Mary Richmond Design

New ACEOs

I've been having some fun while not feeling so hot. I did a bunch of these little ACEO paintings while thinking about some illustration ideas for some children's books I'm working on.

These little animals are a little goofy but I think they could be developed into some fun characters.

These faces just pop in and out of my head and have since I began drawing way back when. It's funny how my work bounces back and forth between the nature and the faces. I used to worry about it but now I just let what comes up show up. Who cares if my work isn't all the same? I don't. And it's not like I have some big group of collectors out there!

And since I'm apparently a bit unstable at the moment here is yet another side of my work....landscapes!

Oh well.

I love doing these tiny paintings. They're fun, they're quick and I get to try out ideas in a short amount of time without using too much paint and paper.

And yes, they're for sale at my Etsy shop here.

Mermaids in Watercolor

Yesterday I spent the day painting mermaids. I had done a series of mermaids on tile for a customer a few years ago and have sold them on tile ever since.

A few weeks ago someone saw my tile mermaids and wondered if I had any of them on cards. In one of those cavalier moments I said yes. I was thinking I could print cards from photos of the mermaid tiles but the photos weren't really good enough.

And so I needed to paint six mermaids in watercolor based on the ones the customer had seen on the tiles.

It was a lovely way to spend a summer afternoon, lost in mermaid land. Funny how you can relate to each of the things you paint or draw as if they were real. For the moment, while you are creating them, they are real!

 

 

Each mermaid comes bearing her own little gift. Some carry Nantucket baskets, some have hydrangeas or lobster.

I will be adding cards with the images over the weekend. You may see all six designs here.

Back to the Studio

I have to admit the desire to blog daily has been much less since I have left my studio and shop in Mashpee. Maybe it's the move, the deaths I've faced over the last few months, my new job, the car accident, family adventures....I don't know.

Over the last few weeks and especially the last few days I have begun to feel more myself and hope to get back to both my studio and blogging on a more regular basis soon.

The flowers in my yard are beautiful right now, especially these yellow lilies. All my lilies came from a few transplanted lilies a good friend gave me years ago and each year they have multiplied. They now make a beautiful border around part of my yard.

At work I've been enjoying playing with the kids. I brought in some plasticene clay in lots of colors the other day when it was raining. As you can see, the kids had a great time. There are a few critters in there that I made, too. They weren't the only ones who were having a good time!

It looks like I will be staying on at Audubon for the winter, doing classes and some other things. I'm pretty excited. If I have to work outside my studio Audubon is where I want to be. In the past they have only been able to give me seasonal work but it looks like a variety of circumstances have come together to make a year round part time position possible. Actually, the more they talk to me about different elements it sounds more like a full time job but even that would be great. I really do love it there and working with people around environmental issues is fulfilling and wonderful work. It feeds me and my art.

There are so many intriguing images in my mind after this last week of wandering in the woods, on the beach and through the fields. We found turtles laying eggs everywhere, including diamondback terrapins and eastern box turtles. This mesh enclosure was placed over a nest of eggs laid by a box turtle that we found on one of our walks. She was actually one of two that we found in less than half an hour!

We reported her to the researchers who are keeping track of such things and since box turtles are a species of special concern in Massachusetts the site was marked, the eggs protected and the female was weighed and measured when she was done. She was a marked, well known turtle on the sanctuary and is very old. They brought her to our group to release since we had found her and here's a shot of her under a bush, preparing to go on her way now that her big spring job is done.

Kids love turtles. Heck, I love turtles. There's something so soothing about a turtle. They look out at you with those ancient eyes and they move at such a deliberate pace. Actually many turtles are quite speedy when they want to be, especially in small bursts. They walked the earth with the dinosaurs and are still here. How cool is that? I think kids like that they are so small and compact, easy to approach and easy to hold. They love that turtles can pull in their head and legs to hide, too. Yep, turtles are cool.

Months ago I was asked to do a larger version of this small painting and between one thing and another it didn't get done until this week. It's very simple and painted in acrylics. The people who commissioned it were very happy with it and I have to admit it was fun to paint again, even if I was copying myself, something I don't usually do. I have learned to be somewhat zen about such things since this is what I do in my tile business a lot. Speaking of the tile business.....I finally am back to work although I still have lots of boxes of tiles and related things throughout my house taking up way too much room....

So it's been a period of adjustment on many levels but I'm feeling more like working and that there's a certain balance coming together.

Watercolor Shorebirds and Article Writing

More little bird paintings in my moleskine sketchbook today. Nice and wet watercolors for a wet, windy day. It's been nasty and cold most of the week and I, for one, am ready for some real spring....

I am disorganized this week and it's not a good week to be disorganized. I have my taxes to finish, my studio to pack up and clean out, several orders to pack and ship and one more interview to do for a magazine article I'm working on.

I've gotten lots done this week but mostly it's been writing and teaching so I'm behind in other areas. That's not exactly new but is difficult to balance, for me anyway. There's always something left just a bit out of the mix that keeps me from really being productive.

Today four publications came out carrying my writing. They are all small publications but it's still pretty cool, for me, anyway. There are two articles on local authors in the Cape Cod Times. You can read one of them here. There are my columns, "Weekly Nature Watch" in the Enterprise papers and "Nature's Ways" in the Cape Codder and then an article on home offices in a home and garden supplement for the Barnstable Patriot. I don't think any of them are online.

So back to balance.....my goal for the rest of the year really should be to find some with all the things I like to do, all the things I commit to do and all the things I want to do....as an artist, writer, naturalist, teacher.....and wife, mom, grandmom, sister, aunt, friend, mentor......busy days.

More Thoughts on Making a Living or a Life as an Artist

This- this sand, water and sky- this is what makes me happy. I love it in the winter, the spring, the summer and the fall. I love it in the rain, in the sun, in the fog and in the snow.

Today I sat here, looking at this cold, foggy view while eating my lunch and reading one of the books I'm writing about. An osprey flew over the dune from the marsh and seemed to just hang in the air for a minute or so, not far from my window, buoyed by the wind. It flew out over the water then back over the dune as if to say, "give me the marsh and the estuary any old time."

Later I spent most of my afternoon with these lovely young ladies. They are 6 years old and full of energy and curiosity and are part of an after school nature program. We were headed to the beach at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary but we had to stop and look in the pond first. After all, you never know what you might find there.

Over the last 10 years I have lead countless field trips and taken hundreds of children and adults through fields and dunes, beaches and forests, exploring the life and life cycles of the creatures and plants that live there. I am not an expert, just someone who loves the outdoors and has paid a lot of attention to what goes on and lives around me. I've also read a lot, followed really knowledgeable people around and taken some classes and workshops. I continue to learn each time I go out. Nature is a fine teacher that way; she is always offering up something new to discover and consider. And every time I take a group of kids out like these I have a great time.

By the time we finally hit the beach it was cold and raw and one little girl had a blister starting on her heel from her rubber boots. You can't see it  in this picture (except as a dark dot on the left) but out on the sandbar is a seal. As excited as they were to see the seal, they were were a bouncy sort of bunch. Soon they were running around looking for shells, mermaid's purses (skate egg cases) and whatever else they could find. I let the little girl with the blister take off her boots on the way back so it didn't get any worse.

The sea is always leaving things behind and taking things away. It's a great equalizer, I think. Reminding us constantly of our inconstancy, that the only thing that doesn't change is change itself.

Spending an afternoon with little girls was just what the doctor ordered. You can't spend a couple hours with a group like this and not laugh and smile and giggle as you draw scallop shells, sand dollars and starfish to get to know them better....kids notice all sorts of stuff, keep us honest, keep us wondering what happens if the questions ever end?

Even later I interviewed this lovely young lady for my young artists article. She is Alla Chekhova, originally from Uzbekistan and now living in Wellfleet. She has recently been accepted into a major gallery here and has captured the attention of many artists and mentors and after spending some time with her it is not hard to see why. She is utterly charming, as is her work. She is also modest and thrilled to be included in the article. She is working mostly in watercolor, and very small watercolors at that, which makes it especially interesting that she is gathering so much gallery interest. The oil painting behind her is one of her "older" works (she's all of 27). You can see some of her little watercolors spread out on the table.

As I wandered through my day today I just felt lucky. I wrote and illustrated a column, spent time with  my daughter and grandsons and then had this class and interview. This is a good life, really, it is.

I keep reading that I would be more successful if I focused on one thing and developed it. That doesn't work for me, focusing on one thing. I have too many interests. I like having a chance to write, to meet wonderful, interesting people, to teach, to paint, to muck around in nature. It's all starting to pull together, I think. For now, I know closing my shop and getting back out into the world, back into nature is the right move. The rest will come.

Thoughts on Making a Living as an Artist

As I prepare to close my shop I am very busy writing several articles for local publications on such things as young artists making their way, creating a home office and a few book reviews as well as interviews with the authors. I am also finishing a tile commission for a local business. All this transition work and writing has opened up many questions for me about my own work and the path I have chosen.

These drawings on tile represent a logo that I will repeat a dozen times for an installation. The rest of the installation involves small murals of general sea and beach scapes.

These little scenes and pictures of birds, especially sandpipers, have been paying my bills for many years now. I started painting tiles when it was suggested to me by a woman I knew who owned a shop selling specialty tiles. I was 25, pregnant and wanted to do something that used my painting ability while parenting my yet unborn child. I had hoped to be a gallery artist but that wasn't happening for me at that time and when this showed up, I said thank you, and took it.

After 18 years of custom painting tile murals and making my own ceramic tile I left the business to become a naturalist and writer as well as open up more time to paint "art". Three years ago I came back into the tile business when I was offered a shop and living space that were available for an "artist in residence." Once again, the tiles became my bread and butter although I have continued to work in watercolor and pastel as well.

Today I interviewed this young man, Matthew Schulz of Schulz Gallery in Osterville MA. He is 28, (a year older than my oldest daughter) and he opened this gallery when he was 23. He recently won the Duck Stamp Competition, has had his work accepted in many prestigious shows, is a member of the Copley Society and other juried organizations and is asking $14,200 for this painting, which he fully expects to get.

To be fair, he has had significant family and financial support and still lives at home, but the important thing is he has held true to his dream, himself and his talent and has persevered and succeeded. It is not hard to imagine him with a lifelong successful career.

Sometimes I wonder what I did wrong. I don't really like the gallery scene so often I tell myself I chose not to go that route. It seems artificial and pompous to me. It usually involves a lot of people standing around in a big room with pictures on the wall pontificating on intellectual and aesthetic ideas that often sound a lot more like bulltwinky than appreciation if you know what I mean. And then there's the whole collector scene where many paintings stay wrapped in vaults, waiting for their price to raise so the collector can make good on their investment. I tell myself that at least I do something that's functional, something that's useful and brings beauty into someone's home.

The truth is I have spent most of my prime years raising a family, coping with the ups and downs of extended family and friends, keeping body and soul together financially while running a busy business and well, living my life. I've spent more hours at the hospital, pediatrician's and veterinarian's office than in galleries, I'm afraid. I've clocked more hours caretaking people than caretaking my artist career and I've spent more time painting tiles than painting paintings.

So what now? Do I have what it takes to be "an artist"? I don't know any more. And when I look at how I spend my days I know that I am an artist already, no matter what anyone else thinks. I may not show in prestigious galleries and maybe I never will but I have shared my work with many, many people and made them happy....and that's a good thing, I think.

Over the next few months it is my goal to do more drawing and painting outdoors, to keep going on my oil painting and to just keep working. Who knows what comes next?

Watercolors and Moleskinerie

Whenever I don't know what else to do, I paint birds. Whenever I feel like painting just a little, I paint birds. Whenever I have just a few minutes and I just have to paint, I paint a bird. When I'm feeling a little blue or a little happy, I pull out my sketchbook and paint a bird.

When I bought my Moleskine watercolor sketchbook I knew I wanted to use it as a book of paintings somehow and if you've read my blog before you know I decided to fill this one with bird heads. It's about half full now and gives me a quiet focus at the beginning of my studio day. It's a sort of meditation for me to do this kind of painting.

They don't take very long and yet they require enough layers of color that I must practice a certain patience and I have to be paying attention, especially while I'm waiting. This is good discipline for me for I am somewhat like a little bunny jumping around from one thing to another on most days.

But I have to be attentive when painting these, though they look like they are just splashed on the page. To get the right effect I always have to be aware of how wet or dry each area is getting.

It's a real drag when the phone rings at an inopportune moment....especially if it's someone I really should talk to...and after all I do have clients I need to answer to.

Each bird takes on its own unique personality. After all these years this doesn't surprise me. What does surprise me is the personality itself; for often the personality seems to have nothing to do with what I'm looking at, thinking about or feeling in that moment. It's sort of uncanny. They seem to have and develop a mind of their own....

I don't really know why I feel about birds the way I do. In these paintings perhaps some of those feelings come through. I just know they are an expression of something deep inside me. They are flying high as spirit, yes, but they are also so very grounded.

Look into a bird's eye and you will not find much mushy stuff there....birds are right on it. They are sharp, a little fierce even, and they miss nothing. And they're beautiful, sleek, efficient and smart. What more could we want in an animal?

New Watercolor Sketches and Random Thoughts

I've been doing a lot of what I call watercolor sketches in my moleskine lately. It should tell you a lot about my frame of mind and attention span. I always joke that I must have a bit of ADD and seriously, I have not been able to sit still for more than about 5 minutes over the last few days. I'm figuring things out and somehow that means I have to be moving. Does being in motion somehow help the flow of my thoughts? Perhaps.

It looks like I will be giving up my retail space within the year. Most of my business is coming from wholesale accounts, designer referrals or from my website as well as this blog. Last month only 10% of my sales came from my shop. As you might imagine I have a fair amount of overhead and I'm thinking I should reconsider keeping this space.

The truth is I really hate being tied down in the shop. I would like to have a studio where clients could come and where I might have an occasional show but really I just like the work space.

I miss my work as a naturalist and I miss my freedom to be able to go out and paint when the weather is fine and the mood is better....

My landlords have been very patient with me but I don't think they'll be heartbroken to see me go. I need to stay in the residential space for now but if they have someone interested in the space I would be willing to let it go. I would like to stay another month so I can have a big sale but I will do what works for them. If they don't have a tenant in mind and would like me to stay through the summer I will try and find another artist to share the space, cost and responsibility with. In the meantime I am hoping to secure some seasonal naturalist work to get myself back outside for the spring, summer and fall.

I've been feeling pretty discouraged this past week. I'm in debt, I'm not happy with my painting or my apparent lack of abilities and I've just been feeling overwhelmed. It's only a temporary thought and today I'm feeling much better. Part of that is feeling like I'm starting to make decisions that are once again in alignment with my goal of wanting to be a better artist living in harmony with my integrity.

If you're a fellow artist reading this, how do you deal with these setbacks in creative input and output? How do you deal with your financial life? I've always supported myself as an artist but it's also been a pretty hand to mouth existence. Right now it's below that. Trying to maintain the retail space has put me in pretty substantial debt and I am now at the threshold of my comfort zone. I can't and won't accumulate any more. I'm not giving up on my business, just the place where I do it. I will go back to wholesaling my work, which actually gives me much more freedom.

These little sketches are fun to do. They are quick but very concentrated. They may look very loose but it takes a fair amount of energy to keep all that free flowing water where I want it. There's much more control in these than you may want to believe. Many of my students bemoan the fact that their attempts at being "loose" fall apart. And yes, that is what happens if I don't pay attention to all the running water and color. Experience has taught me where and when to push and pull the color, when to add more, when to be patient and let it dry just a bit.

That's true of so much, isn't it? What looks easy and simple is actually often the result of much practice and attention. We have to bring our patience as well as our willingness to be spontaneous to whatever we do. It is good to have an idea of what may happen next but also to be open to the adventure that awaits us in every moment. I think this robin agrees with that thought...

The Beginning of a Painting...

I hesitate to post a painting here that is barely begun because I know it can float around in cyberspace forever but I've decided to do it anyway.

When I first started this painting today it was all pinks and lavendars with some light blues and I had a moment of sheer horror when I realized it looked like one of those paintings advertised in the big hotel sales--you know the ones--"Get your fine art here real cheap! Real quality oil paintings for $25!!!"

I have a picture in my mind and this is not it. It's not as bad as it was but it still has a long way to go. This goal I have, this idea to make peaceful paintings, soothing paintings that can be used in health care situations is an interesting idea for me that has only just begun to evolve. Two cancer patients I know happened in today and both remarked on how much they liked this painting, how serene it was, how good it made them feel, which makes me feel I'm on the right path for what I want to do with these. I hadn't told them anything about this at all. They just responded to what was on my easel when they came in. On the one hand, I think it's a good thing to be painting paintings that people find serene and peaceful. On the other hand, I don't want to be painting schmaltzy paintings with no grounding in the fundamentals of good art either. There has to be a balance here somewhere.

So here's my thought....how do I provide a focus point without it being an obvious focal point? Every composition needs a focal point but in these I want the viewer to provide their own response to what I feel is a sort of mystery in this process. What is it exactly? Where is it leading me? What do I see? Feel? Imagine? I'm not sure where this process will lead me. It may not even be valid, to try and create paintings without a focus....even the most abstract paintings have a focus...it gives me lots to think about. And paint about, too, which should be fun as well as interesting.

A Studio Painting Day

I've been having a great time painting in oils over the last few days. I haven't a clue what I'm doing, really. I don't know how to use mediums, how to mix big enough quantities of paint, how to mush it all around the way I want so I'm just experimenting. I have enough background with basic color mixing and composition to fake my way through much of the process but I have much to learn. This photo shows three of the paintings I've been working on over the last few days. The one of the two gulls is an older pastel from a while back.

I still can't get a really good shot of this 12 x 12" painting. The colors are really rich and there's so much shine off it I just can't get it right. It started as a pure abstract but ended up with a definite landscape idea happening.

This is the same painting I showed here yesterday. Again, the colors are actually much richer in real life but with the shine factor the picture is coming out much lighter than it really is. The canvas is 18 x 36".

Again, a landscape theme appearing although it's not based on any particular place. It's all in my head (my head's a busy place ;-)

I have this idea that these may find a home in a health care situation and I want them to be sort of amorphous, without a particular place or meaning so that the viewer can find their own in it. This one sort of leads you over the hill....to what? To where? Something to contemplate....

This piece is the beginning of a piece commissioned by a client. It is 18 x 36" and is being done as a special request. Again, the colors aren't really showing up here but I think you can get the idea.

I will be having an open house in my studio on April 15 and hope to have about 30 new paintings to show. At least I've gotten a start. I was thinking these weren't the best paintings I've ever done but then I reminded myself they are only #4 and #5 oil paintings I've done since heaven knows when.....(a really, really long time ago.....)so I can probably cut myself a break. At least I'm painting!