With a bow to Karin Jurick, one of my favorite daily painters and the one I first saw executing this idea, we'll have an Artist Q&A day tomorrow, Friday the 24th of September.
An Artist Q&A Day is just that - a day I've designated to answer all your questions.
Your art and studio related questions can be posted via comments right here. I'll work my way through them during the course of the day, doing my best to answer everything to the best of my abilities.
I will only respond to questions posted as comments to this particular post on my blog - this will allow for the community of readers to share in the conversation and eliminate any repetition. Because my blog is moderated (darn those spammers!), your comments will not show up immediately, but if you choose to subscribe to the comments feed, you will be notified when there is activity.
I don't know if I need to define an end time to the day - we'll play it by ear to start out with and see what the volume is like.
And please let me know what you think, so that I can continue them. Right now I'm thinking we'll do the final Friday of each month.
I'm looking forward to the dialogue this will spur!
Talk tomorrow.
Thanks, as always, for looking at - and sharing - my artwork and musings with your friends and family.
Kim
FACEBOOK: Kimberly Kelly Santini
TWITTER: ksantini
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What made you decide you could make a living from doing what you love? And how many of your very first works do you still own?
ReplyDeleteTrisha
Trisha, great questions! I didn't consciously set out to make a living painting - I wish I could say that, though!! I quit a corporate job after our 3rd child was born to be a stay at home mom. I started painting again during naptimes (I packed up my studio 6 years prior when our 1st came along), and things sort of fell into place. The first couple paintings I did were pet portraits for friends and family, and through word of mouth, the studio grew wings. My parents own the majority of my earlier works (like college and earlier), but I have about a dozen still that remain close to my heart for various reasons. And I make a point of painting special things for my kids and family regularly, too. Thanks!!
ReplyDeletelove your work and enjoy your blog. what type of acrylics do you paint with?
ReplyDeleteChris, I use both Golden Heavy Body and Open Acrylics. The Heavy Body ones have a thick, buttery consistancy that is like an oil paint. The Opens are a bit looser, but they extend the drying time. I love the density of pigment that Golden uses in their paints - they are the only acrylics I have used for 20+ years now. I use about 5 or 6 of each type on my palette at a time. Thanks for asking!
ReplyDeleteBless you for contributing to the welfare of animals by doing what you love to do! Did you decide on one or more organizations to benefit from your paintings' proceeds? For instance, I have a passion for dogs and horses and have been alternating shelters with the subject matter respectively. This can get a bit complicated and I would like to simplify. What has been your experience?
ReplyDeleteMarilyn, when I first started out, I was working with about 18-20 different groups. It was a lot of work, tracking 501c status' and keeping which paintings' proceeds went where. After 2 yrs I simplified things & began working with just my local shelter & Best Friends, allowing my clients the option of choosing which group should benefit. I am delighted that you are also sharing your talents with animals, and thank you for your question!
ReplyDeleteHi Kimberly, I think your work is absolutely stunning. I greatly admire your style and what you do to better the lives of rescue animals. You have inspired me to contact my local shelter to see if I can help in some way though my own artwork.
ReplyDeleteMy question for you this evening is do you have a favourite book? I thought I read a past post about a couple favourite books, but now I can't seem to find it.
Lori, GREAT question! I am an avid reader, doing at least one book per week. Your question could be ambiguous - what type of fav book are you looking for? a technique one, and if so, which type (drawing/painting/animals/misc)? or fiction - and then, are you looking for arts related fiction or generic? see, I'm not really answering your question - but I can point you to goodreads.com, where I'm user "ksantini" and you can see all my lists of favs in a mess of diff categories. Let me know if this doesn't help/isn't specific enough of an answer! and happy reading!! (and go for it with your shelter support!! wahho!!)
ReplyDeleteThanks Kimberly! I took your advice and searched your list, it was a technique book and I managed to find at least one I recall you mentioned in the past post, Alla Prima: Everything I know about Painting, by Richard Schmid. :D
ReplyDeleteLori, some other most excellent painting process books are by Kevin McPherson, Susan Sarbeck (her books are about pastels, but the process carries over) and Vicki McMurray. Also consider the self-published (Blurb) book by Carol Marine as well as the same by Karin Jurick. And Harley Browns book, along with anything including Sargent or Cassat. And happy painting!!
ReplyDeleteI had another reader email me this question: "How do you prepare yourself mentally to start each new piece of art? Do you have to be “in the mood”? Do you ever have “painter’s” block?" I don't know that there's ever a mental preparation - painting daily is not really an option for me, or at least, I don't allow it to be so. Yes, there are days when I'd rather be elsewhere, but I do what I can to counter it. Lite a yummy candle, put on my favorite music, eat a pound of chocolate. And yes, I also have painter's block periodically - but like anything, I believe it's best faced head on. I pretend I don't have it, and tough it out. Sometimes it works right away, and sometimes I paint for an hour or two before anything looks decent. It's all part of the process. (And you didn't ask, but there are days when I can't do anything right, and end up scraping down all that I've painted that day - that's when I share something from before or a piece that I've painted but maybe didn't get posted)
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I may have missed the boat on the Q&A, however my question just came to mind today. If you have time to answer....great. If not, I completely understand. So here's my question.
ReplyDeleteI launched an art program this summer for children ages 5-13. It's mainly an avenue allowing children the opportunity to be creative and use "real" art supplies while doing so. I mix in different techniques along with different styles of well known artists. I had 3 girls sign up, two from one family and some interest from others here and there that didn't pan out due to scheduling conflicts. I offer the classes from my home. How do you get the word out locally and what are the best marketing techniques to use without spending a lot of money? Thank you, Gretchen
Gretchen, so glad you chimed in! I would find a partner - local art supply shop/library/art guild/elementary schools - someone who can help you market your class. Someone who benefits in some way from the recommendation - I'm sure you can structure this partnership accordingly. This will help you get started, and after that, you'll use word of mouth and any subsequent partnerships to get your enrollment growing. Best of luck!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Kimberly. This is an area I really need to work on....marketing myself. Your suggestions will be helpful. Good luck on the collage painting "Sniff". Hope you get the honor of poster design.
ReplyDeleteMarketing can be really fascinating - I've been reading all I can lately. Stay in touch - I would love to know how your classes work out. And thanks for the good wishes with Sniff! :)
ReplyDelete