Helpful Ideas for the Beginner Art Collector

Afterglow, original watercolor by Sandra Yorke

                         

                                 

Art collecting should be done for the love of art and not for financial success. Some people are confused about collecting art and wonder if an artists work will increase in value over the years. Maybe it will and maybe it won't. The main thing is does the work of art call to you? Will you enjoy the art, will it inspire you? As an artist I have experienced this very thing at art shows and art fairs. Someone will tell me a certain painting caught their eye and they had to buy it because it was calling to them. This is a great compliment for any artist!
If you are new to the art world and are not sure what type of art you like, visit as many galleries, art studios, and museums as you can. You can also do your research online.
You may prefer contemporary art or you may find you prefer art from another time period or culture. Taking your time doing research will give you a better idea of the type of art you prefer.
 If you are interested in contemporary art find an artist (or artists) whose work speaks to you. Visit art shows, art schools, local galleries and art exhibits, and attend open studios and art walks and see whats out there.
If you are more interested in period collections, visit antique stores or look through dealer catalogues or online.

Once you have a few pieces in your collection a lifelong obsession will  probably have developed and a keen eye will help you find the art you desire. Most importantly, you will have a collection of "one of a kind" art  you can enjoy for many, many years! Happy collecting!

Crazy Weather!

The weather in the pacific northwest can be crazy in April! It can be nice and sunny one minute and then suddenly the skies are dark and stormy. This is how it was one day when I was driving out in north Clark County. The clouds were gloriously striking! I don't know why but I really love looking at thunderheads. They are fun to paint also! I used mostly wet into wet watercolor and dabbed some areas with a tissue to get some harder edges in spots. I added white gouache to the darker blues while they were still wet to form some softer clouds. I also saw a flock of geese flying at the time so added them to the painting as well. The fun part of being an artist is the freedom to create the scene you want. I have no shortage of inspiration here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest! Happy painting!

Starry Skies, City Lights

Time for a fun quick painting! The first step is putting paint on paper and for this step I chose some blues and a shot of green. This will be the under painting so I do not have a subject in mind yet for this painting. I throw some kosher salt on the wet paint and let it do its thing. This is what it looks like when it is dry:

 

As I look at this later, I decide this could be a sky (with alto cumulus clouds) or maybe stars? I turn it upside down and add some raw sienna to a few spots to give some variation  to the sky color and then add some hills on the bottom left. The raw sienna on the bottom part of the sky gives it a nice glow. I darken the top a bit. Here is the finished painting:

The more I look at it the more it reminds me of a starry night with the glow of city lights in the distance.
Sometimes I will do several under paintings at once and keep these for working on later. It is always fun to see what you can come up with. Happy painting!

Sunlight Mysticism

Here is a new painting I finished recently. I was at a park eating my lunch when this scene caught my eye. It was in September and the end of summer was near. Some of the leaves were just starting to turn. There is something bittersweet about the last days of summer and the beginning of fall. The sun broke through the leaves and beautifully cast this scene of the magic of summer turning to fall. I used light, warm colors to start with, all mixed wet into wet. I added some kosher salt for texture. When this was dry I splatted some paint( greens and blues) and while they were still wet I sprayed the painting with a spray bottle and tilted the paper to produce the beautiful leaf effects. When this was dry I added branches and final details. My son chose the name for this painting, Sunlight Mysticism, and the more I though about it, the more I liked it.

This is a painting I did last year and just never got around to posting on this blog. I started with an under painting of yellows and blues and then tried a new technique that I heard about from a member of my art critique group (thank you Patty!). This technique consists of painting sheets of rice paper with watercolor, then tearing it into various size pieces and using the pieces as a collage for your painting. I used a lot of blues, yellows and greens and even included some pinks and purples. Let the rice paper dry after painting it. The pieces of painted rice paper are held in place by using acrylic gel medium on the back side and also brushed over them after they are set. I diluted the gel medium with some water first. I really like this look. It reminds me of stained glass. Try it and let me know what you think!

The preview reception for the first Clark County Open Studios was a GREAT success! Thank you to everyone who came and viewed the art works of 50 fabulous artists! We had a great turnout Friday night and a steady stream of visitors Sunday. Next weekend, November 9th and 10th we will have the actual studio tour. If you didn't get a chance to pick up a guide yet, go to www.ccopenstudios.org to pick one up. Also each artist on the tour will have some guides on hand. To give you a preview of the beauty in north Clark County this time of year I have painted this recent watercolor. I was driving to the Cedar Creek Grist Mill last week and the fog was just lifting and the sun came out and everything just glowed! I didn't have my camera with me but I painted this scene when I got back to my studio. Hope you all can make it up to north Clark county this weekend and visit some fabulous studios!  

I did promise some more sky paintings awhile ago so here's a new one I recently finished called "Storm in the Gorge". I did the sky first, using mainly wet into wet watercolor. I also did the water at the same time and the underpainting for the foreground. I added the hills while the sky was still damp, keeping the hills further away lighter and bluer (cool colors should be used for distant objects) and the closer objects warmer and darker). After the sky was dry I went back in and added some clouds. This painting will be on display at VOCA, 906 Harney St. Vancouver, WA for First Friday (Nov. 1) reception for the Clark County Open Studios Tour. For more information visit ccopenstudios.org

 

A few months ago I wrote a post about an artists retreat in beautiful Union, Washington. Here is a painting I did of a sunset I viewed from St. Andrews House, the retreat center where we stayed. We had this gorgeous view looking out over Hood Canal and the Olympic Mountains in the distance. Watercolor is the perfect medium for skies and water since it flows on the paper and the colors can mix so easily, producing those wonderful effects that we water colorists just love. I can't wait to go again next year!

Sometimes everything comes together in a painting in the most wonderful way! This is when I really LOVE watercolor! I painted a lighter under painting first, then added the purples and blues for the sky. By tilting the painting while it was wet I was left with these beautiful swirls of clouds. I am currently working on several more paintings of skies and will have those pictures coming up soon. Enjoy!  SOLD