Creating Opportunities for Artists by Turning the Walls of your Business into an Art Gallery

"Art is too important not to share." - Romero Brito

Prior to the pandemic, once a month, I loaded my car with brightly painted canvases, art supplies, and a festival tent, and set up shop at an outdoor arts and crafts festival in the center of my town. This wonderful community event allowed me to interact with potential customers, create art with kids, and sell my own art. Sadly, since March, all of my artwork was gathering dust in a storage area, until I was contacted by the office manager at Holman Family Dental in Chapel Hill.  A month later, my paintings were on display and available for sale on their walls.  

The dentists and staff came up with the idea of displaying the work of a rotating group of local artists even before Covid-19.  This is a solution that benefits both the artist, the employees who have to spend 8 hours a day looking at the walls in this space, and the patients who need a bit of visual entertainment to distract them.  

It’s a different story at the dental office I’ve been visiting for over twenty years.  While having my teeth cleaned, I have stared at the same art prints for every single one of those 40+ visits. The prints are very nice, but it would be nice to see something new.

Artists rely on community festivals, public events, and temporary art displays in public locations to sell their artwork.  With the cancellation of large events, they have lost an important source of income.  Do you have a wall in your business that could be transformed into a temporary art gallery?  By simply making display space available, not only will you directly assist artists in your community, but you will also create a more aesthetically pleasing environment for your customers/clients and employees.

It might seem like a lot of work to line up artists and arrange for then to come in the hang their work up to four times a year.  It’s not as hard as you’d think.  Once you contact one artist, chances are they can connect you to a number of other artists.  Once the nails are in the wall for the first showing, each consecutive artist just uses the same spots without adding more hardware.  Recently, I hung fifty paintings in less than an hour.  Small notecards are attached to the wall with two-sided tape (Scotch Wall-Safe Tape) listing the artist’s name, contact information, price of the painting, and title.  This way, anyone interested in buying the art can contact the artist directly.  

As an artist, it is very fulfilling and exciting to think that my artwork is being viewed by a variety of new eyes each day. I’ve sold quite a few as well.  The dental hygienists have told me they love seeing their workspace transformed with new artwork every quarter, and the dentists can feel proud of their support of artists in their community.  I, for one, am extremely grateful for the generosity during these times.  

THE DREADED BLANK CANVAS

 "It's so fine and yet so terrible to stand in front of a blank canvas." - Paul Cezanne

Oh, the sheer terror!  There it is lurking like an evil presence on an easel in your studio, glaring at you accusingly with sheer malice - THE BLANK CANVAS! It is a blinding white void of creativity, harassing you on a daily basis.  How to overcome your inertia and dive into the abyss?  I have some easy tips to make the encounter with the blank canvas more enjoyable - to make it a happy little challenge rather than an avoidance freak's nightmare. So here we go...

1. Set your work area up for success.  Does your studio space double as a sewing area, kids' play room, kitchen?  Picture a corner of a crowded dining room turned art space which often spills out into adjacent rooms in my case. If possible, dedicate an area to creating art alone.  I mean dedicate.  Clear out the other crap, have all your tools out and at the ready, arrange adequate lighting.  Create a space where creativity can sprout and grow.  
2. Load your work area with inspiration in advance.  You know what paralyzes me?  The what.  What the heck am I going to paint on there?  That's because I scheduled painting time into my busy calendar, rather than waiting for the right moment. I understand the need to schedule creative time, even though it is not idea. The trick is to allow the inspiration to flow whenever it occurs while telling it to be patient. How do you do this practically?  Let's saying you're taking a lovely walk in nature when you are inspired with a fabulous idea for a painting.  When you get home, create a super quick sketch and tape it to the easel.  Same thing if you are inspired by an image in a magazine, take an interesting photo, or are inspired by a quote - tape them to the easel.  Ideally, the next time you sit down to paint at the scheduled time, there are five or six fabulous ideas sitting there just waiting to take shape.
3. Erase the nothingness.  What else is terrifying about a blank canvas? The sheer lack of anything - the nothingness, the void.  So make it un-blank - in whatever way you can as soon as you can.  Even if that means simply painting it yellow - at least you have started and taken away the absolute nothingness. Put a sketch on it or lay in some basic values with a few careless and fun strokes of the brush.
4. Embrace immaturity.  Maybe you are being assailed by self doubt.  Your inner critic shouts, "What makes you think you can do this?  Who are you to pretend to be an artist?"  My solution: pretend to be a child.  A young child is never crippled with self doubt, burdened with self-criticism, and hesitant! Pick up that paint brush and start slapping some paint on that canvas with wild abandon, because, you know what?  You can paint over it if you don't like it, but chances are that trusting your instincts and letting your creativity flow youthfully are the best things that will happen to your art.
5. If all else fails, and you find yourself unable to approach the canvas just yet, turn to your sketchbook.  That 8x10" sheet of paper is somehow less intimidating than your blank canvas.  Slap some ideas in there in a low-pressure pencil to paper way.  Next thing you know, you'll have something to sketch out on that canvas with excitement.  Tear out your sketch, tape it to the wall by your easel, and return to step one.  

Remember, every masterpiece began as a blank canvas.  An now, I'm going to go and try to follow my own advice...

Happy Painting, 

Arianne

Does this mean my child is not an artist? Tips on enjoyable early art experiences for children.

 “The world today doesn’t make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?”

-Pablo Picasso

You’ve filled the palette with gobs of lovely paint colors, placed the canvas securely on the easel, wrapped your child in an art smock, placed a beret on her head and a brush in her hand. Okay, now the magic is supposed to happen, right?  Your child’s inner Monet will be revealed.  You’ll post the video of her in full-on art prodigy mode on your social media, it’ll go viral, and celebrity will follow. Wait, what’s this?  Your child is smearing paint randomly all over the canvas, paying no mind to the lines or color theory.  Where you expected a mermaid, there is a brownish green blob, and your budding artist is now painting her hand and giggling with wonder.  

I get it.  This is not what you expected or hoped for, but trust me when I tell you it is fine.  I’d even go as far as to say it is desired.  You might feel compelled to offer guidance, assist your child, or make suggestions.  Your child’s early art experiences are about unrestrained exploration, free-wheeling creative expression, and fun.  Let’s toss out our adult concern for outcome, and instead let them enjoy the process - the act of playing around with paint, and discovering how it flows, mixes, and reacts.  If you are too involved or critical of their effort, they may learn to have a distaste of the activity all together.  

You might say, “but I was hoping to see evidence of artistic skill”. At a young age, your child is learning how to flex their creative muscle, rather than develop artistic skill. Try not to attach your adult notions and understanding of successful art to your child’s painting experience.  Your child is still young enough to enjoy trying out a new activity without thinking there is a wrong way or a right way.  We definitely don’t want to take that innocence away from them.  As we all know, their futures will be full of strict teachers, critical bosses, deadlines, and procedures.  This messy, free-form play is where creativity is born, and that is a skill that will serve them throughout life.  

Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  When your child hands you their finished painting, proudly announcing that the greenish brown blob is a superkitty flying on a cloud, use your imagination, and hang that work of art in a place of honor on the wall.  Your child might yet blossom into an incredible sought-after artist, or they might stick with engineering (I’m sure there are artistic engineers too), but they will have enjoyed the experience of painting.  

Tips for your child’s early art experiences…

1. Ask questions, rather than offering directions, criticism, or guidance.  For instance, “What is that (greenish brown blob) you are painting now?”
2. Show your child how mixing colors to get new colors is fun.
3. Talk about paint textures -thick versus smooth and how you can use the brush to get different textures and looks
4. Try using different tools to spread the paint on the canvas.  Try a plastic palette knife (or plastic card) or a comb.  
5. Praise your child’s effort more than the outcome.
6. Paint with your child, and try to remember what it feels be free of the inner critic full of self doubt and just have fun.
7. Attempt to have a “messy is okay” attitude.  It might help if you cover all exposed surfaces, cloth your child in an art smock, use washable paint, and move your studio out of doors.
8. Let go of your own expectations and embrace an “art as exploration” approach.
   
9. Point out artwork to your child wherever you go - including graffiti, packaging design, and the art of nature, so your child will be filled with inspiration.
10. Read the book “Ish” by Peter Reynolds to your child. In this story, “A creative spirit learns that thinking “ish-ly” is far more wonderful than “getting it right”.

Happy painting,

Arianne

Shop for individual paint kits for yourself or little creative and paint party kits at SociableArt.com

The Beauty of Hope

WARNING: This post contains optimism and descriptions of scenes of natural beauty which might be triggering to those sensitive to positivity. Read at hour own risk.  

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” 

― Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan 

To be honest, I can’t say I’ve greeted each day with optimism of late.  In fact, there have been a number of times when I awoke filled with a slight sense of dread.  This morning felt different, like a bit of hope had been sprinkled on the world at dusk to be discovered when I ventured out to walk the dog.

It was that magic hour when the night slowly trades places with the day.  Pearl, my 16 year old beagle, always stops on the porch steps to sniff the air thoroughly, so she knows what she’s getting into. I paused to take a deep breath too.  The air smelled green and wet with the raindrops from an overnight shower still dripping slowly from the trees.  Shadows of the night clung to the corners, curbs, and crannies of my world as as the palest of pinks painted the eastern sky beneath the stubborn glow of a planet too bright to disappear in the rising daylight.  A pair of bats winged to and fro in a wandering waltz accompanied by a steady chorus of crickets.

As Pearl and I made our way down the quiet streets, past dark houses sheltering sleeping neighbors, pink turned to gold in the sky and the cricket choir quieted and retired to the shelter of the woods to be replaced by birds greeting the day with cheerful chirps and by the low hum of traffic building on the interstate as the world got about it’s business. Before long, walkers and runners joined the morning, moving with purposeful energy.  

There is no stopping all of this. The sun keeps rising, and birds keep singing.  I can’t help but feel how beautiful it all is.  We’re all in this together.  Momentarily, I’m filled with the hope and promise of a new day - another chance to discover the art which fills my heart and try to create something beautiful to share with the world.

Everything is Going to be Okay

Hi.  It’s been a while.  I’ve been busy.  As I’m sure you’re aware, almost overnight the world went from sociable, thriving, “normal”, to socially distant, frightening, and decidedly not normal.  I had to transform my little art business from something based on interacting in public spaces to a not-so sociable paint-at-home solution.  And let me tell you, through the last few months of scrambling, reinventing, creating, and hustling, I was scared.  I was terrified of losing all I’d built over the last ten years, being unable to pay the bills, and of my loved ones getting ill.  Like so many of you, I lost sleep as I listened to the news and longed for words of reassurance and comfort.  I just wanted someone to tell me everything would be okay.

In the course of a few months, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve seen members of my various communities resolving to work together and face challenges with imagination and creativity. While missing the closeness of others, I’ve been touched by kinds words and generous gestures.  I’ve discovered that my community is largely supportive of those who, when knocked down, pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and try again. 

I still want someone to tell me everything’s going to be okay.  That’s what we all want to hear, but who can possibly tell us that? The world is upside down and topsy turvy, and we’re just trying to hang on.  No one can tell us what tomorrow holds, but I can tell you one thing…in this one moment, right now, while I sit and type this, everything is okay - in just this one moment for sure.  I am breathing.  I can turn and look out the window and see that the sun is still shining even behind clouds, birds are still singing, and trees are still giving.  The world has been through worse.  I can only hope I’ll come out stronger and kinder on the other side.  

Everything is going to be okay.  I’ll just have to say it to myself.  Sure, I’m still worried, but I have faith that I can still create something that people want and need - that I can still do some little thing that will make the world a brighter place.  I’ll just keep on keeping on and creating art from my heart.  I hope you will too.