Scam tutorial

Here's one from yesterday. For the interest of younger artists or people just starting to sell work, let's look at how it develops, and where it goes off the rails.

Pretty minimal intro, here, but there are real people who communicate similarly, plus anyone for whom English is not their first language may use simplified language.

Always worth noting when language is unusually general. For example "payment is not a problem" instead of, say, "Yes, $85 sounds ok to me." But we continue.

This all seems pretty normal

aaaaand BOOM, there it is. Suddenly offering way over the rate I stated and getting really complimentary. Now we're into scam territory. Look out for these.

Still have not figured out what all the DeviantArt scammers want, messaging me about using specific pieces of mine for "inspiration" for a large mural. Seems to be tapering off, though.

When someone suddenly wants to pay you extra, that is not a good thing!

Possibly; can you be more specific about what you are looking for? For example, size, medium, and subject matter?

Arts Council

HATE when an art gallery/organization turns down the art I try to enter in their show, then sends me a barrage of emails inviting me to Come To The Show and Buy Artwork!!! YAY!!!!

Dudes! I'm an artist! My place in this ecosystem is making the artworks for You to sell them! I am not a Buyer!

shit. I'm mad.

Leaf(s)

Same reference photo, but wood vs canvas. This image made me hate negative space SO much.

Oak leaves.

One solitary floating sycamore leaf after a flood.

Fall has been nice (scenery-wise), but I do hope we have a good, cold winter this year.

I'm ready for this. But with more snow.

Art Show

"After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that we were unable to accommodate your work in this year's exhibition."

Well. Poop.

Moody Monday

After the flurry of helping everybody else get fed and out the door this morning, I felt completely dead. Did nothing but sit and read/scroll Tumblr. Late morning I decided to try a small drawing just so the day won't be a total zero. I used a reference photo from @kochlandhomestead; a lovely fall landscape.

I put tape on to mask the top and bottom, but I kind of like it, and I'm thinking of cleaning the little bit of blue pastel off it and leaving it on the finished piece.

Not sure if I'll leave this as-is or do a bit more blending. The beauty of a Pennsylvania fall!

November

October tends to get more love. I only have a few paintings that celebrate November. Maybe I should do more.

This one isn't very detailed, because it's very small (5x7 in). It remains a good memory, though. Hiking early in the morning, and coming back down past the barn when the sun was still low in the sky.

I hope I get some hiking time this week. Fall woods are wonderful.

Art anecdotes

This morning I'm trying to enter a 'Christmas-giving' type of art show with my state arts council. The drawback to that is that the state council, MAP, tends to strongly favor artists from the urban middle* of the state and leave out artists from the eastern and western ends. Which . . is the Atlantic coast and the Appalachian mountains, both places where lots of good art happens!! But, I digress.

I'm tip-tapping away, formatting images, filling out forms, when

Hmm. They know not what they ask. *cracks knuckles ominously*

'* It is a STRONG temptation to enter works using my address and then enter similar works under my aunt's address in the state capitol . . . and see if there is a measurable difference in getting accepted.

Ink

I kind of miss when Inktober was a thing.

Oak Leaves

Ocean of Life

Tree of Life

Spooky Stump

The Ghost at the Gilchrist Museum

Red's Jacob

Social

I met a photographer yesterday, in the context of the art tour. Today I sent her a note to ask her to get together for lunch. That . . shouldn't feel hard and scary, but. Well, I did it. Fortunately I'm too damned old to get truly 'scared' about social stuff anymore. It's exhausting. I'm just mildly unsettled.

Tally-ho, I must away to feed the chickens and chop some kale.

Art Tour

Yesterday, day three of the Art Tour, was a bit better. There weren't crowds, but enough people to feel reasonable and plenty of them wanted to talk about the art and had good questions. Several came in and reminded me that they had bought pieces from me before (always a nice thing to hear.)

I had a set of K's chemistry problems sitting on my table to work on in the slow moments. Before I can tutor her through them, I have to have them solved myself! At one point I had to go ask my friend the furniture-maker to look up the formula for nitric acid for me (I don't have a fancy phone.) He did give me kind of a questioning look. HNO3, by the way.

I invited him to our Saturday Family Dinner. We haven't had anyone other than family or the kids' friends over for quite a while. I put together a big pan of potatoes, carrots, onion, bell pepper, and plunked pieces of chicken on top. All K had to do was put it in the oven at 4:30 (it feels very weird to be away from the house all day).

Hopefully, a few of the people who were seriously looking yesterday (you can tell when they really want a piece versus just browsing) will come back today and BUY.

This year the Arts Council's member's show overlapped the Art Tour, so I chose not to participate. However, I helped my husband enter for the first time, one of his walnut 'live-edge' charcuterie boards, and also talked my son into entering one of his photos.

A Mill Runs Through It photo credit Alex Hedderick

Location, Luke Maryland.

This will be the first time in YEARS I haven't had a piece in the member's show, but it'll be neat to see theirs in it.

Apples and Bears

I have a big weekend coming up, I should be resting a bit. However.

I did sleep in a bit, then took the dogs out to the far field to cut some brush. I've been just cutting a small section per day, then leaving the tops where Nutmeg can browse them. Rosalie has been improving a little bit every day on 'farm dog' behavior. This morning, her two-week anniversary, she stayed near me for a while as I worked, then moved away and hung out near Chance and Lady. I saw her play-bowing to Chance, which was adorable, but he can't really engage in chasing anymore. At any rate, she was within reasonable distance at all times and came right back to me when I was ready to leave. 10/10

Using vile trickery and corn, I managed to confine almost all the young chickens, then release all the roosters but the one I want to keep. Later on I can pinion the ones I haven't already done and confine ALL the keepers in the chicken run for a while. There are only five roosters to butcher, so that won't be too bad.

Back at the house I spent two solid hours on soup, apple pie, and kitchen cleanup. I am, frankly, wiped at this point. Still have to take artwork to town and probably help K with chemistry homework. Dinner will be the mushroom soup that I just finished, so I'm ready to go on that.

A neighbor called during the morning to tell me he'd shot a small bear, and did I want the meat? Yes, I do. That's going to be a BIG butchering project for me, though. Butcher, freeze, can, etc. So that's kind of a combo Yay!/OhNo! moment. Canning meat isn't difficult, per se, but quite time consuming. Bear sausage? Many ideas to ponder.

Tomorrow, sitting in town at the Art Tour, will feel easy in comparison.

Small Town Arts Scene

Sheesh. What's up with small towns?

Yesterday I got the local Arts Newsletter. The Studio Tour, which started last weekend and continues this coming one, was left off the newsletter entirely. This after it was posted last Wednesday, but way down at the bottom instead of (chronologically) at the top. So. That's kinda shitty. I think some of the Tour artists protested being at the bottom of the list, and leaving us off entirely was the AC's response. Yay. I feel so supported.

Also, there was this opportunity.

Which is . . right up my alley. I've had quite a few commissions for painting homes and buildings. I sit and swear quietly at the windows every single time, but I DO complete them. I'm just a little surprised that the response is supposed to go to the Arts Council instead of directly to a person at the credit union, and . . a resume? Not just a sample of past work, but a resume? For a simple painting commission? You've gotta be kidding me. In theory, I have a resume. Not sure if I can make myself pull it out an update it, though. My artwork and past reliability in completing same is all that matters here! Behold, the buildings I have painted!!