I am going to take a class.

[djstar]

I have avoided watercolor for a reason for a long time.

The one and only friend I have that is an artist is a watercolorist. Oddly we are both in the same day job. From our first meeting she picked my brain. She has taken classes from all my favorites. Diane Massey, Mary DeLoyht-Arendt, Lewis Barrett Lehrman, Maxine Johnston, Arne Westerman and.... bow down.... Charles Ried.

So, lucky slob, she has run the school dry.
She also has a real problem (... I am venting here so just listen because you will have my whole motivation if I leap in feet first, in spite of a few other media I am in the middle of......) SHE is having a hard time getting pieces for shows. She always puts NFS on any she enters and has been really bummed if she doesn't get in.
WHY?
She SELLS EVERYTHING! And I am not talking ebay. She has a very weathy clientelle who are constantly amazed that this wonderful service worker is so talented they buy it the second she shows them.

Still, she picks my brains.
I have entered easily 10 shows last year, and been rejected from over half. BUT GOT IN FOUR. I have wall to wall paintings staked up and am trying to be a professional, finding a gallery or two, making a real repution, trying to establish myself nationally so I present well. You know kids, I was out of the art loop for over 15 YEARS... I have to catch up. She whines when she gets one rejection and when she gets in is SURE she will take a national show.... That is out of two entries.

And still she picks my brains.
For a while she would email me pieces and say "what is wrong with this?" It drove me mad. WHO CARES? You are gonna sell it anyway!!!

... I am composing myself......

So I told her. Mostly I told her she didn't do her homework. That thumbnails should LOOK much like the finished piece, not just exercise...but the saver of my ego would be "But I don't do watercolors" so I could not get involved.
She is trying to get into the National society......again with only 3 pieces in her house to try to enter... but she is trying not to take them in to work because she KNOWS someone will buy them

...where is that grrrr icon.....????

I advised her a year or so ago to make sure the picture inside the frame equalled out to more than half the sale price, for gossake!
So she did....

I loaned her my graphics editing program so I could use her better computer before I upgraded and showed her how to print cards, and she now has a cottage industry....

I FINALLY got fed up last year and did a few watercolors and was really enjoying it until I got good and realized I WAS GOING TO COMPETE WITH HER.
Maybe only in my head... I really didn't want to do that. It was a bad thing...

After that, I gave her the trick to laying out from a photo exactly using the computer, and FINALLY showed her how to overcome her lack of compositional instinct by taking good photos, drawing them up, and then PAINTING THE WHOLE THING UPSIDE DOWN.

So she got really good.

Ok, so....
I won a prize at the school LAST year of a $150 scholarship. It is a carrot. None of the classes from the pros are under $400. The locals are $250 and I was going to have to take a week off work and spring for the extra. LUCKILY summer has a few 4 weekers.

She told me she was going to take an anatomy class. She said the instructor was a good teacher, that was on faculty of the college and the community college. So she signed up with another friend. I must tell you I have been avoiding a lot of contact because I get hoarse answering questions, most of which, she just enthusiastically agrees with and rarely has anything to input, disagree with or add....

I got the schedule and the demo picture was very NOT excellent. I told her (mocking? supportive?... no telling which..) she was a better portraitist than this girl. Then went on to read that ONE class was open in a part of my summer schedule that matched. Watercolor. Ted Nuttal. Local boy, nice work. Four sessions, $125. BINGO.

So the next day she says she agrees and wants to jump ship and take the SAME class instead.


So I will be doing watercolor if I live.
.....
ug.
dj*

[mhimeswc]

Okay - the way I see it is that you and a friend who happens to be an excellent watercolor artist are taking the same class. You will both learn a lot from the teacher. You will also learn from observing her works in progress, and maybe she will learn some composition skills from you. A win/win situation. Enjoy the class and don't think of it as a competition. Oh, and if she asks too many questions, just pretend that you are so absorbed in your painting that you haven't heard her.

Michelle

[djstar]

yup.
dj*

[dspinks]

Have you ever said, "I dunno, what do YOU think?" when she asks a question? (I know, I know, it's hard when you really DO know!!) . All's I know is that if I hadn't started saying that to my daughter in middle school, I'd have graduated from high school twice, once for me and once for her.

Michelle hit the nail on the head.

Can't wait to see your homework.

Debra

[madmum]

First of all, DJ, good for you taking a class! You're very talented in other mediums, as soon as you get to grips with it I know you'll do great with watercolour too.

I don't have any artistic friends, so I don't know how I'd feel in your situation. It sounds like she is using you like we all use WC, but that is alot for one person to cope with!!! Tell her to join us and then we can take the strain

Maybe you could gently point out that she obviously doesn't need help from you if she sells work so easily

Ruth
(who has dozens of paintings waiting for new homes!)

[lyn lynch]

Wow, jealousy is a green-eyed monster. Either your "friend" is incredibly sweet and naive, you are one hell of a false friend, or I have misunderstood the situation completely. I found it difficult to follow your thread, but [and I am yelling at you]:

TED NUTTALL IS NOT A NATIVE ARIZONIAN--HE IS NOT A LOCAL "BOY", BUT YES, HE LIVES IN PHOENIX. TED NUTTUALL IS A FORMER OWNER OF A GRAPHICS ART COMPANY WHO, WHILE TAKING A CLASS FROM CHARLES REID AT SCOTTSDALE SCHOOL WAS TOLD BY REID "YOU SHOULD BE TEACHING THIS CLASS". REID WENT TO THE ADMINS AND NUTTALL WAS HIRED TO TEACH. NUTTALL IS AN EXCELLENT, QUALITY TEACHER AND IF YOU GET IN HIS CLASS AND AT ONLY $125 YOU ARE ONE LUCKY SOB. NUTTALL, AFTER BEING HIRED BY ART SCHOOL, RE-EVALUATED AND SOLD HIS BUSINESS CONCENTRATING ON HIS FIGURAL WORK. NUTTALL IS NOT A PORTRAITIST--HE IS A FIGURE PAINTER. NUTTALL HAS ONLY BEGUN. HE TEACHES SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR IN MONTANA, ART LEAGUES ACROSS THE NATION ARE HEARING OF HIM AND HE IS GAINING IN REPUTATION. HE IS A JURIED MEMBER OF MANY LEAGUES, INCLUDING ARIZONA NATIONAL SOCIETY. NUTTALL IS A WONDERFUL INSTRUCTOR. HE GIVES THE BEST DEMO I HAVE EVER SEEN/HEARD, BUT, HE IS NOT A PORTRAITIST--SO IF YOU ARE EXPECTING ANY TYPE OF TRADITIONAL WORK, YOU WILL NOT GET IT FROM NUTTALL.

OK, I'm done yelling. Just trying to snap you out of it. Perhaps you are just in a snit tonight. I know, some peeps just have all the luck, ain't it the truth! And they seem to do nothing to garner it. Perhaps your friend just has the "natural talent" I hear about. At any rate, take the Nuttall, he gives a wonderful class. Try to arrange a way to not be by your friend, though, so you can enjoy the class. I think you must be really tactful with her so I am sure you will come up w/a way to say "why not sit on opposite sides of the room, then, we can compare what we learned."

I went to some life drawing classes with a friend. We would sit together and she is so damn dramatic, slamming her pencil around, energetic look at me egg shapes, slamming back her chain to see "perspective", posing the model, ad nausaum. I had diminishing returns in the class due to this behavior bugged hell out of me. Now, I don't take classes w/her. She bugs me even from across the room.

BTW: If you want a more traditional portrait/figurist, sign up for Carol Orr. But I hope you take the Nuttall, truly, he gives a fabulous class and is so nice I want to slap him. Yes, I own a piece of his work, and love him madly. Good luck.

[edit] You should know, Nuttall sells. His 1/4 sheets begin at $900.

[M.A.]

What a great vent! Hang in there!

[billyg]

Dont you just have the greatest fun dj. If you ever come to NZ maybe you and one of the local volcano's can have a competition.LOL. Definately pick a spot away from her and compare later on what you learnt.
I went to a local pastel class the other weekend and later on when talking to another friend I was told that according to another friend who was at the class, I didnt have a very successful weekend at all. Funny , I thought I learnt heaps and even questioned the tutor about follow ups, even oil tutorials as well . Theres no pleasing some people.
We all know your good at what you do ( in fact some of us are actually jealous LOL.) Keep at it girl.
Billyg.

[artmom]

Do you feel better now??????

[billy j]

Wish I had your problems !!

[CharM]

DJ... this person is your *friend*... why? With all the envy and resentment in this one-sided relationship, I don't understand why you are *friends*... hmmm... She is feeding off you and you are letting her do it!!!! There's a lot of negatativity within YOU that could be affecting your work... just a thought...

Take the course. Focus your energy on enjoying and learning from your instructor...

[KansasLady]

Sounds like a trying situation. One thing is for sure though, she obviously values your opinion.

I think the advice you received from dspinks to say "I dunno, what do you think" might help her to start thinking about her work more, and not rely so much on you. That's good advice.

As for all the sales she makes, we aren't suppose to paint the same, and what she happens to be painting now sells better. That doesn't mean she's a better artist.

Best wishes, djstar!

[Gisele]

Dj, you have GREAT talent in watercolor, pastel, oils you name it. And now I understand better why you seemed to avoid watercolor for so long. I hope you enjoy your sessions and you will show us some of your work.

Gisele

[jimb]

I've enjoyed seeing your work in other mediums for a long time. You are very talented and I'm envious of your ability and your opportunities. I used to live in Mesa, and I enjoyed the Scottsdale Arisist School while I was there. I miss it now. You will do as well in watercolor as you have everything else. Smile! Life is good!

[Darren]

dj,

My two cents...Tell her how you feel rather than keeping it pent up inside. You can do it assertively without attacking her ("It makes me feel x when you do y.") If she's really your friend, she'll understand and try to behave differently; if she's not, maybe she'll stop bothering you. Either way, it's out in the open and off your chest and you haven't perpetuated the problem by playing "games". Maybe she always comes to you because she envies your abilities and feels inferior and doesn't believe she has much to offer you. Maybe she's just insensitive and doesn't realize how her actions affect you. You would know better than I what might motivate her.

Sorry for butting in, you can get up off the couch now, our session is over.

darren