October 8, 2009: Newsletter 19

In This Issue Featured Artist Georgia O'Keeffe How To Make Money Welcome New Artists! Life for a Struggling Creative Edward Potthast What Painting is This? Obviously!  Featured Artist Barbara McGee Professional Visual Artist Medium: Oil, Watercolor Peterson, Iowa Barbara McGee Fine Art Gallery McGee Red Easel Gallery ********** Red Easel Pages GALLERY MAGAZINE RED EASEL HOME Artist Organizations Art Galleries Art Leagues Artists Supporting Artists Books & More Emerging Artists Quotes & Inspiration Link Exchange Program Advertising Categories (Articles, Red Easel Product Specials, and Comments) Art Festivals Art Instruction Artist Resources Red Easel Specials So You Think You Know Art? Stories from the Studio The Painter's Keys Contact information Susan@redeasel.com :: 704.708.9286 (H) :: 704.840.2419 (M) Greetings! I hope everyone who receives this email is having a good year.  I know that many of you, like us, may have been affected by the current economic climate and I pray you are surviving and have hope for your future.  Unfortunately, that is why I haven't sent out an email in almost a year, and I want to apologize for that.  Red Easel is a part of me and I put it on the back burner while trying to deal with our economic crisis.  You see, my dear husband, Bob, better known as my "Big Bear" was laid off from his position as Director of Business Development for a company "Avaya" just a month after receiving an award for his contributions to the company.  That was September, 2008, and unfortunately, he has still not found work in his field - wireless technology and business development.  He is the main supporter in our family of 6, and although I make a bit from my paintings, it is milk money at best.  Raising a family and staying positive when you feel like the rug is being pulled out from under you is difficult, but we are trudging along and making due under the circumstances.  Mostly, we are praying and staying positive for our children and for each other.  Financially, we hit the wall in July.  We had enough saved and enough retirement to sustain us for 10 months, but that was it.  When he was laid off, he only received 2 weeks severance.  We haven't been able to pay our mortgage in 4 months and hope that the bank will work with us, but our calls go unanswered - which seems odd.  We don't have health insurance.  Thank God for unemployment and little odd jobs around our community from neighbors who have hired Bob to do things like aerate their yard, plant seed, or power wash the brick entrance posts to our community.  Every little thing helps - more than you know! I've received a number of commissions and am thankful for that.  I believe that when God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window.  We are listening to the message He is sending us and doing our best.  In the meantime, I am going to do my best to get Red Easel back on track.  I've been working on redesigning the site for about a month now.  Being the creative person that I am, I'm always trying to think of ways to make a difference.  Well, I started a large painting 2 weeks ago - 42 x 60 to be exact.  The biggest painting I have ever done, and, well, I found myself using my hand-held palette more than my glass table palette for this painting.  Bear with me - I'm getting to the point here... So, as I was holding this palette in my left hand and resting it on my left arm, I was getting paint all over my sleeve and arm.  Believe me when I tell you I've ruined countless t-shirts over the course of my painting career.  I thought "There's gotta be a better way" and so I set out to design a palette that would sit comfortably on my arm without getting paint all over my clothes and arm.  What I ended up sketching out and creating was quite ingenious I might add (no bragging here - ha ha), because not only does this palette curve around the bend of my arm, but it is balanced, with plenty of room for mixing and a medium cup.  It has a lot of great features (as features go for an artist's palette).  Still, it's pretty dang cool if you ask me and I'm proud of it. What I did was draw out a design, cut it out, made some modifications, cut that out, then when I got it just the way I wanted it, I bought a sheet of birch and my Big Bear cut it out with a jigsaw.  I sanded it by hand, stained it on both sides, and then put layers of varnish on it.  It's awesome.  The best dang palette I've ever used.  It is lightweight and comfortable - and woohoo - made in the USA!  North Carolina!  On my deck and in my studio to be precise! Well, I'm selling them now.  I'm calling the palette the "Red Easel Master's Palette" and I am offering them for 49.95 + 7.00 S&H.  I did a story about it on Red Easel a few days ago and would you believe I have already made a sale.  Thank you Tom - you are my first customer and I hope you will love your palette and pass the word around to your artist friends.  You and everyone who buys this palette is helping a family in need right now (something that we have "never" been before in this lifetime is a family in need).  We are always the ones giving to charities and helping out everyone else - friends, family, and total strangers.  We cannot thank everyone enough for all your heartfelt prayers and support during this difficult time.  Just know that I am putting my heart into the creation of this palette and hope that everyone who buys one will love it too.  So, if you would like a palette of your own, you can get one by clicking the "Buy Now" button below.  It takes me about 4 days to make a palette.  Of course, if I have multiple orders, I can work on multiple palettes at a time.  It is the process that takes about 4 days.  The painting above is from Susan Blackwood - "Bunnies" 14x18 Oil on Linen.  You can view more of Susan's remarkable  artwork by going to her Red Easel Gallery Susan Vaughn Editor-in-Chief Red Easel      **************************************** Georgia O'Keeffe - An American Inspiration By: Susan Vaughn Editor/Writer Professional Visual Artist Published & Award Winning Medium: Oil Weddington, NC USA Vaughn Studio of Fine Art I adore the work of Georgia O'Keeffe.  It is beautiful, magical, original, and simply feminine.  The other evening I watched a story about her life on Lifetime television and received a renewed sense of artistic inspiration.  She is an inspiration to all women who want to express themselves artistically, freely, and independently and in her day was considered a remarkable woman, paving the way of independence and self-expression to woman around the world. Georgia O'Keeffe lived a long and interesting life. Born November 15, 1887 near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin to dairy farmers, Francis Calyxtus O'Keeffe and Ida Totto O'Keeffe. She was the second of 7 children and the eldest daughter. As a child she received art lessons at home, and her abilities were quickly recognized and encouraged by teachers throughout her school years. Continue reading about "Georgia O'Keeffe" at Red Easel **************************************** How to Make Money as an Artist By Susan Vaughn Editor/Writer Professional Visual Artist Published & Award Winning Medium: Oil Weddington, NC USA Vaughn Studio of Fine Art I found this information online in Google books and wanted to share it with all my readers!  Hope it is helpful. When you first load the page, make sure you try to scroll all the way to the top so you are starting with the cover of the book.  Enjoy the Read! Susan Continue reading "How to Make Money" at Red Easel ... **************************************** Welcome New Artists! I think Red Easel has the best artists in the world.  Then again, I'm partial of course.  But, if you look at our gallery you may just agree that they are phenomenal.  Well, I have quite a few artists who have made submissions who need to be recognized.  So, in the coming weeks (not months or years) I am going to get them all added to the Red Easel Gallery and send out a newsletter giving them the recognition they deserve.  Thank you all for your submissions!  Your work is absolutely beautiful. In the meantime, take a look at a few of the most recent artists to the Red Easel Gallery ... Ed Bronstein Professional Visual Artist Medium: Oil Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA Ed Bronstein Fine Art Gallery Bronstein Red Easel Gallery Anne Hudec, AFCA Professional Visual Artist Published & Award Winning Medium: Watercolor Victoria, British Columbia Canada Anne Hudec Fine Art Hudec Red Easel Gallery Francine Bradette Professional Visual Artist Medium: Acrylic, Watercolour Montreal, Quebec Canada Bradette Fine Art Gallery Bradette Red Easel Gallery Carole Stevens Bibisi Professional Visual Artist, Author, Poet, and Musician Published Medium: PrismaColor Pencils & Markers Bradenton, FL USA Carole Stevens Bibisi Fine Art Bibisi Red Easel Gallery Rada Bukhman Professional Visual Artist Medium: Oil Vancouver, British Columbia Canada Bukhman Fine Art Bukhman Red Easel Gallery Susan Blackwood Professional Visual Artist Published & Award Winning Medium: Oil, Watercolor Bozeman, Montana USA Blackwood Fine Art Gallery Blackwood Red Easel Gallery Howard Friedland Professional Visual Artist Published & Award Winning Medium: Oil Bozeman, Montana USA Howard Friedland Fine Art Friedland Red Easel Gallery Carmelo Blandino Professional Visual Artist Published & Award Winning Medium: Oil, Encaustic Canada Blandino Fine Art Gallery Blandino Red Easel Gallery Maggie Stiefvater Professional Visual Artist Published & Award Winning Medium: Oil Montross, Virginia USA Maggie Stiefvater Author & Artist Stiefvater Red Easel Gallery (Read Maggie's article "You Gotta Have Goals" at Red Easel! Visit more of our wonderful Red Easel Artists here **************************************** Life for a Struggling Creative By Susan Vaughn Editor/Writer Professional Visual Artist Published & Award Winning Medium: Oil Weddington, NC USA Vaughn Studio of Fine Art I have a confession to make, and deep down, I know that what I am feeling is something that most artists and creative souls experience - a deep struggle with creative satisfaction, a feeling that I will never reach my full potential if I don't let myself experience the process fully. That's a big thing for any artist, experiencing the process.  Enjoying it is very much a part of what drives so many of us to be creative in the first place.  There are times, however, that I don't enjoy the process, and to put it quite frankly, there are times that I just plain hate it.  Why?  Because at times, instead of feeling my way through my work, I over analyze it, I compare it to similar paintings by artists that I hold in high esteem, and then I feel disgusted, unworthy, almost depressed, and this voice inside my head tells me that what I just put down on canvas stinks. Continue Reading about "Life for a Struggling Creative" at Red Easel **************************************** Summertime and Edward Potthast By Susan Vaughn Editor/Writer Professional Visual Artist Published & Award Winning Medium: Oil Weddington, NC USA Vaughn Studio of Fine Art I don't know what it is about summertime, but every summer, I get all wrapped up in the paintings of Edward Henry Potthast.  I love his work.  I can't stop looking at it and studying his brushstrokes.  My own work has been greatly influenced by this artist.  His paintings make me happy.  There is a brightness and joy that can be felt from his paintings. Although my favorite artists were the impressionists - Renoir, Monet, Manet, Cassatt, Degas - it is the work of this American Impressionist, Edward Potthast, that I believe has had one of the greatest impacts on my own body of work.  And so, I would like to tell you a bit about this artist whom I love ... Continue Reading about "Edward Potthast" at Red Easel **************************************** What Painting is This? It has been a while since we played this game.  But it sure is fun. Here is a beautiful work and the artist was groundbreaking in his portrayal of light and night scenes.  I'll give you a hint ... Here is what they say about him at the National Gallery of Art: This artist has long been celebrated as one of the most gifted interpreters of the American West. Initially, his western images appeared as illustrations in popular journals. As he matured, however, he turned his attention away from illustration, concentrating instead on painting and sculpture. About 1900 he began a series of paintings that took as their subject the color of night. Before his premature death in 1909 at age forty-eight, [this artist] completed more than seventy paintings in which he explored the technical and aesthetic difficulties of painting darkness. Surprisingly, [this artist's] nocturnes are filled with color and light-moonlight, firelight, and candlelight. These complex paintings testify to the artist's interest in modern technological innovations, including flash photography and the advent of electricity, which was rapidly transforming the character of night. The paintings are also elegiac, for they reflect his lament that the West he had known as a young man had, by the turn of the century, largely disappeared. Although immediately recognized as extraordinary works, [this artist's] late nocturnes have never before been the subject of an exhibition. "The Color of Night" gathers together for the first time the finest of these mysterious, often deeply personal paintings. What Painting is This? The winner will be our featured artist in the next newsletter! Think you know the answer?  Write your answer in the comments section for this contest post on Red Easel and you could be our next featured artist! Susan Vaughn Editor-in-Chief Red Easel **************************************** Obviously.... I have had "one of those" years.  You can read all about it on my personal blog called  Raisin Toast.  It has nothing really to do with art, necessarily - except mine, but it is our life, and I feel pretty lucky to be sharing it with you.  I hope you will stop by and let me know you were there with a comment or two. Susan   Directory Listing Promotion Red Easel welcomes submissions by professional visual artists for a directory listing and gallery portfolio.  The first 100 artists will receive a free listing and gallery of 5 images with a link to their website.  You better hurry!  As of today, when I finish adding the new artists on the list for August, we will have 87 artists.  So hurry and send me your images and information! Send the following information to directory@redeasel.com: Name Medium Website URL City, State Country and at least 3 images for review. Submission does not guarantee inclusion in the directory.  Directory listings are juried into Red Easel by our panel of Professional Visual Artists. This painting is by Eli Cedrone "Camerata" 11x17 Oil on Canvas.  You can view more of Eli's work at Red Easel. Susan

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