A Few Sketches and Explanations

If you're an artist or otherwise involved in creating, you know that sometimes stuff just takes awhile, especially if it's a big project, or something new which requires development or research. And then, sometimes it still doesn't work, at least not right away. Last year I developed art for involved projects which took months to finish. 

My new paintings are coming along, but it are not at all ready to show. Neither are two other pieces I'm working on for a commission. Some little daily paintings I've done as exercises in painting from memory don't look like much so I'm not going to show those either.
 
But in case you're wondering, I'm still working away. I thought I'd show you a few quick figure studies from Open Studio which I haven't displayed before. If you'd like any of them, they are for sale at my Etsy Gallery. along with additional figure sketches, and more.

February Painting Challenge: "Tools of the Trade"

Challenge Group member Suzanne Berry picked this month's subject, "Tools of the Trade". 

Because I've already painted a few art supplies in the past, I decided to challenge myself with something else.

(left) "Barber Tools"
Original oil on hardboard 6"x8"©2012 Diana Moses Botkin

My grandfather was a barber. He and my grandmother ran a barber and beauty shop in a large midwestern city. The steel scissors in this painting belonged to him and the neck brush was either his or my grandma's. The shop lives only in the minds of those who frequented its floors decades ago. There is now a super highway where it used to stand.

But I remember the place well. The chatter and smells from the barber and shoeshine room, and the beauty shop, live in my memory as I recall sitting in the small waiting room with the coke machine. A dime and a push of the shiny lever would deliver, with that unique whooshing sound, an icy cold green 6 ounce bottle which could not be unscrewed, but rather had to be "popped" with the bottle opener on that big red box.

A drop of the bottle lid into the hole was the final cue before sipping the cold sugary bubbles from the heavy glass container with the embossed CocaCola logo. Empties were left in the metal racks next to the machine.

Lots more comes to mind remembering the shop: comic books, curved aluminum hair clips, ladies at their weekly Saturday appointments, picking up hairpins from the floor for Grandma with a giant magnet, monstrous hair dryers with attached manicure tables sporting red nail polish (or the paler shades in the '60s), and in the back room, a naugahyde day bed, and some early permanent wave machines that looked like some kind of torture devices. All nostalgic good memories.By the look of our Challenge Group's paintings, everyone enjoyed painting some good memories.

(left)
"Tool of the Trade"
Oil on canvas
10"x30"
©2012 Suzanne Berry

(Far left)
"Tools of the trade - Bartender"
Oil on panel 6"x8"
©2012 Mark Adams(Left)
"A Painter's Handful"
Oil 10"x 8"
©2012 Mary Maxam

(Far Left)
"Paints"
Original oil 6"x6"
©2012 Becky Joy
(Left) "Bluebird En Plein Air"
Oil on panel 4x4"
©2012 Vicki Ross

"Valentine Knight" Lego Knight and Candy Heart

Original miniature still life oil 3"x2.5"
in decorative frame
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin

SOLD

This little fellow brings a heart of gold with love for Valentine's. Original miniature still life study of toy lego knight with candy heart that says "LOVE".

This special painting was created for a patron who collects very small art. She has purchased my minis and wanted something with legos in a tiny piece after admiring my larger available lego paintings. It was quite the challenge to paint this little guy with the sweet message! I'm so glad she likes it.

Speaking of challenges, my monthly painting Challenge is coming up. Check back here tomorrow to see the group's creations.

Oil Paints and White Pigments

The website of Gamblin Artist's Colors has valuable technical information about oil paints and materials. There are also some useful video demonstrations at the site. I personally like their oil paint for several reasons: linseed oil vehicle, good balance of pigment, Gamblin's concern with making archival products, and the company's responsible green practices. I regularly use their stuff in my work, along with a couple of other brands.

If you're an artist you'll want to check out the links at Gamblin's home page sidebar. The Studio Notes page offers a rich source of knowledge about a variety of subjects. Robert Gamblin's latest article "Getting the White Right" tells about white pigments, vehicles (various oils used in making the paint) and the properties of each one. It is useful info for anyone who cares about the working aspects of the white paint they use, flexibility, etc.

White plays a big role in winter scenes. I typically use titanium white in my paintings, although I have used others at various times.

"Snowy Shadows" Original oil, 5"x7"
©2011 Diana Moses Botkin

This piece is currently available at OutSkirts Gallery in Hope, Idaho. If you're out that way, drop in for the art and the food.

"Fallen Kisses" Fun Miniature Valentine Painting

Original oil, 2"x3"
Unframed with free mini easel
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin

During the Valentine season, chocolate kisses seem especially appropriate. They're a pleasure to eat and also to paint, with that reflective foil wrapping.

These two look like they've just fallen in love.

Valentine Art for Your Sweet Heart

"Call Me, Lover Boy"
Miniature Oil, 2"x3", with mini easel
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin 
Sweet and playful candy hearts set against a dark red background in this original miniature painting with free tiny display easel, just for fun.

"Afternoon Gold" Sunny Landscape Painting

Original oil, Unframed, 5"x7"
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin

SOLD

We've had quite a lot of snow lately. It's lovely when the sun comes out but the grey weather can get a bit much if it lasts very long.

This is a painting I started during recent grey days to rev up my brain with some color. I hope it does that for you too, especially if you're short on sunshine.

Two Recent Sunset Paintings

(left) "Nightfall Glow" Oil, 2"x4" 
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin
SOLD  

Here are a couple of new little dailies: good warm-ups for bigger projects.

The sunsets are always intriguing for me and I continue to try capturing that final glow in the sky. 

It's a challenge that presents itself time and again, daring me to give it a shot. The snowy scene and the lake scene both had similar colors and that scarlet glow, but were each unique, as every sunset is.

(above) “Goodnight, Lake” Oil, 5"x7"
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin
SOLD

Valentine Art for Your Sweetie at my Giclée Gallery

"Five Kisses" and some of my other sweetheart art can now be ordered as giclée prints and cards.

You will find them at my Still Life reproductions gallery in several sizes, available framed or unframed, as posters or printed on canvas.

If you order soon, you can save 35% off regular prices. (Savings offer good through February 10 on all art at my giclée galleries).

Cats and Other Critters Now Available as Repros

I've listed a group of new pieces at my giclée reproductions website. There are cats, kittens, dogs and a raccoon.

You can find them in my Animal Gallery, and save 35% off regular prices through the end of January.

Copying Someone's Art: Don't Do It!

All the artists I know work very hard. We labor day after day and often night after night to create original work. This is our livelihood, our legacy, and much more. Our efforts are also our property. Intellectual property rights (copyright) belong to the author (creator) of the work unless sold or expired.

For instance, anything published before the 1920s would now be in the public domain because copyright has expired. However, there can be exceptions, so one should be cautious about copying work even that old. A museum, licensing company, or individual may own rights to that image.

I tell my students (and anyone else who will listen) to do their own work. Don't copy. Use your own photo references unless you have permission to use someone else's. Don't work from someone else's painting, whether from direct observation or from memory.

Although it is a long-standing tradition for artists to learn by copying, to avoid copyright infringement, an Old Master work can be used. The student should label the copy as such, by including the words, "after So-and-so" naming the artist copied. And never, ever, pass off a copy as something original you did.

Nowadays, there is so much beautiful art to see online. It is tempting for folks to copy someone else's work. Don't do it.

Copying another artist's painting or sculpture, even if it is changed somewhat, does not constitute an original work. The copy is actually a derivative work. Copyright law gives only the original author/copyright owner the right to make copies and derivative works, or grant permission for others to do so.

So unless you have permission to copy, don't do it. That goes for images (also writing) you find online, articles you read in magazines, books, advertisements, etc.

Students who don't know any better and even artists who should know better mistakenly believe that if they change it a little, it's somehow an original work. It isn't. Chances are, if your piece looks a lot like someone else's art, it's a derivative work, and it's copyright infringement.

Fellow artist and blogger Susan Roux touched on this sticky situation in a recent post. She commented on an artist's painting that looked like another artist's work: a woman with an umbrella in the same format, composition, colors, and model position, as the other painting.

While no one owns exclusive rights to paint women with umbrellas, it is absolutely vital that, if you want to paint a woman with an umbrella, you do your own work, from conception to final brushstroke. Pose your own model, take your own photos. Don't copy. It's risky, legally, and can be really embarrassing. The artist whom Susan Roux wrote about perhaps thought no one would notice that she copied. Maybe she excused copying by thinking she'd changed it enough. She didn't. The piece is very recognizable. I'm embarrassed for her, as are others.

Just last week I explained about derivative work to a student and she responded, "Wow it's like stealing."

Yes, it is like stealing because it IS stealing.

Copyright notice (such as I usually post on my paintings you see here at this blog) reminds viewers that the work is not up for grabs. I own the rights. However, copyright notice is not required by law. If an image does not have the copyright notice posted, it is likely still a copyrighted image. So don't copy it.

Artists work very hard to create original and outstanding work. We should be asked for permission if someone wants to use it, and yes, paid for it. And yes, legally, as copyright owner I have the exclusive right to reproduce or grant others a right to do so.

I've stated this at my sidebar, but let me make it clear. Art, photos & text on this blog are copyrighted and may not be used in any form without my written permission. All rights reserved. So if you are interested in reproducing something of mine, please contact me and I will get back to you with information on usage.

January Painting Challenge: "Plastic Bag"

I picked this month's subject for our Challenge. I've been wanting to try painting some materials like the plastic produce bag. And it was indeed a challenge. Portraying something which I haven't previously tried painting usually is. The first thing I had to figure out was how to actually arrange a plastic bag to make it interesting in the set-up. I tried a number of bag poses, with various objects inside and settled on this idea.

"Apples From the Store"
Still Life Painting, unframedOil on hardboard, 8"x10"
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin 

It was harder to paint the diaphanous material of the bag than I'd thought it would be. The lack of solid form, the translucency of the sheer plastic at differing depths, the wrinkles and turns were all very interesting and challenging.

I did have fun with this one, however, although it was hard work. And I love what everyone else did.

(left)
"Clearly Decadent"
Oil 9"x9"
 ©2012 Mary Maxam

(below)
"Bluebird of Happiness at the Fruit Market"
grisaille Oil on linen, 5x7" 
©2012 Vicki Ross

(bottom) 
"Spillage" Oil on canvas, 5"x7"
©2012 Suzanne Berry