Details #2

I had a good week. Sold two paintings. A small one over the internet and a big one in a gallery. Nice, with the holiday season coming up. Finished a commission and I'll hear about another one next week. And last but not least, I posted a new Youtube clip on how-to paint details. You might say I've been busy.

The clip is actually not my own idea. Somebody suggsested it in an email, after reading my blog post on painting details. Sadly I forgot his name (shame on me...) and I cant find the mail in my inbox. So, wherever you are: thanks! Hope you enjoy it.

Failing better

I recently got an email that ended with the line "Happiness is a journey, not a destination". It's a poetic call to enjoy the ride instead of focussing on the destination. When you apply this assertion to painting you could say "It's the process that counts, not the result". Not very poetic, eh?


Apart from that, do I agree? Sure, I like the whole trial-and error thing, the process of expirimenting and learning, of hope and frustration. If you hate that, you're probably better off in a different occupation. But to be honest, without an occasional result I would have given up long ago. Nothing beats the excitement of the feeling that you're on the right way and the satisfaction when you made something worth while. The process is no fun at all without the result. The promise of a result lights up the process. Poetic, eh?


Maybe you heard of Stan Wawrinka, the Swiss tennis player who always came in second. Only recently he started winning titles. On his arm he has a tattoo with a line from a Samuel Becket poem: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." My kind of guy.



The painting on the right side was made in a period of four years, starting in 2008. The size is 90 x 90 cm, oil on canvas. I was never really satisfied with the result and I kept changing it. For you to judge if I failed better...

Commissions, yes or no?

Dunes with Tulip Fields, oils on paper, sketch, 30 x 40 cm

There was a time when I took no commissions. Had some unpleasant experiences. People sometimes have only a vague idea of the kind of painting they're looking for and they want you to surprise them ('the freedom of the artist'). I went along with that a few times, only to find out the painting was not at all what they expected. Awkward situations, so I simply said 'no' for quite some time.

Detail of the sketch

Since a few years I use a different strategy, or rather two different strategies. The first one goes like this: when I feel challenged by the idea of a buyer, I accept the commission, but the client is under no obligation to buy the painting. This way I keep my freedom and hopefully it will be sold, if not by the client, maybe by someone else.
In the second strategy I let the buyers (it's very often a couple) in on the process. To do so, I must first get a clear idea of their wishes. Next I make an oil sketch on paper and mail them a picture. I will incorporate their comments and after their consent I make the painting in oils on panel. When it's done, they're
obliged to buy it.

Tulip Fields, finished, oils on panel, 50 x 70 cm

This summer I did a commission for a dune landscape with tulip fields. It's quite a common  combination in Holland, but it's not a subject I would have thought of myself. I liked the idea, mostly because of the challenge of using bright, primary colors. I did some research and came up with an oil sketch on paper. After consulting the client I added a shed at the far edge of the field, used to store the bulbs. After their okay I did the detailed painting on 6 mil MDF board.

When you compare the sketch and
the painting on panel, you may not
see a lot of difference and on your
computer screen that's true. That's
why I added details of both the sketch
and the finished painting.

Detail of the finished painting

Details

My work looks pretty detailed, when viewed on a computer screen. In reality it's not as detailed as you'd think. In reality I don't paint every tiny wave. To be honest I'm not that patient. I try to find a 'handwriting' (by lack of a better word) that suggests detail rather than actually depicting it.

Let me give you an example. The painting below is a big one (120 x 160 cm). I added the black boxes to indicate the position of the details. As you can see it's a mess of dots and specs on a rather dark background.

Ocean with Evening Clouds, oil on panel, 120 x 160 cm

Upper box

Lower box

For more details, please go to the 'recent work' section of my web site (www.paintingskies.com). Just below each work is a 'detail' box,that zooms in on the painting.

Online sale

I just returned from a short vacation on one of the Dutch Wadden Sea islands. Fantastic clouds and the occasional shower, my favorite kind of weather. I came home with a load of inspirational pictures. The downside is, I didn't have a lot of time to write an article for this blog.

In my previous blog entry I told you about the oil sketches on paper I've been working on. The sunset painting below is an example. I posted some of these sketches on my online sale page. If you're interested, please go to http://www.janhendrikdolsma.nl/paintings/. 

Sunset with Landwash, oil sketch on paper, 30 x 40 cm

The response to the free 20 minutes tutorial was great. By the way, the offer still stands. Please send an email to info@janhendrikdolsma.nl and I'll mail you a link to the tutorial. In the September 16 blog you'll find a link to the Youtube trailer.

Thanks!

Free Painting Sunsets tutorial

"Sunsets are simply amazing. Every single one is different. I tried my hand at painting them quite a few times, even though, according to the Art Police, sunsets are kitsch. But who cares, I love kitsch..."

I'm thinking about making a sunset tutorial, sometime next year. In preparation I'm working on a series of oil sketches on paper. I filmed the painting process of one of these sketches with my new compact camera (I confess, I'm a gadget freak...) and boiled it down to a short 20 minutes tutorial. The 2 minutes trailer is now on YouTube. If you're interested in the free 20 minutes version, please send an email to info@janhendrikdolsma.nl. Of course you'll then have to put up with my Newsletter every two months...

Economics

Small Wave, oil on panel, 45 x 15 cm

There are two sides to the life of a professional painter: the artistic and the financial side. Most of the time the focus is on the artistic side, probably because it's the most interesting. But for the artist him/her self, the financial side can sometimes be pretty interesting too, especially in times of crisis. Gotta make a living...

I read that only 5% of the artists with a professional training can actually make a living selling their art. The remaining 95% have spouses with a job, or have a job themselves. That was my situation for quite a few years. I had a teaching job for three days a week. It wasn't until 2004 that I quit and started making a living as an artist. Great day for me. I loved teaching, but being my own man, making my own decisions is the best thing that ever happened to me. I still enjoy that freedom every day. But it comes with a cost: an unsteady income. If you want financial stability, you better find a different occupation.

I kept my head above water, during the economic crisis. The internet has been a great help. It enabled me to sell my work online (mostly oil sketches). Selling my tutorials would have been impossible without the internet.

Did the crisis affect my artistic decisions? Sure. I made far more small paintings, even when my heart went out to the larger formats. Gotta make a living...

The good news is that I had a great year so far. Sales are picking up, for the large formats in particular. Got some inspiring ideas for new paintings. I'll keep you posted.