What Do Artists Do during the Pandemic?

Fortunately, most of what we do is in our studio.

Artists can use ‘Covid Seclusion’ to reorganize their studios, sifting through paint tubes and discarding old hardened ones. We can sort through brushes and recondition some and toss others. I used the time to sort through paintings I made during the last two years. Then, I created a spreadsheet to log in all my work.

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Organizing my studio.

Collect future subjects
Artists can use their time to drive around, masked, and take photos that can be be used for reference in the studio. You can create a log of these subjects, either online or on an actual hard copy file card. Years ago, I used large file cards to list the title, size, medium, dominant colors, and places that I exhibited. Later, I added actual photos on the back of the card. These were filed alphabetically by title. You can also file by date created.

Logging work

Later, when I began using spreadsheets on my computer, the information on these cards was easy to enter. Eventually, I added more columns as needed. Here are some I used most:

1) Entry deadlines 2) Fees paid 3) Address of the gallery or show. 4) Date of return/pick up 5) Awards 6) Juror 7) Size unframed AND matted 8) Type of framing.

All these extra columns enabled me to reference where the painting was shown so I did not reenter it by mistake. Also, I recorded the fees paid and it was an easy way to do a bookkeeping spreadsheet of what I spent at marketing and showing my work.

Strategize your time

Artists have to discipline their time for studio work as well as our business. Just like a manufacturing business, we need to produce inventory and keep track of what we sell, also taxes collected and try to create a contact list to email invites for our next exhibit. I even created a monthly newsletter.

Paint, Paint. Paint.

When pressure mounted up, I painted. This was like a vacation for my mind and stress. Most of all, I stayed SAFE, observing the rules so that I remained healthy. This is our MAIN priority! Stay healthy.

Do You Have Sofa Art?

MOST PEOPLE BUY SOFA ART BECAUSE IT’S EASY.

You are re-furnishing your digs. You decide on the main colors of your scheme. The wall, upholstery and rugs are well planned. You shop at umpteen stores to find the right sofa for the space. You are exhausted from the HUNT. You breathe a sigh of relief that the biggest part is over.  

Now for the wall treatment…..

You will look for a mass-reproduction print from Target, or other instant decor store that will match the ‘perfect’ sofa but the art lacks any emotional response. It has no other value other than filling a wall space and it looks okay.  

The mass-produced print has minimal or no experiential impact on you. It is benign and becomes almost non-existent as time goes on.

Most people do not know how to actually look at original art. so they don’t appreciate it . 

The average person does not see the value of original art. 

Listen! Original art was painted because it had meaning to the artist. It was an expression of something they valued and wanted to share it with others who could relate to their experience. 

It is a friendship of sorts. The work Is NOT meant to be a mass-produced picture to fill a space. It is meant to bring pleasure or an emotion every time you looked at it.

2018 Magical Berry Road by M.Gegerson, watercolor, 22x28

Magical Berry Road’ emotionally links me with my experience of living in the country. I still feel the emotion of joy. From the image I can remember what it was like to ride my horse through those woods and see the sunset through the trees. I am THERE in it, but not actually. 

This painting is a way for me to go back in time, when I can’t really go back. It is a tangible way for me to experience the memory. For that moment, I am in THE ZONE.  Ah, pleasure!

Visual memory is more than an image on canvas!  It is a priceless gift of God to help us feel alive.

A friend spent hours looking for the perfect rug that matched her living room furniture. Yet she used less time to fill the wall above it with a repro because it was expendable.  Finding original art that moves you, takes more of your time. It is worth the experience of the ‘hunt’ because it opens you up to things you hadn’t thought of for ages. It has the power to connect you to your life and the layers under the surface.

People don’t throw out original art because they sense its intrinsic value. 

Even if they decide to toss it out, someone will definitely find it in the dumpster and hang on their wall because it is an original work.  I wonder how many people discovered they had a treasured painting that was hidden in the attic or hall closet. On Antiques Road Show, I am always amazed at the value of a painting that some relative bequeathed to them. They never imagined they had valuable art. 

Original art always has value.

2020- SUNSET#4, by Marsh Gegerson, Acrylic, 8×8″Gallery Canvas

Recently, I painted a series of small sunsets because they took my breath away. When I look at them, I experience the same emotion as when I first saw the saw the sky filled with those luscious colors.

I needed to paint them so that I would experience them again once it was gone.

Try to value the art and the artist that makes them.

They have spent hours, even months, sometimes years producing a painting until the artist senses the unity of all the art elements. Nothing seems off balance. It is passes the artist’s critical eye and is complete and ready for you to buy and enjoy forever.

You can never know its value as time goes on. Vincent Van Gogh only sold ONE painting in his lifetime and that was to his brother, Theo, because he felt sorry for Vincent. Now they are priceless.

Point Taken?

The Holidays Are Here!

Christmas, Holiday Cheer, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah.

However you prefer to say it is personal and means a lot.

This is the time of year when our focus shifts from everyday tasks and we start planning for the holidays. 

Every holiday, I make sure I take photos. As we get older, I found it is easy to not bother. We already missed photos of my husband’s 83rd Birthday in November and I’m ticked about that. So, I decided that we should not miss any more!

You see, as we get older, every day, month and year that God gives us is the blessing of life and I am so grateful to be together with family another year.

The Holidays are a time to reflect upon our loved ones and how we show appreciation for their place in our lives.  With thanksgiving we express gratitude for our blessings. But what about the rest of the year?

I urge you to develop a spirit of gratefulness even for everyday things.

There are so many people in our lives that we need to acknowledge and say thank you for being my friend or boss or teacher. What I mean is that tangible gifts are not as important as relationships. It is not about what we get but what we give.

For instance, we can tell the cashier that most don’t notice, that she is important to God and has done a great job. Give people the gift of encouragement and praise instead. Also gift God with PRAISE for your blessings and the people He has placed in our lives to share it with you.

©2019 Seven O’clock in the Summer by Marsh Gegerson, acrylic, 8×8″

I have started a new series called Skyscapes over Florida that I captured with my iPhone. Friends have sent me their sunset photos to add to my album as these will be ’fodder’ for my paintings.
Send me some of yours please, including sunrises and awesome cloudscapes. This is thanks in advance. Email your photo as an attachment to Marshfineart@gmail.com.

When Your Art Becomes An Exhibit.

What happens when you try to exhibit?

After sorting through about 50 paintings, the task of selecting a small amount for my art exhibit seemed daunting. If I painted it, you know I love it. I take my art personally. It was like I was offering up my kids on the auction block.

Suddenly, I realized I was selfish because I was an Art Hoarder! Art is to be seen, not hidden. 

I wish I knew what exhibiting would entail!  Physically, at my age, it was a challenge going up ladders, reaching overhead to hang art and to descend safely. Truthfully, heights never bothered me. 

I once went up in a hot air balloon and it was the time of my life, one that I would love to repeat.  I remember the thrill of helping to fill the balloon with the hot air generated by a flamed inferno of some sort. Before we realized it, the tether was loose and up we went, high above Orlando.

So take note. I am not afraid of heights, but five foot tall ladder? It made me feel fragile and I am not the sort to take ’fragile’ lightly. Then I realized that this artist has changed over the decades. I’m not steady on ladders!

My mantra has always been, ”Go for it! Just don’t be stupid”. Suddenly hanging art from a ladder was not my idea of ‘safe and sound’. Who else was there to do it? Thus I told myself, “Get it over quickly” (as if that would remove the risk I was taking). I ignored my common sense.

Finally, I opened my show with thirty-something paintings. Some were large framed pieces and others were unframed paintings in labeled portfolios. I did it this way because I had limited wall space for most of them.

Some of my art in the main exhibit area.

When it came time to sell my fav paintings of Key West, dear friends bought the ’Key West Lighthouse’ and I felt guilty for selling off one of my favored children (LOL). I am delighted these friends decided to invest in my art.

All of a sudden, things got confusing. Listen, I am a great planner. I covered all the bases for this art show and it is not my first rodeo. When clients asked to see more art in my studio, I stupidly complied. First of all, it is the smallest room in the house. Suddenly there were 4 people jammed in there with me.

I love my studio space even though it is full of stuff. I am an artist. We are collectors of what might be part of our art someday!

Besides, my studio art was not priced yet!

It caused confusion for Patti, the friend who was tracking my sales. She had no idea what was going on except the work was not on her price sheet.

Back in the studio, I flung out prices off the top of my head, not considering the time it took to make the work, the size and the cost of materials. Actually I discovered that it was not so stupid after all since I sold three works from inside my studio.

Artists create solely for the pleasure of creating.

I loved seeing my friends in my home more than selling my art. It gave me a warm feeling to observe their interest in what I did. Many never saw an artist’s studio or an exhibit and this was a first. All my art was hidden in portfolios for decades. So, why create if no one sees it?

Art making is a challenge. Some of the work goes well. Other times it is difficult to even finish a piece. Other times it ends in the trash. Good art involves an artist’s intuition of what is working and what we have to change. It is a back and forth kind of thing.

Remember, it may take months to complete a painting. Sometimes it will be a year to revise one. It is hard work. Very few artists are fortunate enough to make a living solely on their art.

When my clients show appreciation for my work and my creative process, I feel encouraged to keep on keeping on, because my work brings them visual pleasure. Thus they have connected with my art and therefore with me!

A special thanks goes to Kelly Varner-Jones for doing my photography. ;o}

Abstract Art. What Do You Think About It?

Many people prefer realism because they do not understand Abstract Art.

The Artist Expresses Feelings and Thoughts Differently.

My objective is to give you some pointers about :

  • Why artists make abstract art
  • Some of the ways an artist develops an abstract painting
  • Famous artists who did abstracts

So what is abstraction?

“Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot see physically with his eyes… Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite. It is the emancipation of the mind. It is an exploration into unknown areas.”
– Arshile Gorky

There comes a time when an artist needs a new challenge.

I have been painting for 50 years, long enough to get good at it. Long enough to get bored doing it. I needed to punch my way out of the paper bag of complacency and risk doing something different.

My mind still fought me. My mind would not release me to think abstractly.

What is interesting is that I was teaching advanced painting in high school and we did many units using abstraction. So, what is my problem?

My students had no problem abstracting when I taught them about cubism because they understood what the artist was attempting to do.

I was my problem! In short: I needed to get away from my studio and give myself PERMISSION to abstract. I know that sounds peculiar.

Unfortunately,I was programmed to please. For years, I painted in realism because my viewers preferred it. In other words, I painted for them, not ME. I was not being honest with my work.

I flew to North Carolina to take a week long workshop with Mary Todd Beam, whose work I loved. She painted in abstract compositions but also incorporated realistic symbolism into her work.

Beam had me dabbling in strange stuff. Sand and gesso. White gesso on black canvas and drawing with flow-release. Line work with my non-dominant hand. She was a plethora of information about abstraction and how to dive in and just enjoy the process.

I loved what I was doing! I was totally involved.

This work uses some collage elements of diatoms from a science handout, a drawn portrait and actual cheesecloth for texture. It earned BEST IN SHOW at the Florida Art Educators Exhibit. 2014.

The first painting I did when I returned home from NC, flowed from me. In fact, I painted it in a few hours, not days, and it won two Best in Show awards. Yet, if you asked me HOW I did it, I could not explain it to you. I never stopped to think how I painted it.

I followed my inner instinct. ‘This doesn’t feel right’ or ‘ Yes. This is the way to go!’.

Honestly, it was a continual inner fight. I am a classically trained artist with four years of university fine arts and a BFA. I had to train myself to think and critique differently.

In my era, Expressionism was just beginning to take hold.

Actually, I was not attracted to the movement or artists like Jackson Pollack and his “dribbles”. My university didn’t push the movement because my profs were just starting to dabble in it but didn’t fully understand it enough to teach it.

Yet now I was taking risks with abstraction. Unfortunately, my audience didn’t understand abstraction either. It was much easier for them to collect realistic landscapes or still lifes.

So I painted what my viewers liked because their approval fed me. Sadly, this fettered my creative growth.

After getting my head straight, and painting for ME, I discovered more pleasure with the process of thinking through my abstract works.

Now I love painting abstractly because it comes from within me and it is honest.

Sadly now, much of the watercolors I see are painted from personal photos. I feel the art is losing its spontaneity. It is a ‘reproduction’ of the photo in actual paint, but without the essence of the subject. The reproductive craft is applauded.

I began to notice lost ‘essence’ when my students preferred using photos; it was easier, they said. Their technique and craft was excellent, so why were they were copying all the subjective details of a photo. The photograph did all the work; they just copied what they were seeing. As a result, copying photos was banned in my classroom.

My Process

When abstract artists develop a painting, photos are used sparingly, and we paint from an inward vision and use experimentation in our process.

I will paint something, and not ‘feel’ it’s right; I remove the paint and re-edit.

Sometimes, I might paint on a piece of acetate, hold it over the work, move it around to find the perfect spot and then paint in what I did on the trial acetate piece.

A Famous Abstract Artist

Wassily Kandinsky loved lines and geometric symbols. He painted what he heard in music, but visually.

Composition 8 by Kandinsky. You can almost hear the music.

I anticipate when you understand why artists do something and what they want to say, it helps you grasp the meaning of abstract work.

By taking time to really look at a work, it will begin to ‘speak’ to you. Interestingly, you will start relating it to your experiences that feel similar. Finally, you begin to appreciate the artist and the work.

Give abstract art a try! It helps to look for the Artist Statement that explains what motivated the artist. Start from this point.

Next, explore the work itself. Find hidden things in it. Play hide and seek with it. How does it express a mood? How do the colors or brushwork explain what the artist was saying visually?

This is just the beginning.

You will find abstracts exciting as much as the artist was excited to create it.

My Small Studio? Does that mean I can only do small art?

How do you organize a small studio?

Are artists limited by the size of their studio?

Hunting for a material is a time waster. So… Is IKEA my Friend?

Is it possible for artists to make decent art from a small ten by eleven foot studio? I am sure my studio is the smallest in the world. At least, it feels like it! I have to walk sideways around my worktable to get something across the room. Also, any art over 36 inches is a miraculous feat.

How to build a small studio

Every wall in my studio has a variety of storage cabinets purchased from my dearest friend of small spaces, IKEA. This company is teaching Americans how we can function in small spaces. IKEA’s successful marketing idea was developed to suit the European style of living. Most people in large European cities do not own homes. Apartments or condos are the common fare where every spare space is utilitarian. IKEA becomes their friend. And mine too.

I equipped my studio from a small 9 by 10 foot bedroom.

I found a way to organize this mess of art, supplies and have a work area to create.

I needed a place to store art materials, canvases, and the hundreds of other things artists collect. These include paper, collage materials, pads and more pads of tracing paper, watercolor paper, Bristol paper, newsprint paper, specialty papers, illustration board, and boards to mount my watercolor paper. Are you getting the idea? Obviously, artists need surfaces to create and the walls of the studio do not cut it!

We hired a carpenter to build a vertical file storage box similar to what I had in my school classroom. It works really great and only takes up 36×30 inches. It sits in a corner. The vertical spaces are changeable since the partitions are removable. The flat top holds my large bed printer and a bookcase. (Artists are serious art book collectors and would rather die than give up our library.)

A vertical file works well for pad and canvas storage. It has removable wall sections and the top platform holds my printer.

What about the accumulation of your art materials?

One thing I hate to do is to waste time by rummaging through stuff to find what I need at the moment.

YAAY IKEA, Drum roll !

  • Narrow drawers are easy to stock with flat thing like pencil boxes and gouache sets.
  • One wall of the room holds cabinets for smaller storage plus a vertical bookcase
  • Cheap plastic bins hold acrylic tube paints
  • Plastic dollar store baskets hold other painting materials.

IKEA narrow drawer cabinet holds all my sketching materials, and other art supplies. The bottom two drawers hold stencils, collage miscellanies.

Organize by categories of materials just like an art supply catalog lists their products by type.

Have you tried small bins to organize your materials by type? 
     Adhesives, tools, tape, decorative scissors,
     and whatever.                                     

The bookcase at the left corner has bins for craft things like tools, adhesives, tapes, all clearly labeled with wooden tags.

Time is the artist’s friend. We use TIME to get art done, not to look for a material.

                                                

I found these bins discarded at the curb at a neighbor’s house.

Below, are the shelves behind my work table. They are all within easy reach. The bulletin board flips up to get to the spray cans on the top shelf. It is hinged from the top and has a white board market calendar and not space plus a small bulletin board. More books are stored at the bottom.

I work at a sturdy 48 inch table that I ordered online from Wayfair. It has a faux marble table top and is easy to clean.

A flip up bulletin board hides spray cans.

Gesso, gel medium, pencils, brushes.

Turntable with tools, plaster model of my hand just for fun

More books.

Draw a floor plan of your art space. Measure the walls and research storage options on line.

I hope the ideas in this blog will help artists who live in smaller spaces who sadly think there is no space to continue making art. Use your artist’s creativity to design your space. Observe all the places that are ‘air’ and ask, “Can I use this area to build a studio?”. My first studio was on a card cable in a corner of my bedroom. It really can be done.

                                                       

I Want To Do A Newsletter. Maybe?

I was thinking this was how I could show you my world of art and the adventure I am walking through!

I’ve been learning how to travel through the art world of exhibits, social media and the how to’s of the art business which is not an easy thing for a person who did not grow up with a computer. Gosh, I thought my electric typewriter with an eraser capability was the coolest thing! Did I ever imagine I would be using Macbook Pro, creating a website, trying Instagram, e-Commerce, Facebook business and make videos to post online? NEVER!

So, am I crazy to do all this?

There are times when I think so. Retired from teaching high school art two years ago, I was bored. Besides, I inherited an entrepreneurial nature from my dad. In a crazed moment, I decided to enroll in a year long course to learn all about the art business. I wanted to sell my 50 something paintings I have stored in portfolios in my studio.

Why not do a newsletter ? Through my school, I have a good head start in technology.

This was where I spent 14 years as an educator. Now my grand-daughter will start Classical School here. Go Royals!

My school was an Apple Distinguished School which means (drum roll) I had to become an Apple Certified Teacher. That was no small thing.

So, you’re not too impressed? Remember, I am a hair away from being an octogenarian, so be impressed.

I spent hours learning most of the Apple programs like Garage Band where I could write music and publish. I learned to make iMovies, with trailers, add sound and to edit (clip) my video mistakes. I had prove that I could do ‘this stuff’ so that I could teach ‘this stuff’ and then (ta-da) earn my very own Star Wars Light Saber. as a reward. It proudly sits in a corner of my studio to remind me I can do what I never imagined with much determination, hard work and God.

The Light Saber

At this stage in my life, I am beginning another career; painting daily to build an exhibit of 20 paintings, scheduling business hours and being challenged so that my brain stays young and happy and my family is happy that I am happy.

Actually, I am finding it is hard work so I’m asking for prayer.

Please text me your email address so I can send you my Newsletter. I do not share this with any other parties.

I try to add new art photos each month and tell you a bit of trivia about artists and art appreciation. Mostly it is because I want to stay in touch with people I have come to appreciate. Also, I can welcome new friends this way, that like art and are interested in seeing my work.

Thank you all. It is much appreciated.

There Are So Many Mediums to Do Art.

My brush collection is huge. I found I can fill a coffee cup with raw beans and poke the handles in to hold the brushes upright. It is easier to select the ones I need.

How do I choose?

First think of what you want to paint.

What medium seems to fit your idea? Follow up by experimenting with one that would be best. It can be a combination of several media or just one. Do a rough painting sketch of the main forms but no details. What color would be best for the main idea or what we call the center of interest?

I do a lot of Mixed Media with acrylics, meaning I might add a paper and collage it on or I might tear up an old painting I do not like, and use the pieces. I think of the style I want to express my idea. Will I use strong outlines? Or smudge the outlines for a filmy look? Be sure to overlap shapes. Don’t leave space around each one have them tough or overlap so the composition flows and there is a sense of direction to move around the artwork.

You are like a symphony director. You need to tell people how to move around your art.

When I select my colors, I consider the art elements like LINE, SHAPE, FORM, TEXTURE, VALUE, COLOR, SPACE (or dimension). My best work uses texture, color and value. Will my texture be real and tactile so that I touch it and feel it? If so, I would choose heavy gels or heavy gesso (pronounced jes-O) to raise up the canvas or paper surface before I paint. If I want the texture to be visual, I will paint the texture into the art.

Because I have been painting for half a century, I am very familiar with the interactions of colors so I try not to mix ones that will make my painting muddy. Is you use a color wheel and do not mix the colors opposite each other unless you really want a gray-brown neutral.. However, I will use opposites, called complements, to dull a too bright color.

For starters, pick 4 colors you seem to use most of the time. Restrict your painting to only those colors and make several sketches with a thin brush. My favorite four are yellow-orange, Golden Quinacridone crimson (or a cool red), Golden turquoise blue and a. blue-violet. Actually if you look at the color wheel, my colors are called a split-complementary color scheme.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=color+wheel

Here is a link to several kinds of wheels. Look for the primary triad- red, yellow and blue. Look at yellow orange and blue green. Then find the red and blue. What are the colors on the other sides of red and blue? Try using those with the yellow-orange and blue-green. Paint a bunch of squiggles in each color all over the paper. Allow some to overlap to see what happens. Do you think they complement each other? In other words, do they ‘pop’ when you use them together? This is what you after.

©2018 Marsh Gegerson, High Sierra, Watercolor, 15×17″ $700.

Look at my painting above. I used a split complement scheme. yellow-orange, red, blue-violet and turquoise or blue green. They seem to enhance each other.

Find your colors, your style by using a few of the art elements and make several paintings.

Don’t use them all. Pic two or three. For instance, try outline (line) and shape ( geometric and free form shapes) then add space by overlapping some and leaving one or two alone. Play with it. Don’t get serious about it. Be spontaneous. It will come and soon you will have YOUR style.

The new word for today is ‘Schmooze’.

Read on for the definition.

I want to digress today and mention a venue that has a gallery wall where artists can exhibit their work. It is not up and running yet, but it looks very promising.

Schmooze, pronounced shh-mooz, is a NY word, and as I found just found out, also a Colorado and California word. Probably, it is not a Southern word. They like, “Chew the Fat” but they mean the same thing.

As you know, College Park is a tiny jewel, nestled in the Greater Orlando area. We are a kind of cozy community of 1950s-60s houses that are deja-vu for me but what the Millennials now love. Their word for it is Mid-Century. Many of our residents are second and third generation College Parkites and most went to Edgewater High School.

For instance, my home was built in 1962, complete with terrazzo floors, powder blue bathtub, that we never changed. That mid-century flavor is familiar to me because I grew up with it. It’s Happy Days happy.

Actually, most of CP is mid-century. When our homey Princeton Diner closed, we felt abandoned. It was our breakfast ‘schmooze’ place and definitely a College park icon.

Maybe most do not know it but The Princeton Diner left us to make way for expansion of our high school. We also said a sad farewell to the Dinner Theater. College Park Oldsters remember it well.

This is not a secret! There is a new eatery in town. I’ll tell you more later.

I won’t fool you. I’m not a born here resident. My daughter moved to our then College Park quiet town, after graduating from Stetson Law. She was hunting for a place in Orlando that reminded her of her former digs of Coral Springs, South FL.

Did you know, in the early seventies Coral Springs was chartered as a new city on the edge of the Everglades. We had 12,000 residents when moved there. If you didn’t meet people at soccer matches, you knew them from the Scouts. We all shopped at OUR tiny Publix. Memorably, does this remind you of the College Park teensy Publix that used small carts?

We followed our daughter to CP, or rather our baby grandchildren, to stake our claim here in 2003. It feels like home. Our mature grandkids say they want to live here forever.

Sadly or maybe not so sadly, College Park succumbed to growth, innovation and a new image of the 21st century modernism. Well, Happy Days are here again. Gone was the schmooze or as Southerners call it “chewing the fat”. Princeton Diner is gone but…..

We have a new coffee/schmooze eatery called ‘Cafe Linger’.

It’s actually a place to slow down, meet friends for a bite and enjoy a friendly atmosphere where we are not chased out. It’s old ‘College Park’ again. I discovered Cafe Linger on Edgewater Drive when a friend and I were looking to have lunch while searching out Central FL art galleries to exhibit my work! Eureka! Cafe Linger was a perfect mix for this.

As a matter of fact, I really do not get excited about eateries. This one has a variety of DIFFERENT eats. Yummy- tummy stuff. Healthy stuff. Besides, you can take your time to enjoy it. Our CP Linger’s atmosphere is may be more upscale- modern, and not the hole in the wall variety of the Village, but it has that homey feel. So, I decided to make my schmooze headquarters there.

No, this is not a paid ad. Actually, they probably don’t even know I blogged this. Happily, I love their concept, as it reminds me of my younger days in NYC, but with a mod feel. Ah, Excuse me. It’s time for a yum-brunch bite and an iced coffee. See ya.

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The Only Way For Me Is Up

An art business is hard work so we have to dig our heels in and not give up.

I’m stubborn. I hate to give up. This attitude can be an advantage or disadvantage. There might be something better waiting for us, and stubbornness can make us miss a blessing. Or we may get discouraged and tired of trying, so we decide we have had enough and quit.

What is the difference and what can I do?

When we are able to discern what our inner voice and catch our toxic contemplations, we can change our attitude. Thoughts trail into our minds constantly, even when we sleep. Our brains are twenty four, seven.

Above all, I am learning not to listen to my negative babel. This may include things that I hear from others or even my own thoughts. I use a discerning “sentry gate” that says, ‘No! I will reject that thought’. I have no time for discouragement.

We have to be an objective observer of our thoughts.

  • Throw out the mind garbage.
  • Believe in yourself and the talent that you was born with.
  • See it as a gift personal gift when you were born.
  • Believe that you have distinct destiny to bring good into our world.
  • Activate the first steps to moving up.

I believe my art brings enjoyment for others. It serves to open up peoples’ appreciation and emotional awareness of their environment.

     My art can be a vehicle to help others.

Remember, I stated that the only way for me is up. This means I will not allow myself to entertain failure. Yes, there are learning moments that sharpen my skills and performance and when it seems like I fail. I choose to see it as practice to improve. Actually, I think we need to develop a thick skin, to be an artist.

How do you perceive failure?

One upon a time, I perceived my failures and disappointments as my fault for being inadequate. I was believing my imaginary, too high perfectionist goals could not be achieved. I lost hope. How does one set a comfortable standard for yourself?

Likewise, for you to easily start out on this journey, you can set one desired goal. Then think of what you have to do to get there. Make it reachable by formulating smaller steps. Each stride forward is an advance toward your goal. I have set mine to sell my original art and reproductions (prints).

Another goal is to exhibit my art so it is seen by more people. Guess what! I just reached that goal. Currently, I have two paintings on exhibit in the Albin Polasek Museum, Winter Park, FL. https://Polasek.org

African Orchid by Marsh Gegerson, watercolor 22×30. This stylized floral painting expresses my love and fascination for the varieties orchids. I grow collect and grow them here in Florida.
Hopeful Conservancy by Marsh Gegerson, Watercolor, 28×19
This painting reveals plant life of the forest and how we can destroy it with carelessness and disregard. The central section expresses the destruction and reduction of our forest lands by fires.
 We relocated. I had to begin again!

When we moved from Broward County to Orange County, Florida, I had to start over. All my art contacts were in South Florida where I often exhibited and was active on the art scene. Packing up my studio for this move disoriented me. I began teaching visual arts full time in a high school. Though rewarding, my painting career was put on hold.

I was too tired to have even a lick of creativity energy when I arrived home. I wore it out in my art classroom. Actually, many of my senior students endeavored to make art a profession. and were accepted into some of the country’s best art institutions. This was was my humble and enjoyable reward.

Then, when I retired 3 years ago, I felt lost. I needed to formulate a new direction for income as it was now a key issue. I did not even enter my studio that year. After a while, I was motivated to paint again and hopefully I could move others to enjoy collecting my art. This also would supplement my retirement income.

Similarly, I wanted to find a means to serve others whose lives were in a difficult place. Since I personally knew many rich people that were miserable because they served themselves, they became self-ish. I needed to guard about that in my life.

By creating and providing art for people to collect, I would be able to make the lives of others better.

Hopefully, when I prosper through my art, I want contribute to the foundations that provide wells in impoverished areas. Clean water is a way for me to bring joy to others. If someone has to draw water from the river their cow is standing in, their health is threatened. Wells can defeat sickness and raise a villages’ standard of living.

To accomplish this end, I am learning about the art business by enrolling in a course named ART BIZ SUCCESS with Alyson Stanfield as my art coach. The course is challenging but I have set art goals and I am slowly working to achieve them with Alyson’s help and a bunch of members who are also building an art business.

By the way, if you are desiring to be an artist and to sell your work, I recommend you explore this link. Https://artbizsuccess.com

In summary, this is what ‘up‘ means to me.

First of all, it means not remaining stagnant. Additionally, I am not failing because that word isn’t even in my vocabulary! Hence, rising UP means setting my vision further than what I perceive now, so that my reach extends beyond my present grasp. I am choosing to go forward and not stand still!

In summary, be a believer in yourself!

  • Stay positive.
  • Dump bad thinking.
  • See a vision for your life.
  • Use your talent.
  • Reach for your goal
  • Then set another goal, and another.
  • Say everyday, I am an artist. I love to create and get better and better at it.
  • Repeat daily, I am successful.

Bon chance

Marsh