Painting Art
Always the oddest and hardest question I have found since little me entered to our community is who is an artist? Before that moment it was a simple answer and I dreamed of becoming one. I did not consider myself as an artist for a long time, cause it felt wrong with my awareness. Part of me still does not accept myself to the title, but that Little me says YES. To date I always tried to switch verb artist to creative person or something close to those lines. Reason behind that is simply what I have learned about artists communities politics back in school and from people more aware. I found our art teachers had vowed themselves to the old code of Political art with being aware of other ways but having close to no belief in them. It was bad centuries ago and while our time is new and more aware than ever, there is still too much room to adjust themselves up to date. I don't understand the art politics right now are they trying to develop or defend the code. Are they moving forwards new or being stuck with the old.
Even before I went to school as young as 6 I dreamed of being an artist, a person who creates from inside out. Who brings joy to people, to whose work you can drown yourself into. Someone whose work you look and it makes you happy. Giddy even, evokes your feelings to the core. I loved the cartoons. At that age I could draw a cartoon character out from television by watching one episode of 15 minutes. I loved it. I dreamed of working for Disney. A true artist it's considered to be someone offering all the above and being able to feed themselves with it.
But then came the School. I was placed together with many artistic talented kids and slowly the art education I received and the community rules, laws, codes started reshaping my mind and opinions. Made me unsure in things. I don't think it ever reshaped me to my core but it sure shook my confidence, beliefs and dreams. I remember my own thought out loud in my head clearly. "Modern Art Politics today? Sucks Major!" I was not even 10 years old. It was so messed up soup for me that I lost the dream. I felt strong need for it to change, In the first five years I understood how little to no effect one person has. I gave up the dream, gave up drawing and I went into depressive slumber. My therapist at age 12 was sorry for me for not being able to help. Kids are underestimated in my opinion. Of course a lot time later I understood the right people, time and place concept. But I also knew it then. For some reasons I did not know how to fill the time I had to wait. I tried to figure out my path in life. Thinking back it scares even myself to see how things have gone exactly the way I imagined them to go, give-and-take. I feel uneasy to label myself as an artist in concept of art politics but in my core I am okay with it. It is complicated.
Thinking of a Custom order? Here is what you need to know!
At the moment I charge 25e per hour plus material, tax and shipping fee.
Plus taxes and shipping cost.
It is very hard to give an estimate in doing a creative painting. I have to admit But i do my best. I have not done much plain portraits, but more of creative work and my old system of charging based on a cm2 has not been working for a while and has grown more over to hours Due to nature of my work. Tiny work can be as time consuming as a large painting.
But first place we start of course is what you want. If you want a simple one face portrait with a simple blended back ground. Have a budget ready in your mind!
My first questions is, how big and if you do not mention otherwise I assume you mean painting to to be hung on the wall. If you want the painting on your car, PC, helmet, guitar, mailbox etc. You have to mention it strait in the beginning. Cause that changes everything and is a whole other chapter somewhere below.
But now a painting to hang on wall. Keep in mind, I do not do framing work. If you want frame for the work I can go to local framer without extra charge and ask prices for you and connect you to them through me to see what options are available but I am not responsible of framing the work nor the costs of it. But we will talk about it.
Size of the painting can be custom measures or fixed. Watercolor paper I have available 300mg paper I usually use but I also have thicker, that can be cut to size up to A3. I do have couple of A2 sizes but they are also more expensive best quality papers. I do not storage canvases at home. I do have couple available mostly in size 80x100 is the biggest. I usually offer what I have available or I will order online.
Next is what medium you wish? Charcoal, acrylic, watercolor, Black and white or colorful? Cause this also determines on what to paint on. Now when these two key things have been decided, Size and medium of choice for example is 90x70. You have to think how much money you want to invest on quality of the canvas. Canvases prices that size start as low as 15 euros of pour quality and grow up to hundreds. Low quality canvas can and usually will dry bent in your wall over years. Upside is that that is the time to go to a framer and frame the painting. Saves costs and buys more time in investment. Good quality canvas in an art shop for example 3cm 80x100 is 89.90e and 2cm 80x100 is 56.10e in www.kiilakehys.fi. If I have to order it just for you I would of course charge you the sending cost they add. It is also possible for you to deliver me the canvas.
If you decide you want to cut the canvas and fit it into wooden frame I would suggest not to invest that much into it. I add a layer of gesso to the cheaper canvas and lay paint a bit thicker and it is good to cut out from the wooden frame later in order to transfer it to frame. It is also possible to purchase just canvas cloth but it is usually sold in bulk and needs a lot more preparation what comes to start painting so I find it easier to buy a ready quality one and save time. Some also glue the canvas onto this pressed wood cardboard before framing it to give it strength, when customers have made the frames themselves. Some frames come with the backing material they are glued onto.
Next is what is your vision? Do you want a simple portrait of one face? Two faces? Maybe with a machine? In a scenery? If so, what story the painting should tell? Or you want just a big effective painting with one portrait? My customers mostly have asked me to tell their story. Or add them into some fantasy scenery or dreams they have had, like to a forest or riding or add animals and farm, maybe an old house, recreate old memories. Some want precise work others would just like to model in it. I have done both. Now this does affect price. The more details done the more time it takes. And I do a lot of details because details make a unit whole and give it more debt. Here is good if you have decided on your budget and now we can deduct biggest material cost and try to figure out how much paints would cost. And after that I can see what I can achieve within the budget. Yes it has happened that I have gone over budget! But no more than maximum 3 hours. Unfortunately I cant predict that. And if that happens 2 hours is maximum what I will charge. If it goes even more I will finish the painting free of charge on the extra hours spent. A good reference you get if you look into my Brush Magic portfolio under custom orders. On some I have placed prices included tax, to give you a reference of what I have charged and within that get directions around where the price might lay.
Next you need to think about is the main color pigments. A painting needs to compliment a wall and rest of the interior. I have always thought of any house and apartment as a blank canvas. Beige, soft colors are safe to go and many people choose that. I myself am a person who has spent probably 10 years of my adult life pushing sofa and beds and closets around my home until I understood that I need diversity that calms me and started painting paintings to hang on my walls. I can say that I have seen my mother paint her walls more often to different shades than she has moved furniture. But also doesn't like to hand stuff on wall so. I like to have light walls with so called center pieces of paintings and I tend to switch places in the wall or into other rooms once every few years. Tastes are different. But investing in an art piece is a big commitment as is one getting made for yourself. It will live with you for many years to come. Witch is why I am happy with my style. So far it has fitted everywhere throe time. But I also have an option in many of them. You would have to buy another painting from me in order to do the same. Witch is why I usually recommend that your first painting would be in colors you favor more throe the year. I tend to love sunsets and winter. Witch is why I find biggest comfort in blue/orange paintings. One or the other. Warm or colder colors. You might find that light silvery pearl with a drop of peach brings you peace. Those kind of things determine your connection to the painting and that you can fall in love with it all over again after you resume to daily life and forget the art piece in your wall and surroundings. But when you take a zip of coffee and your eyes meet again. It truly is like falling in love all over again and again on years to come. I do not want you to just commit to putting your investment in art but also in your soul. That is my goal.
If you have for example an idea to paint your helmet or decorate your car, motorcycle, PC, guitar etc. I am also the right place to ask for it. What comes to acrylic paints the best part about it is it small to diversity that you can paint on almost every surface as long as preparation work is done properly and paintwork is protected with the right chemicals. Art is for consumption and what better way to do it then decorate something that brings you most of joy and even better you can amplify that and make it a luxury item. Make it fun, daring and live life fully.
As you see there are many ways to approach to wanting and having a custom painting. I hope I am the one to help you and do my best to deliver. Always have and always will. Paintings tend to tell a story one way or the other. What is yours? Let me help figure it out. Now all you need to do is contact me. As a millennial I prefer to text as I go or meet up. Best way to get in touch with me is eighter via whatsapp (my phone number is on the right up corner), insta direct or facebook messenger. Also I do check my emails multiple times a day. If I haven't gotten touch with you in couple of days I have not received your message. Try another one of the options I gave above.
And Now hit that send button. I am always happy also to just hear from you. I am glad you have considered me as your Choice of an artist.
I don't like to draw at the moment since i haven't really drawn over a decade. I prefer painting cause of the time cost. I do doodle from time to time and make charcoal portraits to keep my hands in check. But yes, sometimes I do not lift a charcoal pencil for months, witch is not necessarily a good thing. Here I am spilling my dirty secrets. But that is the reality. Do not get me wrong. Just because I don't like to draw doesn't mean I don't love to do it. It is hard to explain because at the same time trying develops a person in so many levels. The problem is with me being usually so busy that I hardly find time for it.
I do like to use watercolor paints but I have to say I am in baby shoes with them. I find watercolor skills fascinating and hard to master. So far I have only ever done two watercolor portraits. But I am most happy to accept a challenge.
I used gouache up to 2006, then moved to charcoal and mixed media for a while. Until I picked up acrylics jet again. So far Acrylics is my favorite medium for a reason all artist love it. It is far less toxic than oil paints witch I can not work with. I do say that I am interested in trying out water based oil colors even tough water in that context brings up the feeling of cheating the authenticity. But that is my problem I need to overcome. One day I will!
I have wide experience with different paints in different area and styles. I still do my own and it does not have a label for now. One can say I do new art or visual art in a traditional way. Latter would fit the most. Another can say I am too much all over the place but there is a consistency in all my paintings which argues with it. But what I consider as beginning of my self growth as a person, coming out of my shell, was actually made in cubism with blue, brown and red colors. I still love that painting even if was destroyed. I have no idea about the destiny of that one. But or me that was an achievement stone in my story book. It pushed open so many gates I got overwhelmed for over a year with it and still affects me to date.
What I consider a quality in paintings?
As an artistic person I love art. And oh boy there is art to enjoy! Thank you social media and all the brilliant minds behind the works! I just love humans and human mind. It is funny how I find myself sometimes look at paintings hanging in public places and searching something in them even if I particularly do not like the subject nor execution. I still get fascinated on how it was done. Once I was in elementary school and my art teacher said that I most probably will not make it (earn living with art) with my own creation due to having a unique style for art market, this made me give up my path to art university cause doing art in so called available styles did not make me feel full. She said if I don't change my mind on staying True to my style and creation then art university will not likely benefit me on the goal of making a living with my work. She was brutally honest and I respected that. I felt dull and incomplete. Sad and Depressed. I told myself that I will go when I am in my 40ties. When rest of the life has fallen into place, I can go as a hobby. People tend to do that. Go study something later in life to expect and be exited about. I can maybe do that, when I can support myself financially I thought. Now I am in middle of my thirties. Have to say I still want to go cause I want to learn and be better and quicker. But I am doubting. I do not want to go if it is same as it was back then. Nine years of emotional torture and hell because of it, and what if it really does not benefit me. But what if things are different now. Of course now I am more mature and might hold onto just fine. But small courses I have tried to participate in meantime have been not progressive for my work and have found non beneficiary to my knowledge. I have quit all of them quarter way throe. Might be that I have been in wrong place wrong time. I do not know that. I still have 5 years for my 40 s to begin. Time will show the future.
But today I still go throe couple of so called thumb rules to determine quality of painted art piece. First looking if paint is layered thick on canvas. I still remember one painting I saw 12 years ago in local post office. It was about 60x70 on a canvas. And it featured moon, stars and pine trees. Maybe something more but cant remember. And even tough I liked the pigments mixed and shadows were well done I felt sadness for the pour execution of it cause it ruined the whole idea of a Quality painting. It was just a pretty Poor quality painting but I would not pay anything for that. I also understand that many people would not see the problem. But even standing 2 meters away from it I could see those darn white spots of the canvas. Paint was layered on so thin it had not covered the canvas properly. Where should of been deep dark shadows where earth and trees meet, was a full blown starry sky. Rule number one is to have Thick enough paint on canvas so that when you lift the canvas against light, it does not shine throe. Also a reason for why we have Gesso available for second or third layer, even tough the medium is expensive, in addition working as a primer it gives easily more coverage of the canvas and you save on cost of paint. So no see throe painting is a quality painting in my book.
Rule number two is that IF you work with portraits useing square technique, make sure you have enough paint covering the charcoal if you do not erase the grid! I have gotten myself in past few years to use that method too sometimes to certain extent due to saving time on custom orders. But I have seen some portraits showing them throe on rear side of a painting. I think that is a No. And even worse I have seen some showing throe in front.
And overall flow of the painting build and colors is my third rule of thumb. If it works it works if not then not. It does not matter to me if it is graphic, cubism, renaissance, abstract, what ever the style overall flow talks a lot. This is something that is hard to describe. It has a lot to do with placements, colors, techniques etc. This is something I myself like to play with and achieve with trial and error method cause sometimes the colors just don't fit. It just feels wrong. And due to my experimental nature I like to challenge myself to make things fit even if I see they do not. There is also the factor of mediums used. Nowadays most acrylic colors compete in same level what comes to quality of them. But what we artists look for is the magic and power of a pure deep pigment cause that is where all the magic starts with.
Also I always look for one aspect but I never take it too seriously. Just as a curiosity. My teachers never allowed us to use pure black pigment on canvas. Like it was against the rules cause in nature there really never is a real pure black color. So it is interesting to see if artists have chosen to still use them. I do and love every bit of it.
And of course originality. I still don't like to define styles, even tough sometimes it is necessary. I look paintings more with a feeling rather than mind. I don't even want to know if a person x has executed some style or technique perfectly or not. To me they can use whatever they want to achieve end goal. Provoke me! Make me feel, put new thoughts in my head. Art that makes me feel authentic in it makes itself a quality painting for me.
These are the guide lines I go by while deciding on a quality of someones painting and paint myself. I think in traditional painting with brushes art, every artist has their own thoughts on how to determine quality of an artwork. Some look for technique, some look overall impression. Like one graphic artist once told me that he thinks nothing of my art cause he cant see anything nor understands it. He apologized for not being able to judge my art work and also added that 3 of his colleagues were impressed by it. Art is for everyone but all art is not for anyone.
How do I paint? Or based well what do I paint?
I paint based on feeling. Usually i have time maybe 3 months per year to actually do my own creations even if that. Luckily my customers give me a lot of freedom so I can swim in art and creation every moment of my day. I live a day at a time and art and creation is in me all the time. I have ideas that if I would not have to work to earn bread as an extra I would have 10 hour art days filled for next 5 years already ready in my head. Part of me lives in that dream daily. So even if I am at work I have a quiet part of my brain or vision that is creating another masterpiece. That is why I say that 24 hours a day is not enough for me. If I could this would be all I would love to do.
I get inspired by lots of things. Nature, music, people, artists, feelings, situations etc. I rem meditate sometimes. I call it rem meditation. I don't really know what it is. But I have been sleeping with a notebook on my night desk since I was a kid. Shame that I didn't preserve any of the old notebooks.
Sometimes it is hard. When I really get exited about an idea. Most stupid thing is social media. Cause I do google it. It can bring you down a lot when you see someone has executed the concept better than you would of and then you cant continue with your own cause the other was so much better. On those cases lots of my ideas have also died as soon as I opened google. But sometimes I can see I can make it better or it has not been created or at least not published. If I cant find anything in 5 to 15 minutes I swim in clear water of execution. Sometimes I can swim in the thrill of that for months cause I can not find time to paint. I do not like to paint one hour a day and one next. I have to get it out on thrive or it stays unfinished somewhere and I can't bring myself to finish it cause my soul shark is hungry for new ideas and gets impatient. My larger original art works usually are in between 25 hours to 45 hours depending on many aspects of the work. I do forget to eat and sleep. I do get messy. Most I can do is two paintings at the same time but I thrive not to, cause it causes drifting emotion in me, like everything is not alright and I feel anxious instead of relishing in one painting. And maybe one hand craft in the mix and some physical work in between. The thing with painting with me is also that for that time I spend there with the magical brush I feel like I am in another world. And mixing two different worlds into same timeline makes me confused. I can execute technically but am a mess emotionally. So I try to paint one painting at a time and dedicate as much time as possible on one go.
I wish I had more time to practice drawing. I see a lot of improvements to be made in many areas. Maybe that art school would not be such a bad idea. Maybe when my kids are grown and I can afford it. Will see. I have to say that even tough I see myself producing quality art, it is flawed in general sense. Depending of course what you expect to see. I lack on patience in some places and I do slide on emotions while I paint. This causes me sometimes to let the emotions overgrow the technical parts. It is weird to explain, but it maybe as complex as that moment when female hormones clash in a rainy day, maybe that State of mind in that moment where are you are searching for your keys but they are in your hand, I usually walk away at that point when nothing makes sense anymore. And later when I have come back I actually have been amused every time and it somewhat fits the whole flow. So Instead of Bob Rosses beautiful happy accidents I leave my ugly gorgeous accidents visible. They remind me of the truth, they remind me of each and every second in that time. They make me smirk and laugh. And I am proud of them. I do not see that it takes off from quality of my work. I see that it adds to it by being honest and raw. Most important thing is that I got my message out, my feelings out. One drop closer to not exploding.
I paint with my soul, my heart, my head, my hand, with all of me and I mean all. I see depths in my art that none sees until I explain. Word it is a powerful thing. The relief I feel when I see my painting myself is something I struggle to place into words. It unfortunately is never as simple as "I Just Like To Paint" smiley face. Human mind is fascinating. And so is my own. When I was young I thought I had it all figured out. I remember wishing I could take a chainsaw, cut the scull open, shrink myself and sit on the verge of the scull to see what is going one in someones mind. Watch it like a cartoon, without them knowing. I did not know back then how wrong I was. I haven't got anything figured out, not even today. Life is so changing space in time that in next 5 minutes a person might come and say stop the bull and all this what is said does not matter anymore. You laugh and sigh and move on to next. Life is gorgeous and marvelous. I am happy to embrace it. Lucky even. And at the same time I am able to dive to the deep dark places we all have gone to. This is something that is hard to put into words. And I also avoid discussions on the matter cause we are expected to take a stand on some point. Own your words. Be true to yourself. But what if tomorrow I have changed my mind? I don't understand why everything has to be so tight and one lined where there are so many blurry lines combined. Magic of life. Magic of a brush. In order to make things happen out of the box we need equipment i guess. Well mine is the magical brush.