Artists Helping Artists (AHA)
I was inspired to start posting again after listening yesterday to a show about blogging on an "Artists Helping Artists" podcast. It is so easy to get out of the habit! AHA is the brainchild of Leslie Saeta. Every Thursday Leslie & a co-host artist pick a topic and discuss a myriad of art subjects from shows on how improve you art, the internet and it effects on selling your art, interviews with guest artists and gallerists and more. Leslie and many of her guests share their experiences and knowledge of the business side of art. Its one thing to paint, but like me, many artists aren't always good about how to sell their art.
If you haven't listened to AHA, you are in luck because all of the last 4 years' shows are archived for you to pick and choose topics that interest you. I download a few at a time on my phone so when I'm exercising or stuck in traffic I listen to a show. I've even timed my walks to an hour so I can listen to an entire show. I can't tell you how much I've learned from them.
Hilton Head Four Challenge
The HH4 cut back to 1 challenge a month over the summer. I didn't post our June results. Here is mine. I'm excited to say it sold recently, especially given it is not a subject matter I normally paint, but found I really enjoyed. I'm missing a HH4's member's painting so I'll have to request it again and post everyone's paintings tomorrow.
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| Looking for a Handout, 8x8" oil on RayMar (sold) |
To Challenge or not to challenge... that is the question.
Speaking of challenges, I've had discussions with fellow artists about shared photo challenges. Some love them and others don't like them at all. For me the pros outweigh the cons!
Cons: For those who don't like them, its mostly because they don't like the idea of painting a painting similar to other artists.
Pros: Its like having a free workshop. I have learned so much from this type of challenge. I believe they've made me a better painter. I view the challenges as a learning tool, something I don't do often enough at this stage in my life. Like most artists, I fall into the bad habit of wanting every painting to be a work of art when in reality we all have paintings that don't work for reasons sometimes beyond our comprehension. A funny thing happens when I do a challenge. Maybe because I enjoy them so much, I find that more times than not I have a successful painting.
Why do a challenge? Sometimes its really nice to not to have to think what am I going to paint today? It fires me up when I'm in that mode. 1) They inspire me to paint. 2) I am painting subject matter that I might never paint on my own. Its good for me to get out of my comfort zone once in a while if I want to grow. 3) It is amazing how much I learn seeing how others translate the same subject by seeing what how they've cropped, composed, used different styles, methods & color palettes.
