Artists of the West - due out in May!

The coffee table book, "Artists of the West", should be available in about six weeks or so. Cameron Blagg has been working tirelessly on this, and it will have considerably more artists within than its predecessor, "Northwest Artists".

I'll have a page in "artists of the West". I have the proof in PDF format, so if you'd like to see my page, you can view it here.

Ocean Shores Annual Art Show
April 11 - 13, 2008 Ocean Shores, WA
I'll be doing demos in Artists In Action at this event. Initially I was going to be doing demos at Fusions Art Gallery that weekend, but the owners encouraged me to do the show instead. It's an indoor venue at the Convention Center, should be a lot of fun! Do check out Fusions when you're in town, it's a very dynamic gallery with a wonderful variety - well worth the stop!

Westport Art Festival - Aug. 18-19

The poster has finally arrived! This year's featured artists are Karen Lucas, Cameron Blagg, Mark Hoppmann, and myself.

"Cormorants", my feather featured on this poster, *will* be on display at the show - we have been careful not to let that one find a home before the festival. So if you would like to purchase a one-of-a-kind original painting that has been featured on an art festival poster, here's an opportunity!

We are, however, still waiting on postcards. They will be similar to the poster. We're all a little concerned, because they were due at Lucas Art Gallery last week but seem to have fallen into the Postal Service Black Hole. Knocking on wood, and hoping they arrive within the next couple of days... I have 200 postcard stamps just waiting for them.

In the meantime, I will be hanging this poster at the Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival. That event takes place the weekend before Westport. August is going to be a very busy month!

ACEO Cards

Art Cards, Editions, Originals. It's a fun concept, and gives artists a chance to try new things - albeit in a tiny format. These cards are only 2-1/2" x 3-1/2", the standard trading card size, and fit nicely in sports-card sleeves. I have begun playing with production in these, and I must say they are really fun to do!

I've a few up on Ebay at the moment. My favorite in this batch has to be the Tlingit-style wolf, which you see here. Keep in mind the size, there's a lot of detail on this one.

For more of these little cards, go here.

Heavenly fragrance

I knocked the back of a hatchet with the back of an axe, and split into that big red cedar crosscut that I've had in my yard for the past year. I was pleased to see a trickle of water seeping from the cut as I forced the hatchet's blade deeper into the wood.

"Good," I thought. "Still good and green." It is important to keep the wood wet when working with traditional PNW tools and methods-- these were designed for wet wood. Puget Sound's weather did most of that for me, but there were a few times last summer when I hosed this wood down. One more hard blow, resulting in a sharp *CRACK!* as the cedar broke open cleanly and evenly. No wonder this wood is so utilized and so prized. The Tree of Life. The grain is straight, but it's coarse, not tight- a male tree.

I plunked two nice little hunks into a bucket of water on my patio under the deck. One will become a frontlet, and the other is yet to be decided. The fragrance of fresh-cut cedar fills my back yard. I've left my studio door open to enjoy that fragrance even more-- there is nothing on earth to equal the scent of fresh-cut cedar. The bucket sits next to a bag of rawhide, which waits to be turned into drums and other things. Should be a productive summer.

feather art

Arab Horse

A painting of a beautiful dapple-grey Arabian, as per his owners' request.

Order of the Arrow, Pt. 2

JOURNEY

This one was created for the purpose of fundraiser auction, to support the Conclave program for Section W1B. This will help fund program and events for next year's Conclave. Available for bid in Anchorage Alaska, W1B Conclave this coming weekend.

feather art

Order of the Arrow

This one was ordered for our Section's Chief, so the orca is appropriate. Look closely and you'll see the arrow and the "WWW" on the quill. Framed in black moulding with a dusty blue suede topmat, this piece will be on its way to Alaska this week.

art business - pricing

This came from Alyson Stanfield's blog entry. Short, to the point. -and very true!

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"The golden rule for pricing your art is . . .

Start low and go from there.

If you’re too high and later have to lower your prices, you appear unsuccessful and you also tick off anyone who purchased your work at higher prices. "

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Let me elaborate on this one from an art show standpoint--

I've watched artists at shows ( not this last one, these artists know better than that!) who get very discouraged at the end of a show because they did not do as well as they anticipated. So what do they do? They knock 10% - 20% off their prices on the last day! On top of that, some will even call that out to passersby: "20% off! This day only!" I rarely see people flock to that artist for a "bargain" when said artist does that. The truth of the matter is, that artist just succeeded in losing his credibility, his prestige, and possibly the respect of the customers. What happens when he returns to that show next year? Will the patrons remember the beautiful piece they had their eye on the previous year (that DOES happen!), or will they wait til Sunday because he's probably going to drop his prices? Or will they determine that he doesn't know what he's worth, he's not successful because he keeps changing his prices, and not buy from him at all because at this rate he might not even be around in a year or two?

Patrons won't buy from you just to have your art because you may not be around much longer. Patrons want you to be successful. They want to own a piece from an artist who they think is going somewhere. They don't want to pity you, they want to see your confidence! Don't sell yourself short. Don't drop your prices to try to bring in sales. And by all means, remember to keep your pricing consistant - in the gallery, in the show, and in the studio!

Wood Duck

Wood Duck

This is the last one I was able to complete before the Fair - a drake paddling contentedly on a quiet pond. I left the water effects dark and subtle, because the feather created so many water effects all on its own.

Spring Fair, Puyallup WA
If you happen to be going to the Puyallup Spring Fair here in western WA, please look me up! I will NOT be in Artists In Action like I was last Spring. This year I will be amongst several artists exhibiting in the Fred Oldfield Western Heritage Center. For those unfamiliar, that is the mustard-colored building just inside the Red gate. We have a full house in there! Nestled amongst the museum's antiques and artifacts are artists booths and walls of all shapes and sizes. Other artists exhibiting are Paul Langston, Judy Sleight, Karen Lucas, Dick Oldfield, Mark Hoppmann, Peggu Rowe, Hulan Fleming, Katherine Caughey, and Aletha Deuel - and of course, fred Oldfield himself.

Hours:
Thursday, April 19; 3pm - 10pm
Fri & Sat, April 20 - 21; 10am - 10pm
Sunday, April 22; 10am - 3pm
The Fair itself will continue going on Sunday til 7pm.

Quick Draws
Come watch us pull our hair out as we frantically work to create a piece of art in one hour's time! We begin this at 5pm on Friday and Saturday. The results of this toil will go through live auction at 6pm on Friday and Saturday. This is a great opprotunity to own an original work of art that you could watch being created.

Live entertainment
Musician Don Allard will be performing throughout Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We will also be treated to Western music and poetry by the Rockin' HW on these days.

It's going to be a busy four days!