Seeing the Future Painting

Cathedral Spires, 8x10, oil on canvas

There is a method to seeing like an artist.  Maybe it's like those stereo photos that you cross your eyes to see in 3D.  You have to change the way you look.

My level of creativity is never constant.  There are rare times that good paintings stream off the easel, but many more times it is a struggle; false starts and unfulfilled expectations.  At times, when inspiration is at it's peak, everywhere I look, there's a painting - a target rich environment.  Yes, it helps if I am in a location that feeds inspiration, but sometimes even the most ordinary space or object may reflect a glowing light or an atmospheric mist that compells me to record it.  

So look at your world as if you were painting it.  Think in terms of light and composition and look for the special in the mundane.  Just dont cross your eyes.  You know they could stick that way.

Judgements and Observations

Observations while sitting at the curb:

1. Parents pushing strollers are most likely only looking.

2. Six year-olds are capable of stealing your business cards like they are a fist full of m&m's.

3. Crowds circulate counter clockwise at rectangular or circular show layouts.  Perhaps clockwise below the equator.  Don't know.

4. When sitting at their eye level, two year olds in passing strollers can stare you down for 30 seconds, heads rotating 150 degrees, without blinking.

5. People gnawing on fried turkey legs are not buying paintings.

6. A good flower arrangement in your booth will often draw more attention than your art.

7. Droughts often dramatically end on art festival weekends.

8. Long lost friends or relatives running into each other in your booth is bad.

9. There should be DOT width restrictions on strollers.

10. A person talking to someone on the other end of a cellphone while looking at your painting can be a hopeful sign.

11. You sell to women though you might sometimes take money from men.

12. The amount of negotiated discount is inverse to the dent in the customer's wealth.

13. Number 10 was wrong.
14. If after spending 15 minutes trying to sell your art, the prospect utters the words, "Do you have a card?", accept that you have lost.
15. People suck.
16. People are great.

It's a Team Effort

Next week is the St Louis Art Fair.  Its my first show since March so some cobwebs need to be cleared. Yesterday there was a quick planning session for the show.  Lots of  preparation goes into these trips and luckily my show team is filled with seasoned veterans.

First, all equipment needs to be checked after being in storage for several months.  My warehouse guy will be checking the tent to make sure all the parts are together and intact.  This show will have night hours so lights and other electrical components will need to be assembled and tested. And it's important the countless but vital small items are onboard when the van leaves town.  Heads up, warehouse guy, be ready for the Tuesday afternoon load out.

In St. Louis, the artist will be greeting fair goers and prospective customers.  He is being retrained on the Square credit card system for his phone and being drilled on smiling through the rain squalls and visitors who spill beer in his booth.

Framing is a big job and after my driver picks up my assembled frames, my framing prep department will screw everything together for hanging.  The artist will be called in to title, number and photograph the pieces.  The paintings then have to be run through Photoshop by my
IT guy, cropping, skewing and sizing for posting on stephenbach.com.  

Van servicing falls to transportation maintenence.  An oil change and tire rotation are due -also cleaning up the interior would be nice.

My driver is expecting an early Wednesday morning departure.  He will find an overnight room on the two day drive to St Louis on the fly.  Intown stays are handled by the travel department and are usually done on Priceline.

Show set up wll be handled by my roadie Friday afternoon.  Tent, walls, lighting and artwork must be assembled and hung.

Sunday evening after the show, the roadie will tear down the booth and load up.  The driver will bring everything back to Orlando.  The van will stay partially loaded giving the warehouse guy a deserved break.

 

The next week is down time for the support team. The artist though, reports back to the studio the next day to get ready for the Kansas City Plaza Festival in seven days.

Note to reader:  OK, I'm having a little fun with the unglamorous side of being a painter but the true credit goes to my supportive wife Susan who through clever if not deceptive use of my Zapplication images, somehow gets me into most shows I apply to - and packs my lunchbox.

Ninety Percent of Creativity is Showing Up

I have spent time in the last couple of months taking stacks of snapshots from the living room cabinets and running them through a portable scanner.  Many pictures of kids, celebrations, pets and the occasional picture of early career art.  It's been an interesting look back to see where I came from artwise.  My early days after art school were meager, chasing too few illustration jobs at ad agencies and book publishers.  I admit I wasn't ready for prime time.  We were going through another recession at the time and it set the level of difficulty for a free lance artist.  Apparently it would always be hard. And it would require discipline and committment that I wasn't sure I had.

In 1985 I was offered an opportunity painting murals in Olive Garden Restaurants. It was my dream to travel,  and it was my dream to paint. This job had both. The company had only 3 restaurants at the time, but soon they got huge seed money from parent company General Mills, and I had my lucky break. 

But with the upside came the down.  I needed to hand paint a 90 square foot mural every 2 days, 4 to 6 days a week - and often in the opposite end of the country from the previous week.  Hard work and discipline were my only chances at surviving the program schedule.

Creativity doesn't flow at constant speed.  You have good creative days and you have not so good.  But I discovered something that has stayed with me since.  I found to be successful you have to be there when the muse visits.  "There" is normally in the studio with a loaded brush.  In my case, a partially built restaurant.  The set schedule and pressure to succeed made me a better painter.  A similar rule applies to writing or other creative processes.  A scheduled block of work time puts you in the field of opportunity. And the goal of a show or an accomplished body of work can be great inspiration.

Today I decided I need to treat my writing with the same discipline as painting.  I go to work each day because my mind engages when I turn on the studio light.  Only then do I have the opportunity to act on inspiration.  Sometimes it doesnt work but most times at least one good thing happens and it calls me to come back for more.  I'll hope that writing more frequently here does the same.

So set aside a scheduled block of time for making your art or your music or writing that book.  Carve out the work time to realize your inspiration

Blue Highway

I just returned from a trip to Cincinnati OH where Miller Gallery www.millergallery.com is hosting a show of my work along with artist/illustrator Gary Kelley and British sculptor Mark Hall.  The trip north from Orlando got old decades ago.  Nine hundred miles of tedium on Interstate 75 punctuated by schedule-crippling traffic jams, (yes, I'm talking to you, Atlanta).  And yet there are always beautiful places you never seemed to notice and memories to relive. 

Compared to today's interstate sprints in hermetically sealed gps ipod sirius bluetooth and usb equipped SUV's, my childhood family trips from Florida to Kentucky were real adventures.  Only a few segments of I-75 were complete for speed runs between congested 2 lane roads.  And these roads led through every little town along the way.  Cars weren't reliable like today, air conditioning was still for the wealthy, and fast food had not come to the backroads of the south.

While it's all freeway now, this week's trip was hampered by a landslide in the mountains of Tennesseee.  All trafic was sent on a 40 mile detour, a winding two lane moutain road that parallelled a river valley with cool meadows and wonderful fresh smells.  This was the road of my childhood trips. Mostly unchanged and probably wondering where I have been all these years. 

No, I don't miss being carsick from swinging back and forth in the back seat for hours on end, and I have grown to expect the comfort of mediocre food at every interstate exit, but I do occasionally miss the beauty and mystery that makes up the blue highway.  Aerosmith was right, or was it Emerson?   Sometimes it's about the journey.

Spring Open House

Yesterday was our McRae Studios open house. This is our twice yearly event where we display the latest creations of our 23 artists. The consensus was the crowd was down some. I think we have come to rely a bit too heavily on social media to drive our attendance. Maybe the postcard mailer isn't dead after all.

Show Opening at Crealde Art Center

Tonight, along with Larry Moore and Don Sondag, I will be speaking about my work at a three artist show opening at Crealde Art Center in Winter Park FL. The three of us are landscape painters, Don and Larry being mainly plein air artists. It is always difficult for me to talk about my painting since I don't always know how it happens. Part subconsious, part random, and sometimes a bit of planning thrown in. So it will either enlighten people or they will walk away scratching their heads. Like I said, I don't always get it either.

Targeted Goal

Day 4 of the big push for my Cades Cove Show. I have 4 or 5 small paintings underway and ideas for more but bringing them to completion is always the challenge. I'm hoping I can find that happy creative place where good work flows and no overheated thinking takes place. I always say you have to be there when it happens. With creativity you can't always predict the timing, so stay close to the studio.

November, Cross Creek FL, o/c 5x5

Time for a Big Push

OK, I had my summer vacation from blogging. My mind went blank there for a couple of months anyway. I don't remember stopping painting but that is the great thing about what I do. Little thinking required and sometimes best if avoided.

I returned from Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last night/early this morning. I took over 500 photos, plein air painted and rode my bike around the 11 mile loop testing the current strength of my heart and leg muscles. I need to get in shape.

I am entering a big push for paintings in the next 60 days for my Landscapes of Cades Cove show at Bennett Galleries in Knoxville TN Oct 2. It is made possible by United Arts of Central Florida, who awarded me with a grant to finance the trip for inspiration and costs associated with the show, and of course Bennett Galleries.

A trip to Cades Cove cant help but inspire a landscape painter and I was in need of a boost. I'll be posting new work here and on my Facebook page, Landscape Paintings by Stephen Bach.

Blue Ridge Getaway

Back from the North Carolina mountains after a few days with friends. Rest was the first priority but painting outdoors and scouting locations for later paintings was what I was looking forward to. That, plus getting to drive curvy roads, my other passion. In between we all sat on a deck looking at Grandfather Mountain in the distance and experiencing the variety of bug life.

Western North Carolina and North Georgia have always been a particular inspiration for me, a Florida flatlander. Painting there is a challenge and a visual relief to the Florida landscape. In many places in the mountains, you can see 50 miles or more. Atmosphere can be a bigger part of the paintng. The difference is inspiring and energizing. Just what we need sometimes.

What's new: Derelict Barn, Robbinsville NC, oil on canvas 8"x10"

Painted Out

The Winter Park Paint Out benefit for the Polasek Museum is looking like a great success. A big crowd showed up last night to see the art, have a glass of wine and sample the gourmet tapas at stations spread around the gardens. Some patrons shared the evening at the tables near the lake and some just strolled through the grounds taking in the beauty of the sculptures and blooming flower beds. Approximately 50 paintings had been sold through the week with some collectors buying the work off the painters' easels or waiting at the museum to see what was coming in.

There are two weeks left for the art to hang in the museum for sale. So if you are interested, make sure to check out the museum website artists page or stop by the Polasek Museum.

What's new: An Inviting Place, oil on canvas, 12x12

Winding Down the Paint Out

This afternoon I turned in two more paintings to the Winter Park Paint Out at the Polasek Museum. The sunny days ended today and clouds and a shower broke our string of luck.

I retreated to the studio and cleaned up and framed the work I had.

Last night was dinner with the museum board and patrons. Most of the artists had stories about the week - where they painted and what they saw. I went to Kraft Azalea Gardens yesterday to paint the lake, the old cypress trees and moss. The egrets are still nesting and the racket of the chicks drowned out the usual city noise. I learned a lot from painting each day in the elements. I recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their skills.

Tomorrow is the last morning for painting. Our work has to be turned in by noon and the gala is in the evening. Then it's going to be a day off for me.

What's new: Park Avenue South, 9x12, oil on canvas

Chasing the Light

A cool and beautiful morning. A repeat of yesterday, just 10 degrees cooler. The grounds at the Polasek were filled with artists consumed in trying to beat the changing light. I went back to a painting I started yesterday. It is the Pan sculpture.

This week is a test of skill and endurance . Figures, water, trees, buildings and streets. Set up, paint, move to another spot, repeat.

Chase the light. I'm tired tonight.

Night at the Museum

Tuesday is officially day two of the Winter Park Paint Out. I started out at the Polasek about 8am and got a couple of paintings underway on the grounds. The weather was "picture perfect" (sorry) so I couldnt come up with a reason to leave until after lunch time. Then I had to get back to the studio and give time to a large painting I started last week. I went back to the Polasek and got in an hour or so of painting as the sun went down, we all ate pizza and I then kayaked with Matthew Cornell through the canal to Lakes Virginia and Mizell. The moon was coming up and we listened to the peacocks along Genius Drive calling from the woods. A few of the die hards stayed late on the museum grounds and worked with lights to get a nocturn painting. Not a bad day at work. Tomorrow night is a painting session on the lake at Houston's Restaurant on 17-92 in Winter Park. And it should be a great show next Saturday.

First New Piece for the Paint Out

Monday morning was gloomy and damp after a huge storm that lasted most of the night. Sunday night the artists got together with the Paint Out committee and the museum patrons for a socializer and it was capped by a number drawing for display spaces on the museum walls. It's time to get busy since the event starts in earnest today.

I headed back to Park Ave hoping for a little sun and just as I left the museum grounds, the sky lifted and blue appeared. I spent the next couple of hours on the second of two Park Avenue paintings. At around the same time of day I had previously worked on the other painting, I moved across the street and continued on that one.

Today things were a little more lively on the avenue and the light a little brighter for painting. I got the first piece finished. It now hangs drying on my reserved wall at the Polasek.

I might pick a little simpler composition next time.

What's new: Park at New England, oil on canvas 20" x 16"

The Ghost of Sam Peckinpah

I awoke this morning and got out of bed way too early for the amount of sleep I got. I made it to the Polasek Museum without coffee though I knew that was begging trouble. While I and a few of the museum staff and volunteers waited for the coffee to brew on the breezeway, someone asked me where I was going to paint. I thought the old Colony Theater might make a good subject. The Colony sits on Park Avenue in the center of town. At one time it was where Winter Park went to the movies.

Debbie Komanski said, "I worked in that theater when I was 15. I ushered and I also sat in the little booth at the front and sold tickets. When it was hot, it was hotter in the booth. When the weather turned cold, it was cold in there too. And I listened to the soundtrack to Straw Dogs so many times it still gives me the creeps. When there weren't ticket sales going on, my manager would make sure I was doing my homework instead of wasting time."

That conversation made it even more inviting to paint the street and the old Colony marquis. No one sits in that booth anymore. These days the Colony cleverly disquises itself as a Pottery Barn, and I doubt the staff does any homework when things are quiet.

But still, I love that kind of background when I paint something. A story, an experience... it makes the paint come alive somehow. A good painting is built on experience or a recollection or emotion. It gives it purpose and usually just makes it a better painting.

Let the Games Begin

Day One of Winter Park Paint Out. I checked in at the Polasek Museum our headquarters for the week. We artists are being asked by Winter Park Magazine to keep notes in a journal detailing our experiences. While I normally use my blog for that, this week I will handwrite some notes too.

After check in, it's off to find the perfect spot. I think this is like finding your own fishing hole where you know the big ones lurk. Of course who really knows. I drive by a couple of spots that look great. By the time I circle the block these spots look as ordinary as dirt. I drive over to the Rollins campus thinking of painting Knowles Chapel but I'll just let parking guide the serendipity. What was I thinking. I've never found a parking spot on this campus in 25 years if the school was in session, so this Saturday morning in April is just another 5 mph convoluted drive-by.

Downtown Park Ave is bustling. Crowds from an event in the park are breaking up and I notice a previously thought of target for painting - the big clock at Park and New England. The parking gods smile and the sun breaks from behind a cloud. Looks like it is meant to be.

I'm not sure if I will be pestered to death by passers-by but I am supposed to talk up the show and what better place. Wow, I picked a complicated scene though. A three point perspective throwdown, though after a few minutes I forget about everything except what I'm looking at. And it seems I'm invisible to everyone around. That's good and bad- right now mostly good.

It always seems kids are the best at talking to the artist. One little one briefs me on her art resume and further lets me know she will be staying up late tonight to paint the sunset at home. Heads up, mom and dad.

I'll post the finished piece later. It needs another hour or so of work in similar light.

One From Column A and B

For me, the biggest dilemma for the Winter Park Paint Out is scene selection. Gardens or street scene? Frankly, I enjoy painting street scenes more but they don't often convey the serene mood of trees and water. And there is the added work distraction of people wanting to know what you are doing painting there on the sidewalk. Got to say its fun though. Here are a couple of warm up paintings. One from each genre.

What's new: Eucalyptus Tree 10"x8" and Lyman at Pennsylvania 8"x10"

Spring Training

Yesterday I gathered my courage and loaded my paints and easel and into the van. This is the painter's version of, "the hardest thing about running is lacing up your shoes". I drove over to the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park for spring training of sorts. Next Saturday the Winter Park Paint Out begins and I will be painting plein air in the event for a week.

The controlled light and climate of the studio are hard to leave. But for someone like me who spends five days a week painting trees, it helps to occasionally get out and look at some. I bust out all my shades of green for this event. Nearly everything is in bloom and standing under the canopy of trees around here makes it seem like there is a giant green scrim filtering the light. I got a nice little painting, I thought, and today I was feeling cocky enough to get out again. This time a street scene. I'll post them when I clean them up.

Mc Rae Studios Spring Opening

This Saturday evening another opening is upon us at McRae Art Studios. This is our annual Spring open house and new work will go up on the walls in each artist's studio. I always try to get as many small pieces up as I can and showcase a couple of large ones. While there is a lot of cleaning and preparation needed to get the studios into shape, it is a good time for all of us to come together for a few hours and enjoy each other's company. ugh, there is all that sweeping and mopping though.

What's new: Great Plains Barn, oil on canvas, 5"x5". $275. framed