Given our schedules these days, it is amazing that we get much art made at all, let alone at the volume I see in our galleries, magazines and online. In Part One of my blog “Finding the Time” I discussed various habits that I have come to rely on for making and marketing art on a regular basis. No major secrets, just my day-to-day scheduling and thinking process. In Part Two I want to focus more specifically on how I gather, process, and maintain my images both in the planning stages and after completion.

            There is so much talk these days of plein air painting and many festivals to showcase this very important art form. And it is an amazing experience and the purest way to capture the heart of what a landscape is really about, it subtlety and nuance. Still, the process can be time-consuming and if I had to strictly rely on plein air, I’m afraid I would not produce at the volume I must to maintain my skills and sheer happiness. In a nutshell, I try to paint from life at a minimum of once a month and I keep an easel, wet panel carrier and backpack at the ready. It is an exciting and humbling experience which I continue to learn from. The rest of the time I work either from photographs or “from the gut” as I like to call it. Since I work in both representational landscapes and stylized landscapes, I can fluctuate between these two extremes and still feel I am accomplishing my vision.

            So how does technology play a role in art production? First rule, keep your computer files very organized. I keep a folder for photo references, with subsequent folders dedicated by time, place, season, and subject matter. Within these, I have a separate folder dedicated to images that I have already “processed” and are ready for use. These images have been cropped, rotated, spliced, reassembled, re-contrasted . . . whatever it takes to achieve the image I want. I call this “digital sketching” for lack of a better term. Strangely I have come to not only rely on digital sketching to a degree but have come to enjoy the process as well. Whatever I can do to continually manipulate and create images. Some may suggest that this is not very pure, but I find that whatever the medium, it is most important that the artist be the selector, the judge, the interpreter—not just the recorder, and this goes from working from plein air or photographs.

            Finally, it is important to keep accurate and organized records of the work you produce. When I photograph paintings, I keep “raw images”—which maintain the original file size and I create and store “final images” which are the smaller versions that I use for my website, newsletters, etc. It is important to keep the raw images as many galleries, shows, dealers, or publications will want the bigger files for various purposes. Keep these handy and keep them filed in an organized manner.

            The technology is there. The applications are endless. Use them and abuse them to make your art, just don’t forget to get outside whenever time allows so you can keep learning, keep growing and keep being humbled.

It seems that a number of people have asked me lately how I find the time to be an artist. The truth is that most artists out in the world today earn the majority of their living expenses by some other means, which leaves one to wonder how we go about committing so much time to the endeavor. This past week I was at a show opening at a gallery where I have work and the headline artist, Aaron Norris, and I learned we have a lot in common: full time jobs, two children, budding art careers. We talked of how we juggle it all. In this entry and the next I hope to shed light on how it does get done, which I hope will interest those who do not make art, and perhaps it will give a few tips to other artists who, like me, work full time jobs while managing a career as an artist.

First, I have a confession: I like my “day job.” As an educator I get to share my knowledge with others, help people, joke around, open eyes, inspire. It is almost as hard to envision not teaching as it is not painting. Still, the process of image making is an addiction and it’s one that I don’t see kicking anytime soon, just as I don’t see quitting my day job to paint full time anytime soon either. Once I came to accept this dual reality I knew I had better devise a system so that I could be the artist, teacher, father, husband and friend that I wanted to be. All of this has led me to a few habits that go beyond “carrying a sketch book at all times.” Yes, this is still a good practice, but hardly enough in this age.

In the next installment, I’ll describe specific things I do to collect, manipulate, play with and store images. To start with, here are a few ways I organize my “work”, and it is important that even if we are not standing in front of an easel with a wet brush in our hand, we can still be learning and growing as artists.

Along with my sketchbook, I carry a small notebook for ideas, business opportunities, show prospects, client names, etc. This can be done in your sketchbook but I prefer to keep them separate. A camera is almost always connected to my belt and when it’s not, I usually regret it. It’s not that we can always work from photos (you shouldn’t), but recording images is part of my work habit. More on photography and painting later. Complete “dashboard paintings.” As you sit at a traffic light, mix the colors in your head for everything you see. Do mental value studies. Notice everything! Decide when you’re going to paint and STICK TO IT. Doesn’t matter if it’s early morning before work (I get up at 4:30am) or after the kids go to bed, just pick a time and always be there. For the weekends, have a place in your studio for the kids to work. This is a great experience for both kids and parents and it will be that special thing they get to do with you. I’ll admit I’m not very good at starting a painting with my kids in the studio, but I can usually keep working once something is down. Finally, commit to finding artist in residency programs to apply to. Even with a committed yearly schedule, having some time to devote solely to your art is essential to kick-start growth, maintain the energy, and get enough work under your belt for the next big show.

More on managing your images (both done and in the planning stages) next time.

Till then, paint well (if even only for one hour a day.)

Rob