. blend in slightly with your flat brush.

Step three: Mix yellow ochre with a little cad yellow and paint this under the white blended streaks. do the same on the bottom. Just some strokes.

Step four: Mix your cobalt blue 2/3 with white 1/3. Paint the entire
middle with this color. still use your flat brush.



Step five: Let the cobalt blue dry for 3 minutes . It needs to be 
tacky to the touch to begin the next step.
Then you will take your conical brush and begin making back and forth brush strokes to create waves with the pure ultramarine blue.

The Back part should be darker ,and as you get to the beach or bottom yellow the waves should get less and not as many to leave more cobalt blue.

Step six: Let this dry for at least five minutes then take a mixture of your cadmium yellow and white an make some sporadic  brush strokes of yellow  cadmium  waves.

Step seven: Go back and add a little light value of cobalt blue and white. Sporadically paint  waves under your darker waves. Use your conical brush.Two more minutes later mix violet 1/2 and white 1/2
With a conical brush make some light violet purple streaks for waves under the yellow waves.

Step Seven: Notice a light color of ultramarine blue at the bottom of the canvas for a shadow of the tree we will paint later. 

Also, paint a light orange above the  blue  with some streaks . Still use a conical brush.

Let this dry for at least 20 minutes.

Step eight: Mix up three values of black and white a light gray, a medium gray, and a dark grey close to black.

Paint a tree line with you medium gray . making in thin at the top and spread out at the bottom like the image below.

 

Also paint a dark grey almost black line on the right side of the tree.

and make a line at the bottom of the left side.

Next paint some white, pure white  waves . please leave some space in between the waves so the beach can show through.

Step nine: Make some horizontal lines on the tree and create a white line on the right hand side.

Step ten: Clean brushes and use your conical brush with dark green to begin the leaves of the palm tree.

Find the middle of the trees trunk at the top and begin by making short downward  brush strokes in the shape of a triangle. underneath the triangle make more triangle strokes.

Go ahead and paint the boat black . Make a light grey line on the bottom and side of the boat. Next paint the sails white like triangles let dry.

Step eleven: mix  your dark green with yellow to make a yellow green. Then paint the palm trees this yellow green every other one on top of the dark green.

Step twelve: Clean conical brush and paint red  cadmium  sporadically  on the  palm tree. Let dry two minutes and then paint white strokes on the palm tree.

Notice the boat is not final until the black lines are  painted on

the sails.

Step 13: Finish the white waves by painting another coat of white on them. Make sure you do not cover the whole top beach.

Well I hope you enjoyed this step -by-step on the seascape.

Don't forget to sign your name to the painting.

And if your picture does not look exactly like mine. 

Remember you have made this. your painting with your artistic style.

keep painting and creating. see you next blog.

If you are interested in buying the original painting go to:

http://stores.ebay.com/County-Art-Loft

Being an Artist at Any Age!!!

How is everybody doing? And what goals have you set for

yourself these days? Oh yeah, you know the ones that state : I am going to be an artist some day. I am going to learn to play the Piano

 some day? I am going to do this someday?

Well , Whether you are thirteen, Twenty, Thirty, Forty, Fifty or Sixty you can still set a goal to be something, what ever you desire.


Especially an artist.

Googling, and cyber searching is an amazing tool for how to be anything.

You can google just about anything and find out how to become
What ever.


Many people social media just on this subject.

Everyone wants to talk about how to do whatever.

So I am going to talk about being an artist.

You can make money at being an artist and you can become an artist at any age as long as you understand the sequence of events to this goal.


Once you sit down and just really think about this  you can accomplish being an artist.


One step you start with is deciding what type of artist you want to
become.

A Multi media artist, a watercolor artist, a craft artist, an acrylic artist, and there are  many more.

Make a flow chart. Place at the top what type of artist you want to be.


Make steps to become this artist.


Search for steps to painting techniques or crafting techniques.

 Find an artist style you like and practice this style through your paintings.

You could go so far as to paint some of that artist paintings.
They won't be the exact image because you will end up creating your own technique.


When you think you are good enough, join a website that will sell your art by  prints.


Learn how to advertise your self online and off.

Search marketing strategies and make goals.

Give it time! Your artist career or just becoming an artist will take time.

We are not Bewitched where we can wiggle our nose and become great in a day, week etc.

And never , ever , never, get depressed about your style or your art.

If you are not happy with your paintng and your want to change your style, practice, studying , and work on this as your goal.



So, the most important thing to do is to start.

Make your art.
Set a goal.
Make a flow chart  on how to get to where you want to go.
Learn, Learn, Learn.
And never give up or get discourageded
It will happen.

Good luck !

Tomorrow I will begin a blog on painting a seascape.

Seeing Art through the Presidents Library

Tuesday May the 7th I had a wonderful day. It was my birthday and my Grand daughter had a field trip with her 4th grade class to go to the Bill Clinton Library in Little Rock Arkansas. Our School is only 38 miles from the library and Little Rock, and so she asked me to go and we went on our way.

I taught class until 10:00 am and then left and met her at the Clinton Library.
This is a picture of her and her friends in front of Pres. Clintons limousine. She is the little one.

 Out side of the Clinton Library is a bridge that you can walk across  the Arkansas River what an Icon.
And I really would love to paint this.

 The library is three stories, very  architectural, in the Frank Lloyd Wright Style.

 AS we went through the Library it was very fascinating with all the political subjects and timelines of his terms.This is a mosaic done of the Arkansas Travelers . These were a group of democratic followers
that traveled with Bill Clinton's Campaign .

The Third floor had personal things given and obtained by Pres. Clinton during his life time and Presidential term.
I loved this drawing he did as a child.

 See its okay for little boys to draw guns . I am sure this is a good guy battling a bunch of bad guys.

 This was his band picture, and when he began his love for the fine arts by playing the saxophone.

 This is a picture of his college days with Hillary , Real people!!!!!!

 I found a lot of art that was given to the Clintons  during their time in the White House and I was amazed at what they chose to place in the library. I felt they really loved the arts.

Glass by Chihully

                                                   Folk Art


Designed China for the White House.

Hillary's Designer Dress

Assemblage Sculpture

And decorative art on weapons
                                            

A Paredy of the Clintons, Starry Night by Van Gogh and The Congress.

Also paintings of their cat Socks.

 I was truly amazed and impressed of the Photographic historical images.

The girls  got to sit in a replica of the cabinette room at the round table.

And then there was a moment that made me pause and reflect.

I saw three monks walking across the bridge from the 3rd floor.

One of the monks sat on the concrete for a few minutes as if he was offering a homage , something spiritual.

It hit me , how many people, people of different religions , beliefs, race etc. Bill Clinton inspired.

And is still inspiring. And I was glad he was a son of Arkansas and the United States.

All and All ,the Children had a good time.

I wonder if they really understand what Bill Clinton will mean to our country's history in time.

WOW!!

What is Trendying in Your Art World?

  I like to talk about  trendying art . And when I say that ,I mean what is selling, as far as style or subject.

Really there is a market for every type of art these days, thanks to the internet. But in your area , where you live . what is trendying.

I can tell you that , when I have my art classes , my students want to paint pictures that are colorful.

They say, I want my walls colorful. I want paintings with lots of color in them . I just don't want paintings that
are dull and boring of the same old still life,landscape or portrait. I want pictures of color.


And have you noticed lately  , the painting classses that paint a picture in one day , do this type of painting.

Colorful, different ,Etc.

Art like  artist Leonid  Afremov. He has many citiscapes with the illusion of wet streets and lots of color.

This is one of his recent paintings.




Another artist is Marion Rose. She paints wildlife using almost the palette of a rainbow.

I  enjoy many of her paintings.

Beautiful.

And there are various others. Tell me what you think and is there more popular styles in certain areas?

voice your opinion!