Atelier 40 - Topic - "Who, What, When and Where"

[llis]

This table at the cafe is for those who would like to discuss topics concerning artists that have ventured into the art world after the age of 40. Maybe you have always had an interest in art and have renewed your interest, or maybe you are very new to the art world; for any reason, please sit down and tell us about yourself and why you are now expressing yourself with your art. Tell us what mediums you work with. Tell us any special challenges you have, or problems you have experienced. Tell all. http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Who, What, When, Where and more! And, by the way, order up something from the Cafe Menu...this might take awhile. http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/smile.gif

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Phy...llis
Sounds like Lizz.
P.S.
Visit the Virtual Cafe Guerbois Today! (http://www.artistnation.com/members/paris/cafe)

[llis]

Hello: My name is Phyllis and I am a bit over 40. http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/biggrin.gif (American southern girls don't tell their age unless....) I have always loved art and it has always been a part of my life, but until six years ago, I had put my art on the back burner for family and career. Now I am devoting most of my time to painting and learning more about art in general and having the time of my life.

I paint mostly in oils, but I am trying new mediums like acrylics and pastel. I have a web site at artistnation.com and do sell my work via art-agent.com as well as a local gallery here in my hometown. I only started selling my art work after someone saw it in a local gallery exhibit and wanted to purchase it. This was a big event for me and did change the way I looked at my future work.

I try to paint each day. If I don't paint, I at least sketch and look at my art books. At one time I had an extreme collection of cookbooks. Then I had an extreme collection of diet books. Now I have an extreme collection of art books.

I live in the USA, West Central Georgia with my husband, Son (26) and cat and hope to continue to learn and grow with my renewed interest in painting.

The only problem that I have experienced is that people tend not to take my art work as seriously as I do. I get extremely irritated when someone calls it my hobby, because it is more to me than a hobby. You see, I don't count my art as something I do in my leisure time. I count my art work as an expression of who I am. It did make me feel really good the other day when a person called on the phone in a response to an ad and when they asked who I was, and I told them,...they said... "Oh, I know you, you are an artist."



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Phy...llis
Sounds like Lizz.
P.S.
Visit the Virtual Cafe Guerbois Today! (http://www.artistnation.com/members/paris/cafe)

[MichaelRH]

I'm Michael-49. Didn't get serious about my art until about 35-(does that count llis?). I love all kinds of art. Didn't take art courses until I entered jr. college..life-drawing, portrait drawing and painting were my favorites. Took my portfolio to Art Center...was accepted (Fashion Illustration major--only a small fine-art dept at the time..ACCD is a major design school). Attended two terms..thought I had learned the basics.
I draw daily, don't paint as much as I'd like. Figure has ALWAYS been my focus.
My wife Aida (Mklanglo) is also an artist..she is also interested in figurative work.. We both have other jobs..but we'd both like to (and hope to) sell more paintings. I have three wonderful step-daughters, and we now have 4 grand children. Aida and I live in northern Colorado..and we've both shown work in small galleries here and in California.
My artwork is FAR!!!! more important to me than the "job" I have.

[llis]

Yep, Sandi, I think this is exactly what we want to hear. I think it is fun getting to know the people we chat with and finding out more about them and the art they make. And the next thread that someone wants to start specifically for A40 might address problem areas or areas of concern. Thanks vurban for this suggestion. I hope this will be what you want it to be. If not, let me know and we can work toward getting it to be exactly what you want. http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Phy...llis
Sounds like Lizz.
P.S.
Visit the Virtual Cafe Guerbois Today! (http://www.artistnation.com/members/paris/cafe)

[paintfool]

I'm Cheryl, I'm over 40 (by just a little hehe) I live in Florida with my wonderful husband, Phil, our three cats,rottweiler & what i thought to be a pot bellied pig. He turned out to be wild boar but we love the ugly little guy.I had to paint our phone # on him because he likes to wander. I started painting about two & a half years ago. It was the only new years resolution that i've ever kept! I paint with oils but have purchased pastels & will attempt to use them soon! I've become somewhat of a spoiled brat in that i've delegated of lot of my responsibilites to others in order to have more time to paint. Fortunatley, i own my business so i can do that! I am very blessed to be able to restructure my life because i feel that art IS a way of life. If i never become wealthy or famous through my art at least i will have spent my life being productive and at peace with my God and my self. I do however, have goals. I'd like to enter some shows in the next year or so.I have a lot to learn before i can do this but I am so willing! Cheryl

[vurban]

Unless WHAT... What a great start Phillis! By the way, how's your coffee? I really didn't expect so much response. Give me a day or so and I'll be back with some more suggestions.
In meantime just go on drinking coffee and other stuff and keep discussing.
vu

[This message has been edited by vurban (edited June 05, 2000).]

[llis]

vurban: The "unless" is just a way out. A proper southern girl would always leave the door open just a bit...just in case it was to her advantage, don't you see. lol

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Phy...llis
Sounds like Lizz.
P.S.
Visit the Virtual Cafe Guerbois Today! (http://www.artistnation.com/members/paris/cafe)

[Rod]

Hi I'm Future Rod from New Zealand. Guess I qualify ,just a tad over 50. All my life I have been a fiddler, loved to pull things apart, had to see how they worked. Not very many ever got fully back together but I did have a wonderful collection of shiny screws. Over the years I have covered several pastimes, woodwork, fretsaw work, cane basket making, macrame, rug making, racing model cars, boats and building and flying radio controlled model aircraft. I have also owned a computer since the early eighties. I did basic art at school over a couple of years. Never thought of it again until 5 years ago, when I watched an instuctional video on watercolours by David Bellamy a British Watercolorist. I was hooked immediately. I fell in love with watercolours and have since watched numerous videos and read several books on the subject.
Have never attended any watercolour classes, self taught from the video's and books combined with experimenting with techniques.
I have a full time business repairing TV sets and videos, this ties me down 5 days a week 9 hrs a day. I mainly paint during the evening and at weekends. Watercolours are my main medium, although I have a set of pastels which I am using more frequently and liking more and more.
My other main interest is in computers and the internet, now with Wetcanvas I have combined the two in the form of my Watercolour lessons online and the Cafe Guerbois project that I am involved with.
My most recent adventure was my first attempt at cemenmt sculpture so I guess I will be adding that also to my list of creative pastimes. I am a member of two New Zealand Watercolour Societies.I have sold paintings through their exhibitions,also held one exhibition myself, and display some of my paintings at my TV shop. My income is from my TV trade ,if I could support myself with art I would not hesitate to paint full time. At this moment I enjoy my work, love nature and my creative pastimes, I hope to devote more time to my art in the future.
Rod


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Watercolours from New Zealand (http://www.artistnation.com/members/paris/rod/)

[Gisela]

OMG!
Cheryl, It's 6:30 a.m. and I couldn't sleep. I'm sitting here with this crazy case of the giggles...picturing you painting on this wild boar. The visual I have of this is just overwelming. Thanks for the early morning chuckle! http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/biggrin.gif


Gisela <----still giggling

[Rod]

Quote:
Your latest rendition of Milt (big hair Milt)
OK Gis Whats the secret rendition, come on show all http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[paintfool]

Gisela, glad to be able to ammuse you, as you have done for me so many times! Your latest rendition of Milt (big hair Milt) made ME giggle. http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/smile.gif BTW the phone # on the pig has saved me from paying lost & found add fees on several occasions & has kept poor little Ozzie from ending up on some hunters dinner table.! Cheryl

[Miltz]

Hi everyone, my name is Mark, I am 43, married, with 2 wonderful daughters. I have been doing art of one kind or another most of my life, like Michael my focus has always been on the figure. I have a studio art degree, and earn the bread and butter doing design and illustrations and seperation work for the silkscreen industry. Though most of my work is done digitally now, I have been doing this for 20 years so needless to say it didn't start out that way. I have a lot of T shirts.
I have been painting seriously again for about 6 years, though I have never stopped entirely. I work mostly in oils, and teach figure drawing occasionally.
I also feel like I am going through a mid life crisis that I can't afford. I am a little angry at the time and effort I have put into something as trivial as T shirts. I am feeling pressure to do something meaningful artisticly with my life and a constricting sense that the time to do so is getting short. My work rarely sells, and though I do well in local competitions this is not very satisfying to me. National shows are expensive to enter and shipping is a killer, so of late I have had to cut back on them. I am well aware that the marketability of nudes is difficult, but that is the subject that inspires me enough to go out to the studio to paint. Since I do art based on other people's ideas on a daily basis, the idea of painting for the marketplace too is repugnent. I do like landscape, but am not pursuing it much because its difficult to compete in that area when the only time I have to paint is in the evenings. I live in an area where the level of culture is low and the level of conservatism high, another source of constant frustration. Like a lot of people I wish I could paint for a living, currently family responsibilities forbid it.
I need to paint MUCH more.
I need to find a good location to sell work like mine.
I need to find a gallery.
I need to finish my website.
I need to finish my artist's statement.(thanks for the help, Arlene, still mulling it over)
I think I need a drink...Waitress!
and, since I need to work in the morning, I need to go to bed.

Sorry for the rant, I promise to be rational again tomorrow. Oh yes, though I have a large vocabulary, my spelling is marginal and my typing terrible, so expect lots of errors when I get excited.

Anybody want to start a marketing specific atelier 40 thread?
-Mark

[llis]

Sounds like your just the person to start the A40 thread about marketing, Mark. We all will look forward to it http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/biggrin.gif. I enjoyed your post as well and don't ever worry about typos, spelling, or such. We all have major degrees in all these areas, so you just can't out do us!!!!

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Phy...llis
Sounds like Lizz.
P.S.
Visit the Virtual Cafe Guerbois Today! (http://www.artistnation.com/members/paris/cafe)

[Phyllis Rennie]

Originally posted by Rod:
Quote:
Your latest rendition of Milt (big hair Milt)
OK Gis Whats the secret rendition, come on show all http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

It's in the Bob Ross discussion and you gotta see it !!!!

[paintfool]

Mark, i read you post with interest. I agree w/llis in that your marketing woes are exactly the starter topic for this discussion group! My work is not yet marketable but i am still interested. In my opinion, your "mid life crisis" is not really that at all. If i am correct, a mid life crisis is more of a state of confusion one enters while trying to re-evaluate thier entire life & position. It is usually a time when a person has questions as to whether or not they've made the right decisions regarding things such as marriage, children & career. It sounds to me as though you are confident and happy in your lifes decisions. The crisis you speak of however, is based on the fact that you, like most, would prefer to earn your living doing what you love best. I don't blame you. The fact that you have to spend so much time on commercial endeavors in order to support your family is frustrating, no doubt! You are not alone! Many of the people here at WC have the very same feelings! Most of us your WC friends have full time jobs that are in no way art related. Don't give up on your dreams of becoming a ful time artist because you never know what's around the corner & perserverence pays. As far as spelling errors & typos, well....Keep reading! LOL Cheryl

[msue]

Well, I'll take a stab at this forum. I'm definitely in the over 40 crowd, knocking on the door of 50. Have one teenage son and one husband. Spent 20 years in the corporate life, but was laid off in the early 90's.
I've said for four years that I started painting in 1996, watercolor, which is true. However, I received my first watercolors probably 3 years before that and dabbled a little making really horrible paintings. I've always wanted to be creative and wrote really bad poems and as a child wrote little stories to entertain myself. Before finally painting for real in 1996, I decorated baskets with a decoupage and stiffy bow technique. Most were done as gifts and a couple were sold. I have sold several of my paintings, collages, and over 100 notecards. I lost money on most of these sales. I have taken a few local workshops for watercolor, two workshops on pastel portriature, a block printing workshop and a week long collage workshop. I love the collage and block printing. I've had one college drawing class and a few lessons with a watercolor artist (besides workshop). Painted with a group of artists who had been students of the watercolorist I took lessons from. He moved to another state and the group tried to stay together for a couple of years. Recently started trying my hand at acrylics. My biggest work (approx. 6' x 5') is an area of my back fence where I painted flowers to improve the view from my computer (not much luck with real flowers). My art is somewhat at a stand still right now. Maybe it is a fear of success or federal, state, and local taxes. My immediate family mostly views my art as a nusiance and do not take it seriously. I love WetCanvas for its support and encouragement. I may have to get a job in a few months and don't know how that will affect my art.

[This message has been edited by msue (edited June 09, 2000).]

[oleCC]

OK here I go...even though I am probably old enough to be the Mother of most of you, and 40+ seems quite young to me... http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/smile.gif
When the last of six children left the nest, I got serious about my lifelong interest in art and especially in painting. I had always wanted to learn to paint, so spent a few years studying all kinds of books and practicing many hours every day. My wonderful supportive hubby encouraged me on as did the rest of my family and friends. Finally, I took instruction from a couple of successful watercolorists whose styles I admired.
Today, I teach other adults the basics in watercolor painting and love every minute. Between teaching and doing commission work I enjoy staying busy in a "work" that seems to validate the hours spent pursuing this "new life".
Wetcanvas and artistnation have become all important to me as my tiny town offers no exposure to other artists. Marketing my work is difficult for me, so what Scott has made available here is priceless.
Guess I have rambled on long enough... http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/smile.gif Carol

[This message has been edited by oleCC (edited June 09, 2000).]

[MichaelRH]

Mark...good to see your post. You've commented on many things that have been issues for me also. (You're not alone).
I work part-time and have (fortunately) VERY flexible hours..the owner of the company is actually SUPPORTIVE of my need to paint! (only took 35 years to find him!!!!).
This area is also VERY!! conservative..(actually had people pickett an alternative life-style show of photography. Amazed me!!!! SO....I definitely need to take my work to galleries OUT of this area. Beautiful place to live as you will probably agree. LA, NY, even areas like Palm Springs..will be my first stops!!!
My goal is to get those 15-20 strongest paintings (and a few sketches and drawings)..and just GO...work under my arm, and knock on doors. I figure we can live where ever we want...just need to get the work out. (I think you and I are optimists..and rightfully so)..just takes determination. Can't imagine NOT painting or working with the figure. (I'm CLOSE..to getting those "solid" pieces together)..Mark, you work is VERY good. I'm also looking for those buyers interested in erotica...the ones that send you emails out of the blue..the buyers who wish to remain anonymous. We'll see. Michael

[Joe Cartwright]

Hi Joe is my name and I'm from Sydney Australia. I'm 46 and started painting two and a half years ago when I started to go to a local community art class. I have a full time job in the computer industry but would love to paint full time - however the dollars don't stack up at this stage; hopefully one day they will. I get a lot of support from my family and especially my wife who insists on framing just about everything I paint. Most of my work is in watercolors but I also like to draw and have done some oils and pastels. I read everything I can get so while I don't paint every day I do read something on art each day.
Getting into painting has changed my life and I know I will always have something I am keenly intersted in.
I would like to join in the discussions on Cafe Guerbois but alas Australia seems to be in the wrong time zone unless I wake up and have trouble sleeping - which thankfully does not happen very often!

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[Rod]

Welcome Joe,
I too have the same time problem from New Zealand, but we can still join in the slow chat, the message forums.
Rod

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Watercolours from New Zealand (http://www.artistnation.com/members/paris/rod/)

[RansomDchs]

So, at last I discover a 40 something topic folder. Yummy.

Well, my name is Jo and about 10 years ago my grandmother, an incredible artist, gave me ALL of her art supplies. Of course, I am no artist and that's what I told her. I am from a very large family and I could name several of my cousins who could make better use of those supplies than myself. After much fussing (on my part) I ended up taking the supplies.

I had never touched a paintbrush and there I sat with a mound of supplies - some dating back to the 30's. I was perfectly content just letting the supplies sit on my dining room table because the smell of them reminded me of my grandmother (who had passed away only a few months after I accepted her supplies).

That was in 1990 - I was 32 years old and today, at age 42, I have finally decided to get serious about this art thing. My dream is to go back to school and get some design principles under my hat - composition kills me sometimes.

My preference is assemblage and collage. I prefer assemblage as it is sometimes more forgiving as far as composition goes, but now I am ready to really dive in and test the waters. I have taken some watercolor classes and LOVE the meduim. Acrylics really appeal to me as well.

I have been creating since my grandmother's death only recently have felt confident in my work enough to show it to somebody else.

I look forward to participating in this forum.

Jo (RansomDchs)

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insist on yourself - never imitate [emerson]

[paintfool]

Welcome Joe & Jo! we're glad to have you here at WC! You're goning to like it here!, Jo we have a member, Cindy who does wonderful, awsome collages! see here work in the critics forum! http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/smile.gif Cheryl

[MichaelRH]

Yes. Welcome to Wetcanvas Jo. Very happy to hear you are not waiting another minute. Just explore your creativity..I think we owe that much to ourselves. Life can be pretty demanding, and if we LET it...it will keep us from exploring what lies in our hearts. (Not good!) lol I'm sure we will ALL look foreward to seeing some of your work.
Michael