Prices for Paintings for Art Show

Today I had to decide which paintings to go on display to sell at the community centre art show and cocktail party on Sat 12th November.  Prices are always difficult to decide on and it was suggested to me to show my lower price paintings as the lower price items are more likely to sell, which meant Ribbon town was out but I will take that with me on Sunday 13th Nov when I do a painting demo at the community centre for the opening of the new kindergarten/school for 3 year olds that the community centre fundraised and built.

Paintings aren't selling at the moment in Perth, I've been to few galleries and shows in the past couple of months and there were very few red dots.  I've also heard this from others who have been to exhibitions/galleries/shows too.

I live in the Perth hills where there are a couple of galleries and a small art community.  People of a variety of incomes live in the same suburb - I guess you could say middle class - what ever that really is.  The wealthy suburbs of Perth such as Subiaco, Nedlands and Dalkieth have quite a few galleries with higher priced paintings in.

So how do I price my paintings???  I have a middle price and depending on the commission of where my painting are to be sold  will affect the mark-up on the painting.  I have a family price and that recovers the cost of materials and a little time.  I also have the lowest price I'll go before selling this painting at that price leaves me feeling icky.  I tell the ladies in my class don't make it so low that if you sell it at that price you are left feeling yucky and regretting it.  Some art awards take 30% but the community centre ask a 10% donation - which is great.

Kelly Rae Robert's Etsy article on pricing is the best one I've read and recommend it if you are having trouble deciding on how to price your paintings.

Spring Blossoms Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 24" 61cm x 61cm

York Art Show $300
Community Centre Art Show $250 (less commission means I get $225)
My lowest price before it leaves me feeling yuck is $200.
Family price is even lower because I'm happy that it's staying the family and I can go visit my painting - no on selling though....

Butterfly Windows Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 24" 61cm x 61cm

 York Art Show $300
Community Centre Art Show $250

My lowest price before it leaves me feeling yuck is $200.
Family price is even lower because I'm happy that it's staying the family and I can go visit my painting - no on selling though....

Butterfly  and  Dragonfly  Acrylic on Canvas 46cm x 46cm (18"x18")

Community Centre Art Show $150 each

The Vase Acrylic on Canvas 25cm x 51cm

 Community Centre Art Show $75

The Tulip Acrylic on Canvas 25cm x 51cm

Community Centre Art Show $75


So what do you think of my prices???  Too high???  Too low???  Shells, you know best???

I guess the real question is How much will someone pay for my painting?  I wonder how much the price will change when I'm still trying to sell them in a year......

Blog Hop and Blogtoberfest

It's an honour and a privilege to have my ButterFly Girl painting used as the logo/artwork for a blog hop that I will be participating in.  My post on November 1st will be about this painting and my Flying Lessons e-course experience.

Blogtoberfest - blogging each day for October was very difficult for me since my dog died on Oct 3rd.  On bad days I just posted a pic and on good days I managed to write a bit.  I also found it difficult to write when I just had nothing to say and I'd done no art/painting....  Would I do Blogtoberfest again - Yes, most definitely, it was a great challenge, I got a few more followers and pageviews too.

Here are some interesting stats though I'm not sure how accurate they are as the past two posts have had no views but I've had comments but I've had pageviews....

Pageviews last month

1,321

Tessa

3 Oct 2011, 12comments

95 Pageviews Paintings for the York Art Awards 2 Oct 2011, 3 comments 42 Pageviews Ugh, what has happened to my post.....grrr.....I wish this thing would work normally. Aargh...can't delete it either....hmph  going now....

Saturday's Six Thoughts

1. I played with her face - for better or for worse....

2. I finished prepping my painting for the local art's festival - painting goes in on Monday and Opening Night is Friday.  Shhh don't tell anyone but I don't like it and I think the reason is that I painted it for the arts festival and toned it down a little as I don't think they would approve/accept my regular stuff.  Other artists doing modern layered paintings have not been accepted by the art community because their work was not serious enough. pft pft pft such garbage - who says a painting has to be of a serious nature - I want people to buy my paintings, hang them and look at them and get some enjoyment from them - a smile on their face....  I was reading about this in the newspaper during the week....  Will show you my painting on Friday...

3.  My DH aka Darling Husband helped me tidy my 'studio' aka the smallest room in the house or the junk room - now I can take more than 2 two steps and turn around and come out again.

4.  Beautiful, sunny day here in Perth but not warm enough for swimming.

5.  Did I tell you that my son got his driver's license during the week - now he has to log up 25 hours over the next 6 months on L Plates still and with another experienced driver in the car.

6.  Going out to dinner tonight with my brother and sister-in-law so I must toodle-pop and go get ready - my hair needs time to dry and then I'm going to straighten it - Friday I get it coloured, cut and straightened before the art festival opening night.

Have a great weekend peeps, catch ya tomorrow, only two days of Blogtoberfest left....

Kanchan's Collages

I first met Kanchan Mahon on DeviantArt over a year when I was creating collages and we joined the mutual admiration society. This is how Kanchan describes her process.

I work with paper, cutting images to create unique new handmade art.  My work is colorful, energetic and draws on past artwork in a new way. By cutting vintage or antique images, I create a focal point around which I form compositions with themes of rebirth, transformation and empowerment. My inspiration is right outside my door. I draw on nature to portray the beauty and fruitfulness of life.

I have ordered a print through her DeviantArt Print Gallery and can't wait for it to arrive and will post a pic of which one when it does. All sales made between 9/7/11 and 12/31/11 will benefit flood victims of Binghamton, New York. But for now, here's a sample of her beautiful work.

I've spent several fun though challenging hours blinging up her blog and website so check out Kanchan's Blog and become a follower and take a look at her Dream Images by Kanchan Mahon website to view more of her unique, handmade creations.

The Mother by Kanchan Mahon

Wear You Rue With A Difference by Kanchan Mahon

More Evolution of Heart Girl

I did a little more work on 'She Wears Her Heart on Her Sleeve' aka Heart Girl....

Here's the process...

Here's a close-up...

Here's a daggy pic of me painting...

Daggy, for my American friends, is of Australian origin.
adj. not stylish, out of fashion, not trendy, not cool, untidy, unclean, not neat.
v. to have no style.

I love seeing the process of other people's work/paintings, so if you've blogged about yours then let me know.

Uh Oh!!!

Uh oh, now what?

Spag Bog for dinner....

Sunset 25th October 2011

Wordless Wednesday - playing along with Tina Chicky.

Painting Evolution of Heart Girl

'She Wears Her Heart on Her Sleeve' began when this large 30" x 30" canvas was given to me by my BF and AB (best friend and art buddy) Sandra after my dog died as she knows how important art as therapy can be.

I began with my regular layers then when it came to stamping I just used the one stamp - a heart made out of kitchen sponge - to stamp all over in a pattern onto the canvas.

Then I sketched out one of the large faces I had been learning at Tam's Fabulous Faces at Willowing.  This is the first large face I have ever painted  - much easier than some of the small faces I've painted - and I think I've done ok, though still lots to learn and lots of practice.  I just want to mention that Tam uses watersoluble crayons and white acrylic paint to paint her faces on paper and this is all acrylic paint on canvas so there was some guess work as to how to make it look right.  One of the hardest things is blending in the paint on the face, I did use retarder to slow the drying process but when you come back the next day to add  it's hard not to over paint it too much and muck it up.

The hair - yes, I wanted large hair and would love to do another portrait, front facing, with curly blonde hair and stars in the background....hmmm Marilyn Monroe comes to mind.  I painted the hair by blocking in the darkest colour first, then gradually adding lighter colours and then some highlights with some bling colours - dark umber, burnt sienna, red ochre, copper and gold.

I feel that there is too much space to the right of her face and when I can think of what to paint there then I will, maybe flowers....

 

Different cropped versions of her...

I will upload her to redbubble where prints and cards of her will be available.

Where I get my 'Talent' from...

Today is the 20th anniversary of the death of my grandfather, Stanley Rayner, aka Pops. He was always drawing as a child and took up painting later in life.  We all love our grandparents but Pops was a special man, he was a loving husband to Kathleen, aka Nanna, who had a stroke in her early forties and was paralysed on the left hand side, wheelchair bound she was looked after by Pops.  My aunty was 3 when Nanna had a stroke so he would have had to do more of the caring than men would have done in the early 60's.  Pops and my dad had a father-son relationship and my parents cared for him in his last few years.

Me with Pops on my wedding day.....

Pops with his granddaughters, my flowergirls.

Here are some of the paintings of Stanley Rayner;

'Talent' - well, we can discuss what talent is and whether I have it or not later in the week....

Shell's Sunday Snippets

Rose that my son received after his Final Assembly on Friday.

On Saturday I made plum pie.

Today, I went to Northam, a little country town so my son could have driving practice.  This is the old train station which is now a museum.

The river in Northam where the Avon Descent watercraft race starts from.

Playing along with Tinniegirl/Cathy -  hope you are feeling better and are getting over your bronchitus.

Saturday's Six Thoughts

1.  Woke up this morning to this dark grey sky - love it when the sun shines from behind.

2. Pleased with my purchases this week of the vintage cases which I have turned into treasure boxes. Also pleased that my business cards arrived too.

3.  My paintings which I sent to the York Art Awards did not sell and am still debating on whether to enter into another award show as the entry fee is very high at $35, DAF was $20 and York was $15.

4.  We bought a mattress this morning and it has been delivered but needs to go on the bed - I could do with a nap!!!

5.  I'll make plum pie instead.  I use to bake all the time before I discovered art.  Wish I had the same passion for exercise.

6.  Friday is a public holiday this coming week - Queen's birthday - she will be in Perth for the Commonwealth Heads Of Goverment Meeting (CHOGM) - Hoping to spend some time painting on Friday.

Biz Cards

Woohoo!!! My business cards have arrived from moo.com - I have never had a biz card before so am very excited.  The larger ones are postcards.  :D

The girly ones seem a little dull which is probably the photographers fault ie mine...and the type on the back is a little small, so make sure you check those things before getting them printed.

Vintage Cases now Treasure Boxes

I picked up these vintage cases today...so cute.

What am I going to do with them?

Well, they are only small so I think I will make the small one my box full of treasures and the other one will be my box full of art treasures - you know those things that you buy and take home and put somewhere safe and then forget about them or can't find them and wonder where they are???    Yeah, those things, except now I need to go find those treasures and when I do find them I'll show you.

Here are some of my treasures...shells (surprise, surprise), feathers, leaves, seedpods/honky nuts, my favourite scrapbooking papers and jewelry/bookmark beads given to me by friends.  I had started this collection before attending the Flora Bowley Painting Workshop in March where Flora asks us to bring our treasure box with us and I added more bits whilst I was there.

What makes a treasure a treasure???

For me, each of my treasures has some sort of significance, importance or meaning to me.  Many of the feathers and leaves I collected whilst walking my dog Tessa, so now they have more significance.  The feathers on the left hand side, the red/orange and black one s are from Carnaby's Red Tailed Black Cockatoo which are rare and love this area to eat, screech and 'destroy' the gum trees.  Shells, well with a name like Michelle, I have always loved shells but these days I try my hardest not to collect them from the beach anymore, the jewellery and beads were given to me by friends.

So, what is in your treasure box?

bahahaha

Found this funny pic on Pinterest.

I wonder what they are laughing at....what do you think they are laughing at?

In Bloom

Roses in bloom in my garden...

Bad headache all day today so keepin it short and sweet.  Hope your day's going well.

Prints Now Available

I've made prints of my work available from Red Bubble.  You can also buy greeting cards, postcards and posters.  Just click on the link or on the sales widget.

Today at Monday Morning Art Group I painted the sides of ButterFly Girl, glossed and varnished her...

 She's now ready to sell....if I could part with her...

Self Portrait Challenge Day

Shells in the Bush.

 Today is Self Portrait Challenge Day on Blogtoberfest.

 Here I am under the wisteria vine looking out into the bush.

 Hope you join in too.  Have  a great Sunday. 

Saturday's Six Thoughts

1.   Did some more work on my wine bottle painting:

2. Beautiful sunny day and Sunday is going to be even warmer.

3. Bought some new plants - Geraldton Wax, Kangaroo Paws, Grevilleas and some herbs.  Helped hubby plant them and pull weeds.

4. Always grateful to those friends who put a smile on my face when I feeling sad.

5. Undecided as to whether I should enter this painting into the local art awards - though I did dream the other night that I sold two paintings.

6. Tomorrow is Self Portrait day on Blogtoberfest - so I'm looking forward to seeing you.

Paintings in Progress

Here are the paintings I'm working on at the moment.  I have found lately that I have ideas for paintings and then see other artists work which are my ideas....oh well, at least my technique is my technique and this makes my paintings different to others....

30" x 30" canvas - the base is now ready for a girly - She Wears Her Heart on Her Sleeve

Not too sure what to call this canvas - have thought of a few titles such as 'Not Drinking Alone' - a few more touch up layers to go...

Not Today

Sorry but there will be no blog today....my dog, Tessa, her ashes were delivered today.

Pics of today's painting fun will be posted tomorrow.

I Can Fly

Inspired by the Kelly Rae Roberts Flying Lessons  e-course and dedicated to the beautiful, kind, caring, sharing and inspiring women in the Summer 2011 Flying Lessons community. 

I added a few final finishing touches to ButterFly Girl this afternoon and here she is...

I hope you like her....

Two options for buying prints are:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/shellsinthebush/art/7894650-butterfly-girl  (Print Size: 8.5" x 12.9" matt print $28.50)

http://aussiesheila.deviantart.com/art/ButterFly-Girl-263006527  (12" x 18" $20 print only)

Blue

Blue is my favourite colour, what's yours?

By Design Seeds.