by james | May 10, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey Everyone feels like the creative energy has been building up lately …. as the weather changes and the heat thermostat outside is turned full on, its time to head back to the studio and start getting busy… working now on a commission piece now… not sure where its going to go.. I usually let the paint tell me… its my 4th commission of the year… kinda weird as I haven’t done many of these in the past, and as a purist, I usually don’t like doing them , but I definitely have enjoyed the recent ones… and then having them sold doesn’t hurt either…. Ive included a pic of the piece I just started working on now..
As promised here a a few quick shots from last weeks, Race for the Cure. Great turn out and support… Have a great week everyone… talk to you soon….
………………peace
…………………………….james
by james | May 3, 2014 | aoj blog
By the time you read this I should be deep into my race at the “Race for the Cure” going on in downtown Las Vegas, so we thought we would change it up a bit as this weeks blog is all about the breasts….kinda….
The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Series® originated in1983 in Dallas, Texas, USA, and is recognized as the world’s largest and most successful series of 5K run/fitness walk events designed to raise public awareness of breast cancer. When Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen® organized the first Komen Race for the Cure in 1983 in Dallas, she didn’t know that her revolutionary concept would be so popular. From the first event’s 800 participants, the concept has now expanded to annual Races that attract more than 1.5 million participants in more than 150 locations globally.
Thanks to the interest, hard work and collaboration of a variety of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governmental agencies, and individuals who want to make a difference in breast cancer mortality rates, Komen Race for the Cure events are being organized in places throughout the world Ambassador Brinker never dreamed of 30 years ago. Today they are expecting 13,000 participants which is an amazing number… So is all of this awareness are we closer to finding a cure ?…
Since 1990, breast cancer mortality has decreased by 34 percent. This decline is due to improved breast cancer treatment and early detection .
As mammography screening rates have increased, more cases of breast cancer have been found at earlier stages, when chances of survival are highest.
In 2014, they expect to have approximately 13 international Races in 8 countries with more than 150 Races globally. International Komen Race for the Cure events are unique in each country, however they all share the common goal of a world without breast cancer.
Its still a slow process and the cure is yet to be found for all, but without awareness we couldn’t have gotten as far as we have…No doubt we have a long way to go but with constant awareness and support the cure is around the corner…… Have a great week everyone… I’ll post pictures on next week blog…. off to the Race!
……..peace
………………james
by james | Apr 27, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey Everyone;
I was recently in a studio of a well known fellow artist here in Las Vegas and after a few glasses of wine our discussion turned to our work as it often does, “painting is dead”, he claimed…”there is nothing new anymore, its all been done” ..I have heard this before but couldn’t disagree with him more. Painting is alive and well…. and with all the advances in the paints and finishes and the addition of digital painting the doors have been opened even wider in this creative space. Even the financial community is seeing painting as alive as ever. Over the past several years there have been a number of financial institutions who have created art funds… The Mei Moses index, as their most recent update shows, over the last 50 years, stocks (as represented by the S&P 500) returned 10.9 percent annually, while the art index returned 10.5 percent per annum. And in the five years between 2001 and 2005, …………. art trounced stocks….. So is painting dead?…. Not Hardly !.. its just getting started…
Have a great week everyone, talk to you soon…
peace….
………. james
oil, 30 x 40 titled “thoughts of laguna”
Price: 800.00 USD
by james | Apr 19, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey everyone… Hope your having a great week…. one of the biggest issue I have as an artist is probably very close to the same as many others…...its the storage!……when I first started on this journey one of the things I never considered was where do I store everything?…with the size of my paintings its very difficult to store them all, and with over 300+ paintings and counting I don’t have the wall space..
Over the years I have seen some really creative storage ideas. From hollow painting walls where the artist can store paintings inside and then paint on the outside of the wall.. to specially configured closets to fully dedicated rooms, to old mailroom cabinets repurposed …… I think a lot of it depends on what your trying to store and how big it is… Due to the size of my work it is extremely challenging to store everything at the house… so for now I have filled my sister in-laws house with over 20 + paintings and I have a storage locker where some are housed, and then my house… drying wall in the bedroom and one entire room dedicated to my collection.. … on top of that every wall in every room has paintings hanging on it… even Sean’s room..lol… I actually have a series hanging in my garage…which consists of 39 different paintings…..so as creative as it takes to be an artist, you need to exercise the same creativity when it comes to storage…….so to help with gaining storage space… all paintings through the end of May will be 50% off the retail price for those that have signed up on our weekly blog…… remember signing up is free and it makes you smarter….
have a great week everyone
……peace
james…
pic of partial storage room
by james | Apr 12, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey everyone;
Hope your week went well….When I first started out on this journey I was always timid about discussing the price of a particular creation with the buyer . Not sure why, but but the quicker you get comfortable with this aspect the more success you should have… I have seen all types of pricing schemes , from no price listed, to the craziest of crazy inflated prices, to one that was based on a base price, plus a percentage of certain economic indicators… As my career has progressed and I became an established artist I started pricing my art creations to allow for the consistency and growth that collectors really appreciate and look for. I recently sold a painting that I applied the square inch technique to. Each painting is charged at 1$ per sq/in. Painting was 50 x 30…got the total of those…… 1500. Using this methodology the price set at $1500.00. (*the 1$ was based on historical sales data- sometimes I might go down for a larger piece or go up if the piece is framed) so as you can see its really easy to get a price worked up and takes the hassle out of this aspect…… but when the price is set, and the collector really, really, really wants the piece…..there are always the negotiations…lol…congratulations to my new collectors… hope you enjoy your new piece!!….
Heave a great week everyone…
……peace
………………..james
“Celebration of the Buffalo” 50 x 30 collage….. SOLD
by james | Apr 5, 2014 | aoj blog
Hey everyone;
Ever since the first recorded history of artists creating art, there has been the artist studio… clearly defined as an artist workshop or work space. Its always a been the “place” we go to do our thing…..The word studio is derived from the Italian: studio, from Latin studium, from sudere, meaning to study or zeal.
No matter how you you try to define it the studio of today takes on many different looks… from the traditional one that many think of to carts on wheels, redesigned backpacks, retro fitted trunks and truck beds, to huge industrial spaces. From minimalistic to the most abstract array of “stuff”… the studio is where all the knowledge, experience, emotions, and life lessons, come together to create the verses we will write .
Mine is a pretty simple set up and functional for my needs…… More traditional, the studio is a 10 x 10 room, with a walk out to a small outdoor workspace. My studio definitely reflects my many different processes and materials used when creating my art….you can tell it is an active studio with all the paint splatters on the walls and the canvas floor I paint on…… I also like to use my studio as a my private retreat.. for reading or meditation from time to time…..Its filled with a lot of books and magazines, and parts and pieces of all kinds of materials; paints, solvents, coatings, wire, glass, paper, canvas, and of course, my music system…
I have included a couple picks of what my studio looked like a day ago… guess I should have cleaned a little…
Have a great week everyone
peace…..
………………..james
