Welcome to my art blog where you can follow my journey as well as view and purchase my original works.
My art can be viewed and purchased by hitting the “Originals” tab in the upper right corner. Thank you and please enjoy the site. Best! Loc
December 4, 2023
I had a personal goal to create a blog entry once a month to document my art journey. As you can see from my 6 month absence, I failed miserably. After doing a formidable amount of art shows last year (8), I just completed my 13th art show this year. While last year was a pleasant surprise with no expectations, this year proved to be much more of a challenge and really got a taste of the struggles of art life. The year which started in May was really strong and bigger pieces sold at higher prices and demand for my work was evident. The last few months were a struggle. Smaller work still sold well but it was difficult keep up with the production for the smaller pieces. It became a volume based business where I became the factory.
Next year I am aiming to do 15-20 art shows but with an amended business strategy. I hope to add prints to my offerings which may make my work more attainable to everyone. I will prepare to have more smaller pieces available. Also, I plan to offer an Open Studio in January and will post the actual date in the next week or so once I can confirm a date.
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May 31, 2023
Wow! What a whirlwind since my last post. I’ve been busy painting and building inventory for my three May shows which have all concluded now. I must have started at least 50 paintings over the winter and feeling confident I would have enough to give me a good head start for this season’s shows. I completed about 40 of those works as the remaining are just not ready. The May shows resulted in 39 sales so I have my work cut out for me over the next 2 weekends before I have two more shows in June. But the response from the public was phenomenal. Their feedback has really helped clarify some of the ideas I was hoping to develop. I feel like I’m starting to build consistency to my style and becoming more efficient at becoming more expressive with each piece. As a painter, my favorite way to paint is just painting on large canvases where I get to swing my arms in broad motions, take the canvas to the floor and splashing paint and getting on my hands and knees and really pushing and stretching the paint. It becomes an immersive process. I was lucky enough to sell 2 of my 4 large pieces so I’ll get to work on another large one soon.
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March 9, 2023
Trying to press forward. I’m quickly learning that becoming a professional artist involves so much more than producing the art. I thought I would have plenty of time since December as my t-shirt business slows down during this period, to create tons of paintings. I’m in no shortage of inspiration and ideas, I thought I would have completed 50 paintings by now. And of course, I haven’t completed half that number. One of the major time constraints as an artist is preparing and applying to art fairs for the upcoming months. There’s just so many logistical issues to consider especially when it comes to applying for one that requires travel. Ultimately choosing the ‘right’ ones to apply means the one that provides the most exposure and profits. While my short term goals don’t require me to be profitable right away, I need to be able to meet potential collectors and have a path to sustainability.
Having said all of this, I’ve solidified my show schedule for May! I’ve added a new page called “Show Schedule” and it lists all my upcoming shows. Part of the artist process is applying to art shows that are juried. The three outcomes of applying to a juried show is: Accepted, Rejected or Waitlisted. One of the daunting obstacles as a new artist applying to a well established show with a reputation for strong sales is that it attracts veteran artists from all over the country. It isn’t uncommon for a nationally recognized show to attract 1000 artists flighting for 150 spots. I stayed mostly local and regional shows last year and just starting applying to the bigger shows this year. As a result, I’m getting used to term ‘Waitlisted’.
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January 22, 2023
Going Big! I’ve been wanting to paint big. Two things that have been holding me back is the price of larger canvases and the other is would anyone want to pay for a painting that big by me? I was fortunate enough to find a sale post-Christmas on 48”x60” canvases so I picked up 6. Regarding the other obstacle, I’ve decided I just need to paint and not worry about which will sell or not. My goal is to create imagery that commands a response. With larger paintings, I can use more arm movement and be more immersed in the work. I think larger works should exude more emotion especially by the way I like to use broad brushstrokes and bold colors. I’m thinking of calling this painting “Immersed in Solitude”.
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December 29, 2022
Time to paint and get ready for next season! I’m definitely treating this art venture as a second business. i’m just having a hard time finding enough hours in the day to paint. I like to have four hours of uninterrupted time to spend in the studio. I’ve had most of December and will have most of January to focus. I’m experimenting with taking my style a little deeper with more blending and different techniques to create texture and movement.
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October 29, 2022
Time to tip-toe farther away from home. I scheduled two art shows for October. The first in Normal, Illinois at the Sugar Creek Arts festival and the second was River Clay Arts Festival in Decatur, Alabama. My goal this year was to find relatively small hometown shows with smaller crowds that really appreciated original work. Both of the shows seemed to fit the bill from limited information I was able to find online. Both shows ended being very pleasant as I would consider both again going forward. However, traveling farther away from home adds a much greater expense and while both shows were profitable, the expenses really decreased those profits.
The more interesting of the two shows was the Decatur, Alabama show. I chose that show as a late October show that was likely to have more temperate weather unlike our unpredictable midwest weather. Not only was the hospitality amazing as the show staff provided us lunches and an opening night dinner and well as snacks, but the camaraderie among the artists was remarkable. While all artists have been friendly at all the shows, this southern show seemed to have a much younger artist vibe and openness that I really appreciate.
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September 15, 2022
Three art shows in 8 days! Labor Day ended being very labor intensive as I traveled to the 4th Street Arts Festival in Bloomington, Indiana for Saturday and Sunday and then traveling back to Columbus for Monday’s Upper Arlington Arts Festival. Then I participated in the Black Swamp Arts Festival in Bowling Green, Ohio the following weekend. Only one of the three shows ended up being profitable.
When I decided to start exhibiting at art fairs, it was with some hesitation. I knew weather would be a factor as will as finding the demographic fit of each show. As an artist hoping to sell artwork, we have to find buyers that are willing to purchase our work for the investment we’ve made into it. That number that we determine doesn’t always match every admirer’s idea or pocketbook. Even though I prepared myself with many smaller and less expensive pieces which DID sell, not enough of the larger pieces sold to make the September shows worthwhile. I was starting to feel confident after my first three show as the weather was nearly perfect and revenue very consistent. The three September shows were filled with downpours, figuratively and literally.
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August 15, 2022
I spent the summer analyzing my inventory and trying to paint what people had suggested to me. One of the biggest realizations I had in my short time exhibiting my work is that I didn’t have enough small and hence more affordable art work. People had suggested I carry prints and reproductions in order to provide that lower price point but I’m just not ready to go down that path yet. I’m still on my art journey which means it’s definitely a more personal process andI’m not even sure if the art I create now will necessarily look like the art six months from now. There’s only a limited amount of time I can dedicate to painting since I still have another business I make time for as well as my family. Right now, I just want to focus on the process.
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July 15, 2022
I finished my third art festival after my last blog post. Worthington Arts Festival proved to be my most successful one yet and it was only about a ten minute drive from my house. The event was held on the grounds of the local high school and only a couple of blocks from the bustling downtown area. The weather was beautiful with many locals coming out for the event. My sales were steady and the response was good. My biggest concern was moving my chair to the best shaded spots to avoid the sweltering sun.
After my three initial shows in May and June, my inventory of paintings was pretty depleted. Fortunately, I had a feeling that would be the case so I didn’t schedule any shows until September in order to get back to the studio.
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June 15, 2022
My second art show was Art By The Falls in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. I was compelled to participate in a show since I have waterfalls in many of my paintings. At least that was my mindset and after some research, I had to check out this cute town outside of Cleveland, Ohio. What made this show even better is that my wife was able to join me and we were able to make a weekend getaway out of it.
The show itself was similar to my first show. Unlike the show in Cincinnati, it felt like this show was more of an entertainment venue. People were there walking their golden doodles and chatting with neighbors and friends. It seemed more of a social event than an art event. Three weeks previously, I had visited Chagrin Falls for an afternoon to take photos of the falls as I intended to bring some finished paintings of the town. Fortunately for me the plan worked as 4 of the 6 local paintings sold.
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May 15, 2022
My First Art Show! Nested in a historic neighborhood of Cincinnati Ohio, the Wyoming Art Show is a local one-day art event that attracted artists from approximately a 3 hour driving radius. I thought this would be a good event to ‘get my feet wet’ and to work out any kinks I had with booth setup and customer expectations. I really had no expectations of this show and had the mindset that it would be okay if no one bought anything. The show started on a Sunday morning at 11:00. It was pleasant and warm as a gentle flow of people strolled by. Everyone was nice and occasionally a few people stopped in to chat and compliment my work. By 1 pm I had sold my first work, a small painting to a volunteer at the show. Ironically, a second person came in and wanted the same piece but she settled for her 2nd choice. Within an hour of the show’s closing I had sold 4 of my 5 smaller paintings. Two young couples came back and were interested in larger pieces that I had submitted for the ‘art contest’ that was located in the civic center. Fortunately each couple were not interested in the same painting so I was able to sell both.. All in all I was a very successful first show and helped validate my decision to display my work in public.
April 15, 2022
More than just green! As I looked around the painting I had completed, I was seeing green everywhere. While the scenery in the midwest seems to be mostly green (all least in spring and summer), I really wanted to push the envelope to see if I could replace colors. What ended up happening is many of the painting started looking like regions in other parts of the country and world. And I think I’m okay with that.
March 15, 2022
Putting in the Work! The plan is to just paint. While still managing my full time business of distributing my line of pet lover t-shirts, I’m finding time to sneak in as much painting as possible.
February 15, 2022
So I’ve finally done it. Completed my first collection of acrylic landscape paintings in order to take a ‘booth photo’ to complete my collection of photos in order to apply to outdoor art fairs this spring and summer. The photo below shows the entire set of paintings that were complete enough to install as part of my jury booth photo, a requirement for most art festivals. My deadline to many of these upcoming shows were February 15th. The weather cooperated just enough the week before. This particular day I think it got all the way to 40 degrees and I had about 2 hours of sun before it became cloudy again and drop below 30. Fortunately I got the shots I needed.
