I’ve been experimenting with some simple watercolour paintings for the eBay market (see above). The thinking is that these paintings take no more than an hour to paint, so I can afford to put them up at 99 pence and make a loss. In supermarket terms they’re loss leaders that hopefully will get people looking at my auctions. I’ll see how they go… 
You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2006.
Crashing Waves
Originally uploaded by pott_david.
One of my paintings currently at Ascot Studios in Ribchester.
Size: 24 x 20 inches
Oil on deep edged canvas
Found this quote in Robert Genn’s twice-weekly newsletter this morning and was very impressed.
“What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first their sensibility and tenderness; second, their imagination, and third, their industry.”
Its from John Ruskin, an English critic and artist from the 19th century.
I was listening to the radio earlier this week and the presenter was talking about George Bernard Shaw. He was amazed at his creative output and enquiring how a man such as George Bernard Shaw could leave such a huge body of writing for posterity. The simple answer that came back was that GBS woke early, started writing immediatley and didn’t stop writing till 10:00pm, whereupon he went to bed.
I think that talent and skill go a long way, but industry is what makes artists truly great.
How do we square this insight with modern life? It takes me so much time to deal with housework, children, emails, blogging, my part-time employment, and all the other ephemera of artistic life. One thing I do know: the TV has got to be switched off!
By the way….
Robert Genn’s Painter’s Keys is a highly recommended resource. I have been receiving it for several years and I’ve no idea how Robert finds the time to be and artists and write such a useful email service
I’m investigating squidoo as a new way of reaching customers and fellow artists. If you have a skill or specialist knowledge Squidoo allows you to quickly create a web page highlighting your knowledge.
I’ve created one that has a few simple tips for starting out painting and drawing. Its early days yet but I’m developing it all the time.
Especially promising are its links to Flickr.com and ArtByUs.com.
More later when I’ve had chance to suss it out.
See my offering at www.squidoo.com/howtopaint
Recent Comments