Ready to sell your art! My top 3 reference books!

    Commission of the Blue moon on the St. Lawrence River.  You can purchase prints at lynne-reichhart.pixels.com!

I thought I would share my 3 favorite art marketing books in this post.  I own these books and they are well written and chock full of information.  I am just like you, I would rather be in the studio which leads me to my first pick.

I'd Rather Be In the Studio by Alyson B. Stanfield.  This book provides practical advice from an art business coach.  I would also recommend  Alyson's blog  for frequently updated posts with free tips and great information.

Art Marketing 101, 3rd Edition by Constance Smith.  This is the definitive book for all aspects of  marketing your art.  I would liken it to what the Joy of Cooking is for cookbooks.

Last but not least is Death to the Starving Artist by Nikolas Allen.  This is a modern take on the subject with humor and tough love.  Nikolas is a young artist with a unique way of looking at things.

Back with some new paintings Cocktails and Mustard and Pyrex!

New work to share!

Cocktails and Mustard, 13 x 10 acrylic on paper framed 

History of Pyrex 13 x 10 acrylic on paper framed.

I am back!  I know it has been sometime now.  I have said before that I want to awaken my blog again and make it a place for sharing my art, life and useful information.  I think I have figured out how I can make that happen.  I hope to update at least once a month.  This should be doable with my busy schedule.

These are two of my newest pieces.  I am really enjoying still life work.  Anything is fodder for the artistic mill.  I already have other set-ups in mind using some of my fun personal things.  I love retro and reflections - the two r's!  I will still do other subjects for my collectors and so I keep myself challenged and excited about the subjects I paint, but I will throw in still life work as well.

For History of Pyrex I set up some of my personal pieces that I use all the time.   The orange bowl and brown casserole were wedding shower gifts many moons ago!  Cocktails and Mustard was born when I noticed the sun shining on some liquor bottles on my china cabinet.  I quickly added  the cordial glass and antique mustard tin for color and interest and grabbed my camera!

How about a tip!

  I think it is really important to under paint your image to eliminate the stark white underneath.   This helps if you miss a spot which is easy to do on textured support like canvas.  You won't have the bright white showing through.  There are different approaches to this.  I was taught to tone for light and shadow underneath - ultramarine blue watered down for shadow and raw sienna watered down for light.  Another approach is to under paint with a compliment.  For example, if you are doing a landscape that is mostly green - under paint with red to make the greens sing!   Give it a try and see what works for you.  I know one artist that always under paints with magenta so it all depends on your style and preference.

Thanks for reading and see you soon!

When is it Done?? How to know when your painting is resolved!

When is it done???

Something that artists struggle with is how to know when the painting is finished.  You don’t want to overwork a piece, yet you want it to be the best it can be.  I actually prefer the word resolved rather than done.  So how can you tell if it is resolved?  There are some tricks to help you see things that need fixing.

Trick #1 – Hold the painting up to a mirror and study the reflection.  You would be surprised what that will reveal. 

Trick #2 – Snap a photo of the painting and study it on a computer monitor.   This helps you look at it with fresh eyes.

Trick #3 – Just let the piece hang around on your easel for a few days and look at it periodically.

Trick #4 – It always helps to have a second opinion.  Have an artist friend take a look at it if you can.

All of these tricks can help you see something that needs tweaking.    I use them often and they help me see an area that is drawing my eye away from the focal point of the painting.    They also help identify perspective problems as well as other issues.

I used the mirror trick to identify what was bothering me about this painting.  I saw that the background was a bit too bright and tried to come forward and fight with the foreground.  Since the background has a goldish orange hue, I glazed it with a blue compliment to dull it a bit.  Voila, now the painting was resolved!! 

Life is a Carnival Glass, acrylic on paper 10 x 13

Choosing when to stop altering a piece is a personal choice.  You, the artist, need to be happy with it and that is what matters.

Please share any tricks you use to get it done!!!

Still life painting work in progress vintage glass and more glass!!

I love to see works in progress.  In the top photo you can see the reference I am working from.  This one is challenging!  The view is the top shelf of my china cabinet.  I have lots of glass from my grandparents so it is all near and dear to my heart.

As you can see in the top photo, I toned the painting for light and shadow with blue and raw sienna.  This gives me a road map and also gets rid of the white paper underneath  if I miss getting color on a small spot it will not be glaring white.  I  worked on the background and the blue and white creamer in the front.

The 2nd photo show a close-up of the carnival glass in the lower left corner.  All the color changes and reflections took me many hours to accomplish.  I have made some more progress, but still have more to to.  I will post the completed piece when I am done.  Please check back to see it!  Thanks for reading :)

I call this piece 'Autumn Ivy'  It is a piece I did for the 2015 Twitter Art Exhibit in Moss, Norway.  It is on its journey to Norway right now.  If you haven't heard of the Twitter Art Exhibit - it is a great concept and really fun show.  It is open to artists and amateurs alike - no jury process.  All art is donated and all proceeds go to a selected charity which changes each year as does the location.  If you are interested in participating, please visit The call for artists page.  Deadline for submissions is  March 1, 2015.

Zazzle products rock! Check out these watches.

 Zazzle has some very cool new products!  The watches have been around for a year or so, but they are newer to me.  I love making them.  There are watches suitable for men, ladies and children.  The pig above is a fun kid's watch.  It is so adorable!!!  You can purchase the piggy watch here: http://www.zazzle.com/pink_pig_wrist_watches-256299810901935454

This is a large watch featuring my purple iris painting.  This watch has a large face to really show off the art.  There are some very pretty smaller face choices too.  You get to choose the band/face for each watch face art selection.  Very cool!!!  Check them out.  Find the iris watch here:  http://www.zazzle.com/purple_iris_watch-256712483044071615

Check all my watch designs here!  http://www.zazzle.com/artbylmr/watches  With Zazzle, always look at the page to see it there is any sale going on.  Use the coupon code provided to save some scratch!!

Old Fashioned Christmas - vintage decorations are the best!

Here is a little 5 x7 that I did in acrylic on Ampersand gessobord.  I love to decorate for Christmas and these are two pieces near and dear to my heart.  The Santa Post office is a bank that I had when I was a kid.  I recently found it in the attic at my Mom's house.  Now it is part of my way to big collection of decorations.  The tree was given to me and my husband by his Aunt Helen shortly after we were married.  She fired ceramics in her basement and loved making pieces for the family.  These lighted trees were popular in the 70's and I am lucky to have this one plus a white one with all blue lights that Helen also made for us.

I took this photo as I was taking down my decorations  last Christmas and wanted to paint it before I lost the image which happens too often, but that is another story.  I think this will be my Christmas card this year :)

This piece is available on Daily Paintworks:  http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/lynne-reichhart/old-fashioned-christmas/238222

Do you have any favorite holiday decoratios??

'Oktoberfest' painting finished! 'Hacker Pschorr' brewery.

After many hours, this painting is finally done!  I posted an 'in progress' photo 2 entries down in case you missed it.  Check it out!

Flora and more flora!  It was a challenge painting all the floral garland, but I like the cast shadows they create.  I was always looking forward to the next item to paint.  I love the blue on the wheels and that was one of the last thing I painted.  I did this one on smooth Ampersand gessobord and it proved to be difficult to blend even with my favorite blending too - my fingers!   I am really happy with how this came out though.

Please share it with your beer loving friends!    Hacker Pschorr  is a Munich brewery.  This is their float in an Oktoberfest parade.  My husband was lucky enough to be in Germany at the time.  I am kind of curious to try one of their brews now.  The first Hacker brewery is mentioned in 1417, located at the corner of Sendlinger and Hackstraße in Munich so they must be pretty good.

Featuring 'Montmartre circa 1977' Paris France painting

This is one of my favorite paintings!  I snapped this scene on a high school junior French club trip to Paris.  I was so in awe of all the wonderful artists painting and selling on Montmartre.  It was like painting little paintings within the larger piece.  They were such fun to do since they were looser than my style and I probably wouldn't paint a clown :)  I did this piece on Ampersand Gessobord which helped loosen me up a little because of the smooth surface.

This was a trip of a lifetime and one I will never forget.  There were 3 total from my school that went and they were both friends.  We slept 3 in a bed and faced the morning wake-up calls together!  The chaperons were quite lenient.  There was an older guy from our school going to the Sorbonne and we were supposed to meet up with him.  The three of us took off to tackle the Metro at night!  Such fun memories.

Thanks for reminiscing with me.

Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest painting Work in Progress - a sneak peek!

I found this great photo of a float during Oktoberfest in Munich a number of years ago.  My husband took the photo when he was on a business trip and I was psyched when I saw it.  He is not known for he photo prowess, but he got lots a great pics this trip. 

I have been slowly working on the wood areas and took a break to do the sign which was a challenge.  After taking a couple hours to do it, I had to look up what I was painting.  I found out that 'Hacker Pschorr' is a Munich brewery.  In the late 18th century, Joseph Pschorr bought the Hacker brewery from his father-in-law; he subsequently founded a separate brewery under his own name.  His two sons divided his estate by each taking control of one of the two separate breweries. In 1972, Hacker and Pschorr merged to form Hacker-Pschorr, but the beers were sold as separate brands well after 1975.  It is incredible that the original brewery was founded in 1417.  I guess the stuff must be pretty good!

I have made some more progress since taking this photo.  I have to get everything else done before working on the flowers since they are 'on top' of the barrels.  I hope I can do it justice!

Thanks for looking and feel free to leave me a comment to say Hi!

A Trip in the Way Back Machine or How to Decorate a Teenager Girl's room in the 70's

I came across this photo and boy did it bring back memories!   You can still see tape residue on the paneling.  Get a load of that lamp!  My mother just recently took it down to put up a ceiling fan.  I wish I had gotten a hold of it - could have been a good Ebay item :)

Do you recognize anyone on the wall?   Let's see - I see Rick Springfield (sigh), Alice Cooper, Seals and Crofts, Mick Jagger, Barbra Streisand, David Bowie and a huge poster of Gilbert O'Sullivan.  I really didn't know it was that big when I ordered it :)  In the upper right hand corner there is a painting I did of Michael Sarrazin, an actor,  He was a cutie.  I painted and drew lots of my favs in my teens.  I never realized I would eventually become a full time artist, it was just a lot of fun.

I was a night owl.  In the summer I would stay up until 2:00 AM painting and listening to music.  I would love to hear your memories of your teenage room.  Feel free to comment and Thanks for reading!

Finished WIP "Old Canoe' Fall painting

 'Old Canoe'  14 x 11" on Ampersand Gessobord

 

Photo of the finished piece.  It is at the scanners so I will have a better pic for making prints.  I am not a very good photographer so I get them scanned so customers can order large prints that will be crisp and clear.  The colors in the original piece are brighter - especially the canoe. 

 

I love fall and painting fall scenes.  This reference photo was courtesy of Wet Canvas, a great tool for artists with no strings attached.  People have told me that I like bright colors.  I guess I do if that is what the piece calls for.  I can just as easily use more subdued colors for the right painting.  Check out 'Pont Vecchio Landscape' below.  This painting is from a photo taken on a dark day in the morning.  Visit  http://lynne-reichhart.artistwebsites.com/ to purchase prints of this piece.  Prints of 'Old Canoe' will be available shortly once I get the scanned image back.

 

 Thanks for visiting and come back next week for a new installment~



A fun shout out from a media personality about my art!

As  I mentioned in my last post, I participated with The IndiExhibit  at the WOW Creations Oscar gift lounge. 

Media personality Karen Salkin chose my artwork to take home - Yay.  She writes a very fun on-line column called 'It's not About Me (But it Really is)'  This month she talked about the WOW gift lounge, the IndiExibit and my canvas print. 

Under a photo of the display she writes 'Don’t get married to the painting in the middle (the predominantly red one)–it’s now MINE!'  She also mentions me by name.  Thank you, Karen!

You can read the column here.  The second vendor she talks about is The IndiExhibit.  There is a photo of the display with my piece hanging on the middle.  Look for this piece...

Thanks for reading!

Acadamy Awards and my Art! Celebs take home some of my work.

I am currently a member of the IndiExhibit.  The indiExhibit is an officially registered non-profit organization that specializes in promoting the talent of creatives from around the globe. Members participate in unique special events ranging from red carpet gifting suites to backstage concert events and charity benefits.  I have had my artwork at Hollywood award show gifting suites for several years now.  My most current event was the 2014 Academy awards. 

Media personality Karin Salkin took home a canvas print of my painting 'Red in Silver'.  She was very kind and said she really loved it and it spoke to her.

One member of Cassie Jackson's Pop group MP2 took home a trinket box featuring my 'Arranging Lily'  painting.

It is a lot of fun seeing who likes your work and I have gotten some great publicity to boot!  Next up, I think will be the 2104 Emmy awards, but who knows what opportunity may pop up before that!

Visit The IndiExhibit website to find out more information about becoming a member!  Feel free to ask any questions in the comments.

Discover Golden Artist Colors - my acrylic of choice!

Artists invest a lot of money in their tools.  Canvases and other supports, brushes and paint all run the gamut of price ranges.  I admit that I am guilty of buying less expensive brushes because I am very hard on them.  I need to replace my favs frequently.  When it comes to paint, though, I get the best!

Golden acrylics are the best in the business.  They use little or no fillers and are packed with pigment.  They use single pigments in the majority of their colors and actively search out ways to maintain the highest pigment load among all major manufacturers today. The result is high impact work! 

Julies Tulips.  18 x 24" on gallery wrapped canvas.  Contact me about the original at lmrspdr@dreamscape.com .
Prints available here.  http://fineartamerica.com/featured/julies-tulips-lynne-reichhart.html

Golden Artist Colors is an employee owned company with great worker satisfaction.  I am lucky to live within a few hours of the factory in New Berlin, NY.  I have visited the facility and seen the skilled employees hand painting the color charts - you heard me hand painted!!  This way they truly represent the color.

 

Golden Artist Colors strives to enrich the local community arts scene and provides artists lots of reference tools to assist the process like this really cool virtual color mixer.  This allows you to try out color combinations within the Golden palette. 

 

I truly love these paints because they help me create works like this...

 

 

Sunflowers and Light is sold, but prints are available at  http://fineartamerica.com/featured/sunflowers-and-light-lynne-reichhart.html. 

Thanks for reading.  Pick up a tube of Golden acrylics and compare for yourself!  If you want to chime in to the discussion - please leave a comment.

Fall camp scene sneak peak work in progress!

 

Work in Progress!



I found the reference for this piece on Wet Canvas in their reference library for artists.  It is a great place to find reference photos that members have graciously allowed anyone to use, no strings attached. I typically use my own photos, but I really liked this one.  I loved that the canoe was all scuffed up and that the old building had a bright fresh coat of paint.   What you don't see is all the fall leaves and long grass that are still to come.  I am plugging away at it though.  I was happy to get the canoe done since that is really the focal point.  My picture doesn't do it justice - it really pops!

Here is a look at the reference so you can see what is to come.  I did change the red of the building a bit so that the canoe would stand out more.  Also, it was the same color as some of the leaves.  I suspect there were some photoshop changes involved to pump up the color.

 

I'll post the final version when I am finished.  Thanks for looking and feel free to comment with what you think.

 

 

2 new art venues for 2014 - selling originals and cards!

I am starting off the new year with a couple of new endeavors.    As I mentioned in my last post, I have closed my Cafepress shop.  I wanted to get down to basics and try to sell my originals.  Daily Paintworks is just the place for that.  You can only sell originals there.  The only problem is that it helps to post new work often.  I am a slow painter so I am going to try to do some smaller works every week to offer more affordable pieces.

I was contacted by Lily from Greeting card universe about creating cards to sell.  I have done very well with cards in shops so I thought I would give it a go.  This is quite a time consuming endeavor and cards take several weeks to be approved, but we shall see how it works out.  I only have a few cards at this point because Lily fast tracked my first 10 cards - now I have to wait the 4-6 weeks for approval.  So check back and more cards will be popping up as they get approved.  The good thing about the approval is that all the cards are professional with appropriate images and no spelling or grammar errors.  You can also customize the inside of the card before purchasing!

I just love the Zazzle watches!

I am back and ready to blog!  My goal is to blog weekly - Monday or Tuesday.  I hope you will come back to see how I do!!

First off, I am kind of in mourning.  I have been thinking about deleting my Cafepress shop for some time now and I finally pulled the plug.  It was at the point that I would almost have to start over anyway - so many new products and not happy with many of the designs I had.  I decided that for the time being I am going to concentrate more on Zazzle. 

One thing that I really love on Zazzle is the watches!

 

You can customize the style of watch - this one is geared towards a little girl.  You can buy it here:  http://www.zazzle.com/pink_pig_wrist_watches-256299810901935454

Watch for coupons and you can sometimes get them 50% off!!

 

I love this one too!  http://www.zazzle.com/purple_iris_watch-256712483044071615

This one is kind of a Monet style

http://www.zazzle.com/rustic_garden_watch-256424854655505803

I have over 40 watches to choose from on Zazzle and more to come!  You can see them all here:  http://www.zazzle.com/artbylmr/watches .  Check out my store for all the great products!
http://www.zazzle.com/artbylmr

Thanks for reading!!!

Making your artwork look professional

Just to share - here is my latest painting titled 'Harper's Arch'.  Reference image is a view I photographed in Harper's Ferry, WV.  11 x 14 on Gallery wrapped canvas - sides painted. Prints of all kinds of this piece are available on Fine Art America.

Now on the main event.  We, as artists, need to present our work in a professional manor and buyers should look for work that is professionally displayed and handled.

Here are some tips for keeping it presentable.

1.   Buy the best products you can afford.  I highly recommend Arches watercolor paper for watercolors.  I am currently in a quandary about canvas brands.  I typically purchased Fredrix, but have recently gotten too many that are not stretched properly.  Make sure your canvas is tight and there are no buckles.  You should not see the outline of the braces against the canvas.  Golden heavy body acrylics is my acrylic paint of choice.  They use no fillers in their paint - just pigment and binder.

2.   Works on paper should be matted and framed under glass or plexi for protection.  I have seen work framed without the mat so that the paper touches the glass.  This is not good for the work.  I have been told that matting should be at least 3" all around.  This, of course, is a matter of taste, but it does seem to look better that way.  Also, make sure the art is the star of the show not the frame.  Keeping it simple ensures that folks are looking at your artwork not the frame.

3.  Work on the wall should lay flat.  Use the flat brackets for attaching your wire.  Also attach them about 2/3 of the way down your frame and ensure that the wire does not extend above the top of the frame. 

4.  Canvas pieces should be framed or the sides should be painted.  You can continue the image around the edges or paint the sides a solid complimentary color.  The deep (1.5") sides are particularly meant for painting and to be hung without a frame. 

Souvenirs and Refrigerator Art

I have been ordering magnets of my artwork to sell this tourist season at Bay House Artisans.  I really love how they look.  I ordered these from Cafepress .  Their quality is fabulous!  As you can see I collect magnet art as souvenirs.  I pick up a magnet wherever I go as a small inexpensive memento.  I once heard all the stuff people get on vacation called 'souvenir trash'.  I love to pick up trinkets, but they just end up gathering dust somewhere.  Magnets have a home on the Refrigerator while adding color to a bland appliance.

Check out my refrigerator below!  It is pretty messy right now, but I enjoy seeing a visual diary of my travels every time I open it!!!