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The King is Still Alive!
Hanging with friends at the #LVH checking out a great Vegas Show!..#TrentCarlini
The “real” Storage Wars
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
…when all the dots connect…
Hey everyone, here is my latest… this is titled “when all the dots connect” oil on panel, framed 31 x 39.
price: SOLD
hey, how much do you want for this?
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
I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours……
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
have you started making your millions yet?
Hey everyone;
I think most, if you asked, would aspire to having an art collection if they could… trouble is where do you start?.. how much should you invest?… and what is really worth collecting? I recently saw a documentary titled “Herb and Dorothy”. He was a postal worker and she was a librarian. Despite their modest income, the two began acquiring work that was undiscovered or unappreciated in the early 1960s, primarily Minimalist and Conceptual art by such visionaries as Robert and Sylvia Mangold, Donald Judd, Richard Tuttle, Sol LeWitt, Christo, Lynda Benglis and many other artists who are featured in the film. During their 45 years they were able to amass over 4000 works of art… the value of their highly sought after collection is well in excess of several million dollars. Not bad for a couple of government workers…..getting further into their story it was very interesting to me that they never accepted “blind” works of art. They only purchased from artists that they had personally met along the journey….. all the pieces had to fit within their budget, so finding the best value from the correct artist was paramount to the collection. Because of this, they had a great connection to the art and were able to really talk about the artist and his/her work as well as personal tidbits that seemed to enhance the artwork.
What an awesome journey!… and the craziest thing is that its really easy for all of you to put into place in your current lives today.. You already know this artist personally if your getting this blog….lol…. all you need to do today is start your collection by purchasing some art.. Don’t devalue something just because it is priced at less than what you think ‘good’ art should be priced at…. I always tell people that if you really like it, buy it, whether it is $50 or $500.
….. at the end of the day a good collection represents who you are. So keep it you….edit what doesn’t’ fit….. build on what does, and most importantly keep records! Where you purchased your pieces, from whom, and what you paid. All this is important information that will add provenance to your pieces.
have a great week everyone!…and happy collecting..
……peace
………….james
ps… the below piece would be a great start or even an addition to your current collection….. it is 36 x 36 oil, titled abstract floral: study of red and blue… if your serious about your collection or getting started, I’ll offer this at 50% off of its current list price of $600.00
Hanging with the Rat Pack!!
Hanging out with the Broadway Rat Pack at the 4 Queens
Life Cube Burns In Las Vegas!
Enjoying the great weather and taking in the LIFE Cube Project
what does it mean to be self taught..?
What does it mean to be self taught?…. …. I have seen many artists over the years with BFA’s and an MFA’s who know very little about art, and their work is equally uninspiring…. in fact, when they are completed, they spend the first years of their career deconstructing some of what they have learned. This isn’t to say that there is no value in obtaining a degree in fine arts ….and for some, formal instruction I think is necessary as a building block towards being an autodidact….
When I look at my career as an artist I can say that my work is based on my life and all of the experiences I have gained along the way… from the people I have meet, artists I have worked with, techniques I have seen, the schools I have attended, what I have read, seen, and interacted with….. each experience is a building block that adds to my foundation
One of my best experiences happened in the summer of 1987…. I was able to go to the Louvre Museum in Paris….. I remember showing up there and was completely in awe of everything I was seeing…. I was so energized by what I was seeing that I spent the next week going daily to the museum trying to study and learn about every painter and every sculpture, their life, their work… it was so electrifying that when I was done I was able to converse with any art historian with a great deal of certainty and detail about the works in the museum. Seeing these works of art in person, seeing their brush strokes, the detail, their size, really put the value into their significance in history..
So when you ask yourself are you self taught…….. ask if you are learning only from yourself and what you can draw from within, or are you learning from other people…teachers, writers, other artists both dead and alive, magazine resources, workshops on techniques, books, the successes of others, the mistakes of others, comments and critiques….. experimenting on what you have learned and shaping it into all that is you
for me its an easy answer… my art is the journey, my experiences are my building blocks, and it doesn’t end after the class is over….its just beginning…
have a great week everyone!
……peace
………..james
seen any good movies lately?….
Hey everyone;
Once in a while its good to take a break and relax… lately I have been on a kick to find and watch all the movies I can about painters… searching the internet I found 383 movies about painters… so I started my journey… heres what I have seen and recommend so far….
Frida– Frida (2002) This account of Mexican surrealist pioneer Frida Kahlo is visually stunning, not only in portraying her life but in bringing several of her most famous paintings to life on the screen. Salma Hayek performs beautifully in the title role.
Pollock- Pollock (2000) Ed Harris’s pet project about groundbreaking modern artist Jackson Pollock garnered critical acclaim, Academy Award nominations (and a win for Marcia Gay Harden as Pollock’s wife), and is certainly worth checking out.
Paradise Found- (2003) Kiefer Sutherland. Paris, 1880. Paul Gauguin is a successful financier. He lives in Paris with his wife Mette and their four children. But when his passion for painting becomes a mission to revolutionize art, Gauguin must unleash the savage within himself. To do so he gives up his job and comfortable lifestyle, leading his family into a downward spiral of poverty and travels to Tahiti. His voyages take him even further from his beloved family and teach him the true meaning of the word sacrifice. What price must he pay in order to pursue his dream?Surviving Picasso
Basquiat– Basquiat (1996) Depicting postmodern graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and his troubled rise to fame, this movie marks the directorial debut of Julian Schnabel, originally a painter himself and a former colleague of the artist.
Lust for Life- (1956) Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn. Vincent Van Gogh is the archetypical tortured artistic genius. His obsession with painting, combined with mental illness, propels him through an unhappy life full of failures and unrewarding relationships. He fails at being a preacher to coal miners. He fails in his relationships with women. He earns some respect among his fellow painters, especially Paul Gauguin, but he does not get along with them. He only manages to sell one painting in his lifetime. The one constant good in his life is his brother Theo, who is unwavering in his moral and financial support.
Factory Girl– Factory Girl (2006) Focusing on muse and model Edie Sedgwick, this movie offers an alternate perspective into the world of Andy Warhol’s famous Factory collective.
Modigliani- (2004) Andy Garcia. Set in Paris in 1919, biopic centers on the life of late Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, focusing on his last days as well as his rivalry with Pablo Picasso. Modigliani, a Jew, has fallen in love with Jeanne, a young and beautiful Catholic girl. The couple has an illegitimate child, and Jeanne’s bigoted parents send the baby to a faraway convent to be raised by nuns. Modigliani is distraught and needs money to rescue and raise his child. The answer arrives in the shape of Paris’ annual art competition. Prize money and a guaranteed career await the winner. Neither Modigliani, nor his dearest friend and rival Picasso have ever entered the competition, believing that it is beneath true artists like themselves. But push comes to shove with the welfare of his child on the line, and Modigliani signs up for the competition in a drunken and drug-induced tirade. Picasso follows suit and all of Paris is aflutter with excitement at who will win. With the balance of his relationship with Jeanne
Painters Painting- (1973) The definitive documentary on the New York School Painters. Featuring footage of all the major figures of the New York Art Scene between 1940-1970, showing many of the artists before they became famous.
Seraphine- (2008) The tragic story of French naïve painter Séraphine Louis aka Séraphine de Senlis (1864-1942), a humble servant who becomes a gifted self-taught painter. Discovered by prominent critic and collector William Uhde, she came to prominence between the wars grouped with other naïve painters
I still have plenty to go.. but I am committed to see as many as I can… have a great week everyone. enjoy a movie!
…peace
………………james