Here I am with my painting about to be shipped to the LDS Church Art and History Museum. Sorry about the glare and the florescent lighting, the FedEx lady snapped the picture for me. Will I do this again? Probably yes, when the church has another competition again in 3 or 4 years. It was costly, however. $240 for profressional framing, about $45 in art supplies, $50 for professional photograph of the artwork for submission and $75 in shipping, packing and insurance. gulp. Not exactly the right time to be spending money! Makes me wish I lived in Utah so I could have just dropped it off. I learned a ton doing this, however, which is priceless. For one thing, I would not do a darkly lit subject in oils again. It is nearly impossible to photograph well and shows every imperfection in the canvas imaginable. Oils need so long to cure before final varnish, it is really problematic unless I use a new fangled medium and varnish. I wanted to do a heavier layer of paint on the figure and torch, but it would have taken much too long to dry for shipping. All this needs to be considered at the idea stage. I am really thrilled to have made it so far in the competition, as I never expected to make it to the first round of cuts. It has encouraged me to keep pursuing my dreams. Compared to perfecting a piano performance, college studies in geology or childbirth, this art thing is just really, really difficult! Worth it, but very hard to do well. I push my abilities to the limit with each painting, as that is the only way to progress. Frustrating, maddening, disheartening, humbling, exciting, thrilling and satifying. What a rocky road I am choosing to drive on!
Next up I am creating a children's picture book for the lds market that I hope to get published someday. The 'dummy' (a true scale mock up of the book done in pencil and a couple pages of colored paintings) will take up all my time for the next two months. Sorry I can't share it with you: gotta protect my art/idea for copyright issues. Its a big bad world out there. In the meantime, I will start working on the oil portrait of the little girl. And no, it will not be a dark background.lol
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3 comments:
It looks so good, Anita. (AND I love your hair. You look so much younger. No kidding. It's spunky). After seeing your painting, I don't want to show you how small and puny mine looks in comparison. I will pick mine up from the framers next Friday.
This really was a learning experience. I concure with your comments about thickening the paint and understanding about the drying and varnishing process.
All I can say, is if you don't make it through to the next round, they are crazy. Bravo, Hatch.
Incredible!
wow anita!!! that is beyond incredibile. dreams come true and you have the talent. keep at it and i am so impressed and so excited for you!!!!!
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