Marketing, Painting Daily and Dealing with Rejection Often

Now that I am mature and have a new attitude I am not longer taking rejection personally.  Rejection is part of a painters marketing process.  Think of it this way, when you are in the produce section of your local market, do you buy every rutabaga in the bin?  No, you select the number of rutabagas you need based on what you are cooking, how big your family is and which rutabagas appeal to your sensibilities.  This produce choosing process is no different then choosing paintings to go in a show or exposition or to buy. 

So the next time you take one of your pieces of artwork out of the house to be looked at and judged, remember my "Rutabaga Rule of Rejection" and don't take it personally. Do not think your painting was not bought or juried in because your skills are not perfect or your technique is lacking.  Instead realize that the buyer or judge did not need a "rutabaga" like yours for several reasons; it did not fit with the shows theme, it did not catch his eye or appeal to his personal style, etc. 

I hope this helps and by the way, my painting that I submitted to the member show at the SDWS was not chosen for the show. There were over 200 entries and only about 109 spots, so I can't take this personally, plus I know all about the "Rutabaga Rule."

Sketchbook Studies for Future Paintings

I am continuing to paint in my sketchbook from my Italy photos.  I am finding working in my sketchbook travel journal helpful in two ways. First, I am completing my sketchbook so it will chronicle my trip in paintings + a little writing. Second, since my journal pages are small , about 5"x8" I feel free to try out new paint colors and combinations since I am going to use them as studies for future paintings. 

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Post Trip Painting

I've been painting in my studio this past week using photos I took in Italy as reference.  

View from hotel window in Florence

View from hotel window in Florence

Here is the painting I finished this afternoon and took down to the San Diego Watercolor Society and entered it in their monthly member show. 

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It seemed like a good idea at the time.  

Umbria Needs More Time

On our last evening in Spoleto we walked through town to visit the Roman Aquaduct on the outskirts of town. I counted at least 5 places I hadn't seen yet and wanted to explore. Spoleto is in the province of Umbria and we need to definitely return again next Fall and visit more Umbria towns and explore more nooks, crannies and Roman artifact museums. 

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Spoleto building with clocktower

Spoleto building with clocktower

Travel Journal Art Supplies.

One mistake to avoid when packing your art supplies for travel painting, is to not take too many art supplies. Even though I thought I had pared down my supplies for this trip, I took a lot of things I didn't use. 

These are the supplies I carried with me daily in Italy

The only brushes I used were my travel watercolor brushes in 4 sizes made by cheapjoes.com

I am eliminating what I didn't need or use on this trip.

I  discovered that using a mechanical pencil with a good eraser and my Schminke pocket paint set with its own little water container really made a difference when I sat down to paint in an outdoor location. The mechanical pencil was great because it was always sharp and carried its own eraser so I didn't waste time searching for my eraser or pencil sharpener. The pocket paint set was great because it had enough room for plenty of paint colors, and I didn't have to use a separate water container when painting in restaurants or on the airplane plus it was small enough to fit into my supply bag easily.

I clipped the paintbox to my sketchbook with a clip I bought in Tuscany because Charlotte had one. 

This is what I threw into my messenger bag/purse when we went out everyday.

These travel supply reductions really helped because weight and ease of use are big factors in choosing supplies that you can grab at a moment's notice when you catch sight of something you want to paint while touring around. The weight of your supplies is important too because its very tiresome to carry around pounds of supplies when you are out for the day plus too many supplies take up too much room in your 22" suitcase.

On the Way Home to Dogs, Dust and household Duties via Amsterdam

We have a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam and found a quiet spot in the airport to sit.  In a few minutes I am going to reflect on my new insights gained from our time in Italy.

Please don't expect me to actually follow through on most of these insights, I rarely do.  Of course I have decided I will learn to meditate so my brain will be pristine and rid of crital thoughts about my artwork.  I must go to the Y and attend Yoga, ballet, weight lifting and flower arranging classes 6 x a week or more. I am going to redecorate my office so it looks like a replica of the Tuscan artist/wine maker's studio that we visited in the Chianti  region. I am going to paint several large paintings based on the photos I took of the Italian landscape.  I am going to learn to bake focaccia bread with my friend, Nancy Holtz and I am going to mak sure I paint everyday and find somewhere to display my work. Also I would like to be a nicer,wiser, more charitable person and go to museums often. 

Check in with me in a few months to see what I have accomplished, I have heard that following thru on one's goals requires accountability.  Have you a secret method of following through on your goals? Would you please share it with me?

NOTE to All Blog Readers

Just in case you might be thinking that my blog posts are incomplete due to too much wine consumption. I want to assure you that is not the case. There is a problem with my blog app and I will add more to the posts when I have access to a computer.